Computer Consultants's topics - tribe.net

Aftermarket Replacement Laptop Battery Question

2008-12-17T12:20:54Z

Hi. I have a Sony Vaio notebook (model VGN-SZ120P) and the battery is in its final death throes.
The computer is nearly two years old, Sony doesn't even sell the battery online anymore.
I'm gagging over Sony's $199.99 price tag for a replacement, but nervous about picking up a cheaper version.

The Sony replacement specs are 11.1V / 5200 mAh.

I've found other cheaper knock-offs for under $100 with specs 11.1V / 4400 mAh.

Is it worth it to get the more expensive one? Why or why not? Does the difference in mAh matter in any way other than length of time it holds a charge?

Would it be more worth it to just get two of the cheaper ones, which still turns out cheaper than the single Sony replacement battery?

Not much activity in this tribe, I hope someone is around to help.

Cheers!

posted in Computer Consultants - 6 replies

removing vista

2008-01-06T09:36:29Z

I confess, I'm not much of a PC user (more of a Mac guy), but my office has asked me to remove vista from one machine and install XP. Any advice on how best to do this? Just go in with the XP discs and do a fresh install?

posted in Computer Consultants - 3 replies

Weird HP start up problem

2007-12-23T03:02:44Z

My girlfriend is having this weird problem with her HP desktop. When she starts it up it gets stuck on the HP logo screen and doesn't do anything else, no matter what button she pushes. It just started doing this a little less than a week ago. Does anyone know how to fix this? Or what the problem might be. She said this happened just after downloading some Apple update thing.

posted in Computer Consultants - 6 replies

Forgotten Password

2007-12-22T12:29:10Z

Hello. I'm hoping someone can come to my rescue. My boss has an old computer that she wants to give away to a family member who needs a comuter. The problem is that she can't remember the windows password. Is there a way to get around this? Or is this computer destined for the junk heap?

I’ve seen ads for password cracking discs and such. Has anyone had success with anything like that? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

posted in Computer Consultants - 4 replies

sticky keys

2007-12-19T17:14:05Z

hi, i won't be long in this tribe, just had a question about how to solve a problem with sticky keys.
i'm not sure how it happened, but one day i opened my laptop and the up arrow key, enter, and "u" are all hard to depress and take a bit to rise to the surface.

is it wise to pop off the key and treat it? i'm sure it must be a residue issue because i've tried can-o-air and that's not working.
i'm hesitant to pry the keys off because this isn't a typwriter and who knows how much damage i could do.

if anyone has a solution without taking it to bestbuy (cause i hate em) please let me know.

thanks,

matt

posted in Computer Consultants - 1 reply

Need VPN help.

2007-10-25T16:51:34Z

Is there any way to get a VPN server to accept multiple connections? (XP)

posted in Computer Consultants - 2 replies

Anyone got an answer for this one???

2007-10-24T23:14:19Z

Someone back doored my comp and hit the BIOS and who knows what else. They changed my Windows supervisor
The BIOS got hammered and I had to download the drivers from the motherboard manufacturer
and install them manually. A Go-Back function was not possible and I have had to re-install the OS, which is XP SP 2.

I have a secondary SATA drive which the motherboard BIOS will not acknowledge. It sees that the drive is there, but not when
Windows has started up and I look at "Properties" for the computer. So, I've had to partition the C: drive in half, approximately,
and I am unable to use the second partition for data storage.

Now, what exactly do I do to get the motherboard/BIOS to recognize my secondary SATA drive?

Thank you in advance for any help you may be able to give!

Genuinely,
Jedi Dale

posted in Computer Consultants - 0 replies

Black screen

2007-09-13T01:29:22Z

I recently dug my computer out of storage after a 3 month vacation, I hooked it up as I always did, started up my computer and everything was working fine. I installed a usb wireless card for linksys and had to reboot my computer. When I rebooted nothing came onto my screen, I couldn't get into my bios or any screen it is just black. I have contacted a couple friends since then to help with the problem and they had a few suggestions. One friend suggested it was a loose or dirty video card so I disconnected my video card and got all the dust out (there was quite a lot) unfortunately that did not solve the problem. I had another friend say that it could be something about my computers power supply unfortunately I don't know anything about that so I had my last friends suggestion which was I didn't have enough video memory?? or not enough memory and it burnt my video card out. I have a nvidia 5700 256 graphics card and 1 gig of ram on my computer. I also disconnected the wireless usb card as my friend suggested and it did nothing either. My friends are out of suggestions and I'm too strapped for cash to go get it repaired, hoping people here have other suggestions of what it might be and how I can fix it.

posted in Computer Consultants - 4 replies

File Transfer

2007-09-04T07:20:01Z

I'm about to get another PC and would like to know which USB cables I can use to transfer my files from my old PC to the new one.

What's the best way to transfer files from one PC to another?

thanks,
Terry

posted in Computer Consultants - 2 replies

Evil program!!!

2007-08-07T20:26:55Z

I downloaded what I thought was a video driver and ever since then this stupid program has been running. Even when I start it up in safe mode the programs running and it alerts me every couple of minutes that I have virus threats and I should buy their program. I've had a virus like this before but I forgot how I got rid of it. No matter what I do, nothing seems to work. When I click on the icon or accidentally click in the bubble when it tells me about the threats it takes me to a website to buy virus protection pro. Any ideas on how to get rid of this thing?

posted in Computer Consultants - 2 replies

Outlook and ACT!

2007-06-15T23:49:55Z

I am at work right now trying to get something to work in ACT! email. ACT! piggybacks off of outlook. I want to create a search folder in ACT! email, so that emails with certain words can go into that folder. However, it's not working in ACT! email while I have successfully accomplished it in Outlook.

Help!

posted in Computer Consultants - 1 reply

Sony VAIO BIOS password

2007-06-04T07:28:54Z

So, I found this Sony laptop the other day. I'm a garbage man, and somebody was throwing it out. Model PCG-933A. Has battery, charger, nice little case, everything. When I got it home and turned it on, it immediately asked for a password before it would fire up Windows or anything. BTW, it has Windows ME installed... So, I looked it up online and it seems this is a BIOS password, and it will do nothing without it. I need to know if anyone knows a way to cancel that or otherwise work around it. No, I'm not trying to hack somebody's computer to get personal information or anything like that. I just could use a decent laptop and this seems like a good one.

posted in Computer Consultants - 1 reply

Best Back-up Program?

2007-05-24T06:28:49Z

Shame on me, I never remember to back-up (yes, big fat spanking to me). But I don't want to be bad anymore. Went out and bought Seagates 'Free Agent' external hard drive - dam and its sexy! awesome packaging, black with a rad yellow light (makes a nice little night-light too).
Now that I have a place for all my lovely files to go - what is the best, fastest, most reliable and FREE (if possible) back-up program. Running WindowsXP. Would like it to run in the background if possible.

Network Girl Consulting Group - http://www.networkgirl.com

posted in Computer Consultants - 0 replies

Deleting a partition using disk management

2007-05-15T04:51:05Z

I have a Sony PCV-RS520 computer, Pentium 4, 3GHZ , 512 Mb DDR, 160 GB hard drive. I've had it for 3 years and was computer illiterate when I bought it. Windows XP was pre-installed. Pretty much started it up and let it configure itself. It partitioned itself into a 6.0 GB drive with no designation, a 13.9 GB C: drive, and a 129 GB D: drive.

Well, pretty soon the C: drive is filling up and the computer's telling me it can't function without more space on C:. I discover I have a D: drive, drag my photos, music, documents over there, and things go fine for a while. Of course with additional software, windows updates and security updates, C:drive once again fills up. I start one by one removing software: first, printmaster, then extraneous photo and music software, and then the kid's programs. Still it fills up and I am down to a minimum amount of programs. And yet there is this large empty area over on D: drive.

This is how I plan to deal with it. First, I bought an external 300 GB drive, installed Norton Ghost, and have backed C:,D: drives onto the external drive using Ghost. I have also copied my music, photos, documents to the external drive without Ghost. Using the disk management program in Windows XP, I am going to delete the Logical, Extended partitiion D: drive, leaving me hopefully only with a large C: drive.

(START>CONTROL PANEL>PERFORMANCE AND MAINTENANCE>ADMINISTRATIVE TOOLS>COMPUTER MANAGEMENT>STORAGE>DISK MANAGEMENT)

I can add an actual internal D: drive later.

My question: How much trouble am I going to get into doing this? Am I better off backing up my documents, then hitting the Viao recovery icon which takes it back to its original factory condition (no boot disk comes with the computer), making sure no D: drive is created, then install a new security program, and wait for hours for Windows to update and re-install all my other software? This seems a longer and more complicated procedure.

Any help of course is appreciated, Thanks.

posted in Computer Consultants - 1 reply

Damn button!

2007-03-31T22:16:39Z

Okay, so a few days ago, I was playing a game on my laptop and one of the buttons popped off (this has happened to me before on a different laptop and I was able to ix it after a few hours of fiddling with it). I tried to got this button back in place and sort of got it in but it was very loose. earlier today it popped off again. so, since I was home (last time I was at my dad's house) and I actually had better tools (a leatherman), I tried to fix it. At some point the tool I was using (a short dull regular screwdriver) slipped. so before I went on, I turned on the computer (just to make sure that this button, the "V" key wasn't constantly on, typing V's infinatly). Unfortunately, the laptop started to start up... than it shut down... then it tried to start up again (this time I decided to watch the screen carefully) and it asked me what mode I wanted to start it up as (safe mode, dos prompt, etc). I just pushed enter and after a few seconds of just watching a blank screen, it flickered with a blue warning screen (AKA blue screen of death) and the shut down again. It tried to start up again but I held the "off/on" button until it shut off again.

Does anyone know what I should do? Is this fixable? Is it easy to fix?

posted in Computer Consultants - 2 replies

laptop fan never turns off

2007-02-22T10:01:57Z

is this a problem,, and yes it is hot underneath..

I have never had a laptop where the fan never turns off

it is working fine though.

posted in Computer Consultants - 1 reply

Help needed please; dos, lost OS/windows

2006-12-30T07:15:57Z

Hi folks,

I'm primarily a MAC user with a pc laptop. I bought a used laptop (called Notebook Computer, model # D47EV by Clevo Co) with Windows XP Professional OEM loaded on it. No OS disc came with it. oops.....

It worked fine for a few months and then while playing Halo, the machine froze, eventually rebooted and then the BIOS said it could not find the OS. I can get into the BIOS utility page. It says it is a Phonix BIOS 4.0, release 6.0. It is set to boot from the HD. On the main page it says the primary master is [OMB] and there is a dot in the O of OMB.

Anyway, I am at a loss as to what to do. I picked up a repair CD called PCBegginer, Utilities Suite 2007 from PCBegginer.com. It doesn't seem to be helping at all.

I would love to fix this myself if some kind soul would point me in the right direction.

Thanks in advance and happy new year!

Ran D

posted in Computer Consultants - 2 replies

beep of death

2006-12-08T22:19:17Z

I recently moved from NY to California. I had my computer shipped vis UPS. (with insurance) When my computer arrived, I tried booting it up. It started making the normal sounds (fan starting, hard drives spinning, etc) But instead of getting the normal BIOS screen or any screen, it just makes these long repeated beeps. Each beep lasts about 3 seconds and continues until I shut down the computer. I don't think this has ever happened. Anyone have an idea what might be the problem? I think UPS will cover any damages, but more importantly, I have 200 GBs of information on that computer that I need. Most of my important information is on my D: drive so reformatting wouldnt be that devastating. (But i do have some important stuff on my C: drive) Any advise would be much appreciated.

It's a pentium 4
Windows XP Home
3 Gbs of RAM
ATI All In Wonder video card
Sound Blaster Audigy sound card
one 80 GB hard drive (master) and one 200 GB hard drive (additional slave)

posted in Computer Consultants - 10 replies

Favorite contact management programs?

2006-12-07T23:11:12Z

I need to get a good contact management program for my work. Something pretty easy to use that can be networked so everyone shares all the same info.

Does anyone have any favorite programs?

posted in Computer Consultants - 2 replies

favourite new site

2006-09-22T06:33:06Z

check out www.colorgoogle.com for a sleek dark or colorful Google interface that is customizable, with a bunch of presets to choose from as well. can be added to websites for that professional look.

- Damage Control
www.colorgoogle.com

posted in Computer Consultants - 1 reply

IT Recruitment Agencies and Websites

2006-08-07T20:54:02Z

A friend of mine is taking advantage of the new E3 working visa for Australians and wants to work for a couple of years in Project Management in California. He's undecided whether to go contracting or perm.

Who are the big recruitment players for IT Project Management roles in LA or SF? And what are the best web sites (in UK & Oz it's Jobserve)

Also - any pointers on how one goes about contacting in IT jobs in USA.

posted in Computer Consultants - 1 reply

Del Precision M65 - any personal reviews?

2006-07-21T02:11:26Z

Hey everyone,

I just placed my order for one of these puppies...here's a review I found about it: http://www.digitalvideoediting.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=38521

Anyway, these have only been out for a few months so there isn't a whole lot of objective review about this model. Being a consultant myself, I know I come across all kinds of models and have a chance to fiddle when clients hire me to. I wonder if any other consultants here either have one of their own or have any hands-on experience?

Many thanks for a reply.

posted in Computer Consultants - 0 replies

WANTED: Reliable 5 to 7 step W2K/XP fixes

2006-06-20T22:36:01Z

If any of you in Tribe land are computer Gurus or know any computer Gurus, I am looking for "tested" 5 to 7 step solutions for commonly encountered problems. If you would like to see your solution used by a major international corporation I will submit it to their Helpdesk solutions database and send you a letter acknowledging its use. As the original author you could then cite YOUR solution's use by them on your resume or cover letter. Some issues have already been solved, but there is always room for more!

What we are mostly looking for are Scandisk, Defrag, Add a printer, fix a misbehaving modem, tweak a NIC card, or determine a "root cause" type of things. Mostly the common stuff that Windows 2000 or XP user might be likely to encounter and NOT be able to fix without "Administrative" privileges on the system (eg. a user rights restricted work environment).

If you know how to create an Excel Macro or a great tip for Microsoft Outlook those can be submitted also. I cannot pay you anything for your submission, so do it for the fame and prestiege!

posted in Computer Consultants - 7 replies

forms

2006-05-15T21:44:21Z

Hiya. Can anyone share their time/expense tracking forms? I'm actually a nonprofit development consultant, and want to upgrade my current forms. Hit me with a message if we can exchange emails.

posted in Computer Consultants - 0 replies

Microsoft Office question

2006-05-05T18:27:26Z

I have Office 2003 on my computer. But the temp agencies I go to use 2000 to test with and my favorite Word/Excel books are for 2000 (the disk that comes with them wont work on Word/Excel 2003). If I get a copy of Word/Excel 2000 for my computer and install it, will it erase the Word/Excel 2003 I already have on my computer or can I have both 2000 and 2003 on my computer?

posted in Computer Consultants - 7 replies

Windows XP Home Start Up Question..

2006-05-05T18:21:20Z

He y'all.

I just reformatted my computer and reinstalled Windows XP Home, the computer is a Dell with a Celeron M Processor and the BIOS are A05..

After reinstalling and registering windows, which went without a glitch, every time I start the computer it asks which Operating System I would like to startup..

They are both Windows XP Home, it appears that one is from the HD, and the other is the Boot Disc, which is not in the computer anymore..
I can't use the latter option, without the disc in, so I am wondering, how do I get the Computer to Startup the former (from the HD) without having the option?

I have looked in the setup, and the Boot Sequence is 1 HDD Internal, followed by CD/DVD then Diskette Drive.. Even when I disable all other options I still get the same options on startup..

Is there a fix to this, or just a blemish that I will forever have to tolerate? I realise it's not a big deal, but it's just kinda ugly looking, you know??

Thank you for you input.. It's always appreciated..

posted in Computer Consultants - 7 replies

COBOL to JAVA project in Minneapolis

2006-04-06T19:59:54Z

I have 40, well paying, $75,000-$100,000, permanent jobs in Minneapolis for a financial company that is converting COBOL to Java. Send me your resume and your phone number so we can talk. 2 interviews next week and an offer could be yours. They want 40 people to start in the next month. Paid relocation if needed and great benefits. Tell all your friends. If you only have COBOL that is OK, they may want them! They would like DB2 and ASP too.
If you are not working now and don't like the cold work there till Thanksgiving!
For this my email address is: mmurphy@mrtampanorth.com
Thanks.
Mike

posted in Computer Consultants - 0 replies

WordPerfect 11

2006-03-04T20:16:59Z

Now that I have your attention... lol

No really. I have problem with installing WordPerfect Productivity Pack v11 on an XP SP2 box. The workstation has XP Office, Skype, Adobe Illistrator, Pagemaker, and others. All the software seems to be stable. When installed WordPerfect (the word processor) has a problem after a coupld of days. Then it hangs or crashes unexpectedly.

Now it crashes moments after opening an existing file and trying to edit the header/footer margin. One click, two clicks, drag the margins and, Bang. Hourglass. Gone. Sometimes you get the classic messages, An application has unexpectedly quite, Send / Dont send, etc.. This has happened on multiple machines.

The hardware is new Dell, P4, 1GB, ATI Radeon X300, networked, multiple printers. I've already updated everything, including video drivers. Tried removing all Corel reg. keys between remove and reinstalls, turned off Norton AP AV, adjusted video settings/acceleration, different printers, checked event logs, watched processes in Task Manager. blah, blah, blah. Nothings seems to help.

Anyone have some insight to this problem? Any thoughts would be welcome.

Thanks. Tim

posted in Computer Consultants - 2 replies

Google concedes desktop security risk

2006-02-22T05:37:05Z

Original Story: http://www.theregister.com/2006/02/21/google_desktop_risk/

Mind how you go
By John Leyden
Published Tuesday 21st February 2006 15:06 GMT
Get breaking Reg news straight to your desktop - click here to find out how
Cross-computer file searching features in the latest version of Google desktop search tool represent an "unacceptable security risk" to large enterprises, analyst Gartner warns. Google concedes the analysts' concerns are valid but argues that large firms are free to control the application of the technology.

Google Desktop 3 beta introduces the ability to search the contents of one computer from another. Previous versions of the tool indexed files on users' PCs, but using the optional "Search Across Computers" facility in Google Desktop 3 temporarily stores text copies of searchable items on Google's own servers for up to 30 days - a move Gartner describes as "inauspicious".

While the technology might make life easier for "technically adept personal users" it's fraught with difficulties for larger firms. Transporting potentially sensitive data outside corporate boundaries onto Google's servers gives Gartner the fear, even though Google is promising that the data will be encrypted. Also workers can't be relied upon to identify what documents are too sensitive to share. For these reasons the Search Across Computers option "should be disabled or heavily managed by enterprises".

Gartner advises firms that permit workers to use Google's desktop search application should switch over to the enterprise edition. The analyst's misgivings about in Search Across Computers" facility in Google Desktop 3 parallel those of privacy advocates such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation and security experts.

Google concedes that the technology is a potential security risk - if improperly managed - but points out that enterprises can disable the "Search Across Computers" feature. "Yes, it's a risk, and we understand that businesses may be concerned," Andy Ku, European marketing manager for Google told ZDNet.

"Theoretically any intellectual property can be transferred outside of a company. We understand that there are a lot of security concerns about the Search Across Computers feature, but Google won't hold information unless the user or enterprise opts in (to the feature)," he added. ®

posted in Computer Consultants - 0 replies

Windows XP Home boot disk

2006-02-21T14:53:23Z

Anyone know if you can have alternate boot disks, like Macs can have external Firewire disks as boot disks?

I notice that in XP you can partition a drive and have an alternate OS (like Windows 98) but I haven't found any reference to booting from an alternate drive (even an internal)

The ideal might be to have a SATA PCI card and use various external drives, such as for a mirror drive or to insulate the Internet drive from other programs. It would be nice to be able to unmount the internal drive and boot from an external.

posted in Computer Consultants - 5 replies

New Years Resolution?

2006-02-07T16:52:42Z

I think I'll keep the same resolution as last year, 1024x768.

posted in Computer Consultants - 2 replies

RAM

2006-02-07T16:30:46Z

I installed 4 GBs of RAM in my Windows XP Home machine, but it is only recognizing 3 GBs of it.

In the BIOS, it shows up as 4 GBS of memory, but Windows does not see the extra 1 GB.

My motherboard is brand new and can support up to 4 GBs of RAM (by inserting 4 x 1 GB modules)

Is there any way I can fix this problem? All 4 sticks of RAM I have are DDR SD-RAM. (with same # of pins)

I'm stumped. Any suggestions?

posted in Computer Consultants - 8 replies

MPEG-2

2005-12-29T00:26:13Z

I purchased Quicktime 7 Pro for Windows, but I am surprised that exporting my movie as a MPEG-2 file is not one of the options. I create a lot of pieces in Final Cut Pro and After Effects and would like to export a copy for the web (a small streaming quicktime) and for DVD (a mpeg 2 file). On my older computer, I was able to do this all the time.

I am able to watch mpeg movies on my PC so I am pretty sure I have the mpeg-2 codec, no? I've done google searches and most of the 'mpeg-2 codecs' state that they allow you to view mpeg files. But, do I need another one to CREATE an mpeg 2?

Ideally, it would be a simple download that will allow me to export my video projects from after effects, final cut, premiere, etc. directly to an mpg file. (so it is ready for DVD burning) But, if there is a 3rd party app that can convert quicktime movies to mpg, that would be the 2nd best option.

Any suggestions?

posted in Computer Consultants - 1 reply

The Disk Sleeve Archives

2005-11-04T18:04:22Z

History? Frightening? Pr0N?

A little of all...

http://www.disksleeves.com/

posted in Computer Consultants - 0 replies

200GB SATA detection

2005-10-25T04:13:01Z

I'm about to assemble a new system with a 200GB Serial ATA HDD and have heard that I might run into an issue with Windows XP Pro detecting the full size of the drive.

Does anyone have experience with this? If what I've heard is true, how do I get around this?

Any tips will be greatly appreciated.

posted in Computer Consultants - 3 replies

IN portland Need Office 2000 copy, OS reinstall

2005-10-03T05:38:45Z

Can you help ! I need OS reinstall, I would buy Pizza and beer!!
Wont boot pc shit box sys that file system32/config/system is corrupted needs to be replaced or fixed.
Wont boot in safe mode Iether.

any advise would be cool too

posted in Computer Consultants - 1 reply

IT and Test Equipment Liquidators

2005-09-30T17:27:16Z

Anyone know of any? We've got a lot of used stuff we need to get rid of.

Thanks.

posted in Computer Consultants - 5 replies

Working Knowledge

2005-09-09T04:17:53Z

hey guys, any technology experts out there willing to check out a new free and open source technology based non profit? We are currently looking for people who would be willing to share their technology knowledge in a free tech school available via our website www.workingknowledge.org. We're even interested in people with experience in Microsoft products to share their knowledge. We're a small non profit, well acutally it's just me right now, but I'm a hard worker! Check us out. When we get funding this will definitely be a place I look for recruits, and we might actually be able to pay you!!!! heh. Spread the word, please. Thanks!!

posted in Computer Consultants - 0 replies

CD Burning software recommendations (spyware free)

2005-09-09T03:12:24Z

A client is having issues with burning DVD's on their XP machine with the built in burning utility, so I need to find a free third party program, or a trial/shareware version of inexpensive burning software. Nero is a bit too expensive, because I'd like to keep it under $50, if possible. Does anyone have recommendations? I know it's not very likely if it's free, but if the software is free, it needs to be spyware/adware free.

Thanks!

posted in Computer Consultants - 1 reply

sound blaster audigy fire wire

2005-09-06T04:18:52Z

About a year ago, I purchased a sound blaster audigy sound card for my PC. Now, I am planning on buying a portable firewire hard drive, but i dont have a firewire port. BUT, i noticed that my audigy has a firewire port.

Will this port function like any other firewire port or is it just for connecting mp3 players or something? I would want to use the port to connect my firewire drive and possibly a DV cam.

Thanks.

posted in Computer Consultants - 0 replies

Help me geniuoses!!

2005-09-01T19:31:23Z

I can't seem to uninstall a program called "Print Shop V15" from my computer. When I clik to remove the program from the ad//remove window it tries to install it instead and then tells me"This program has already been installed".

Is there a more manual way of removing programs. Please show off your knowledge and help me....

I don't know what to do! Any help is greatly appreciated.

PS I have windows XP

posted in Computer Consultants - 1 reply

New Tribe (Web Developing)

2005-08-18T19:21:11Z

Please help me build this tribe into something good.

It is a brand new tribe for web developers, no matter what the technology they use.

http://tribes.tribe.net/web_developing

Thanks!

posted in Computer Consultants - 0 replies

Help me choose... But not a Dell!

2005-08-15T21:29:40Z

After having $1500 dollars pretty much stolen by Dell (they cancelled our order and kept our money) we are looking for another computer comany. At this point we're "one bitten twice shy" so we want a bit of advice on who to go with.
It will be pretty much just a home desktop computer. We'd like to surf the net, email, word processing, spread sheets, quickbooks, CD & DVD burning, some image manipulation & video editing. I'd lke something fast in the neighborhood of $1500.
I know everyone has his/her favorites... let them be known ;)
-majida

posted in Computer Consultants - 2 replies

HDTV...help!

2005-06-28T13:36:46Z

Do any of you know a thing a two about HDTV? I posted some questions to the HDTV and Home Theater tribes but no one will respond.

I was planning on buying a refurbished 30 inch Phillips hdtv tube set for $375. It is the cheapest one that I have found. (and I've been searching forever)

The first thing I'm not sure about is that this set does not have and DVI inputs. But it does have 2 HDMI and a component video input. Is that good enough? I've heard that DVI and HDMI are pretty much the same thing, besides that HDMI carries audio as well as video.

I remember reading an article once saying "if you are going to buy a HDTV, make sure it has DVI inputs or you will be missing out on some great things Hollywood has in store."

WIth HDMI, I can still hook up a Media Center PC and use my set as a monitor, right? Or take a DVI dvd player and get a cable that will convert it to HDMI?

Secondly, the resolution of my set is 1080i and 480p. It does not say anything about 720p. Is that a big deal? I can still view it at 1080i which is really impressive, right? If I get a DVD player that supports 720p (if such a thing exists), could I hook it up to my set?

If you can answer any of these questions, I'd be very grateful. Thanks!

posted in Computer Consultants - 0 replies

Think you're protected?

2005-06-23T03:51:30Z

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2005/tc20050617_1613_tc024.htm

By Sarah Lacy
June 17, 2005

Software meant to protect PCs are now attack targets, revealing a
rising number of flaws -- even more than those of Microsoft products

Think you're safe because your computer has the latest antivirus
program, complete with daily updates via the Web? Or maybe you figure
the firewall you have installed will stop malicious software from
reaching your machine.

Well, you may not be as secure as you think. Hackers are increasingly
finding flaws in the very programs designed to prevent attacks --
computer-security software.

A new Yankee Group report, to be released June 20, shows the number of
vulnerabilities found in security products increasing sharply for the
third straight year -- and for the first time surpassing those found
in all Microsoft (MSFT ) products. The majority of these weaknesses
are found by researchers, academics, and security companies. Trouble
is, hackers then take those findings and use it for nefarious
purposes.

SAME EXCUSE. Last year, researchers found 60 flaws in a variety of
computer-security programs, almost double the 31 vulnerabilities
discovered in 2003, according to Andrew Jaquith, a Yankee senior
analyst who culled a national database of reported software
vulnerabilities. Through May, 2005, 23 software glitches have been
counted -- already up 50% over last year. And that figure doesn't
include those yet to come this summer, when the biggest attacks are
usually launched. So far this year, researchers have only found 22
vulnerabilities in Microsoft's products.

The trend is an embarrassment for computer-security outfits who have
made billions protecting PCs from cybercrooks. And much of that work
has come from fixing, or protecting against, lapses in the security of
Microsoft products. Now, it seems, the tables may be turning. Indeed,
security concerns are offering the same reason for glitches as many
software makers: "Everyone knows there's no way to have perfect
software," says Jimmy Kuo, a research fellow with McAfee (MFE ).

Symantec (SYMC ) has had the most reported vulnerabilities, with 16
documented last year (see BW Online, 6/17/05, "A New Frontier for
Hackers?"). But so far this year, it has fared better: Through May,
only two vulnerabilities were reported.

BRAGGING RIGHTS. Still, Symantec is a target because it's the market
leader. Hackers generally want to crack programs with the largest
installed base -- thus offering the maximum impact for their exploits.
That's one of the rationales Microsoft has used to explain why its
products seem to have so many reported security glitches. But Jaquith
points out that McAfee, the second-largest security player, decreased
its vulnerabilities over the last year. "This is a leading indicator
of the relative quality of the two products," he argues.

Symantec executives declined to grant an interview. But the outfit did
issue a statement saying the report compares the products of a single
company -- Microsoft -- to the entire security industry. "This is not
an apples-to-apples comparison," the statement said. Jaquith responds
that the comparison was made because Microsoft has been hackers'
target of choice. He notes that more broadly, security vulnerabilities
grew at a pace greater than the whole software industry last year.

What's driving the increasing discovery of flaws in the very products
supposed to prevent attack? Part of it comes down to professional
bragging rights. Computer-security consultants and researchers are
always out to prove they can find vulnerabilities in software. The
idea is: Once those holes have been discovered and made public, the
businesses will move quickly to patch their programs.

Having torn through Microsoft's operating system for years, security
programs provides new opportunity for researchers. Meanwhile, many
hackers have started finding flaws in security software out of
necessity. The software has become so prevalent, it was blocking most
modes of attack.

WAKE-UP CALL. While more flaws are being found, only one has been
exploited to launch a massive attack over the Internet. The Witty
Worm, which targeted security concern Internet Security Systems' (ISSX
) software, was sent 72 hours after the vulnerability was disclosed on
Mar. 20, 2004.

A subset of ISS customers who get real-time patches over the Web were
protected, but others were not, says ISS Chief Executive Thomas
Noonan. The worm wrote over sections of infected hard drives,
rendering the machines unusable. In all, 12,000 servers were infected.
But the malicious software trashed more than hard drives: ISS's stock
dropped about 5%, to $15.98, after the worm was announced. It has
since climbed back, to close at $21.60 on June 16.

ISS has only had three vulnerabilities in its history, but Noonan
calls it a wake-up call nonetheless. "Less than 1% of our customers
were compromised, but dealing with that 1% was enormous," he says. "It
has affected a number of things we do internally." Noonan wouldn't
comment further about the attack's repercussions, as it's under a
company investigation.

DANGEROUS DAWNING. That should have been a wake-up call to other
companies as well. Jaquith advises vendors to ratchet up their
internal testing. Both Symantec and McAfee recently acquired
consulting firms that are experts in launching test attacks before the
software is released. "They both have the tools in-house, it's a
question of putting them to use," he says.

Vendors say they're already taking the threats seriously. Indeed, a
new reality may be dawning for the antivirus world -- code just isn't
safe anymore, no matter how good. "Software is software," says Ken
Silva, chief security officer for VeriSign (VRSN ). "I wouldn't
classify it as a failure on the part of the security industry. Hackers
are just getting a little smarter."

If the security industry is going to keep growing at double-digit
rates, it'll have to get a smarter, too.

-=-

Lacy is a BusinessWeek Online reporter in San Mateo, Calif.
Edited by Ira Sager

posted in Computer Consultants - 2 replies

Detective work....

2005-06-17T20:45:10Z

Hi, I've been involved with some strange people. I won't go into the specifics, but, I run a Mac and I can close my Internet connection (DSL) and whenever I open certain applications, I see activity on my modem. All my IP apps show there is no connection, but certain programs seem to be able to send info anyway. When I do have the connection open, every 30 seconds or so, I show activity on my modem. I've checked all the settings I know of and none are set to "keep connection open" so there's no reason my machine should be sending packets.
I'd really like to be able to figure out who is getting this info, but without their knowledge.
I don't have a firewall installed because I want to find out what's happening without blocking these guys from my computer.
Any suggestions?

posted in Computer Consultants - 6 replies

Seeking visionary web/biz development pro's to partner with us on new idea

2005-06-13T16:21:15Z

Looking for right people to get in with us on the ground floor.
This concept will be very lucrative and fun. Hoping to find bay area help so as to be able to meet in person. Currently amassing talent, finance, web dev., and biz folks. Help me get this up and running, and be cut in for an equity share. Not a difficult idea to implement, but very likely explosive in growth. Please get in touch, if we click, your ship has come in!

Send me a message, or e-mail me @ mark_ameba@yahoo.com

posted in Computer Consultants - 0 replies

www.zipzapproms.com

2005-06-02T16:45:03Z

friend has this damn thing poppin up all the time. He has even got to googles and found forums about that site. It seems that he is not the only person having this problem. We have run spyware, reg cleaners nothing working...............HELP

posted in Computer Consultants - 11 replies

Windows Xp home to domain client

2005-05-26T23:56:21Z

Any idea on how to convert win xp home to join a domain as a client?
I know the MS answer is upgrade to XP Pro.
Ive got computers here that can access the domain but I need them to be clients so to speak so that their resources work. Like exchange server wont pull down shared contacts. Or the time keeper wont log in over domain. Pardon the bad explanation but I'm tired. Any Ideas?

posted in Computer Consultants - 7 replies

Tech Support Ticket Software

2005-05-25T23:12:12Z

Hello,

I'm looking for some very basic tech support ticket software what I want to do is:

1. Generate a ticket number for each tech support request for our internal organization.

2. Generate an automatic survey response (basically asking "are you satisfied with the fix?)

3. Close the ticket when the problem is fixed to the user's satisfaction.

Anyone have any experience using the software programs out there?

Thanks

posted in Computer Consultants - 2 replies

changing Windows XP icons

2005-04-20T06:35:09Z

I am tired of the Windows XP icons and would like to change them, especially the yellow folder icons.

I know how to change the My Computer, My Documents, Recycle Bin, etc via the "Customize Desktop" option. And I know if you right click on a folder you can change its icon. But how do i change ALL of the folders. (i have more than 2000 of them)

A long time ago, there was a program I had for Windows 98 that changed the yellow folder icon to a blue Mac OS folders. A utility like this is something Id need. Know of any? (preferably free)

posted in Computer Consultants - 2 replies

script assistance please

2005-04-15T11:59:41Z

I have a trouble some employee who doesnt seem to want to log his time. As we bill according to time spent on accounts i need a way to force this person to update their time hourly.

I was thinking of some kind of script that requires he fill in a form to state what he worked on during last hour and post it in order to continue working on the computer. As this is a single person it would run off his user accross the win 2000 domain or directly on his machine only.

Any ideas from the finest computer techs on how this could be written?

His name static
log the hour and date automatically
he must enter account he was working on and click submit
submit would update a form to continue throughout each day
the form should be able to be pulled by administration or automatically email before he leaves each day

extra would be that if he tried to close the program it would prompt that the machine would be shut down and time submitted for the day

thank you in advance

posted in Computer Consultants - 4 replies

my remotes are possessed...

2005-04-04T18:08:41Z

Okay, weird thing happened today. All of a sudden, ALL of my remote controls (to my TV, DVD player, cable box, speaker system) stopped working.

I am so utterly confused. Sometimes they will work if I hold it at the right angle and repeatedly press the button. What could cause interference to all my remotes? They all are infra-red remotes.

Is this the beginning of the end of the world? Someone help...

posted in Computer Consultants - 7 replies

Web host / Remote Mail Server Suggestions?

2005-03-25T17:34:11Z

Any suggestions for a reliable, rock solid web host and remote mail server?

Thanks

posted in Computer Consultants - 4 replies

Reverse DNS

2005-03-18T23:26:54Z

Does anyone know anything about reverse DNS lookups?

Here is my situation:

Our IP got blacklisted by a site in Denmark. (not our actual IP but our "range" of ips, we sent no Spam, I have verified this through our logs).

We asked to be taken off the black list, and we were.

AOL continues to reject our email. I call them and they say we have to have Reverse DNS enabled.

I call my ISP, they say "Sure" and I wait the required time. Nothing.

I call my ISP again and they say "We can't do reverse DNS for a single IP, we can only do it for a range of dynamic IP's which you can switch over to for an extra monthly charge"

Is this right?? And how can I "fix" this problem.

Thanks-

Chai Guy : )

posted in Computer Consultants - 2 replies

Norton disabled at startup??

2005-03-14T07:27:56Z

WinXP Home edition, Norton Antivirus 2003 upgraded to 2004.After upgrading to SP2 I've noticed that on startup Norton is disabled and I have to enable it.

Any Ideas on what I could do to keep Norton enabled on boot?

Bren

posted in Computer Consultants - 4 replies

Good Article on Being a Consultant

2005-03-05T15:03:06Z

Good article on becoming a consultant:

http://www.unixwiz.net/techtips/be-consultant.html

posted in Computer Consultants - 1 reply

Weblinks not working in Outlook

2005-01-14T02:28:22Z

Hey everyone, I got such great advice with my last question, I thought I would try again.

I've never seen this before.

When you open an email in Outlook 2000 (using Windows 2000) and click on a weblink (URL) like http://www.tribe.net , it opens not a web browser but the file browser. Anyone know how to fix this? Thanks!

- Chai Guy : )

posted in Computer Consultants - 3 replies

Touble with IP address and internet connection

2005-01-03T02:10:09Z

Hi guys,

I'm having a problem that's really bugging me and I can't seem to find help anywhere.

Here it goes:

Whenever I log off, shut the computer down or un-plug the cat 5 cable from my computer my internet connection goes down. When I try to trouble shoot to reconnect I find that the "Automatically detect IP address" isn't automatically detecting the IP address. I then type it in manually. Everything works fine, UNTIL I log off, reboot or unplug the cat 5 cable.

This also happens on my wireless network and happens on more than one computer (my laptop and my desktop both running Windows XP)

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks- Chai Guy : )

posted in Computer Consultants - 14 replies

screensavers

2004-11-20T07:26:24Z

i have two monitors set up side by side using an extended monitor. but when my screensavers are activated, it only plays on one window or plays twice in each window. Some of the crappy screensavers that came with Windows XP play in extended mode. Do you guys know of a way to get my screensavers to play like this. Or know of a site where i can download screensavers that can do this. (a fish aquarium that extended on both monitors would look cool) Thanks. I know its a silly question...

posted in Computer Consultants - 0 replies

Recruiter

2004-11-17T21:36:42Z

I just want to introduce myself. I'm a recruiter in Chicago doing a lot of work with the various trading houses and exchanges. I primarily place trading systems developers, but I'm always looking for strong java developers with strong educational backgrounds.

Also, I'm available as a resource for anyone with questions.

Thanks

Eric Silverman

posted in Computer Consultants - 1 reply

Bandwidth theft detection

2004-11-10T16:17:00Z

I am currently working for an orginazation that runs 800 computers over a windows 2k3 server network across dual t1 lines. At the same time every day the bandwidth drops to a few dozen kps, leading me to believe that there are a few people at least downloading something. I was wondering if there were any programs out there to detect which computer over a dhcp network was sucking down the most bandwidth at any given time. Thanks a lot.

posted in Computer Consultants - 3 replies

XP Service Pack 2

2004-10-18T19:15:42Z

I recently downloaded Service Pack 2 for Windows XP. A day later, many things started to go wrong with my computer. Such as:

- adobe photoshop no longer works (crashes before it opens up)

- AOL no longer works

- Windows Media Player is unstable and sometimes does not respond - when trying to view a video clip off the web, windows media freezes up

- right-clickin on My Computer and going to Properties is disabled

I have a fairly new high-end computer and have never experienced problems like this before. I keep all my software up to date with Windows Update. Is it a coincidence that all these things are crashing after I installed XP: Service Pack 2?

I ran Ad-aware, spybot, and mcafee virus scan and no viruses were found. Have any of you had these problems? Does anyone know how I can fix this??

posted in Computer Consultants - 30 replies

throw the party favors!

2004-09-22T13:17:52Z

Wanted to take the time to finally say hello to everyone here. I live in the Capital District of NY and I own a network consulting biz. Do a good mix of consulting, training, sales, development, etc.

I have clients from my age [28] all the way to 80 and I enjoy what I do. I work primarily with Microsoft technologies but also know my way around unix/linux and Mac systems.

Always looking to meet/network with other computer professionals.

posted in Computer Consultants - 5 replies

Getting New Customers.

2004-09-19T00:10:37Z

A timely topic. We all strive to attract new customers and try to keep the ones we have. What marketing strategies do you use as an Independent Consultant?

posted in Computer Consultants - 5 replies

Keeping time records

2004-09-11T19:28:34Z

Have any of you tried using any of the existing time-logging tools avaialbe for PDA's. We were using TimeLogger (http://www.responsivesoftware.com/) for a while, then switched to TimeReporter (http://www.iambic.com/) because we needed multi-user capabilities. TimeReporter would be fine if the developer actually worked on improving the program, but of course that's not really happening.

What have you tried, either for the Palm or PocketPC (or whatever-they're-calling-it-these-days) platforms?

posted in Computer Consultants - 0 replies

router?

2004-09-05T15:06:26Z

anyone know about routers? need some help here....would greatly appreciate it

posted in Computer Consultants - 6 replies

FLOPPY failure???

2004-08-29T07:02:30Z

I copied pictures from an old computer a while ago onto a formatted floppy....
I haven't been able to open them since and the computer crashed w/ all the pictures on it...I try to open in MY PICTURES and it says the disk is UNFORMATTED and can't be opened????

WHY???

posted in Computer Consultants - 7 replies

FAT 32 to NTFS

2004-08-20T15:36:26Z

Anyone out there know know?

If I change my file system from FAT32 to NTFS will my iPod (which can only run FAT32) still be able to sync with my computer? I'd like to switch but I don't want to risk messing up my iPod, or not being able to sync, since I have tons of music on my pod which isn't on my hard disc. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

posted in Computer Consultants - 2 replies

Firewire Card Issue

2004-08-06T19:21:15Z

Hopefully some kind soul will take pity on me and help me figure out a problem. I recently bought and installed a Firewire PCI card into my Compaq Presario (running XP Pro)to sync up my new iPod. Everything is working fine until I decide to backup my hard drive with Norton Ghost. After the ghosting process was over (Ghost appeared to work properly) my machine began reading my Firewire card as a network card and my iPod won't sync. In device manager the computer sees my iPod but reads it as an external hard drive and says that it won't run because there are no drivers installed and the Firewire card is listed in three places in the device manager tree, including right after my network card. An additional nework connection shows up now next to my real connection this seems to have been created somehow when Ghost backed up my system.

Does anyone have any idea what might have happened or how on earth I can fix this. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

posted in Computer Consultants - 2 replies

New here Looking for help

2004-07-19T19:38:06Z

Hi I was wondering if anyone knew about adware threats...I am getting at least 10-30 threats each day. I have an e machines W2646 running windows XP home edition.
Tech just told me to uninstall messenger, which i did. I also have been running a spybot which finds threats such as VX2/f, DSO exploit, and IE plugin.... I delete them but my comouter just doesn't seem to be blocking...

I will see though, because I just uninstalled messenger 5 mminutes ago...

Any other advise??

posted in Computer Consultants - 14 replies

Need to Hire a Tech

2004-06-29T19:56:33Z

Hi there,

I need to find someone in the Los Angeles area for a big job. Small company needs to hire a tech for its network.

Contact me

Christopher
323-850-7100

posted in Computer Consultants - 0 replies

Looking for IT Consultants in Twin Cities

2004-05-23T15:48:02Z

Hi,

My name is Jon, and I own a company called Point and Click Consulting Services. I'm looking for IT Professionals to network with and possibly join a consortium of independent IT professionals - to share leads, possible assignments, etc.

Let me know if you or someone you know may be interested...

Thanks!

Jon

posted in Computer Consultants - 2 replies

What do you think about Outsourcing?

2004-02-04T03:24:22Z

One of my friends and I have been debating the pros and cons of this. He thinks that it is good, I think that it is bad. What do all of you think? Give me some ammo for my debate!

posted in Computer Consultants - 6 replies

Welcome Ken

2004-01-14T18:55:59Z

Hey, welcome to the group!

Jon

posted in Computer Consultants - 0 replies