The General "Computer Issues" Thread

[MDawg]

None that I know of. My parents won't be happy to hear the line needs to be inspected, though. They were VERY unhappy to have to shell out $90 for the new modem, which at least they can get back (I hope anyway).

They're mad about getting a problem fixed?

I'd hate to see how they'd react to needing someone to plug in something to make it turn on

 

[defunctzombie]

He's probably referring to the inevitable service charge/call fee that accompanies the repair.

 

[MDawg]

He's probably referring to the inevitable service charge/call fee that accompanies the repair.

That one always baffled me as much as hearing that people have to tip their Comcast techs. None of the providers in my area that I've dealt with charge for service calls (unless the problem is with your own internal wiring. Everything from the street to the house is considered "theirs" so no charge if there's a problem). I just figured it was part of the costs my bill already covered.

 

[G. Wen]

Cheap Adobe Products

I recently got a new computer, and it will no longer accept my Photoshop 6 and Illustrator 10. Yes, I'm behind on the times. Since I don't need the latest version, I was thinking about buying someone's old copy of Adobe (probably CS2) off of Craigslist or EBay. Is this a good idea?

 

[Beefy]

It's a gamble. Sometimes you get a good deal, other times you get burned.

Some things to ask the seller before you buy:
1) Ask to see pictures of the discs. (Do they look genuine or counterfeit? Can you see the hologram(s) on the disc?)
2) How many times was the software activated? (If it's been activated too many times, then you will need to contact Adobe to get a new product key.)
3) Did they deactivate and uninstall the software before offering it for sale? (If they did not, then it will not work when you try to use it.)
4) Will they accept returns if the software does not work? Reputable sellers will accept returns.

 

[MDawg]

It may work, but more likely due to Adobe's need for activation, you will likely be unable to use the software if the person has not deactivated it. Also, there are compatibility issues with Windows 7 and the CS2 series of products which would likely prevent the software from functioning properly.

 

[defunctzombie]

The old ones might not work because your old computer was probably 32 bit, and not all 32 bit software works on 64 bit

 

[Philmister978]

My scanner's not working. Here's what's happening:

When I'm trying to scan a picture, it's telling me that the Printer's in use or that it can't connect to the scanner.

I have no idea if it's because I'm out of cartridge ink or not. But do Printer/Scanner combos get affected by this?

I ask because before you ask, I have connected everything and made sure they were too. And it still doesn't work.

 

[Hanshotfirst1138]

Try this:

I found it on some blog and when do all those steps, when you type something into the address bar of Firefox, it'll automatically go to the page you go to when you type something into Google and click "I'm Feeling Lucky".

Did you install any Windows Live software recently? That could be the cause of it.

EDIT: Remember to get the full URL I posted, and not the shortened one that shows up.

GRRRR! This started happening again, and this time this doesn't fix it? WTH?

 

[Storm Eagle]

It has gotten to the point where I have to sometimes manually enable my flash drive to load. Might this be a sign that it's time to get a new flash drive?

 

[DisneyBoy]

I offer a hundred imaginary Thank You dollars to the people/persons who can help me with this MASSIVE PHOTO PROBLEM that has had me eating headache pills for the last 24 hours.

Last night, I plugged my rather old Olympus camera into my Mac using a USB wire, like I always do. Now, typically iPhoto opens up at this point automatically and shows all the pics and asks me if I want to upload them. Well, that didn't happen this time. Instead, after a minute or so an "Error" message popped up saying that I'd disconnected the camera, and that could result in the loss of photos. Of course, I hadn't disconnected, but at this point I figured I should disconnect it. I disconnected the camera and looked at the viewscreen to see if any photos were lost or damaged. The very last picture looked corrupted (90% grey), so I just plugged it back in and tried again.

This time iphoto opened, but it didn't start uploading anything. So I waited and waited. Nothing was happening. I tried starting the upload by going to "Import to Library" under "File". I created a new Album and named it, and then tried to import - it did "see" my camera as a file on my desktop, but it didn't show a whole bunch of pictures as file names within that file. Just one. I clicked on the one to start the upload, iPhoto told me that one was an Error, so I clicked okay. And then...nothing happened. I figured it would upload the rest and ignore that one corrupt photo, but nope. No such luck.

So I WAITED SOME MORE. Maybe I didn't have enough memory I figured, or the computer was tired or something. Five minutes later, it was obvious nothing was going to change. iPhoto wasn't uploading anything. So I just yanked the USB wire from the computer, got the stupid ERROR message again, and then tried to check the view-screen on my camera, as I had a sinking feeling something ELSE was corrupted during this process. Well guess what? Now, it tells me there are NO PICTURES on my memory card.

That's where I started swearing and getting a headache.

Now, as far as my computer is concerned, it never uploaded any pictures, and no pictures remain on my memory card. My camera agrees. I went online to see what I could find out. Obviously, iPhoto has some kind of file listing/history but I have NO FLIPPING IDEA where to click to find it. Help appreciated there! I downloaded the trial version of Photorescue Expert, and with my camera attached to the comp, it unearthed about a dozen of the TWO HUNDRED photos I lost. But of course, to actually save them, I needed to buy the program.

I went to bed to calm down, and today I brought the memory card to a photo kiosk to check if there was anything there it could detect. Nope. "Card empty".

Well, now, I'm trying to turn the camera on and it just won't. I don't think the battery is the problem. I think it may be finally dead.

These pictures were rather important to me, so the timing sucks big time. If anyone can suggest a way for me to track down whatever there is still hiding on my memory card or on my computer PLEASE DO. You'll be helping me out big-time.

THANK YOU. I'm no good with technical stuff.

 

[MDawg]

Try out Photorec.

Unlike most disk recovery stuff for Mac, it's actually free for reals instead of just for scanning files to see if they exist.

They have a step-by-step guide over at http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec_Step_By_Step to help you in the process.

 

[DisneyBoy]

Matt, THANK YOU FOR REPLYING. Honestly, I'm in misery over here. I'll let you know how it goes, man.

EDIT:

HOLY Hera, I have no idea what on earth any of this means:

"To recover files from a media image, run

• photorec image.dd to carve a raw disk image
• photorec image.E01 to recover files from an Encase EWF image
• photorec 'image.???' if the Encase image is split into several files.
• photorec '/cygdrive/d/evidence/image.???' if the Encase image is split into several files in the directory d:\evidence"

Hun?!?

EDIT AGAIN: Okay Matt, this program may be the one that will help me find my lost stuff, but it's Latin to me. Not user-friendly for someone who isn't tech savvy...

 

[MDawg]

I jsut realzied how unfriendly it is, so I went digging.

Check http://pim.famnit.upr.si/blog/index...e-photos-from--memory-card-with-PhotoRec.html for a better guide on the matter.

To open your Terminal, chick on Go and then select Utilities. Terminal is available from that location.

You can also get to it via Applications -> Ultilities

You'll be able to extract Photorec just by double-clicking it I believe.

I'm not near a Mac today, so I can't give the best guidance on the subject till Monday.

 

[DisneyBoy]

This step-by-step guide may just do the trick. Thanks so much Matt. I'll let you know how it progresses for me (though I'm doubtful I'll be able to succeed, at least there's a hope, right?)

 

[Jazz1000]

Spoiler

{

I Recenly Intalled Game Programme(Battleforage) And After Intalled It The Icons Were Switched What Should I Do? I Ran AVG But I Founded No Virus

 

[defunctzombie]

...Switch them back? Your picture is blank so we have no idea what you mean. Did they move on the desktop?

 

[Jazz1000]

Edit: I Solved The Issued On Anorther Fourm, Thanks Anyways =)

 

[Hanshotfirst1138]

YouTube's mobile site will not let me access the rest of my playlists, only the videos that first appear. When I press "more," it just loops and won't reveal the rest. I don't have that problem with my favorites, however. Incidentally, my YouTube app sometimes doesn't load videos that the mobile site will, which is also annoying.

 

[Michael24]

I bought a microphone for my computer today (about the fifth or sixth time I've tried one), and am encountering the same problem I always have. The sound is far too low upon playback. I have it plugged into the right spot, I've looked through all the volume adjustment selectors and made sure it was not muted. I even found an adjustor called "Playback Volume" that was all the way down and raised it up. I record and speak into the microphone, but for some reason when I play it back it's just incredibly low. I have to turn my speakers way up to hear it, and that also increases the low hiss of the speakers. Even the wavelength in the recording program is barely visible. I've tried it through my main audio program, Sound Forge Audio Studio, and the generic Sound Recorder that was pre-installed. Any ideas?