Plastic Nev

Hi Killid, I notice you mentioned AVG and Avira anti-virus, both are anti-virus programs and if both are running at the same time, this can cause conflicts that could result in freeze ups. I recommend uninstalling one of them, they are both good, so I will leave it to you to decide which one to get rid of.

OK as an update I have removed Threatfire, (cheeky beggars opened up a page in Firefox asking why I had got rid!!!) then also Ad-Aware has gone, as I said earlier, I am reluctant to dump Spybot S&D yet as it does have some useful features, excluding of course the annoying teatimer. Thanks all for your help in this and I shall see what the future brings. SP3 is as yet something to go for when I have more time to sit around while it downloads, then installs. Perhaps on the morrow.

Somewhere in the software controls, as Mike said, there should be a drop down type menu, see my screen shot, in my case set to "Living Room" which is probably what you want, but is maybe set for church, large hall, or similar echoy type environment.

Hi Blues, I could blame you for me being here, but in the nicest possible way of course. So really it should be thanks, it is a great site.

I have two large dogs, and was buying a large bag of Purina at My local Tesco, and was in line to check out. The woman behind me asked if I had a dog? Duh? ...... On impulse, I told her no, I was starting The Purina Diet again. Although I probably shouldn't because I'd ended up in the hospital the last time. But I'd lost 50 pounds before I awakened in an intensive care ward with tubes everywhere and IVs in both arms. I told her that it was essentially a perfect diet and the way it works is to load your pockets with Purina nuggets and simply eat one or two every time you feel hungry. The food is nutritionally complete so I was going to try it again. I have to mention here that practically everyone in line was now enthralled with my story, particularly a tall guy who was standing behind her. Horrified, she asked if I ended up in intensive care because the dog food poisoned me? I told her no, I'd been sitting in the street licking my arse when a car hit me. I thought the guy standing behind her was going to need help as he staggered to the door laughing.

A screen shot of the system showing the main details, thanks for the reply Wolfy, I have already been thinking along the lines of dumping some, such as AdAware, and perhaps the Threatfire, as SpywareBlaster is doing more or less the same thing. I know some are saying Spybot isn't what it was, but loath to lose that as yet.

It may be a common problem or may not , however to describe as best I can, after boot up has finished and providing I want the machine on line, I use a DSL broadband connection. Once connected, after a few minutes which can be as long as ten minutes or more, everything freezes, for about two or three minutes, the only thing that works is the mouse pointer (plus the hourglass). I know what is happening, because the next thing is everything returns to normal and then up pops the balloon to tell me "The latest updates have been installed in your threatfire". Obviously the updating process is hogging a lot of resources, is this common? I have had a look at PC Tools site but nothing helpful there. Any answers please any one? It is only a minor issue, more an annoyance, but if it is a sign something is wrong elsewhere I would be glad to know. In case there are known issues with other software, here is the security stuff I have. Firewall, Comodo Firewall Pro Avast anti-virus, Malwarebytes, SAS (superantispy---) Spybot S&D (teatimer turned off) Ad Aware SpywareBlaster, comodo BOClean, last but not least Threatfire. All the above are up to date with the latest versions. To top all that, on another forum, a security and malware MRU graduate recomended not to run Threatfire alongside Avast as there is a suspicion there could be a conflict, but I have seen no other problems, and as yet there is only a suspicion of conflict, no proof as such. Any views on that one folks?

Can any one identify with this? are you the guy on the left? http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y282/plasticpig/29mug6pjpg.gif

Due to a recommendation, I installed the free "Registry Mechanic", then opened it! I disagreed with just about everything it told me so I closed it down and haven't looked at it since. That reminds me, one of these days I will free up a bit of space and uninstall it:D:D

Hi, have you been over to Firefox and asked there? I remember at the time the memory hogging was a big issue, and version 3 was supposed to address it. Firefox themselves will be interested to know there is still a problem, and may want you to try various things themselves.

Hi, have you been over to Firefox and asked there? I remember at the time the memory hogging was a big issue, and version 3 was supposed to address it. Firefox themselves will be interested to know there is still a problem, and may want you to try various things themselves.

We must be gluttons for punishment Ken, just can't get away from helping folk can we?

I am a great believer in the principle of "If you find something useful, pass it on" I hope someone here finds that site helpful. I have as yet no need for it, but in the future? who knows. ;)

A bit late now perhaps, but I did buy some time since, maybe last year, a midi to USB link cable, trouble now is I can't find it to tell you who made it. It has a small box halfway down it, which I assume is the converter box to convert the midi to something the USB can handle. It works fine with my laptop and sound card.

Through someone else on another forum I was made aware of this useful site. If you are not afraid of using a screwdriver and opening your laptop, there are many helpful tips with good photo's to go with them. Here- Laptop Repair Help

Symantec have been told time and again about its problems with Norton and its resource hogging slowing machines to a virtual stand, (there is a novel concept! a virtual stand in a virtual machine existing in virtual reality :D ) However Symantec seem to take little notice, a great shame when in its earlier days it was one of the best I believe.

I think what Mara is getting at here is the fact that a lot of software makers upgrade each year, so a program made in say 2006, which will be a very useful bit of kit on XP just won't run on Vista, so you need to buy the upgrade, usually expensive, I have several music based programs that are exactly like that, but the upgrades are such that I don't need the extra bells and whistles they have put on, much less can I afford the price of the upgrade.

Having read through all the postings, I think I can add quite a few more, first, there is not many on the list of free programs for photograph handling yet, so here goes- The one that nearly everyone into photo manipulation recommends is Irfanview from here- IrfanView - Official Homepage - one of the most popular viewers worldwide Next in line is PhotoFiltre this is of French origins but the English version is superb, easy to use and as good as some that can cost the old arm and leg, from here- http://www.photofiltre.com There are others, and most will know of the Adobe and Google basic editing suites to name a few, but they are just basic stuff not much better than windows own. Next comes a long list of Music handling and writing programs, well me being a musician what do you expect? First is a simple recording program that can convert any sound file that you can play on your computer, such as midi or video related sound tracks, and convert them to either WAV or MP3 and is called MP3 My MP3. available from here- MP3 My MP3 Recorder - Record sounds and music to MP3 Free! Have you got a noisy recording? would you like to clean it up? try Audacity, this is from the sourceforge site mentioned earlier and will also convert audio files to MP3 or WAV as well as one or two other useful tricks in its repertoir- Audacity: Free Audio Editor and Recorder Next we go straight into the complex world of music sequencers and music notation witing programs, the first in my list being the Frieve Music Studio Producer, this is the free one, they also do Music Studio Independance, which is shareware and costs $39 to buy the full licence, however both are available to download from here- Frieve Home Page To use this software you do need to know a lot about handling sequencers but is a very good program considering it is free, and it will also show the music from a midi file in notational form, but you cannot print it out in this the free version. Next one is a true notation program which you can use to write those silly tadpoles on their lines, then play it back to hear your creation, it is full of its own manual which tells you everything you need to use it and is called Anvil Studio, available from here- Anvil Studio Catalog Unfortunately you cannot print off your music without buying the plugin, however you can create a midi file, store it somewhere you know where it is, then get this useful little program to print it for you. It is called "Notation Player" although only meant to be a player of midi files you can print the notation off from the display and can be found here- Notation Software, Inc. -- Software for everyday musicians You may have to search the site fully for "Notation Player" as they don't seem that keen on giving this one away, they would much rather you try their shareware and buy it. Next is from the stable of Finale the American company whose main product is used by musicians worldwide and rather expensive, however they do a free program called "Finale Notepad" which is meant to get you wanting all the goodies that the paid for version gives, so hence rather a basic notation writing piece of software, but still useful for those who want to learn more about music. https://www.finalemusic.com/store/search.aspx Look for "Notepad" and to download you will have to sign up if you realy want it, but everything is free. I hope that is a good supply of free programs for the photographer or musician.

Another option is a memory stick or pen, transfer your files to the stick, on one machine, then plug it into the other and transfer again. If you already have a camera or other device, that can use the larger SD flash memory cards, (mine are 2GB), and also a separate card reader, in most cases they can be used instead of a memory stick.

Another option is a memory stick or pen, transfer your files to the stick, on one machine, then plug it into the other and transfer again. If you already have a camera or other device, that can use the larger SD flash memory cards, (mine are 2GB), and also a separate card reader, in most cases they can be used instead of a memory stick.

A pity I am stuck here in Britain Seth, with that sort of service I would never be out of your shop:D:D

The other answer is a windows repair, however you do need a windows disk, not a manufacturers recovery disk. This of course means buying a new OS disk, so you might as well install a new OS from it considering the machine hasn't yet run. If however there are files and data on the original hard drive you wish to keep, there are again a few work rounds, but that will mean another computer being available where you can temporarily install your old drive as a slave, just to recover all that you need.

I think that because general forum etiquette is involved, I will send you that link as a PM Wolfie.

I think that because general forum etiquette is involved, I will send you that link as a PM Wolfie.

Only on my shoulders;) I am reasonably knowledgeable on some computer issues and know nothing about others, so I am both willing to help out with the areas I know, and willing to learn about those I don't. I am hoping that sometime later this year, or early next year, I may have the time to enrol on one of the many courses available re the analysis of HJT logs and helping to remove malware, but that is for the future. Plus also at my age, whether I can actually learn all that is necessary. A little more about me in general, I am employed as "Factory engineer" in a small family owned injection moulding business with one other staff under my control, but being a small concern I also get my hands into the electrics, mechanics, hydraulics, pneumatics, and the CNC controls of the thirty odd machines we have. For other hobbies I am involved with a narrow gauge railway in Wales and hold the post of electrical supervisor as well as steam engine driver. However because of other pressures I have recently and reluctantly retired from the engine driving. The other pressures being a cornet player in the local brass band, and also the press and publicity officer for that band. I also have some knowledge of general electronics, as I also hold a full amateur radio licence, and in the past when components were a bit easier to see, I built various odds and sods from stereo amplifiers to radio receivers. I think perhaps I can say I stay busy, fit, and active. Incidentally, I found this forum from a link in another forum I am a member of.