Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with windows and PC

Out, Out, damn sound!

GJSchaller — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 16:17:20 -0800

Why can't I get Digital Out (5.1) from my PC to work with my Sony receiver? I have an Alienware Aurora 5500 "shuttle" PC I inherited from the previous owner, and am attempting to hook it up to my Sony STR-DA4300DS receiver. The receiver works fine for other sources, like a PS3, Apple TV, and HD TV from our Verizon FiOS box. When we attempt to connect the Alienware (running WinXP), we get sound only from the R & L speakers, and nothing from the Center, or the rear two speakers, even when we configure everything for 5.1 sound. (The sound tests indicate it should be playing to those speakers, by the silence they produce matching the visual cues on the screen, and we can hear them when the visual cue is for the R&L speakers.)

At first, we tried a TOSlink fiber cable to connect the on-board system to the receiver, with the above results. We then tried a Digital Coaxial cable, also from the on-board sound card, with the same results. I then dropped in a spare Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS, and used the Digital Out on it (3.5mm to Coaxial), but am STILL getting the same results, even with the new sound card.

The receiver is indicating it is only picking up 2 channels. If we force the player (VLC, in this case) to use 5.1 or direct SPDIF / Digital throughput, the receiver then shows 5.1 speakers, and stutters horribly as if it cannot decode the audio (This receiver has all the fixin's, including THX, Dolby, DTS, True HD, etc.).

I'm not sure at this point if it's the PC (OS?), or the Receiver, that is the issue - any advice, or something simple I'm missing? Googling hasn't been able to turn up the results I am looking for.

Formatting Differences in MS Word on Windows vs Mac

spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:35:47 -0800

How consistent is MS Office between Windows and OSX? Will using MS Office on my Mac solve this formatting problem I'm having? I'm have a MacBook Pro running Leopard,and I've been using Open Office to write my papers. It's great. I love Open Office (and love that it's free). When I need to turn something in, I just save it in PDF format, e-mail it to myself, then go to a computer lab, check my e-mail, and print off the PDF document. Perfect.

The problem is that I have a professor who needs some documents turned in via e-mail, and they use MS Word. I can save an Open Office document as a Word file (.doc or .docx), and for plain text formatting that's fine, but as soon as an outline or numbered list is created, things look crazy. It seems fine when I save it in Open Office, and it's fine when I then open that document using Open Office, but if the document is opened with MS Word, the formatting is horrible.

I can buy the MS Office suite for Mac at school using my student discount (it's around $35 I think). If I install that, and use Word to create these documents, will they appear the same when my professor opens them using Word, on her Windows computer?

If there will still be differences then I'll skip the $35 and just keep going to the computer lab to tweak things.

If I save a document in MS Word on a Mac and send it to a person using MS Word on a PC, are there formatting differences?

Help with buying a new mid-range windows gaming PC?

cortex — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:37:45 -0800

I'm looking at purchasing a new PC for gaming, wanting to spend between $1000 and $1500 total, would prefer not to put it together myself, and am waaaay out of the loop on hardware at this point, particularly graphic cards. I've been pricing out desktop builds from some of the major manufacturers this morning and I'm realizing that while I'm comfortable making some basic price/performance calls as far as CPU and memory, I'm completely out of touch with the GPU market and need some guidance.

I'd like to be able to play current releases without flinching, at crisp resolutions. I'll be happy with non-distracting performance: 30fps is great, 60fps is not something I'm going to care about so much.

I'd rather just buy a box from someone and have done with it than do much work myself inside the case, but as far as buying my own GPU to install in an otherwise standard box that's certainly not outside my comfort zone.

Looking at Dell's builds for both their normal beefy desktop line and their Alienware stuff, it seems like a lot of the latter is Ooh, Shiny packaging. I don't need a pretty box. But options for GPUs are pretty slim on non-gamer boxes, which has me wondering if going in that direction for a reasonably bullshit-free desktop build and then slotting in my own card is the smarter move.

Any specific advice on targeting a good-enough-for-current-games (biggies on my list include Dragon Age now, Mass Effect 2 and Diablo 3 when they drop, for example) GPU on the saner side of the price/performance break? Any particular good deals/providers for a solid out-of-the-box system in my price range?

Looking for the perfect laptop for traveling

Afroblanco — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:31:20 -0800

Looking for the perfect laptop for traveling. Priorities are durability, lightness, and battery life, in that order. Performance is not too important, but it must run Windows 7 like a champ. Willing to consider netbooks. Can spend up to $2000, but obviously I would like to spend no more than I absolutely have to.

Skip the Black Friday Madness?

dyno04 — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:51:20 -0800

I am in need of a new desktop computer. I am wondering if I should wait until Black Friday and brave the crowds or take advantage of some of the Windows 7 deals this week. I live in the Twin Cities, MN metro area if that makes a difference.

Text Message Problems

Zeker — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 12:48:23 -0800

I have a Touch Pro (Fuze) on WinMo 6.5. From my understanding, my text messages are being handled by pocket outlook. Can I use something besides outlook? I HATE HATE HATE HATE pocket outlook. Viewing multimedia messages is such a pain in the butt, it doesn't just display them as they should be, but rather as separate elements (i.e., click this impossibly small icon to view your picture. Jump this loophole to save it, now click here to read the accompanied text, back, now click here to listen to the accompanied music file). Also, sending text messages is horrible. Let me explain why...

Reception sucks indoors. So if a text message fails to send, this is what would typically happen on any other phone...

Message fails >>> message stays in outbox >>> phone keeps an eye out for reception >>> if there's reception, message is re-sent automatically >>> success!

Here's what outlook does...

Message fails >>> message I typed is sent from OUTBOX to MY INBOX (instead of staying in the outbox) >>> I need to click on my message and hit FORWARD >>> erase MY NAME under RECIPIENT NAME >>> re-type the recipient's name >>> keep my finger on send until I see 1 bar of reception >>> hit send, hope it goes through >>> cry in shame of spending 3 minutes to resend 1 message >>> kill myself.

I've tried actually moving the message from the inbox to the outbox, but it gives me an error saying it can't be done.

Who else is annoyed by this? Is there a setting to change the way this behaves? Or better yet, is there a replacement text message manager that works better and actually lets me view my MMS messages nicely? I'd appreciate some help please :D

TCP port switcheroo

AltReality — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:28:11 -0800

I would like to forward a local port to another local port...in effect, disguising one port for another. Is this possible? First, I'm on Windows XP SP3.

I would like any apps on my PC that try to make a connection through (for example) port 1234, to be routed out through port 4321 instead.
kinda like a hosts file, but for local ports, not IPs/DNS names.

I've been playing with NetCat and FPipe, thinking they might work, but I am obviously not getting the correct command line.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

How do i get my pc CD drive to read cd's properly?

sockpim — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 04:30:54 -0800

Why wont my cd drive in my laptop read any CDs? I have a Hi-Grade pc laptop with windows home vista, that's about one year old, but was reformatted about 6 months ago.

The cd drive wont read any new cd's, it will only read game cd's that have previously been installed on the laptop (even those cd's take a while before they're read by the laptop). When it has the cd's in the drive it makes a clicking/tapping noise. I've tried using a cd cleaning disc in it, but that hasn't seemed to work at all.

Does anyone know what the problem is, or what I can do that might help?
Cheers.

CD manufacturer identification on the Mac?

ignignokt — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:18:38 -0800

Is there a Mac equivalent to CDR Media Code Identifier. This could be run in Parallels, but I'm not sure it'll be able to get what it needs out of the DVD drive. And of course, it'd be nice to not have to run Parallels.

Which distro of Linux should I try?

n3rt — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 01:20:04 -0800

Which one of the multitude of Linux distros should someone who's never used Linux before give a go? I''m by no means a PC-phobe [or a Windows-phobe for that matter] but I've just done a couple of system backups and reinstalls of Vista, and am looking at my laptop [Acer Aspire 720Z with 2GB RAM, Intel Core-Duo] with a "hmm, what if eye, and wonder whether I should finally give a Linux distro a try.

My computing background was initially Amigas [hey, configuring Ami-TCP by hand was fun! To a certain extent... :) ] and I'm a graphic designer by profession. I already use a fair bit of Inkscape / GIMP so I'm not scared of new apps to replace anything, I'm just stumped at what to try from the various advice proffered by various techy-types here.

Any advice greatly appreciated - and play nicely! :) [Remembers the Amiga vs PC debate years ago...]

How to "lock down" Windows on a home PC

ackptui — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 06:52:03 -0800

I've been wondering if it is possible to apply the same solution to the never-ending problem of Windows corruption (and the resulting degraded performance) that data centers use. As I understand it, Windows is booted over the network, so what happens to the local hard drive does not matter. Is there a way of doing the same thing to a home PC? Can you make a hard drive "read-only" after putting a bootable Windows image on it, and then use a seperate hard drive for data storage? I really detest the solution that MS sponsors (virus protection/firewall software) because it is just another thing that you have to buy which supports it's business partners. Any other ideas?

Help me install a new CPU/mobo

mullacc — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:01:15 -0800

I broke my PC's motherboard :( Please help me pick a replacement and guide me through the installation process... Being very clumsy and impatient, I managed to break my motherboard while installing a second hard drive in my desktop PC. Now it doesn't work.

I've never installed a motherboard, but I enjoy fiddling around with this stuff so I'm going to give it a go. While I'm doing it, I figure I might as well upgrade my CPU too. I bought this PC from one of those generic configure-to-order websites, so I'm pretty sure I can just buy some off-the-rack replacements.

Here's what I had:
AMD 64 Athlon X2 4200+
GIGABYTE GA-M55SLI-S4 AM2 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard

Here's what I'm thinking of buying:
Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz
GIGABYTE GA-EP43-UD3L LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard

The Gigabyte website confirms that the E5200 CPU will work with that motherboard, and prices seems good to me. Any comments on my selection?

Here are some of the other components I have that I plan to keep:
2GB of DDR2 800 RAM (4 x 512MB)
COOLER MASTER Praetorian 730 case
420w power supply that says on the box it supports LGA 775 socket
I think an ATI Radeon X300 PCI-E graphics card (or something very similar)
And, of course, other stuff like 2 SATA HDDs, a DVD burner and stuff that probably isn't relevant.

I think all this stuff should work together. Any problems I'm overlooking?

Seems like hardware installation should be pretty straightforward, though perhaps time consuming. Any tips or additional things I may need to acquire? I have the right screwdrivers, but no other PC-specific tools.

Now my next problem: once I get all the hardware in place, what the heck do I do next?

My primary hard drive has Windows 7 RC installed. I still have the installation disk I made, and also the original XP disk that I bought along with the computer. Is it possible to salvage the Win7 installation and the current data on the drive? I have backups of my important files, so it's not a life or death issue. But if I can get away with it, I'd like to keep things as they are.

Thanks!

Salvage or DTMFA and Start Over?

rokusan — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:23:09 -0800

I've inherited an older PC from work and would like to turn it into a media center / game-playing box, but I'm not sure if it's up to snuff. I've inherited a Compaq Presario mini-tower, SR1315 (specs). The hard disk died and it wasn't worth replacing, apparently, so they got a whole new PC. I can add a new hard disk myself of course. It has a 2005 manufacturing date sticker on the back.

It's only an AMD Sempron 3100+ CPU, which seems pretty wimpy to me, but it does have 2Gb of RAM. It was last running WinXP SP3 and "seemed" snappy and fast to me the couple of times I used it, but I haven't re-installed Windows or ~~downl~~ purchased any real games yet to push it, since it's due for a fresh setup anyway. I just popped it open and dusted the crap out of it, and I'll be ordering a new HD shortly.

In addition to poor built-in graphics (unused), it has an add-on video card someone threw in there, which (reading the sticker) is a 256Mb GeForce FX5500. It's PCI and not AGP, though there is an open AGP slot. This card was doing 1920x1200 DVI last week.

But I doubt that's enough. Would a better video card bring this beast up to spec enough for Fallout 3 or the Valve games, or will that processor pretty much cripple me? If a video card is enough to do it, which one should I be finding?

The CPU looks soldered-on to me (damn Compaq), so that's not an easy upgrade path. I am guessing that motherboard swaps aren't easy on these "brand name" PCs, since the connectors and cutouts probably won't ever line up.

Other than gaming, HDMI would be nice I suppose, so I could hook it into the LCD in the living room. I assume XP is still the right choice to squeeze the best performance.

So.... is there hope, or is that CPU a killer, which means I should I just junk it and pick up a new no-name case/power supply and start fresh?

Any other related advice is welcome, especially if I'm dead wrong on my assumptions above. If the consensus is DTMFA, I have seen many MeFi threads on spec'ing out a new one so I'm okay on that I think.

(I'm reasonably capable of doing anything technical short of soldering, but I'm not a native Windows person so use small words, please.)

Where to find updated info on (graphic design) hardware?

filthy light thief — Tue, 05 May 2009 11:57:10 -0800

How should I keep up-to-date on hardware for graphic design? I'm not a graphic designer by trade, but I would like my personal (WinXP) computer to be suitable for hobby-work graphics. More details and criteria inside. I have a WinXP system I cobbled together a few years back. My flat-screen monitor is a bit odd (pink dots are noticeable from time to time), and my printer/scanner combo is pretty much a POS for both functions. I make do with all of it, but I keep thinking I should start looking into upgrading elements. Primarily I'd like a new monitor and scanner, but a good printer would be nice, and I keep lusting after tablets, even though I don't do that much drawing by hand any more.

I've found what I think are good reviews, but I feel that if they're over 6 months old, I'm missing out on something. I don't need cutting edge, and it seems like there are probably some reliable resources for computer-based artists that I haven't found. So, hive-mind, what should I look for? Do you known handy sites? Thanks!

Stop Doing That!

Xhris — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 09:14:53 -0800

Something's rebooting my PC at 4:30am every day - help me find out what and stop it?!? I have lots of the usual stuff going on my PC (win XP) - and lots of them are capable of initiating a reboot. And I think I've checked them all - damned if I can find out which one is doing it!!

The AVG virus scanner for example has a 'reboot after scan' option - but it's not set and I moved the scan time just to be sure. So I'm not listing here all the stuff that's running on it - so I please don't expect the hive to guess what is the cause. But can you suggest ways that I can trap it ? Ways to divert, pause, trap, dump whatever-is-doing-it?

And here's the kicker - the PC is actually in an office (which is locked and I have no access at night), so I can't watch it shut down. So I need something that will dump a file or freeze it so I can see in the morning.

(I have full administrator rights to the PC).

TIA

Is now the right time to buy a new PC?

stuehler — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 08:28:52 -0800

My trusty 3-year old home office PC is starting to drag a bit, so I'm thinking about replacing it. Should I bite the bullet and buy something with Vista? Go with XP, even if it means not getting the latest Intel processor? Or, should I wait until Windows 7? A few considerations... I'm a web developer, so I'm on my PC about 10 hours a day. So, performance and reliability matter a TON.

I always have a Firefox window with 6-10 tabs, plus a few Office apps, plus Photoshop, and a few development tools. I'm not an avid gamer, but I appreciate playing the latest FPS every now and then. So, when I buy something new - I tend to buy pretty close to the high end, in terms of processor, RAM, and video card.

I'm pretty rigorous about "maintaining" my PC - (e.g., using CCleaner and Malwarebytes daily, keeping antivirus updated, etc.).

I want to keep things as simple as possible, and invest as little time as possible. So, even though many of my more tech-minded friends say, "Build a linux box", I don't have the skills or time to learn how to do that. I want something that works right out of the box. I also don't want to invest the time in building my own PC from scratch.

And as much as I appreciate Apple (I LOVE my ipod and iphone), I'm not inclined to buy a Mac, since I've got so much invested in Windows software. (I know I can run that on a Mac, but it seems like that means compromising on performance and stability.)

I'd love to buy another XP pc, but it looks like the major manufacturers aren't offering that as an option with the latest and greatest processors. I hate to spend $1,500-$2,000 buying a dated processor.

The reviews on Vista seem mixed, but I'd hate to buy a new PC and end up with performance that's no better than my 3 year old XP box.

So Should I wait until Windows 7? Or, is Vista performance not as bad as I've heard?

Adobe Audacity vs Logic Express

treepour — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 22:04:40 -0800

Switched to Mac, looking for Adobe Audacity replacement. Should I go for Logic Express? I used Audacity primarily for two things (in order priority):

1) Splicing existing recordings together as seamlessly as possible. Here I used the "Echo Chamber" effects quite extensively. These helped create the sense that the musicians stopped playing and then started playing something else -- the ambient echo of the previous section carried on into the next.

2) Severely warping recorded sounds via a variety of filters/effects, combining them together via the multitrack interface, mixing the multiple tracks down to single tracks then continuing the process.

Can I do these kinds of things with Logic Express? Or would I be better off using Audacity via Windows vmware? Learning a new piece of software isn't a problem, I just want to make sure that the software will enable the kinds of things I want to do. Also, any other similarly-priced Mac recommendations for this sort of thing besides Logic Express would be appreciated.

Parting with the old laptop - protecting my stuff

terrier319 — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 10:22:27 -0800

Cleaning up the old laptop for sale -- what must I do to get it ready to hand over to someone else? I am selling my laptop. This is a Windows XP system with multiple users. What is the easiest way to back up a bunch of stuff -- iTunes music, tons of photos, Word docs, etc -- for quick re-placement on a new machine. What about auto-passwords, etc? - should I just wipe out the browsers and let the new owner reinstall? Anything else I might be overlooking? thanks.

Why does external drive keep switching back to read-only setting?

noir — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 17:20:27 -0800

I have an external usb drive running off my Windows 7 computer. It keeps switching back to Read-Only, so when I try to send files to it, it merely appends a file and adds a number to its name, instead of re-writing the entire file. I've tried to change it back, but it does not stay changed. The minute I refresh the page, the read-only status comes back! Is there some setting I'm missing? Is there something in Windows 7 that's causing this to happen?

Problem with LCD monitors & native resolution

4midori — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 21:25:00 -0800

Problem finding lower resolution LCD monitor. Hi,

I do web design & dev all day on a PC. My current setup is one 20" LCD as primary monitor, and a cheap 17" CRT as secondary.

Though the LCD's native resolution is 1600X1200, I run it at 1024X768 and it looks pretty good. No eyestrain. This allows me to fit a 960pixel-wide Photoshop image on the screen and work on it comfortably.

I just bought a 24" monitor, but its native resolution is 1900X1200. Running it that high makes everything TINY. I know I can change font sizes and edit other Windows settings, increase font sizes in Firefox, etc., but image editing and menu sizes are all WAY too small. For example, the File menu of applications is really tiny.

Two questions:

-Can I even find a 20" LCD monitor that has a 1024X768 native resolution?

-If not, what's the best solution here? I suppose I could just buy another 20" like I've got.

I have read through previous ask metafilter posts, but didn't quite find the answer.

What should I look for in a laptop?

Caz721 — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 09:32:11 -0800

What sort of specs should I look for for my new (sub-$600) PC laptop? My old laptop has been giving me a lot of problems, and as it is nearly 6 years old, I think I'm ready to get a new one. However, I'm having trouble figuring out what specs I should focus on as I compare what's available. Any advice as to what to focus on or caution as to what to avoid would be appreciated. I'm not sure exactly what details are relevant, so I apologize for the length below. I have read the previous questions on similar topics, but none seem to fit exactly, so I hope someone will have some advice.

I use my computer for internet, Microsoft Office, Itunes, and digital photo storage. I'd like something that has adequate memory so I won't have to worry about storing music/pictures. Additionally, I'd like something that I can use when I work from home, instead of bringing my work laptop home. Working from home I connect to my office network through a VPN, and sometimes use document review and database programs, as well as Office programs. My work laptop is an 80 GB Dell Latitude and is 2 years old or so (running windows XP I think). I use a cable internet connection at home, if that's relevant.

Size and weight is less of a concern, because I don't travel with my laptop often. I've ruled out the little netbooks based on size however because I need a larger screen size when I work from home (I've considered the netbook + monitor, but I usually work on the couch in apartment, so I think that would be awkward). I think my current screen is 15" and it doesn't have to be exactly that, but in that range would be best.

I've recently heard/read here at AskMe that people seem to be unhappy with the current Dell laptops. Is this true? Is there a brand recommendation or should I concentrate more on a set of specifications? Which ones?

Thanks for all your help.

Looking for a solution to finding and using special characters.

iamkimiam — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 11:25:05 -0800

What is the best, most efficient FREE way to get a bunch of people on the same page with IPA or special character fonts, across platforms? My fellow linguists and I are having a hard time figuring out the best way to allow ourselves to write our documents and papers containing special (IPA) characters. Some of us are on a mac, some PC, and we even have a Linux user or two. Most of us use Microsoft Word.

Keyboard shortcuts only take us so far, because crucial letters like Thorn and Eth are unavailable (as far as I can tell), but what is nice about the shortcuts is that you can pass the document around, change fonts, etc. and the characters are unchanged (epsilon still looks like epsilon in Times, Arial, etc.)

OR, using the SIL IPA fonts, requiring all of us to have them installed...I know the IPA special characters are included in the font of course, but how do we find/see them?* Does MS Word have a character map or keyboard shortcut feature that will let us see how to pick/make the characters we need?

What has worked best for you? Is there an industry standard method for this type of work/document creation?

I would like to figure this out, and then set up some simple step-by-step instructions for the rest of my classmates. Your help in understanding how this works is greatly appreciated!

*I have no problem seeing the entire glyph set in Adobe InDesign, so I know the characters are there, but nobody else has that program of course, and we need to be able to do this in Word. Typing alphabet strings while holding down various keys to map it all out is SILLY. Somebody has got to have already figured this out.

Need to simplify Vista. Please do not answer "get a mac."

hooray — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:49:00 -0800

What can I do to simplify my parents' new PC? I've never used Vista before. I'm home for the holiday, and my parents bought a new computer last month. It runs Microsoft Vista, and I'm kind of overwhelmed by all of the superfluous features. I only have experience with XP and previous generations, and I'm really not in touch with what's happening in the Windows world anymore.

I've already installed Firefox, made default fonts bigger and switched back to the XP theme, but I don't know what else to do. It's primary used as an e-mail checking machine with very light web browsing.

Can I trust the Windows Firewall? What's the best virus protection? How do I get Vista to stop asking me for confirmation anytime I want to do something? Is there any benefit to keeping Norton, and if not, what is the best alternative? Any essential software recommendations or links to similar questions are appreciated.

Can this computer be saved?

lemonwheel — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:15:58 -0800

How do I force Windows to boot into safe mode without access to the screen and limited functionality of the keyboard? I have an old HP Pavillion that I have hooked up to my television via S-video. I don't want it to do anything complicated, just play videos & music, occasionally browse the web and play emulated video games.

It had Windows 2000 on it, so I decided to try and install XP Home. I left Windows 2000 on the computer on a seperate partition, and got all the way through the install process. When I rebooted the computer (and on all subsequent reboots) the screen was rolling and split in half.

I attempted to run it in safe mode, but hitting F8 while the computer is loading does not work, nor does attempting to use the arrow keys to choose which OS I want to use. The keyboard works once the computer is in Windows, as I can see a vague outline of the menu when I hit the button. I assume that it's not the video connection, as everything shows up fine until I actually get into Windows, and I've used the same cable to hook another computer up to the TV.

So, I can't see anything on the screen and the keyboard doesn't work during the startup process. Is there anything I can do to force the system into safe mode, so I can change the settings? Should I just give up?

Can I use the B: drive on my PC?

penciltopper — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 18:32:41 -0800

Can I use B: as a drive letter, on a modern windows PC, without messing things up? Doing some reading, I have learned that there's no B: drive on most PCs because B: used to be the letter for the 2nd floppy disk; most don't have it anymore, so the B: has become archaic.

But I don't see any reason not to use a perfectly good letter.

Is there any reason that I can't assign an external drive to B: (for Backups, duh)?

Would it cause some kind of system irregularity?

How about a networked share? If I've networked all the computers in the house/office/domain, and can I map their backups to B: without causing any wonkiness?

Does this differ from XP to Vista?

B: might actually be special to the system in some way that would make it incompatible, and if so, Fine, I'll leave it alone.

But if it's not any different than F: or Q:, then I'd like to know I'm free to use it without any extra worries.