Ask me anything

[OddSocks]

Not on my windows 7 it doesn't?

Windows explorer, not Internet Explorer.

On mine running Windows 7 if I press the Windows key and 'e' it brings up the 'Computer' folder ... great as I often want to open it!!! :thumb:

Like this. Computer folder opens in File Explorer, or Widows Explorer, or whatever they call it in your version of the operating system.

I think it was Al who said that, wasn't it?

Who is Al?


Another cool tip:

Just as Alt + F4 closes a program (Like clicking on the red x in the top right corner) whilst exploring the internet you can close the current tab by pressing Ctrl + W

You can also right click on a link, and in the drop down menu click on "Open link in a new tab" this will do exactly as described. Very useful when there are a lot of links to follow from a single page.

 

[Wildbill]

why cant I find a down loaded document

 

[SMB]

Carol, try the free 'quickstartup' utility by glarysoft. Lets you choose what programs load automatically at startup. Windows has the same functionality but this is easier. This is a link to the site but please look at other reviews etc as I dont want to direct you to a site you are not happy with. I have used this program for a while now, no probs:

http://www.glarysoft.com/quick-startup/download/

hope this helps

 

[OddSocks]

why cant I find a down loaded document

Because you didn't take not of where you downloaded it to?

By default it should be in the Downloads folder, but it is possible that if you used an odd app to download it that it was placed in that apps folder, or in your profile, or in your appdata folder.

If you know the name of the file you can search for it.
If you know the contents of the file (eg if it is a Word document) you can search for that even if you don't know the file name.

Did you accidentally delete it? Have you checked your recycle bin?

How was the doc downloaded, and from where?

 

[OddSocks]

Carol, try the free 'quickstartup' utility by glarysoft. Lets you choose what programs load automatically at startup. Windows has the same functionality but this is easier. This is a link to the site but please look at other reviews etc as I dont want to direct you to a site you are not happy with. I have used this program for a while now, no probs:

http://www.glarysoft.com/quick-startup/download/

hope this helps

Hey! Good find! I will also read some reviews.

Another tip would be to download and run ccleaner it will clean your registry and help speed things up.


For some reason I can't post a ink to cnet here. Google for it and get it from cnet, they are trust worthy!

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[Minxy]

Hi, and thanks... My computer takes quite a while to start up and says I have a long running file, any solution please

Any thoughts on this one please

When I had this problem on my laptop, I found:

• it was trying to install updates it had previously downloaded - I change it to ask if I wanted them installing so I could choose when to do it
  
• it was trying to automatically connect to the internet - I changed it to manually connecting

 

[Wildbill]

how long will 2gig last

 

[Minxy]

why cant I find a down loaded document

If it something that you have recently downloaded:

• On the top right of your browser there should be a down arrow
• Left click on the arrow and a list of your downloaded files/documents/pictures etc should show
• Move your mouse pointer over the document/photo etc in the list that you want to find
• now right click on the document name and a pop-up box should appear
• Select Open containing folder

The folder where it has downloaded to will now open and you can then move it (cut and paste) to a more suitable location. :thumb:

 

[OddSocks]

how long will 2gig last

Depends what you are doing to it?

2gig of what?

Disk space? Could last 5 minutes of you are downloading video, 2 years if you are just writing emails.

Bandwidth? Again, if you a heavy user it will not last long. Watch a lot of youtube video and it will be gone very quickly. If you are just looking at forums and reading news pages, then it will last for weeks.

 

[Minxy]

Generally, a computer needs to be replaced after 5 years. By this time, without regular maintenance it will be running like a drain, and will have all sorts of problems. Best thing to do is make sure you have a full backup of all your data and get PC World or another trusted expert to reinstall the system from scratch. This can be a huge job if you have lots of programmes installed.

PC World! You MUST be joking ... some of those muppets aren't safe to be let loose with a calculator, never mind a computer!

We have computers that we've had for 8 years that still run well so as long as they are maintained, as you suggest, there's no reason to replace them especially since most people do not need the most super-duper fastest shiny ones that are out there.

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[OddSocks]

If it something that you have recently downloaded:

• On the top right of your browser there should be a down arrow
• Left click on the arrow and a list of your downloaded files/documents/pictures etc should show
• Move your mouse pointer over the document/photo etc in the list that you want to find
• now right click on the document name and a pop-up box should appear
• Select Open containing folder

The folder where it has downloaded to will now open and you can then move it (cut and paste) to a more suitable location. :thumb:

Probably only true if it was downloaded using Firefox browser. But good advice non the less!

 

[Minxy]

how long will 2gig last

You on about 2gb of internet data by any chance Bill? It depends on how much 'fun' posting you do!!!!

 

[SMB]

Oddsocks, have to agree with Minx about PC World, if you do basic maintenance with a pc it should last a long time. I'm typing this on my ZX Spectrum by the way. No really, I gave my Mam an old laptop running XP years ago and she now has it as a backup in case her more recent laptop blows up. It still works great.

PS Oddsocks - have been using crapcleaner for a while also, people comment you dont need a registry cleaner but I have never had any problems with it!

 

[Wildbill]

Depends what you are doing to it?

2gig of what?

Disk space? Could last 5 minutes of you are downloading video, 2 years if you are just writing emails.

Bandwidth? Again, if you a heavy user it will not last long. Watch a lot of youtube video and it will be gone very quickly. If you are just looking at forums and reading news pages, then it will last for weeks.

just email and:thumb: FB and fun thanks

 

[auntiebessie]

scam?

Hello Oddsocks, thanks for your kind offer of help with computers.
when I log on, a small window appears telling me that I have free software and to register and back up files. The window doesn't have a heading (Microsoft etc). Do you think this could be a scam to gain access to my computer:helpsos:

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[movan]

Hello Oddsocks, thanks for your kind offer of help with computers.
when I log on, a small window appears telling me that I have free software and to register and back up files. The window doesn't have a heading (Microsoft etc). Do you think this could be a scam to gain access to my computer:helpsos:

I get that too .... I just click the little black x at the top because I have so much going wrong with my computer I am sure it is another virus... await Oddsocks answer with keeness...

 

[Encantador]

Thanks for the offer.

Looking for a PC for taking away in MH. Ideally needs to be something than can also be made use of at home, which rules out a laptop which would get shoved away in the cupboard and forgotten.

I would use the PC for internet mainly and watching movies.

On the trip we are on now, I ended up bringing my HP 27in all in one, which has worked great. But couldn`t use it for the first week whilst staying mainly on aireas and had no electric.

Looked at a NUC which could be connected to a monitor/TV. Sure I have read somewhere that the NUC can be run on 12v but cannot confirm this. The NUC at home would sit under TV and be used as a media PC.

So my questions are...

Can a NUC be run on 12v and if it can, what would I need to purchase to make this happen?
Is there a better way of getting what I want on board the MH that can be used in a similar way at home?
Would sticking with what I have and getting a decent inverter be a better option?

Thanks

Steve

 

[OddSocks]

Hello Oddsocks, thanks for your kind offer of help with computers.
when I log on, a small window appears telling me that I have free software and to register and back up files. The window doesn't have a heading (Microsoft etc). Do you think this could be a scam to gain access to my computer:helpsos:

Sounds very dodgy to me. Does it tell you the name of the software, or the provider? Sound like you need to run a goo Malware removal program. MalwarBytes and/or Spybot would be the recommendation. Certainly do not click on anything which you do not know for sure is something you want! If in doubt, chuck it out!

Thanks for the offer.

Looking for a PC for taking away in MH. Ideally needs to be something than can also be made use of at home, which rules out a laptop which would get shoved away in the cupboard and forgotten.

I would use the PC for internet mainly and watching movies.

On the trip we are on now, I ended up bringing my HP 27in all in one, which has worked great. But couldn`t use it for the first week whilst staying mainly on aireas and had no electric.

Looked at a NUC which could be connected to a monitor/TV. Sure I have read somewhere that the NUC can be run on 12v but cannot confirm this. The NUC at home would sit under TV and be used as a media PC.

So my questions are...

Can a NUC be run on 12v and if it can, what would I need to purchase to make this happen?
Is there a better way of getting what I want on board the MH that can be used in a similar way at home?
Would sticking with what I have and getting a decent inverter be a better option?

Thanks

Steve

Personally I would go for a laptop with the optional 12v power adapter. There are several available for which have 750Mb to 1Tb disk space with HD outputs to feed your TV, for 5 to 6 hundred quids. If you have a networkable "smart" TV check to see if it is DNLA compatible, as this will enable wireless connectivity between the laptop and the TV.

The NUC is not something I have experience of, but from what I have read it is a fast little processing box. I am not certain about Disk drive and networking options, but I assume there are a lot of kits to choose from. It is reported to work on 12 to 19volts, and has some internal power connections for the more advanced users to take advantage of. I could not recommend it as I don't know enough about it. I think it is possible to buy a kit and then whichever power adapter, disk drives, keyboard/mouse etc as required.

Using your PC and an inverter is an option, but I don't know what your battery set up is, and inverters are good at draining batteries. Others can advise more about leisure batteries and inverters, as this is something I am also new to!

Another option would be an ultra small form factor PC from HP or Dell, but you are talking upwards of £800 for something lke that. Again, this would need an EHU or an inverter. Best to stick with your current computer!

So after all that rambling I am recommending the laptop which you don't want! lol Some use I am! oh:

 

[pappajohn]

how long will 2gig last

Bill....on average 10gb will get you........

up to 30hours browsing

stream up to 10 hours of video

1 film download {standard definition}

up to 10 albums.

and thats 10gb....not 2gb

 

[Minxy]

If anyone is having problems with pop-ups, slow running etc download the free tools below and run them on your pc/laptop:

Malwarebytes https://www.malwarebytes.org/downloads/

This will help to clear out malware you've got on your PC etc - nasty little 'software' critters that sneak on to it when you're not looking and do stupid things to your equipment!

CCleaner http://www.scanwith.com/download/CCleaner.htm

It used to be called CrapCleaner but was renamed! Funnily enough, it clears crap off your machine such as unused and temporary files etc.

Power Defragmenter 3.1 http://www.techspot.com/downloads/6462-power-defragmenter.html

This helps clear rubbish out from your hard drive and reorganise what's left so that it runs quicker. Every time you use your PC/laptop it stores info, documents in the space available, then when you need to use it again, it has to go to that place to find it, however as you use/save/delete etc files/documents/bits and pieces the fuller your hard drive gets, an even if you've deleted stuff the gaps left by this aren't necessarily usable or big enough for other stuff you want to save, so with less suitable 'nearby' places it has to store them further and further away, so when you want it again, it has to 'travel' further and for longer, thus slowing down your machine.

Think of it like your MH equipment - for example you get your hookup lead and hose pipe out, both of which go in different storage places into which they fit perfectly, but instead of putting them away where they should go (ie the original storage places) you just stick them in a cupboard, you then buy a duvet, but it won't fit in the spaces originally used to store the hookup lead and hose pipe as they are too small, but won't go in the cupboard either because that's where you've put them, so you end up having to put it in an outside locker so that every time you want to use it you have to traipse outside to get it. If, however, you'd put the hook-up lead and hose pipes back into their original storage places, you would have the cupboard to use for the duvet, so no traipsing outside for it and it would be quicker to get at too!

The defrag tool in effect rationalises the space by 'tidying up' the stored items into a nice neat more compact area, so next time the computer needs to find something it only has to look in that area, not search the whole hard drive to find out where it put it!

Once installed Malwarebytes should run all the time, and it is a good idea to run CCleaner and Defrag at least once a week to keep your system 'sweet'. :thumb:

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[Coolbeanz]

Hello Oddsocks, since I have been in France I have had a problem accessing some of my normal sites as it thinks I am an intruder. I read something about subscribing to or downloading something that tricks the web sites into thinking I am still in the UK. Any ideas. Might have been something to do with VPN? Sorry to be so vague but any advice appreciated :thumb:

 

[OddSocks]

Bill....on average 10gb will get you........

up to 30hours browsing

stream up to 10 hours of video

1 film download {standard definition}

up to 10 albums.

and thats 10gb....not 2gb

Not hugely accurate I'm afraid.....
EG
A standard music album recorded at 112kbps (Which is very reasonable balance between size and quality) with say 8 tracks will be about 40MB is size. 10 Albums would be 400 MB, which is less than half a Gig!

300 Hours of browsing might use up a few hundred megs of data if you are only looking at this site. If you are browsing the BBC or a fully Multimedia site you may only get 2 hours for your 2 Gig. It is not time online which is important, but it is more like how much of what you download.

1 standard def film will not take up 10Gig!!!

If anyone is having problems with pop-ups, slow running etc download the free tools below and run them on your pc/laptop:

.....

Once installed Malwarebytes should run all the time, and it is a good idea to run CCleaner and Defrag at least once a week to keep your system 'sweet'. :thumb:

What Minx said. Good advice. I would like to include Spybot in the list though.

I would not bother with defrag in Win 7 or 8 as it automatically does this for you any way. Previous versions of windows will benefit from a yearly defrag, if you have a very high file turnover then every few month might help. All this actually does is make readiong files from disk faster, is it de-fragments them - saves them all as one contiguous file on the disk. Of course you only need to do this once for all your OS files to be organised on the disk, so any future defrags will not help you increase boot speed, only the speed at which it reads files from the disk when you open them.

I also recommend using the Microsoft Emergency Response Tool - now renamed as the Microsoft Safety scanner - available free from their web site. It is very very good! I would run this in conjunction with the tools listed above by Minx. And Spybot, of course!

Also - make sure you have an up to date internet security system running. I don't like Symantech or McAffee as they are expensive and slow.

AVG is free and very usable, but I prefer the free version of Zone Alarm - it is a firewall, and AV scanner and all round internet protection system. Works well.

Most importantly - never run more than one AV system. This kills performance whilst they fight for resources.

 

[OddSocks]

Hello Oddsocks, since I have been in France I have had a problem accessing some of my normal sites as it thinks I am an intruder. I read something about subscribing to or downloading something that tricks the web sites into thinking I am still in the UK. Any ideas. Might have been something to do with VPN? Sorry to be so vague but any advice appreciated :thumb:

No problems. There is a product called Hotspot shield. I think one of their products was called Expat Shield for a while. It is a simple way of creating a 'VPN' from wherever you are to the UK. So any site or service you use will think you are in the UK even if you are not. I used this a lot when I lived in Australia. It does come with a lot of adverts and can be slow so I turned it on and off as required, it is a bad idea to leave it on full time. The paid for version does not have the adverts and is more friendly therefore. And I think quicker.

This will permit you to use the BBC web site for example, which normally won't let you watch their stuff if you are not in the UK.


Edit to add - I ust checked their web site http://www.hotspotshield.com/lp/vpn_elite_wm5/?gclid=COWl2Pv50b4CFUTlwgodgpAAcg and it looks like they may no longer have a free option. But it is very cheap.


http://www.expatshield.com/

expat shield still exists it seems - try them!

 

[Coolbeanz]

No problems. There is a product called Hotspot shield. I think one of their products was called Expat Shield for a while. It is a simple way of creating a 'VPN' from wherever you are to the UK. So any site or service you use will think you are in the UK even if you are not. I used this a lot when I lived in Australia. It does come with a lot of adverts and can be slow so I turned it on and off as required, it is a bad idea to leave it on full time. The paid for version does not have the adverts and is more friendly therefore. And I think quicker.

This will permit you to use the BBC web site for example, which normally won't let you watch their stuff if you are not in the UK.


Edit to add - I ust checked their web site http://www.hotspotshield.com/lp/vpn_elite_wm5/?gclid=COWl2Pv50b4CFUTlwgodgpAAcg and it looks like they may no longer have a free option. But it is very cheap.


http://www.expatshield.com/

expat shield still exists it seems - try them!

Thanks for the info, can I download them on to my iPad too or just my laptop?

 

[ponyboy]

about computers.

I have had so much help from people in the Motor Home department, I would like to share my 25 years of accumulated computer tech with you. So weather it is a problem you can't solve, or just a "How do they do that?" Or something about computers you always wanted to know but never had anyone to ask....... ask me!

Tip of the day!

Quickly open explorer by holding down the windows key and pressing e

♪♫

very kind of you odd socks - i've got a macbook pro and in the last couple of days I'm getting hit by pop ups from Mackeeper - very irritating ads from them and worse - their website interposes itself on any search results regarding solving the problem of how to get rid of them, e.g. I do a search for "Getting rid of Mackeeper popups" and I end up on their shaggin page being advertised at again!!!!. I'm using Safari and yes i have set preferences to block pop ups. Any help would be appreciated
Ponyboy

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[JeanLuc]

I would start by deleting Mac Keeper. I cannot find any good reason to have it installed and it has a reputation for 'encouraging' people to install it in the first place without really realising what they are doing.
I suggest you read through these articles:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2779849?start=0&tstart=0

http://applehelpwriter.com/2011/09/21/how-to-uninstall-mackeeper-malware/

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3255417?start=0&tstart=0

If you want a simple anti virus program I suggest ClamXAV (don't mix this up with ClamAV since that is the base engine that needs some technical know-how to operate). I have used ClamXAV for a few years without any problems. It never seems to find anything, but once or twice it has filtered out viruses on emails from Windows users - not that they would have done anything to the Mac. I installed it when I was working freelance so that I would not inadvertantly pass on Windows viruses to clients using Windows.

Here is the website.
http://www.clamxav.com/

 

[mikekaren2]

about computers.

I have had so much help from people in the Motor Home department, I would like to share my 25 years of accumulated computer tech with you. So weather it is a problem you can't solve, or just a "How do they do that?" Or something about computers you always wanted to know but never had anyone to ask....... ask me!

Tip of the day!

Quickly open explorer by holding down the windows key and pressing e

♪♫

Hi, I have a memory stick with Aires & campsites in France, this will run from a PC & automatically connects to the Internet if you have a WiFi connection, but apparently can be used offline as well.
My question is how can I transfer the program to my iPad, Is this possible?

Link to the web page for the memory stick details
http://www.motorhomingfrance.co.uk

Thanks in advance
Mike.