I did a fresh installation of WinXP after a HD-crash in August, one of the first things I did after the new install was to customize the overall Windows-theme. I went to "Screen Preferences" and chose "Windows Classic" instead of "WinXP", so that I'd have the gray sidebars and windows and not the bulbous blue-green ones.
About two weeks later, the window theme started regressing to the blue crap every three or four days, never with any clear method or logic to its pattern. Now it happens about every other day, still without a pattern, and I'm never fiddling with anything in the preferences except for constantly RESETTING the damn theme to "Classic" every time the shit goes blue on me.
So why this constant theme-switch? Anyone?
Grr.
(Oh and no zings on my choice of OS or I'll rip your pants off at a wedding and tie you together with the priest and I won't care, what with double jeopardy and all that)
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Is it happening after your machine installs windows updates?
That's my guess.
Or your computer has evolved an immune system and is desperately trying to reject XP.
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
Indeed. :-) Well actually it seems to reject Windows Classic, since I want the grey but it insists on changing to blue at startup. I quit every computer session in "Classic"-mode but it obviously don't care about my statistical preference. What bothers me is that it should revert to XP-theme EVERY time if there was some trouble with the classic mode, but it's only like every other or third startup. So illogical.
Hmm, I don't have automatic updates on and I only go to the Windows Update page every two months or so, this theme-switch happens a lot more often. Good guess though, I guess it could've been a factor if I'd had auto-update on.
Another strange thing is that when I open my Windows Outlook mail program it doesn't start in the Inbox, it starts in the worthless and empty "Outlook Today" section and I have to click on the Inbox to get my mail. This has never happened before on earlier Outlook-installs except the first time I open it after installing it.
The connection between these two teases is that it doesn't "learn" what I want or remember how I had it the last time.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Hmmm...have you tried installing from a diffrent CD? Mabye your particular version is all lemony.
For fun, I typed "windows XP problem" into Google to see how many hits I'd get.....37,500.
Lotta reading there.
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
Is that all?
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
One thing to try: get your profile set up exactly how you want, then login to the Administrator account (if you have one; otherwise you might need to set up a temp account on your PC with Admin rights; this is because you can't perform this operation while logged in to your own profile - you can delete tyhe temp account later) and use Control Panel, System, Advanced tab, User Profiles - Settings and copy your profile to C:\Documents and Settings\Default User, which you may need to change Folder settings to View All Files and Folders in order to be able to see. This makes your preferred Windows layout the default which anyone using the PC will have to accept unless they change it themselves.
Posted by tricky (Member # 1402) on :
Could be a registry problem, not saving the setting. Anything else not sticking? To force the issue, stop the theme service from starting, and the PC will do the grey thing. (do a snapshot first) It's also a trick to get 2003 server to do themes, just start the service (great for doing client demos when you only want to run one machine acting as server and client).
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
quote:Anything else not sticking?
Don't think so. Except for the random theme revertion and the Outlook non-Inbox-startage, I'm fine.
quote:To force the issue, stop the theme service from starting, and the PC will do the grey thing.
But I forgot to take the feat that allows me to manipulate "services" last time I levelled (August 15th). How would I go about stopping the theme service? It sounds to good to be true. Is it something in the registry?
I don't suppose I can just find a "ThemeService" entry in the activity queue and stomp on it?! One doesn't just CtrlAltDelete into Morrdor.
Lee: Up until now I have indeed used only the Admin account as my primary profile (to avoid cluttering), so now I created a Temp-account with full admin privileges, trimmed it up to my standards (ClearType mm) and then I went to "System\Advanced\Profiles\Preferences", but the new profile (NiklasTemp) doesn't seem to be copy-able. I click on it (not being logged in on it of course) but the "Copy To"-button remains grey.
Posted by tricky (Member # 1402) on :
No admin tools folder in control panel? if you can get into regedit, look under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\themes
Set the start value to 3 (manual startup) To set it back to autostart, set it to 2. 4 is disabled (backup registry before editing it, Flare is not liable to any damage to your machine, blaa blaa blaa...)
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
Oh yes I have admin tools and Regedit now that you mention it, I don't know the registry tree by heart yet, though.
Is it enough to do an "Export" in Regedit and save the .reg on the desktop? (I may be overly cautious but bear in mind I had a HD meltdown not three months ago)
And I suppose to shut down the theme service I choose 4 in the entry?
What's the dif between manual startup and autostart, anyway?
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
Hmm. If the Copy To button is greyed-out, then in the past I just logged in as the PC's main, original Admin account.
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
Impossible, that would lead them straight to us.
Is there another way of backing up the registry in RegEdit other than doing an Export?
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
Hacking the registry just to kill a service is 1) unnecessary and 2) moronic.
Right-click on My Computer. Your My Computer, not my My Computer. Then on Manage. Then expand the Services and Applications node. Then select Services. Then go to Ravenholm, or something.
"What's the dif between manual startup and autostart, anyway?"
Autostart means a service starts by default whenever the OS is loaded. Manual means it only starts when needed.
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
Dogbert couldn't have written that post better.
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
The demons of stupidity shall be exorcised, brother Niklas.
Posted by tricky (Member # 1402) on :
Cartman, out side! Now!
Now that he's gone, it was mentioned that Nim didn't have acess to the services "But I forgot to take the feat that allows me to manipulate "services" last time I levelled (August 15th). How would I go about stopping the theme service? It sounds to good to be true. Is it something in the registry?" All the control panel applet does is edit the registry, or use the "Net Start / Stop" command In XP it's often better to use the System restore to create a restore point, which will backup the registry. Also, if the PC fails to start, the good old NT "last know good" option when starting up allows you to use the backup of the registry the system makes everytime it starts up, allowing you to roll the registry back a session.
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
Of course that's all the MMC does, but it's still easier (not to mention *safer* for someone who doesn't spend every waking moment in his system's registry) than manually messing with key values is. Besides, now he does know how to access them again, whereas telling him to grub around in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\blabla is the sort of thing you usually only do to get rid of your $RELATIVE-in-law.
Begone, foul creature.
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
Oh my. Well fortune favors the me because now that someone mentioned restore points, I remember I promised myself I'd make one of those after I got my computer up and running again (August 15th).
I did switch off Themes in the Service and Applications knob, and set it to Manual for good measure.
Posted by tricky (Member # 1402) on :
(sharpens poking stick) He said he couldn't access the GUI and wanted to know where in the registry it was!
Anyway, hacking the registry is like changing a car tyre, or wiring a plug, a task a responsible adult should be able to do without having to get someone to do it for them! See, he's ok now, after taking you advice and ignoring mine! So there!
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
(Hm, what would Jesus do?)
Come now Beverlies, I've used info from all sides and gotten more informed in the process and FYI I've dabbled in the registry many times before (for such diverse elements as menu opening speeds and screwing with Windows Prefetcher, huzzah).
Cartman: Relative-in-law? Was that spoiler material? I never thought I'd get to use the joke about someone being PC in a PC-discussion.
Posted by Toadkiller (Member # 425) on :
*Puts on old pants.*
You could cogitate alternatively already.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
"(Hm, what would Jesus do?)"
(Magic.)
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
Sorry to walk in late and only read some of the posts because I'm lazy, but if you get Windows to start in Safe mode (by F5 or F8 or whatever it is nowadays), then an Admin account should appear in addition to your normal (and only account).
Try changing the theme to the silver one and then seeing if it reverts back to blue or not after a while. I'm not sure if it'll fix anything, but hey, I quite like the silver theme.
(If you're desperate, you could always just get LiteStep and skin the thing.)
Oh, and don't listen to Jason, as he can't use Google. Typing in "Windows XP problem" into google.com gives us 33,400,000 results. Whereas Apple fans get to prove how superiour their system is by pointing out that "MAC OS X problem" produces a measly... 31,400,000 results. Woot.
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
Thanks, Liam. I think I managed to kill it by switching off "Themes" as a service yesterday, it hasn't acted up on me yet.
I do like the XP-silver theme over the fingerpaint one and had it for a year, but as I have W2K at work I thought I'd try "Classic" at home too as I was reinstalling XP (August 15th, yay) and a superstitious part of me has since then believed that I save a teensy amount of RAM and cpu powar by not having a theme going. I also shut off menu-fading and shadows as well, even though I have a 3GHz processor and I could have dancing figs on my desktop for all it cared.
The last six months have seen me cutting back greatly on system tools abuse as well, although I still get the newsletter from defraggers anonymous. I remember when I was young you had to care for your drive and defrag it once a month and do a scandisk too if the system felt ditzy. Nowadays the system seems to take care of itself mostly, better file dispersion management or whatyoucallit. *sigh*
Posted by tricky (Member # 1402) on :
You should still defrag etc frequently, it still make a difference even with 7200 disks. I'm thinking of setting my pc to start in the middle of the night, defrag, virus scan, spyware scan, update, backup and shut itself down again.
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
Get it to empty the dishwasher and run our Avent bottle sterilizer (damn, should have got the digital one), and I'll be impressed.
Posted by Marauth (Member # 1320) on :
quote:Originally posted by PsyLiam: Typing in "Windows XP problem" into google.com gives us 33,400,000 results. Whereas Apple fans get to prove how superiour their system is by pointing out that "MAC OS X problem" produces a measly... 31,400,000 results. Woot.
Unless there's been an additional 3,700,000 problems found in XP since your post (not unlikely) then your search must be mistaken, I entered it and got 37,100,000 for 'Windows XP problem', and a still respectable 31,600,000 for 'MAC OS X problem'. Meaning OS X is only approximately 85% as crappy and bug-ridden as XP.
Not much to brag about really is it Mr. Jobs, hmm?
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
You are so wrong. Never mind the fact that you are making the exact same point I am, you are brimming over with wrongability.
(I'm also on a different machine to my earlier test and got the same result.)
(Wrong.)
Anyway Nim, you are right in that you could save a teensy bit of power by turning off themes. You could also reduce your desktop to 16 colours and have no wallpaper. But doing so will be silly. Turning off the Theme service has problem saved you 0.000001% of your overall power.
Are you an obsessive overclocker, too?
Posted by Marauth (Member # 1320) on :
Sorry for derailing the thread temporarily but I am so not wrong. But since the original problem of the thread seems to have been resolved I think this petty desire on my part to show that I can in fact count isn't going to cause the end of the world.
Posted by Topher (Member # 71) on :
Confusion abounds. I get 33 900 000.
Posted by Toadkiller (Member # 425) on :
I only get 620 for "OS/2 problem" maybe we should all switch to that?
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
Having a lot of something is not an excuse to waste it on pointless crappy frivolities like themes or gigantic weather sidebars, mister Latecomer.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
I get 33.6 megaresults when I search on the American, British, Canadian, and Australian Googles.
Posted by WizArtist II (Member # 1425) on :
What's that in English units?
Posted by Siegfried (Member # 29) on :
That'd be approximately 14.7 gustavs (or 146.3 buckleys, if you prefer).
Personally, I believe any computer problem can be solved with a good reformat of the hard drive(s). After all, why save the patient when he's just going to get sick again?
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
Don't you see?? These divergent search results are only the first step in Google's master plan to break consensus reality and seal us all up in our own virtual world!!
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
That Firefox theme is obviously nice. You are wrong about that. And the sidebar, which is actually only there because I wanted a pretty clock. I win.
quote:Originally posted by Marauth: But since the original problem of the thread seems to have been resolved I think this petty desire on my part to show that I can in fact count isn't going to cause the end of the world.
I refuse to listen to anyone who is picky enough to run XP in classic mode but who still uses Internet Explorer. Never mind the fact that you've got a not open Messenger and a "safetly remove hardware" icon in your taskbar. Why don't you just load up Task Scheduler and be done with it? EH?
(-10 points for the blatent loading up of Winamp in order to show everyone what song you're playing, too. It also looks suspiciously like you're using either Winamp 2, or Winamp 5 in classic mode, in which case there really is no hope for you.)
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
quote:Anyway Nim, you are right in that you could save a teensy bit of power by turning off themes. You could also reduce your desktop to 16 colours and have no wallpaper. But doing so will be silly.
*scoph* Have you any idea what kind of framerate I get in 16 colours and 320x200? Seesaw!
quote:Are you an obsessive overclocker, too?
No, never done that. Nor do I bother with 3urd party software designed to OPTIMIZE your DOWNLOAD SPEED or SPEED up my FLOPS. Having a conventionally and moderately good system is good enough for me. I get about 40 kilogustavs per session out of it.
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
Heh, reminds me of when everyone was posting their desktops and half the time it was much more fun to see what was on their taskbars and system trays. . .
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
You're the person who complained that everyone put up Winamp (because it's more trendy than Media Player) and "accidently" left their playlist showing in order to impress everyone with they Ultra Kewl Music Taste.
I think looking at Simon's caused several people to become ill.
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
Jape of the year! Posted by Topher (Member # 71) on :
Is that just your playlist or, like, your entire library? In any event, here's to starting the trend all over again.
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
Simpsons theme EXTENED EDIT? Why you little-!
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
I guess that's all the songs I have, minus a few.
Liam is going to be all over you like a drill instructor, Topher, for the size of your system tray.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
I am unable to put my rage into words. iTunes AND Winamp? Plus what looks suspiciously like one of those "we're going to check your PC constantly for errors" things in the shape of a toolbox. You have committed a grave sin.
Philip Glass
And as for Simon: WHERE IS THAT IDLEWIND SONG I SENT YOU? ANGER! But anger that can be calmed by the act of you sending me those Macho Man Randy Savage files. They'll go brilliantly with the "oooh yeah" I'm currently using on my mobile as my message tone.
Philip fudging Glass. Seriously, what?
Posted by Topher (Member # 71) on :
Y'know, I don't know why I still have that Net Assistant icon there. It was installed when I setup my computer for DSL with the CD my ISP gave me and I've never used it... And I use iTunes, Winamp, and WMP for different purposes... Don't have a player that does everything I want I guess.
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
The presence of the Shaft theme on Simon's list has me both worried that I share some of his musical tastes and reassured that, secretly, he is no different than the rest of us in our universal desire to be bad motherfuckers.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
I can dig that.
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
Also:
"I refuse to listen to anyone who is picky enough to run XP in classic mode but who still uses Internet Explorer."
Still using Outlook yourself costs you 7 billion credibility points, and strips you of the right to humiliate anyone for their computer habits again ever.
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
quote:They'll go brilliantly with the "oooh yeah" I'm currently using on my mobile as my message tone.
Oh, music ring tones! Fuck that's hip!!
Personally I use a segment from the first and only unplugged studio master of "In-a-gadda-da-vida", since then lost in the maw of a giant Slor. It's ten seconds of high-key feedback and the sound of someone stomping real hard.
Posted by Marauth (Member # 1320) on :
Liam that safely remove hardware thing just popped up cause I had turned my printer on, I didn't intend for it to be there and I certainly don't actually use it. As for the music, you're getting paranoid I think, I actually happened to be listening to some music at the time, and you can't even tell what I was listening to anyway as the song title was longer than the bar. Unless you know that much about music you could identify the song from a partial title.
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
I'm gently reassured by how few artists on Simon's list I recognise. But I'm also intrigued that a recording exists of the Flaming Lips' cover of "Seven Nation Army" and wish to locate it (I saw them do it live, you see, and a real stonker it was). Not sure how though, given my P2P choice of the past 5 years, WinMX, has just been Proxmired.
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
And has your position been compromised?
Did you see a cat?
By the btw, does anyone know a good Wav-to-mp3 conversion tool?
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
Sometimes, the average Swede's command of English fails him. It's a bit like reading Roxette lyrics. Or, to put it more succinctly - er, what?
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
What did Garak say when the bugs crashed into the Vor'Chas?
Your winemex has been proxmired, sir. If you saw two cats, did they look different or was it the same cat, SIR? *puts hand on holster*
And furthermore, where could one possibly acquire a wav-mp3 conversion tool? (yes, that was the gist of it)
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
Nope. Not a clue - about .wav-.mp3 conversion tools, or the rest of it. Granted, I used the verb 'to Proxmire' in a rather loose sense - "to cancel something for the financial benefit of others;" I even thought perhaps the confusion arose from 'Proxmire' being the name of an Ikea product, but I've searched their website with no result.
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
It. simply. sounded. similar. to. compromise. The bodyguard/Matrix lingo came naturally.
See, when my brain couldn't rightly place the word 'proxmire' it kind of "ran home to momma", as they say in my line of work.
Associations, man, associations. Do we have to do this every time? It is the glue that binds AIM/MSN funniness.
Next week, I expect to see no less than three sick spinoffs on this subject from you, at my desk, twelf sharp.
If we'd had that pint all this could've been avoided. Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
Yes, but even if I'd made it to Tunbridge Wells that day, doing the drive back home is hard enough without having had an even-slightly boozy lunch. Like I said, next time plenty of warning then we'll do Brighton.
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
That day...that fateful day. But don't try to change the subject, old duck. The dead ghost of Sir William Proxmire will poison your alfalfa.
I keep wondering why "they" haven't crushed DC++ yet. Sureleaf it can't be for lack of trying? Do the guys have that good lawyers?
And that's another XP/DC++ problem of mine. Why is it impossible to watch part of a movie before it has finished downloading? You can see a JPEG develop before it has been fully loaded, so why not avis?
Posted by Siegfried (Member # 29) on :
quote:Originally posted by PsyLiam: Philip fudging Glass. Seriously, what?
What's wrong with Philip Glass? I have a couple Philip Glass tunes on my computer. I'd post my list, but my friends already delivered more than the recommended dose of laughter and taunting about my musical tastes when I posted it to my blog.
Oh, and XP in classic mode rocks.
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
Oops, I suddenly got a new crisis as we speek. I was going to take a few screencaps off of a DVD on my comp and PowerDVD says that my DVD-unit is locked to Region 4 as of 10 minutes ago! Because I watched an imported DVD three months ago and it decided that was the last time I was allowed to jump between regions.
How does one region-crack a NEC DVD-RW ND-1100A? Is it virtual or physical? I know it's not illegal because a salesgirl at my office (who used to work at Dell) said that the DVDs on Dell Dimensions were a pain in the ass this way but that it could be remedied. But she didn't say or know how.
Anyone?
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
I keep wondering why "they" haven't crushed DC++ yet.
Because decentralized P2P networks for which (open-source) clients exist are inherently crush-resistant. The best "they" can do is target the people behind the more visible ones, like what happened to edonkey just a week ago.
Of course, now that the US SC has ruled that makers of software that "facilitates" copyright infringement are themselves liable for that infringement (which is so idiotic as to be completely untenable), expect "them" to advance capriaatalism on whatever high-profile clients haven't been on the receiving end of "their" C-A-D spree yet.
And that's another XP/DC++ problem of mine. Why is it impossible to watch part of a movie before it has finished downloading?
Because an image previewer is far less troublesome to write than a video previewer, which is why almost no file-sharing program has one built in. The beauty of OS software, though, is that you can hack in any kind of functionality you want, so I shall have none of this complaint, herr Peterson. B)
(Or just get StrongDC++, you proxmiring goldylock you.)
As for wav to mp3 conversion: AudioGrabber. It's free, so your conscience will not be nagging you when you grab a not-entirely unaltered firmware version for your DVD burner here to lessen your most recent rectal disturbance. Oh no, it won't.
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
Lee: the Flaming Lips cover I grabbed from an MP3 blog at some point. (There's also footage of them performing it on the awesome documentary about them, The Fearless Freaks.) Anyway, shall I e-mail it to you?
Liam: And, like, I'll e-mail you those Macho Man songs too, if you want. I got them from Mr. Ultra Magnus originally. He may or may not have more, I'm not sure. As for the songs you've sent me, I'm afraid they've been lost in my last hard drive migration. (Actually, I might still have them on another computer. I'll have to check.) I buy Blur CDs on the strength of your regard, at least, so don't feel too put out.
I have great musical taste, I tell you. Great. I'm a little surprised that Randy Savage's thrilling rap debut was called out while Steven Seagal's bewildering ode to ecumenicism wasn't.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
Simon: Excellent. You can never have too much of the Macho Man.
Nim: It depends if the region lock is software or hardware. If it's software, then just download DVD Genie. If it's a hardware lock, you'll need to get new firmware for the drive. Some enterprising sorts have made cracked versions of DVD firmware to allow you to watch any region movie on them. It's not illegal, but it will invalidate your blah blah blah. Oh look, Cartman has already pointed one out. Bully for him.
What on earth were you doing watching Australian DVDs, though?
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
I looked at unlocking the DVD drive on my laptop, but found it virtually impossibly to determine which of several models that particular laptop had been equipped with, And I only had one non-Region 2 DVD at the time, Whale Rider, and I still haven't bothered to watch it. I figured it was bad enough having to be in New Zealand, I shouldn't have to watch films about it as well. I actually have a seven-year-old DVD-ROM drive that pre-dates Region Locking so I can use that if I ever feel the need.
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
What happened was I bought "Laputa/Rapyuta - Castle in the sky" a few months ago and then I wanted to take a few screencaps (almost any frame from any Miyazaki-movie is a wallpaper) and I suppose I had been switching between regions a few times before that, so my drive apparently set its foot down on this movie and said "Line must be drawn heah!".
Anyway, I got what I wanted then and thanks to Cartman and friends, I have what I want now; irrefutable proof of story-binding cameo...
Nausica�:
And Laputa: Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
Gotta catch 'em all!
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
Ok, now we're going for the title, championship anal here; would a NoGUI-boot (not seeing the XP sign at windows-startup) save memory and startup time, de fucto speeding up the boot?
Think long and hard.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
1/ How long does your PC take to boot up anyway? 2/ Your time could be better spent in at least 5 billion other ways. Such as trying to capture those bizairre Jolteon/Umbreon type creatures.
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
Not long, 20-30 seconds maybe, that was not the point. I wasn't sure if the NOGUI-option in the startup config did anything substantial. Maybe it would make a difference for others.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Man, that you have more They Might Be Giants than both Death Cab for Cutie [b]and[/i]Louie Armstrong put together is really...
Wrong.
Plus, no Charlie Parker or Morphine?
Absolutely no fuckin' music at all- a lonely lonely man you are, pallie. Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
I don't really get the whole MP3 thing. Which is to say that most of my music is still solid. I do own a copy of Like Swimming.
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
"...most of my music is still solid."
LIKE CARBONITE
Posted by tricky (Member # 1402) on :
I joined the iPod generation recently, only got 10 Cd's left to convert. I discovered that as my car stereo could act as a head unit for a CD multi-changer, it's manufacturer did a adapter, so the iPod could pretend to be a CD changer. I can fully control the iPod using the stereo, and I don't have to pick which Cd's I want to listen to ahead of a journey, all of them come along with me. I put a lot of effort into being lazy!
Posted by Da_bang80 (Member # 528) on :
I found this website a while back when my old machine was infested with spyware. (200+ programs ouch!) it's a tech support website with forums for pretty much anything windows. It really helped alot. I'll post the link if anyones interested
quote:Originally posted by Sol System: I don't really get the whole MP3 thing. Which is to say that most of my music is still solid. I do own a copy of Like Swimming.
Ug. Their least amazing album (it's still amazing, just not...amazing like A Cure for Pain was).
I too have the whole "physical music" thing for the most part- everyone I know has lost songs by keeping everything on their harddrive.
Still, it's fun to stea...er....legally-downlad-from-legitimate-sources-and-follow-the-law-so-the-RIAA-does-not-sue-me....more music.
Posted by tricky (Member # 1402) on :
Am I the only one who obsessivly backs up data, burns to DVD, sets up mirrored disks sends stuff of to offsite storage in radiation hardend bunkers under the Alps...?
Posted by Topher (Member # 71) on :
Yes.
Posted by akb1979 (Member # 557) on :
Haven't posted here in a while . . . shame on me.
I'd like to second Topher's comment above and also ask:
quote:Originally posted by Nim: Not long, 20-30 seconds maybe, that was not the point. I wasn't sure if the NOGUI-option in the startup config did anything substantial. Maybe it would make a difference for others.
How the fuck do you get your PC to boot up in 20-30 seconds!!! Like what the bloody hell kind of system are you running man!? Jesus H. Christ! I'm sitting here absolutely, totally fucking gobsmacked! How do you do it?
Posted by Topher (Member # 71) on :
Mine doesn't take too long. I've never timed it, though.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Even with graphics programs, the de-frag and lots of shit saved on my desktop, mine cant take more than two minutes...tops.
What can you be running that takes so long?
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
akb1979: Most of the gain comes from the fast BIOS startup of my Dell, it's a Dimension 8300 so my monitor won't even have gotten its glow on before Windows has started booting.
As for the Windows part, I've blocked as many things as I dare to in the Windows startup queue, all the little crap like Quicktime Update bots and Office Startup, I use MSConfig for that.
After clocking it, I see it's more like 30-40 seconds from cold start.
Here's a thing, though. After I installed Adobe Reader, its folder opens every time Windows starts, showing C:\Program Files\Adobe. It's irritating to have to close it every time I start up, does this happen because I moved the Adobe folder around in the start menu? I've read the solution at work like four years ago but I forgot.
Posted by akb1979 (Member # 557) on :
quote:Originally posted by Nim: akb1979: Most of the gain comes from the fast BIOS startup of my Dell, it's a Dimension 8300 so my monitor won't even have gotten its glow on before Windows has started booting.
Oh, not got a Dell . . .
quote:As for the Windows part, I've blocked as many things as I dare to in the Windows startup queue, all the little crap like Quicktime Update bots and Office Startup, I use MSConfig for that.
MSConfig - yeah I know that for the same thing, I'm sure that there's more I could "remove" from startup, just can't be arsed! Oh, it's also the first term in this topic that I recognise!
quote:After clocking it, I see it's more like 30-40 seconds from cold start.
Ah ha! Smudging the facts were we? Mmmm . . . I see your game . . .
quote:Here's a thing, though. After I installed Adobe Reader, its folder opens every time Windows starts, showing C:\Program Files\Adobe. It's irritating to have to close it every time I start up, does this happen because I moved the Adobe folder around in the start menu? I've read the solution at work like four years ago but I forgot.
Never had that before . . . maybe it's a Dell thing . . . Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
No, just a Windows thing. Start your favorite registry editor and look for any orphaned Adobe-stougkk at the following key:
You should say your farewells there, son. *sniph*
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
Ha hah, yeah well if I had a penny for every day I'd lived in my life, I'd have about...95 dollars.
_That's me in a nutshell. And a very pretty __nutshell it is. ___95 dollars for a life time. ____You can get a one-day weaving class at Luxury _____Fiber Yarns, ______a state-of-the-art GPS system from _______SlickDeals.net ________but not love...never love _________you can buy yourself time, for a while, but never enough __________time...to die
(I just came home from viewing "Howl's moving castle", so yeah)
Ah?!, I seem to have put an end to the blasted folder-popping now, thanks a lot you gays.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
As long as we're on the subject, there's a computer at work (running Win98) which opens Internet Explorer every time it boots up. There's no reference to IE in the Startup folder or the Run entries in the registry. It's been a while since I looked at it, but I'm pretty sure I checked the startup entries in msconfig, as well.
Anyone happen to know of some other obscure place where such a thing might show up?
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
The "load=" and/or "run=" lines in win.ini, typically.
Posted by tricky (Member # 1402) on :
replacing explorer.exe with iexplore.exe? Logon script?
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
Also, can anyone explain to me this most queer of XP phenomenomenons, that some files in a folder, say filled with mp3:s, get their filename in blue color, and others doesn't? I tried to work it out but the blue filenames aren't the most recent, nor the most played, nor the ones with the highest bitrate, etc.
Three quarters of the mp3 filenames in my main music folder are blue and I don't know why nor how to turn it off. Anyone?
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
XP has a tool (Disk Cleanup) that by default automagically compresses files which haven't been accessed in some user-defined amount of time to save disk space. Explorer just color-codes those in blue.
Disabling it is left as an exercise to the reader. B)
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
Yeah? We get that when I view files on a Novell file server, which has its own compression tools, via XP. So XP picks that up and displays them accordingly? Wow, I'm impressed.
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
If that server's running Netware 6.x, then it probably masquerades as an SMB box through NFAP, so it's not XP you should be impressed with. B)
Posted by Hobbes (Member # 138) on :
I've been running into a problem. I bought a HP a1130n desktop with XP Professional Media Center Edition OS. I've been trying to open the MS Works word processor but all that happens is the splash screen shows up for a second then closes. I'm able to use other Works programs, but not the word processor.
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
The most work I've ever done with Works was to immediately uninstall it from any PC I've found it on, so not sure what's going on there. If it's a new PC, go to HP or the reseller and make their lives hell. It's the only way they'll learn.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
Isn't the MS Works word processor...Word?
Posted by Topher (Member # 71) on :
Only post 2000 it would seem.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
Yes, but since Hobbes has Windows Media Centre I used my Batman-powers to reason that he probably isn't using Works 97.
Posted by Toadkiller (Member # 425) on :
Mac mini dude.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
What on earth is a mac mini dude? A less cool midget version of the Fonze?
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
And isn't "Microsoft works" a complete oxymoron?
Posted by MaGiC (Member # 59) on :
yes but it's thanks to 'Our Beloved Bill' that I have a job (I'm in windows support at the moment)so I won't have a word said against him....by the way there are 5 of us in the windows team and about 35 in the Mac team supporting about the same number of users read into that what you will....
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
People who use Macs are impotent?
Posted by Balaam Xumucane (Member # 419) on :
People who want their computers to work simply and easily are so dumb.
I can only imagine the unholy nightmare that a watered-down version of the Office suite might entail. Could the "help"-y paper-clip thing get any more retarded?
Posted by Topher (Member # 71) on :
That paper clip needs to BURN IN HELL!
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
Hi! I see you're invoking a curse. Would you:
Like to spell-check your chant?
Like to search for pentangle clip-art?
Posted by MaGiC (Member # 59) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lee: Hi! I see you're invoking a curse. Would you:
Like to spell-check your chant?
Like to search for pentangle clip-art?
Um maybe you mean Pentacle or Pentagram in this particular context....
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
Perhaps a pentangle is like a quadrangle?
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Or someone already copyrighted all the names of magic symbols and so bootleg versions are available onine with simmular (if spelling altered) names.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
And if anyone would know about altered spellings...
(Y'know, I once actually heard someone say "simular". It was disturbing.)
Grr.![[Wink]](wink.gif)
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
and also ask:![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
![[Confused]](confused.gif)
Like what the bloody hell kind of system are you running man!? Jesus H. Christ! ![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
How do you do it?