Ok, Here's the topic:
What computer problems are you having lately?

I'll go first....

Having problems keeping my ram set correctly.
Dad's computer crashes and spontainiously reboots often.
Mom floppy drive on her computer dosen't work.

After reading what your ID means I am not surprised that you would start this topic! I recently had many computer problems, my laptop (that I must have in order to earn a living) had to have its motherboard replaced. It was just over a year old and THANK GOODNESS I had purchased the extended warranty. Then the same week my laptop is off for servicing my Mac (back up desktop that I can at least communicate for work but can't do my work) crashed too! Mac was better about taking care of me fast (and for free to boot) and Dell was a nightmare. I had to write the CEO to get any action. Ah the power of a well written letter.

Since you were kind enough to ask.

I could begin by copying and pasting notes from my PMs to Mike and Jaime, but the highlights are...

We originally had a couple of older computers that were running Windows 95. I purchased Windows ME upgrade with the intent of networking the computers and having a way to back up data on each others computers. Let's put that around 4 years ago.

When the software would not load on either computer, we purchased a computer at Wal-Mart because it was on sale. Then both of the Windows 95 computers died, and we purchased a second identical computer from Wal-Mart.

Before Mike helped me configure a network, mine caught a DOS-based virus or worm. It infected, and deleted every program I ran, such as start, shutdown, scandisk, and defrag. I forget the name, but I was told that it could only be eliminated by an upgrade to Windows XP. That eliminated all of those bugs except Prockill-T and its derivative headaches. The programs that PE usually runs on her computer were not compatible with Windows XP. I never recovered the ability to write to a CD. (I even purchased a Windows XP compatible disk writing program. It does a lousy job of printing CD labels.) I could transfer pictures between the two computers, but the DOS files and FAT files are apparently incompatible. Nothing has been backed up now except my financial records. They're backed up to a floppy disk.

PE's computer went completely flaky, and reloading Windows ME did nothing. We hired a computer Geek, who reformatted and used the recovery disks. The computer would log onto the Internet, download a "patch" from Microsoft, and quit functioning again.

We went to the computer store and I asked, "Can you set up a computer with two hard drives so that it will play her games in ME, start, stop, and run in XP?" He suggested that we bring in the games. He demonstrated that with a more powerful processor, a larger hard drive, and more memory; her games ran better than they ever had. We invested as much in one computer as we had invested in our last two. The rebates would bring the total cost back down...

I mailed in the rebates before I discovered with my next purchase from the store that I needed to sign the receipts in order to collect the rebates.

I took PE's old computer, reformatted it, loaded Windows ME, and tried to play a game of Minesweeper. I got an insufficient memory warning. I gave up, purchased a copy of Windows XP and upgraded her old computer. XP discovered and deleted 17 Gigabytes of temporary Internet files Windows ME had not seen. (20 Gig Hard drive) I told my daughter she could have her mom's old computer, and took it downstairs and set it up. I came back upstairs, turned the power back on to my computer, and burned out the power supply.

I ordered a used power supply on eBay. (The original power supply is no longer available.) I recieved an "equivalent power supply," tore my computer completely down, and re-assembled it. Nothing happened when I tried to turn it on.

I brought PE's old computer upstairs, put it back on my desk, and tried to upload my financial records from the floppy disk. It insists that I used a password to protect the files, and is denying me access.

I purchased an external hard drive kit, and a hard drive. "Easy as 1 - 2 - 3 said the package." My intent was to use it as a large floppy disk, and back up both of the computers in our office. The directions indicated that if I connected it wrong, it would reformat one or both hard drives. "Be certain that you are comfortable using the FDISK DOS utility in Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows ME before proceeding." My last course in using DOS commands was when DOS 6.0 was released, and my computer is not the only thing in the house with a failing memory. All of the computers are now functioning with Windows XP, which notably has no DOS commands...

My daughter is going to need a working computer before she starts back to school in September, and I really need to know how much money is in the checking account.

And while troubleshooting the computers, a toothbrush fell in the sink trap. I removed and replaced the trap, breaking it in the process. In trying to replace the trap, I broke the faucet. I replaced the faucet, turned on the water, and the shutoff valves are leaking.

I am recalling an electrical inspector's corollary to Murphy's Law:

Oh, and my daughter wanted her favorite songs copied from two CDs to a single CD. I tried using PE's computer to do that. According to the disk directory, they're all on the disk, and in the right order. Unfortunately, I have no clue what an M4A file is, nor does my computer or her CD player.

The only problem I have is some websites that I check out I get an error saying
Then I click ok and the browser takes me to The page you are looking for is currently unavailable.....
I've tried to change the security settings, updated java and even changed from Windows ME to XP. Curse you Microsoft and your vague error messages. *shake fist in the air* Usually I just use MSN Explorer to get around the problem but I forgot my password for a while.

I have an adage which has worked pretty well for me:

If you use Outlook or Internet Explorer, your computer will be infected with a virus or worm.

I've never been infected with a virus or worm, and I've been working with computers for nearly 20 years. I use Mozilla as my browser. I'm thinking of trying out Firefox/Thunderbird or even perhaps Opera. Good thing is: these are all free.

Logophage:

I had been thinking of making the switch to Mozilla and finally did it today!. It really is a great alternative to IE.

I have a question though, what do you do with IE. Is it good enough to just leave it on the computer or should it be uninstalled completely?

I really have only gotton some minor infections in the past, but this latest trojen seems to be the last straw! Tired of waiting for Microsoft to fix all the security holes.

Red

It's okay to leave on your machine as long as you don't have it set as the default browser. I've noticed some web pages are IE only; if I have no other choice, I'll bring up IE. Apparently, both Firefox and Opera "spoof" the IE identification code on IE-only web sites making it possible to use those browsers. I'll probably give that a try. I've noticed a substantial drop in IE-only sites over the past year though so perhaps it's not a big issue anymore.

If I remember correctly (and this easily could have changed), IE is pretty hard to uninstall. It'd probably be best just to delete the shortcut from your desktop, and keep your Mozilla there instead, unless you have hard drive space issues

My sister uses Firefox exclusively and everytime I go down she has some problem with it. And this is with Adware and Anti virus. The only way to avoid a virus is to use trusted sites. Anything else and your just asking for trouble.
And don't use Email. Even with friend who probably infected themselves.

Thanks for the info on Firefox. It's still at 0.9 version so I was planning on waiting until the 1.0 release. I don't agree on the trusted site or email issues though. I've gone to many, many untrusted sites and have never been infected while using Mozilla or Netscape for that matter. I also never execute an attachment nor do I use an email client which executes them for me (like Outlook).

Having only used Mozilla (just today), I find it extremely easy and have not run into a single bug yet.

It seems to me to be a pretty down to earth browser and a bit faster then IE.

I am glad I Finally gave it a shot.

Red

I bought a new printer last weekend (or maybe the weekend before, I can't remember). Anyway, the thing was working fine until this morning and now it won't print. I am reloading drivers and hoping to reinstall, but this is so frustrating. I don't print that often, but when I need to...well I need to!

Anyone else find it hilarious that in oder to run one program, Internet browsers, you need to run many others like firewalls and antivirus and ad aware.......

No, it's actually sad, but really no different then driving a car. Caution is best when operating both.

Don't wear a seatbelt and you can be harmed, don't run good Virus protection and firewall, bith easily obtained for free, and you can loose a bunch of bucks.

I found an interesting paper when I was googling for information on Mozilla. This was a page by one of the people who helped develop Windows. He said it was never a good idea to bundle the IE with the OS for all the reasons we are now finding out (Security was the biggest problem)

Red

Ok crashfourit, I don't know if you jinxed me or not but now I can't run PDF links on my browser! It not only won't open but crashes.

Anyone have any ideas on how to fix?

IE is really botherin me right now... every other webpage it crashes for me.
Lookin at the other posts, I think I should try Mozilla too.

If you just want a better browser, try http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/

I've been using it for just over a year and I only use IE now when forced to at gunpoint.

Doc