I have 3 Copies of 2009 Norton Anti Virus w/ anti-spyware and 1 copy of 2009 Norton Internet Security (right now my 2nd favorite internet security only behind Kapersky). If you want one just shoot me a PM, I'll check back after I get off work tonight.

quote:

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Originally posted by StryderBio:
I have 3 Copies of 2009 Norton Anti Virus w/ anti-spyware and 1 copy of 2009 Norton Internet Security (right now my 2nd favorite internet security only behind Kapersky). If you want one just shoot me a PM, I'll check back after I get off work tonight.

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Ewww...why do you hate MOTLers? Norton boat-anchor is not software that should ever be on computers. You might want to read a few posts back and see all of the "fun" that it can cause.

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Granted I want to test out bitdefender and the new panda but still working on getting legit free copies of it.

People can believe me if they want but I'm atleast offering a free year subscription (I already used my 10 copies of kapersky)

Whenever I use Mozilla or Explorer and enter a web address, the Mozilla or Explorer would almost everytime freeze some seconds. Then, either it will send me to the correct address, or it will simply send me to yahoo and say that they couldn't find the address.

what can possibly cause this?

runSim_fromUDP
java.net.BindException: Address already in use: Cannot bind

Any ideas on how to go about fixing this? Let me know if you need more info.

Thanks,
Caitiri

quote:

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Originally posted by Omega:
Ok, so I have this weird really weird browser problem

Whenever I use Mozilla or Explorer and enter a web address, the Mozilla or Explorer would almost everytime freeze some seconds. Then, either it will send me to the correct address, or it will simply send me to yahoo and say that they couldn't find the address.

what can possibly cause this?

Robert

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EDIT 3 - Well, 18% into the scan I had a restart. Here's a new question: Can anyone recommend me a free online virus detection tool, that can run in Windows Safe Mode? I tried the scan one last time and my computer restarted somewhere around the 18% mark like before (I was out of the room, but judging by the time elapsed it was around 18% if not 18% exactly).

Hello. For a variety of reasons I'm pretty sure I have a virus, and my virus scanner isn't catching it. I Googled for free online virus scans, and I tried like the first six ones that were listed, but there was always a problem. It's as if the virus on my computer manages to sabotage each attempt, or maybe free online virus scans are just generally horrible, I don't know. I'm hoping that somebody can recommend me a free online virus scan that works, and that could hopefully catch my virus? Thanks.

edit - Anyways let me try to describe my virus problem, maybe someone could help me identify the culprit. One day a bunch of bugs started to pop up all at the same time. The most prominent was the blue screen of death, that would not stay on the screen long enough for me to catch all the stuff that was written, but it said the computer had to restart. So at first it would restart after half an hour or an hour, it happened two or three times, until I started the computer in safe mode and it seemed to be OK there. I ran my virus scanner in safe mode and caught some spyware/maleware but no viruses. When I turned in on normally the next day, it didn't go off until just now, after about 15 hours, with the same blue screen of death. Here are the other bugs that are new:

When I click a link on Google on Firefox, it opens in a new tab, but this never used to happen unless I right clicked and specifically said open in new tab. And it seems that as it opens into a new tab it is automatically redirected to an add, so sometimes I'll have to copy/paste the address in a blank window or sometimes I can click back to go to the page I wanted before the add. I wish I could give you an example of what would appear when I click recent pages (it's three of four pages of redirect), but now that I'm trying to do it, the bug just won't happen.

I'm also getting a lot more pop-ups blocked by my Firefox blocker. Hmmmmm, let's see what else. Oh yes, in Windows Media Player if you listen to a video, and presumably audio too (haven't tried) and then click the X to close, the audio of it will continue in the speakers. You have to press stop or pause before hitting the X and it's not a problem, and to rectify it I would reopen Media Player and open up the same file and hit the stop button and then close again. I use Media Player often so I know this is a very recent bug.

I'm also having problems with Adobe Acrobat. When I tried to install Heroes of Might and Magic III it said I didn't have Acrobat, even though I did: probably because Heroes is not compatible with Vista though usually you can get it to work. So the installation CD installed Acrobat 4 even though I had a much higher version already installed. Then, frustratingly, my higher versions of Acrobat would no longer work, and when I tried to install newer versions, it would never succeed for some reason! Anyways this whole thing started when my Heroes game suddenly stopped working at the same time as all the other bugs started, it said I was missing some files or programs for it, just one day out of the blue like that, which lead me to try to reinstall it.

When I went to my SpyBot to try and fix this stuff, all of a sudden it wouldn't open, I would get the error message that said the program is no longer working, and hitting the option to check online for solutions yielded no help. And now that I've tried all these free online virus scan things, and none of them are working, I'm afraid the virus affecting my computer is preventing me from taking any counter-measures against it. Either that or it's a virus that enjoys to mess with your mind. :P At least my computer can still work.

So finally, to add some clarifications, the virus protection service I'm currently using on my computer is Sympatico Security Manager, paid subscription. I regularly run scans and I also use SpyBot from time to time. All my safety things like Windows firewalls and internet protection are on at least medium. I have DSL so I'm always connected to the net.

I'd greatly appreciate any ideas.

EDIT 2: Update, I finally got a free virus scan to work, called Panda ActiveScan 2.0.. it had me download a bunch of things, and then started to scan for viruses.. but not ten seconds into the scanning, I got another blue screen of death and had to restart! We'll see if I can get a scan to finish, I'll try again now...

EDIT 4 - OK, it's happened now so I can report the details: you know how you can click back and forward to go to the previous or subsequent internet page you've been on? And if you click the little tab next to it, it displays the recent pages? Here is an example of when I click on a link but it immediately redirects me before I can even see the page I wanted to see:

<http://www.google.ca/click?sa=T&ct=res&cd=1&url=http%3A%2Fwww.donmacdonaldmusic.com/credits.htm> <-- that should be the page that opens, but then it redirected:

<http://72.233.75.193/click.php?c=e56ff81b09676156d4c98cc09501>

<http://www.missngpage.com/search1.php?qq=don+macdonald+alienated>

<http://clicks.smartbizsearch.com/xtr_new?q=don+macdonald+alienated&sid=1047896244&sa=17&p=1&s=44869>

<FreePlays.com - Free handicapping picks, odds and scores for Sunday, March 2...> <--this is the site I end up on, and the URL listed in the URL box for it is this: <http://www.freeplays.com/default.asp>

For reference, the search terms I put into Google were Don MacDonald and Alienated, I was searching for the theme of a TV show. It seems to me this is indicative of spyware, but not a virus, so perhaps one of the things the virus that I have is doing, is letting spyware onto my computer?

The machine needs to:
1. Be able to smoothly run audio and video editing programs.
2. Have a decent level of backwards software compatibility. I have a program for work that I currently use on XP, but I worry about interactions with Vista.

I also need to find a place that:
1. Either ships it as a blank slate with the OS on a boot disk, or can ship it without all the excess trials/demos/junk that comes on most out of the box PCs. I'd really prefer not to need to clean out the computer before I even get a chance to use it.
2. Is reliable and has decent customer service if there is a problem, preferably without buying some massively overpriced warranty program.
3. Has reasonable shipping.
4. Is not Dell.

Also, any brand recommendations? I currently use a VAIO at home, and it's been nothing but good to me over what has almost been 7 years now. I'm just starting to worry it's about to roll over.

1) Shut off the comp and unplugged the power cord from the power supply.
2) Removed the Graphics Card (only to discover the nVidia doesn't fit).
3) Removed TWO of the (slower) 256 MB sticks and replaced them with a 1 GB Patriot stick @ PCI3200; the other two sticks that are still in are 256 MB at PCI 3200.
4) Plugged everything back in and restarted the computer.

At this point, I noticed a few things. First, my screen looked different; not a huge shocker with the Graphics Card out. Second, when I looked up my system specs, it said my processor was running at 966 MHz, and that I had just under a Gig of RAM. At this point, I restarted the computer. Though the screen still looked funny, it at least registered my Processor at its proper speed of 1.8 GHz at this point, though the RAM was still under a Gig, instead of the expected 1.5. At this point, I shut down, unplugged, and re-installed the Graphics Card. Plugged back in, started back up, and now the screen looks better. Also, it registers me at 1 Gig of RAM even now instead of 978 or whatever it was.

quote:

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Originally posted by Gawain:
I'm trying to modify my *rather crappy* system so that it is less crappy. I was previously rocking 4 256 MB sticks of Ram, the lowest speed of which was 2700. I also had a 32 MB ATI 128 Pro Graphics Card, and I'm running a 1.8 GHz AMD Sempron Processor. Nothing exciting I know, but it's what I got. I picked up an nVidia GeForce2 MX 200 Graphics Card, which according to my Google research is an upgrade to 64 MB, but the interface to the motherboard is the wrong kind. Thus, I cannot install. So, this is what I did, followed by what happened, followed by why I'm confused:

1) Shut off the comp and unplugged the power cord from the power supply.
2) Removed the Graphics Card (only to discover the nVidia doesn't fit).
3) Removed TWO of the (slower) 256 MB sticks and replaced them with a 1 GB Patriot stick @ PCI3200; the other two sticks that are still in are 256 MB at PCI 3200.
4) Plugged everything back in and restarted the computer.

At this point, I noticed a few things. First, my screen looked different; not a huge shocker with the Graphics Card out. Second, when I looked up my system specs, it said my processor was running at 966 MHz, and that I had just under a Gig of RAM. At this point, I restarted the computer. Though the screen still looked funny, it at least registered my Processor at its proper speed of 1.8 GHz at this point, though the RAM was still under a Gig, instead of the expected 1.5. At this point, I shut down, unplugged, and re-installed the Graphics Card. Plugged back in, started back up, and now the screen looks better. Also, it registers me at 1 Gig of RAM even now instead of 978 or whatever it was.

Question is this: Why isn't it registering the other 512 MB of RAM (two 256 PCI 3200 sticks)?

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The change in reported RAM is pretty easy to explain. When you had the other video card pulled, the system had to allocate RAM to video, so the total amount of available RAM for other use dropped. When you put the video card back it, it could reallocate that RAM to the system again.

As for the other RAM not being recognized, you might want to check the motherboard manual. Could be that the 2 sticks are in the wrong slots, could be that it won't allow both types at the same time, could be that it doesn't like having paired and non-paired RAM in at the same time, or something else. Referring to that guide will let you know what the acceptable parameters are.

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I've got a slim 2002 silver PSP, windows vista 64 bit, and a linksys router hooked up through a roadrunner issue broadband modem.

Hi there, and thanks in advance for any assistance you can offer! smile.gif This problem is really frustrating because I have important things I need to do asap and I am prevented from doing them.

EDIT: It seems the problem is exclusive to Firefox... I never use IE so I didn`t think to check until now, but yup, it`s just Firefox.

The problem is my keyboard. I was just posting in a discussion forum and going to hit the square bracket again to quote someone. But I think I hit something at the same time as pressing that key, as I was going for the A key but instead I hit around the shift key. So I think I hit the square bracket key plus the shift key or something around there, at once. Or perhaps a combination of three keys.. or perhaps this has nothing to do with the problem at all.. or for all I know I have a virus (although I have been scanning a lot lately and all seems clean). And now here is the problem:

left square bracket gives me nothing if I press it once, and if I press it twice: ^^
right square bracket gives me nothing if I press it once, and if I press it twice: ¸¸
quotation mark: ` (ex: I don`t.. notice this is not the same as a usual quotation mark)
shift + two gives me " instead of the AT for e-mails
interrogation mark: É
exclamation mark: oh, apparently this still works! lol
right slash (I think it is right, could be left I guess, I`m not sure which is which): é
left slash: <
I don`t even know what those V brackets for HTML are called but they give me the wrong thing

all these still work: ! $ % & * ( ) - _ = + . ,

But the strangest thing is that if I open up Microsoft Works, my keyboard works just fine! I am really worried, because from experience often nobody will have answers to small problems, people only have answers to big problems, and I`ll never be able to use internet forums or even type in URLs easily again. Well this is my experience at least, please prove me wrong lol. I really hate computers.

I do apologize for making such a messy post, but I am writing this in haste to hopefully get a response as soon as possible! smile.gif

I've tried everything I can think of to clean it up WITHOUT reinstalling, to no avail. I have defragged, deleted useless programs, updated the anti-virus/anti-spyware and run tests (removed all threats), deleted ALL the stupid downloads I could find, etc. Again, no avail.

SO, my question is, does anyone know a good link for an OS reinstall walkthrough (I know the basics, but any help is appreciated), or just have any general advice to save me a headache a few hours from now? Any/all help is appreciated big time.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Gawain:
Hello all, important tech-geek question of the day! I am about ready to run my very first OS re-install every. It is MS Windows XP Home, on a Dell (ugh) Pentium 4. This computer is sluggish as hell. My little brother got his greasy, computer/internet illiterate paws on it and went crazy ape**** downloading music files on Limewire, playing Flash Games, indiscriminately clicking advertisement banners, etc. Long story short, he shot the damned thing all to hell, and now my parents want me to clean up the mess. I owe them money, so I'm kind of stuck with it.

I've tried everything I can think of to clean it up WITHOUT reinstalling, to no avail. I have defragged, deleted useless programs, updated the anti-virus/anti-spyware and run tests (removed all threats), deleted ALL the stupid downloads I could find, etc. Again, no avail.

SO, my question is, does anyone know a good link for an OS reinstall walkthrough (I know the basics, but any help is appreciated), or just have any general advice to save me a headache a few hours from now? Any/all help is appreciated big time.

Gawain

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The quick overview:

Note the programs that you have installed. Find the install CDs for those that have them, consider downloading the install files for those that don't.

Back up any files that you wish to keep as well as the install files you downloaded above. You can put them on a flash drive, burn to CD, whatever floats your boat.

Is the computer the same configuration that it was from the factory, or have you added or changed some of the hardware (don't worry about RAM, but stuff like video cards and that do matter)? If you have changed/added components, make sure that you have the install files for the new hardware.

There was probably a factory restore CD that came with the machine. If so, pop that in and run it. If not, there was likely a Windows CD and driver discs from Dell. Put in the Windows CD and go from there. I haven't done a clean OS install from an actual Windows disc in a while, so I can't really remember exactly the steps to reformat and do a clean install, but you can probably find that stuff online fairly easily.

Once the reinstall is done, just install your programs again, and enjoy the hours of tweaking everything to be just the way you had it.

It's generally accepted that computers can use a good reformat and reinstall every year or three, depending on how it's used, to keep it running optimally.

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I also pulled up a few online guides, and they said much the same thing, so it was good to have it confirmed. I'll post up if I run into any glitches along the way (the next 6-8 hours I'd imagine). Thanks again!

I have gotten the OS reinstalled. To reiterate, it is Windows XP Pro Service Pack 1. So, I got the OS reinstalled, and I started off having a yellow question mark next to the following drivers:

Ethernet Controller
Multimedia Audio Controller
SM Bus Controller
Video Controller (VGA Compatible)
PCI Simple Communications Controller

I then took out the OS Reinstall Disk and put in the Drivers and Utilities Dell Dimension ResourceCD. After running, unzipping, and Opening everything on the CD, all of the Drivers are now functioning properly EXCEPT:

Ethernet Controller
Video Controller (VGA Compatible)

I haven't even begun to tackle the Ethernet Controller yet, but the Video Controller is DirectX 9.0. When I try to install it, I have to unzip it first. When I unzipped the other drivers (the ones successfully installed), it automatically took me through the process of getting them installed. With DirectX, it just saves to my Hard Drive, and I have to open it manually from there to get to the Installer. When I run the installer, I get this Error Message:

Managed DirectX (0901)

The installer has encountered an unexpected error installing this package. This may indicate a problem with this package. The error code is 2908.

I have entered that exact message into Google, and essentially ended up on a wild goose chase. I either found sites with complete idiots who obviously knew nothing, or sites with a bunch of tech guys who spoke indecipherable gibberish. If anyone can help with this I'd be mighty grateful.

__________________
There's no need to fear, UNDERDOG is here!

All your Gruul Nodorogs are belong to me. Trade them to me, please!

Report rules violations.

I have a computer question of my own, although I suppose it's more of a legal/licensing question.

I have a few service pack 2 windows XP professional licenses. There are a lot of custom windows XP professional packages available for download via torrent sites and others that are highly functional, come with excellent opensource/freeware software preinstalled, and are otherwise configured in a way I like.

quote:

---

Originally posted by TheMidnightBomber:
Glad I could help Gawain.

I have a computer question of my own, although I suppose it's more of a legal/licensing question.

I have a few service pack 2 windows XP professional licenses. There are a lot of custom windows XP professional packages available for download via torrent sites and others that are highly functional, come with excellent opensource/freeware software preinstalled, and are otherwise configured in a way I like.

A lot of people use these to pirate the OS, but I was wondering if I could use one of my other older licenses with them without breaking any laws.

---

Actually, I think I can help with this one. One of the things my buddy and I do for fun is buy computers at University Auctions, refurbish them, then sell them; obviously they need an OS, so we use the Liscense Keys on the towers. However, since we have purchased the towers, we now legally own the OS Product Key as well.

I have a ton of music that isn't showing up in the iTunes list that exists in the folder I told it to create a library from. What gives?

--Evil

EDIT: Nvm, looks like a lot of the files I had on an old computer were of WMA type, and it appears that iTunes is slowly converting them all to mp3.