TechFilter: The other day, my home machine fall down, go boom. After a "hard" shutdown, I rebooted and everything had gone to 600x400 and the system didn't recognize my mouse. Since I lost my system CD when I moved (and it's time to upgrade anyway), I'm picking up a copy of XP Home tonight. My main concern is this: I have two hard drives on my box. My 40GB C: drive, where I intend to install the OS (after formatting it) and a secondary 100GB drive where I have all my music files, documents and other stuff. Does XP make it clear and easy how to format (since my fubared system isn't allowing me to get to a DOS prompt to do it the old fashioned way) and install the OS on the C: drive while leaving the second drive unchanged. Thanks in advance.
posted by jonmc
on Dec 13, 2004 -
16 answers
WindowsXP and shared folders. Every time I turn on my computer, it automatically finds new shared folders on the network. Help me make it stop. [more inside]
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posted by caution live frogs
on Nov 16, 2004 -
3 answers
Are there any real advantages to running Windows XP on a partitioned hard drive, with a different partition each for Windows, programs, and files?
posted by tranquileye
on Nov 15, 2004 -
6 answers
Defrag this! What defragmentation program would people recommend for Windows XP? The one which came standard with the OS or a third party?
posted by phyrewerx
on Nov 9, 2004 -
22 answers
JavaScript: is it possible to detect a Windows XP user's chrome settings? For some perverse reason, chromed-out Windows XP scrollbars are a pixel wider than their "Classic" counterparts and it's breaking an interface.
posted by yerfatma
on Nov 4, 2004 -
6 answers
WinXP: my laptop downloaded a windows update (not sure what sort). Now, when I shut down, it tries to update my machine. I get a message saying that Windows is updating, and it advises me NOT to turn off my machine until it's done. But it continues to "update" forever. I've let it sit for two hours, and it still claims to be updating. Finally, with clenched teeth, I shut off the machine and rebooted. Everything seems okay. Now, whenever I shut down, it asks me if I want to install the upgrade or not. If I say yes, the machine stalls on that upgrading message. If I say no, it shuts down fine. I'm ok with saying no all the time, except that now I can't ever add any new updates. What should I do?
posted by grumblebee
on Oct 27, 2004 -
14 answers
I am looking for a good low end webcam. Anybody got any recommendations ? WinXP/2000 compatible (linux drivers would also be nice but not essential). Price is a factor since I am a pov.
posted by srboisvert
on Oct 23, 2004 -
1 answer
I have about 73GB worth of music in iTunes. The "my music" folder on my HDD has about 85GB of music in it. I want to identify the music that's NOT in iTunes so I can either delete it, or organize it and import it into iTunes. Advice? I'm using WinXP.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders
on Oct 22, 2004 -
8 answers
I have an HP Pavilion mx703 that runs on Windows XP. Lately, right in the middle of working on it, the screen will get these wavy black lines on it (can't really be more specific than that) that start at the bottom and work their way to the top. It's annoying as hell, and nothing gets rid of them except shutting down completely - rebooting doesn't help. A friend suggested "Degausse", but that doesn't work. I'm not as computer-savvy as other MeFites here - anyone know what to do? It's done it four or five times this evening alone, and I'm at my wits end. Please help!!
posted by ScarletSpectrum
on Oct 12, 2004 -
5 answers
Linux Filter: Had to re-install XP on a dual-boot machine because I borked it. It overwrote the MBR, where Grub was installed. How do I get GRUB back on the computer, and seeing my linux partition?
posted by SpecialK
on Oct 12, 2004 -
5 answers
Is there something I can get for Win XP that can control the volume of each program individually? I'd like Windows Media Player to be loud (for those videos that have unexplained quiet sound) and Trillian and system beeps and the like to be barely audible. Is this possible?
posted by Orange Goblin
on Sep 30, 2004 -
6 answers
WinXPVibratesFilter: While the brand new XP that lives within my Powerbook, courtesy VirtualPC, appears fully functional and not terribly dog slow, what should I do to rope it off from these
viruses I'm told of time and again by my Wintel-using fellow-geeks? Free, as ever, is the best. Also, for whatever reason, the Windows Update website auto-scan thingy just autoscans, unto infinity. I've managed to whack the pseudo-box into updating despite this, but it makes auto-updating, as a class, suspect.
posted by mwhybark
on Sep 24, 2004 -
8 answers
Is there anyway I can get the image previewing from Windows XP on Win 2k? If not, are there any alternatives? I tried ACDSee and found it too bloated.
posted by Orange Goblin
on Sep 15, 2004 -
12 answers
Any recommendations for flashcard program? I'm looking for something free that runs on XP. The kicker: I need to be able to change the font on the cards and have access to a character map so I can use it for classical Greek. Everything I've found so far is crap or for OS X.
posted by stopgap
on Sep 15, 2004 -
2 answers
WindowsXP, 250 gig shared backup hard drive, and a lab full of people with sensitive information that needs to be backed up on said drive but shouldn't be accessible by anyone other than the user who put it there. Security is giving me fits and I'd appreciate some helpful advice. [more gory details inside]
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posted by caution live frogs
on Sep 13, 2004 -
5 answers
EmailFilter: I have a Windows XP Pro laptop and an OS X iMac. I need to store my email and contacts on the iMac but access them over my home network from the laptop. How can I do this? [mi]
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posted by Sfving
on Sep 1, 2004 -
8 answers
Is there a way to bulk rename a bunch of folders in Windows XP by just removing any white space? I want to upload these to a web server and would prefer avoiding the %20 madness.
posted by fletchmuy
on Aug 31, 2004 -
5 answers
I have a new 160 gig HD that I partitioned into two drives. One of the partitions is exclusively for mp3s. Unfortunately, when I open the drive, XP treats it as a "My Pictures" folder. How do I change it to a "My Music" folder? Ordinarily, I'd go Properties>Customize, but when I go Properties on the root folder, I get hard drive properties. (General / Tools / Hardware / etc.)
posted by keswick
on Aug 28, 2004 -
3 answers
Can anyone recommend a good webmeeting software for webcam-conferencing? There's tons of them out there, but I'd like a freeware one that's capable of handling more than two users at the same time, point-to-point (not via some server, due to lagging issues). iVisit is great, but will only accept two users in freeware version. As an extra challenge, it needs to be compatible with Linux and XP. Go geeks, go!
posted by NekulturnY
on Aug 11, 2004 -
2 answers
What's a relatively easy way to script browser actions (events?) in Windows XP? (mi)
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posted by bingo
on Aug 8, 2004 -
11 answers
I have a PC with WinXP Pro. She has an iBook with Mac OS X. Together they
fight crime share a router. e:\ is where I shove all my
porn music. How can I make this available to her to copy what she wants to her machine or her ipod?
posted by pieoverdone
on Aug 7, 2004 -
5 answers
Will I ever be able to do scheduled backups again? I'm on XP Home, and Task Scheduler seems hosed. I get the message "Unable to establish existence of the account specified" whenever I try to schedule something. MS
tells me this is a known problem, resulting from the account having been renamed, and that if I restore the original name, all will be well. I have no idea what the original name could have been. Suggestions?
posted by stupidsexyFlanders
on Aug 5, 2004 -
2 answers
Windows XP Home. I would like to control access to certain folders so that other users can't access them. Is there either:
A. A way as administrator to hide the folders, and then somehow prevent other users from accessing the "Show hidden files and folders" option in explorer:
B. A FREE utility to control access to folders. I have searched and searched, but I can't find any completely free ones.
Thank you!
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posted by eas98
on Aug 5, 2004 -
9 answers
Is there a way to hide a DOS window when it is minimized on a Windows XP toolbar? [more inside]
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posted by ajr
on Jul 22, 2004 -
5 answers
PCFilter : Is there any way to tell what program inserted something into the registry?
I've been attacked by four seperate virii that sophos claims don't exist in the wild. One of them (netclnc.exe) keeps reappearing in my registry and the system32, and I want to know what's putting it there so I can kill it. Ideas?
posted by twine42
on Jul 18, 2004 -
14 answers
Thanks for your help with this
question. Now, I have another one dealing with VPN's. I need to remote desktop into my work computer and when I don't use the default internet gateway for my vpn, I can't connect to the remote desktop. However, I was told that if I setup a static route to a certain IP through the vpn adaptor each time after I connect to the VPN, it should work. How do I do that? I'm on windows XP, home edition.
posted by Stynxno
on Jul 10, 2004 -
1 answer
[Media Player Filter] I've downloaded several TV programs via torrent in an .AVI format which on my XP system is associated with Windows Media Player, unfortunately all I get is audio.
What / where do I obtain the appropiate codecs or a better media player?
posted by page404
on Jul 6, 2004 -
14 answers
My parents were getting tired of the clutter on their computer, so I reformatted the hard drive for them and installed Windows XP and (among other things) Symantec AntiVirus 9. Seemingly randomly, and fairly often, they now get a yellow pop-up warning that "Symantec auto-protect is disabled" - even though auto-protect is enabled in preferences and shows up in the system tray. I have a laptop with SAV9 on WinXP, and it doesn't do this. What's going on?
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posted by kickingtheground
on Jun 18, 2004 -
8 answers
So I installed XP Pro - and I want to set Mozilla as my default browser instead of IE (because, well ... duh) - but Evil Bill's software won't play nice. Oh no. What am I to do AskMe, what am I to do? [furthered within]
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posted by Blue Stone
on Jun 17, 2004 -
10 answers
Something is royally screwed with my PC (Windows XP). I had some kind of spyware involving the file "bridge.dll", I found instructions online to get rid of it, but I still have problems. When I reboot, my Quick Launch toolbar is no longer there, and when I use the "Email", "WWW" and other buttons on my Logitech keyboard, it opens up 3 instances of the programs. Adaware and Norton Antivirus turn up nothing. Anything I can do?
posted by Orange Goblin
on Jun 15, 2004 -
9 answers
Windows XP firewall + Zone Alarm = problem?
I've just upgraded to Windows XP and I have three questions (so far...).
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posted by Termite
on Jun 7, 2004 -
8 answers
I'd like to change the way Windows XP handles an external device (mp3 player). My RCA Lyra is dealt with as an external hard drive, so that I can only add files to it by copy-pasting (or drag and dropping) but not through the iTunes "export" feature. How do I change how Windows treats this device?
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posted by nprigoda
on Jun 5, 2004 -
12 answers
I recall seeing a page about making a slipstreamed installation cd for xp similar to these.
1 2 The difference is that the one I'm looking for also showed you how to include applications with it as well as updates and service packs. I think it was linked to off of AskMe, MeFi, or Slashdot. Sadly, my Google-fu was not strong enough to find the page. Anybody know the page I'm talking about or know how to do what I'm talking about?
posted by mindless progress
on Jun 4, 2004 -
6 answers
Adobe Photoshop 7.0 problem: I just installed around 3000 fonts on my Windows XP system, and now photoshop won't start. It starts loading the reading font part of setup and then craps out saying: "Unable to continue because of a hardware or system error. Sorry, but this error is unrecoverable." What can I do besides deleting all the fonts I installed?
posted by Stynxno
on Jun 3, 2004 -
8 answers
The bell tolls for ME. Help this loser to upgrade from Windows ME to XP Pro. [4 questions inside...]
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posted by Termite
on May 2, 2004 -
12 answers
MIDI input through the game port in Windows XP - does this actually still work, or is it just me? [More Inside]
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posted by Jimbob
on Apr 4, 2004 -
5 answers
Windows XP users - let's help each other help ourselves! What are your most treasured bookmarks for XP troubleshooting, tips and tricks, etc. Two of mine are inside.
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posted by taz
on Mar 18, 2004 -
13 answers
Double question: My XP Pro OS wont let me switch users anymore (5 account system), it will only let me log off. Second my brother got kicked from the computer and I forgot to get a password for administrator. Hes got his own password now. How do I reset the admin pass without using a linux boot disk?
posted by Keyser Soze
on Mar 18, 2004 -
2 answers
I'm getting a new computer in a few weeks, but I have a TV capture card I want to transfer from my old machine into the new one. Since it's going to be an XP machine, in light of the weird "hardware configuration" key they built into the software, should I install the capture card
before I boot the machine for the first time, or should I wait until afterwards? On the one hand, I'd like to make sure the machine works as is before I crack it open, but on the other hand, I would
not like to spend a bunch of time on hold with Microsoft to get the damned OS unlocked. How touchy is the XP hardware configuration key? (I know, I know, buy a Mac...)
posted by headspace
on Mar 2, 2004 -
3 answers
I use the Windows XP Professional Internet Connection Sharing to dish out my DSL access to a couple of people residing in the same location. How do I find just basic log information about this service? It magically dishes out DHCP access to them, but I can't even find how many IP addresses have been assigned, how many connections are active, and so on.
posted by LukeyBoy
on Feb 25, 2004 -
4 answers
Windows XP question... My parents computer is set up that most items are stored on a 20 GB harddrive (or possibly a partition- listed as c:) while they have 100 GB available on d:... When I install software, is it perfectly acceptable to run it off the D drive, and is there a way to switch the set up so most items save to the d drive?
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posted by drezdn
on Feb 23, 2004 -
8 answers
Internationalising email in WinXP. My wife can read emails sent to her in Thai script using Outlook on our Win XP machine, but I can't work out how to configure the machine so that she can type in Thai (using out Thai/ English keyboard) in a non-html email. Outlook help mentions configuring using Microsoft Office Tools from the program manager - but that requires using the XP discs, which we don't have as it was preinstalled by the PC manufacturer. Anyone got any ideas? I don't want to change the language of the whole O/S/ (there's a download from microsoft.com to do that) as I don't read Thai. We're by no means married to Outlook; Moz, Opera etc would be fine. We have Thai fonts.
posted by Pericles
on Feb 18, 2004 -
5 answers
I have a PC that I use to test web sites on Windows browsers (my main computer's a Mac). I tried to upgrade to Windows XP, and the XP installer seems to have wrecked the hard drive. Should I replace my hard drive or buy a new computer?
[sketchy details inside] [more inside]
posted by kirkaracha
on Jan 27, 2004 -
8 answers
Need a sound browser for XP, should have an explorer-like interface, where I click on a WAV or MP3 and I can hear how it sounds. Speed and simplicity would be nice, too. Having to "process" whole folders would be a no-no.
posted by signal
on Jan 21, 2004 -
9 answers
I have a MITSUMI CR-4804TE CDRW drive. While it's slow, it worked perfectly fine for me while I was running Win98SE. Now that I've got XP, it's all gone to pot
[more].
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posted by precocious
on Jan 11, 2004 -
5 answers
