The Digital Surgery (computer questions/problems here)

[Guess]

My own strategy when re-installing Windows is to check I have the latest version of hardware drivers for the laptop and not depend totally on Windows...............Good luck.

This is good advice. Sometimes you will find the latest drivers do not work but it is easy via "manage" off "my computer" to revert to the previous driver.

Vista has vastly improved driver databases and if it finds hardware with no driver available it will get an update at the first opportunity.

I have heard a few people blame SP3 for problems but I only got improvements. When I go onto technical forums I find that the vast majority of problems are environment specific. The number of variables is infinite. MS cannot possible test all of them so problems will occur.

On this forum, and by talking to expats in general I have found that many problems culminate in a "cannot boot" scenario. This is often fatal and can only be resolved with a cold reinstall. Most people do not have their PCs configured properly in the first place so can lose, not only programs, but data as well.

There is no need for this. Hard disks are now as cheap per byte as CD ROMs. And that includes casings and power supplies.

So if you do back up data then forget CDs. If you want quick backups get a 4MB flash memory dongle for 500 Baht. Use a piece of freeware such as AlwaySync (excellent) to keep your data synchronized. You can carry the dongle with you so if your PC gets nicked you don't lose your data.

On the larger picture there is a solution that will cater for both backups and system recovery.

Get an external USB cased SATA hard drive. The optimum priced disks are 300 GB to 500 GB.

Partition the drive to have a boot partition and a data partition at least. An installed program partition is also useful.

Load the same operating system on it that you have on your PC.

Make sure you know how to configure the BIOS to boot from a USB device.

Make sure you have backups of bookmarks and documents and settings. "Documents and settings" and "My Documents" can be moved into your data partition.

Use "system restore". Run a "save restore point" every time your system is running well.

Use "save files and settings" and put the resulting file in your data partition. I think it asks you where you want to put it anyway.

Regularly use a registry management tool such as "Wise or Auslogics" (both free for home use )which makes backups of your registry. Put the backup file in your data partition.

Make incremental backups from your PC/s to the USB data partition on a regular basis.

This strategy will enable data loss recovery and system loss recovery. If you lose data for any reason then just plug in the USB drive and copy the files back.

If the system fails to boot or becomes inoperable then boot from the USB drive and you will get access to all your PC's hard drive partitions.

You are then in a position to fix it. How you fix it will depend on the source of the problem so I cannot go into detail. You will have restored Internet access so you can find a solution. The problem above that caller had is an example.

A registry file (config/software) somehow got corrupted. Without it the system will fail to boot. If you can't get access to the system drive there is nothing that can be done apart from a re-install.

I had exactly the same problem a week after. I booted from another drive, found the corrupt file and replaced it. The system came up and enabled me to do a system restore to return it to a stable state. It took about 15 minutes and I lost nothing.

I know it's all a pain in the arse but worth it.

It is the law of averages that even the light user will get a system boot failure at some time and everybody deletes files by mistake once in a while. Also you can ditch all those "unreadable when they are needed" CD ROMS with the coffee stains and cigarette ash all over them.

Send them out to India where they are used to cover rust holes in trucks and buses and make very good reflectors for night driving.

N.B. Do not store the USB disk with the PC.

[Big Boy]

My laptop has had to go away under warranty for repair (screen is knackered). This now leaves me with my fixed PC for about a week. I'm having trouble sending e-mails (receiving is fine) ie:

1. Will only let me send as Plain or Rich Text.

2. Will not let me send any file greater than about 50 Kb (sometimes much less).

When it fails, I get the following error message:

Task 'mail.virgin.net (1) - Receiving' reported error (0x800CCC0F) : 'The connection to the server was interrupted. If this problem continues, contact your server administrator or Internet service provider (ISP).'

I've checked my internet connection as per Microsoft site advice, and it is fine.

Does anybody have any suggestions regarding how to cure the problem please?

[buksida]

90% of email sending problems if you are using a client (outlook/tbird) are ISP related (the other ten are server related). Even though you can read websites and think your connection is functioning it may not be for email, you need SMTP port 25 free, also try checking/unchecking some of the security boxes for your email account setup. If this fails ask Virgin what their SMTP settings are.

[Big Boy]

Thank you, will keep persisting

[Nereus]

Going on from what wl said if you can get in with safe mode uninstall the last patch or sp3 and try restarting normally.

Just noticed this comment regarding sp3. Windows keeps pestering me to install it, should I? (xp professional)

Bump. Thanks caller, anybody else? Thanks.

[buksida]

I haven't done so yet and each computer configuration is different so we won't know how it goes until you give it a try. There were initial problems with some machines constantly rebooting after SP3 installations but MS has fixed this with subsequent patches.

Do you have a genuine version of Windows? Not sure how a pirate copy will handle it - you may get the dreaded WGA warnings!

Make sure your data is backed up and go ahead, let us know how it goes.

[Guess]

My experience has shown that SP3 is as reliable as SP2 now. In fact it is more reliable than Vista SP1.

Windows genuine advantage (WGA) is a pain but nothing visible changed with SP3. I paid for XP and I am f***ed if I am going to pay again just because Microsoft think the whole world consists of North America and Europe.

To get around the problem:

Set Windows to update parameter "download updates but let me choose when and what to install".

When a download has completed select "view available". If you see one that says "Windows Genuine Advantage", do not download it. You can also select not to download patches for Mongolian (outskirts of Europe) language, gardening tips and any other completely useless bollocks that is on offer.

What is left may well help make the system more secure. It certainly takes up more disk space which makes, Compaq/HP, Dell, Toshiba, Seagate, IBM and many others happy. If you degrag your disk it shouldn't hurt to have bits that are not used. If you suffer from insomnia then print off the technical explanations from the Microsoft site.

So for me, SP3 is OK. The best performance I have had since my personal Commodore Vic 20.

[Nereus]

Thanks very much for those comments.

Yes, it is a genuine copy of XP Pro, I had it loaded in Oz as the copy that had been loaded here, after some virus problems, was fake. I have auto updates switched on to notify me, but not download. However, I have read somwhere that WGA is downloading some updates without user approval. Have to try and find just what it was that I read.

[Super Joe]

Can you get 'boosters' for home wireless routers ?
I'm on a TOT broadband package with a SMC router, signal strength displays as 'excellent' within 10-15ft of router but further away says 'very low' and slow as anything.

Cheers,
SJ

[buksida]

You can but I've never used one so wouldn't be able to advise on setup for it.

Wifi works best in open spaces so if its trying to go through walls you'll lose signal strength.

[chelsea]

SJ, can you physically unscrew the aerial from your Router, if so I may have an answer for you.

[Super Joe]

That'd be about right Buksi, the strong signal is through only 1 wall, the weak places 2 or 3 walls.

Yes, just looked Chels and it unscrews. Where shall I stick it?

SJ

[chelsea]

SJ please do not tempt fate by asking.
I had the same problem in my house. Had an overseas student staying with me and when he bought a new laptop had the same problem as you. His old one picked up the signal Ok and had no problems, but his new one would hardly pick up the signal.

Had a look at all the beklin products that were available, but were not what I was prepared to spend just so he could get an internet signal.

I did some searching on the net and found people advising to use a booster aerial on to the back of the router. Not all routers have detachable antenna's so that was my reason for asking that question.

I purchased at a cost of under $5.00(AUD) and it fixed the problem.
Here is a link I found on Ebay with an item showing all the details and all the specs.
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/2-4GHz-10-dBi-Wi ... dZViewItem
From what I can make out the larger the dBi size the more distance it will cover.
If you look at the specs of your original router that will tell you what the dBi of your original antenna is and so all you do is to buy a larger dBi Antenna that you have originally (larger the better)

The one in the link is a 10dBi and is compliant with IEEE 802.11b and 802.11g wireless LANs and has 2.4 GHz wireless coverage range of 980 -1148 ft (300 - 500 M)

Incidentally between my office and the front of the house there are 3 walls and 3 closed doors, so the new one that I got manage to make it workable.

So hopefully that small piece of information will fix your problem as it did mine.

[Guess]

I purchased at a cost of under $5.00(AUD) and it fixed the problem.

SJ. While you're out there getting your booster could you pick me up a jar of vegamite, tow pounds of roo burgers and two very large melons. (Preferably blonde).

All the best.

G

[Guess]

Internet NIC problems.

This one is giving me a headache.

I have a PCI SMC1255TX-1 card in my PC. When I load Vista it determines the card OK and everything runs. It seems to pick up a working driver which I then upgraded to the latest for Vista. Still OK.

With XP SP3 it loads a diver for a SMC1255TX-PF. The web server is slow and torrent downloads don't work at all. Some direct web downloads work but others fail.

I have tried deleting the driver and uninstalling the device and starting again. It insists on installing the PF driver and referring to the controller as being device number 2.

I have tried downloading the manual but that fails.

Any clues anybody.

PS. According to SMC's marketing blurb this is the world's number one best selling Ethernet Card.