Summary: 01/17/07 Wed Nite KH Computer Help Desk Chatroom

[mommalina]

Summary: 01/17/07 Wed Nite KH Computer Help Desk Chatroom

We competed for 3d, then 4th, then 5th place, and closed the
chatroom early (11:23 pm). Rich was late again (Doug thinks it's nice
to see him so productively employed .. :) ), Lawrence had an
appointment (we missed ya, mate!), Loop was probably playing with
his new computer. Tony and Pete: we missed youse guys!


WHO WAS THERE

KH members - Lina, Vivienne, Doug, Dan, Elliot, Lou (DaBear2),
John, Fred, Photolady, Rich, Billy (Wildred)

Visitors who participated - Coyote, WilliamMorrisAgency, avayaboy,
Flaming_Severed_Head, pc411 (Photolady and Rich raced to bounce
him--Photolady won!), ThUgStAr, crystal unicorn, hinge2005.


COMPUTER TOPICS DISCUSSED

DSL MODEM AND TWO COMPUTERS
Can you access two computers using one port for USB and another
using Cat-5 Cable? NO - the usb OR cat5; it can only assign a single
ip from the modem.

HOW TO GET U.S. VERIZON TECH SUPPORT
Elliot figured out a while ago how to make sure you get U.S. tech
support when you call Verizon. He got the time-zone and availability
differences down pat; if he can find the slip of paper he wrote them
on, he'll post and let us know! .. :yo: .. My hat's off to you, Elliot!

BAD MOTHERBOARD
Dan got a THIRD server working; was a bad motherboard, UGH;
glad HP Tech replaced it, LOL. How did he determine it was the
motherboard? It didn't assign the SAS controller to the BIOS controller
priority; this is a server class system using HBA SAS RAID controller.

INTERNET EXPLORER 7
Lots of problems for many. Rich said beta was fine. Visitor avayaboy
said beta was different from general release.

UPDATING ATI DRIVER
Always use Driver Cleaner when updating ATI driver

MICROPHONE BOOST
Lou asked how to put the microphone boost on. Don't know if
anyone answered, but I found where we discussed this before:
in XP, go to Control Panel > Sounds.

PRINTER INTERFERENCE WITH MICROPHONE
Visitor Flaming_Severed_Head finally deduced he had to unplug the
printer to get his microphone to work. He did not answer when asked
if the printer was usb....Elliot mentioned that he's seen usb stuff do
crazy things.

JOHN'S COMPUTER-BUILD PROJECT
Lengthy discussion, Doug provided lots of recommendations and
emphasized that it takes a long time determining which parts to choose
and only 30 minutes to slap it all together.

See the long, informative thread (started by Rich) on the KH forum
for more: Built My First Core2 Duo Intel Unit
http://www.kickenhardware.net/forum/showthread.php?t=4387

MOTHERBOARD REVIEWS
NewEgg - not credible. Tom's Hardware - very credible:
http://www.tomshardware.com/

LINUX
We could not help one or two visitors who inquired about Linux
(Lawrence absent, Rich arrives late), so I directed them to our forum.
As John said, there are probably plenty of Linux forums on the web.

Not all Linux is command driven. The difference is that "if" you know
the gui options, you can customize your desktop to be what works for you.

Even if it's not all command line driven - it still has issues with various
software and drivers for hardware.

After all, the Mac is Unix based - but IF you were accessing a server -
you would more than likely keep the command screen up because it
works for keeping all the users off the machine.

Visitor avayaboy needs to know how to add Java plugin to Firefox on
Red Hat Linux 4.0 udate 4. (I think Rich answered this, but I can't
find it in my notes or text box.)

VISTA
Still too many programs not yet working with it.

PROBLEM VIEWING VIDEOS ONLINE
When visitor ThUgStAr goes to a site supported by Windows Media
Player and clicks on a file and it has finished buffering, he gets a green
screen rather than any images. But when he opens WPM alone from
the Start menu, it works. It's not only one but all sites. He has
WMP 11.

I told him to check the KH forum for discussion about codecs. He left
before I could direct him to that thread:
http://www.kickenhardware.net/forum/showthread.php?t=5311&highlight=codec


SETTINGS FOR LINA'S LCD MONITOR
Tried everyone's suggestions; for now have settled on 10-minute
monitor turn-off (standby), no screen saver.


GETTING PHOTOLADY'S MICROPHONE TO WORK
She tested a second microphone last night, one that Billy graciously
sent her. No luck. I think we need a miracle. Suggested she bless
it with holy water, lay hands on it, or snip a little piece off it. .. :)

PROMPT FORUM REPLIES
We usually answer questions promptly on the KH forum. Is it the size
of the forum? The fact that we have a lot of techs?.....and they are not
on an ego trip?

I wondered if that would change when and if the number of members
and daily posts explode. Rich didn't think so; there are large forums
which respond quickly to posters.

HOW TO UPDATE PALTALK (FREE VERSION)
Go to first Paltalk screen, and go to "File" "update to latest version"


MISCELLANEOUS DISCUSSIONS

HOW RICH GOT THE NAME "MYLANTA"
Someone asked how Rich M got the nickname "Mylanta" and does
he drink lots of it. Someone else wondered (in jest, of course) that
maybe he makes others drink lots of it at times. Hmmmm, I think
I'll switch my nickname to "Agita"--I get it from my computer
and give it to everyone else.

BTW, "Mylanta" is the name of an anti-acid (Vivienne had asked), and
"Agita" is Italian slang for heartburn and more:
http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=21958


MORTGAGE ACCELERATOR PLANS
"Mortgage accelerator uses buyer's paycheck to cut debt"
Saturday, January 13, 2007
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07013/753098-30.stm

The U.K. and Australia are the trailblazers for these plans (per an
email from Lawrence who wrote that an ordinary mortgage loan in
Australia is called a "Fat Loan" because it is fattening for the banks!!!)
Last night Vivienne revealed they are not that popular in Canada. My
mortgage-broker daughter anticipates they will soon take hold
here in the U.S.

Try to join us next week. Bring your coffee, tea, or bourbon and
your sense of humor. :tea:

Lina

[mommalina]

I knew I forgot something:

WINDOWS UPDATE KILLS VIDEO CARD
We discussed this last night, and Rich and others posted more about
it here:

http://www.kickenhardware.net/forum/showthread.php?t=5542

Lina

[mylanta]

The Derivation of mylanta was based on a character in a play my wife's son wrote and the character was based on "Fish" on Barney Miller who coincidentally spent most of his time and got his best laughs with a toilet flush at strategic times during the show. So yes Mylanta the antacid is correct source material!
My early emails were all mylanta3, my eBay logon is same and so on....

[jcampi]

Lina, you really do an excellent job at the notes! Wed. night was fun. I always learn something from you guys. It's great because it fun AND you learn at the same time. The characters and personalities are great. Let's keep this going!

[qldit]

Good Morning Everyone, I obviously missed a very interesting, pleasant party evening at the last chat session, just my luck!!!!
As usual Momma has provided an excellent commentry of what transpired, thankyou Momma!!!

I note that problem mentioned:
PROBLEM VIEWING VIDEOS ONLINE
When visitor ThUgStAr goes to a site supported by Windows Media
Player and clicks on a file and it has finished buffering, he gets a green
screen rather than any images. But when he opens WPM alone from
the Start menu, it works. It's not only one but all sites. He has
WMP 11.

This is almost identical to a problem I had experienced, reloading a media player had no fix, and eventually I suspected it was being caused by a dependency deep within windows involving strings, smoke and mirrors.
That particular card was an ATI and I was unable to load the latest catalyst drivers due to a "dot net" incompatibility.
After this was rectified with the latest "dot net" version and then loading the latest drivers the problem was gone and operation was normal.

I suspected the original problem had been caused by removing the earlier WMP and installing a newer version.
It would be interesting to see if anyone else has this kind of problem.
I have a feeling it might be quite common.

Cheers, Lawrence.

[rVidia]

We usually answer questions promptly on the KH forum. Is it the size of the forum? The fact that we have a lot of techs?.....and they are not on an ego trip?

I wondered if that would change when and if the number of members
and daily posts explode. Rich didn't think so; there are large forums
which respond quickly to posters.
I agree with Rich. I think one of the main things that contributes to the speed of responses here at KH is the fact that so many of its members have become really involved with the forum. I've been to several forums in the past that I've since abandoned or rarely visit anymore, but I truly enjoy checking in at KH every day!!! Maybe it's something about the friendly atmosphere here? Because of its small size, members have gotten to know each other? Perhaps it's because of Paltalk sessions, a time when members can enjoy themselves and form new relationships? Whatever the reason, I must say well done KH :clap2:

[mylanta]

Thanks Ray, I think the other thing is we listen and are responsive to what is said. Other forums do you a favor being there and make that fact known!