waldwolf

guess what - u now HAVE to upgrade to hotmail plus if you want to be able to access ur hotmail a/c in outlook or outlook express...wot a bind...

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My hotmail account(s) were upgraded to 250mb about 4 weeks ago, and I'm still using Outlook Express with no problems. Nothing in the notice of upgrade which I received, mentions anything about no access when using Outlook or OE.

lemon - where did you see/read that?

Yes, older air conditioners still use either Freon R-12 (autos) or R-22 & R-502(refrigerators, air conditioners, etc.). The common term "Freon" is actually a Dupont trademark for R12 & R22 which is a CFC' (ChloroFluoroCarbon) gas.

Many countries have banned production of R12, R22 and R-502, as they contribute to the depletion of the earth's ozone shield. These same countries also require the CFC gases be recovered before items containing same, are discarded. (Recovered gases are processed, cleaned and used again to recharge older refrigeration units.)

Newer cooling systems use replacement gases such as R4-10a and R134a, which also have environmental concerns, such as contributing to global warming.

From your description, it sounds like the service people may have had a "freeze-up" problem, caused by moisture in the cooling lines. A freeze-up will prevent circulation of the "freon" gas, which has been compressed into a liquid, and therefore, little or no cooling.

Proper recharging of any "freon" refrigeration unit involves replacement of the systems "dryer" unit (which absorbs moisture) and evacuation of all air in the system using a vaccum pump. All this prior to recharging. Failure to follow these basic proceedures may reduce overall cooling capacity of the system and could result in premature failure of the systems compressor.

Hormone replacement therapy is not a "do-it-yourself" type project.

As simon43 stated, there are possible serious side effects such as an increased risk of cancer, even with doctor supervised treatment. Constant monitoring is required.

Talk to you doctor or a urologist.

........I can't  find a drug store that even knows what spermacidal jelly is! One comment was "it's banned in Thailand" Any suggestions?.......

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Seems strange they would ban spermacidal jelly, when Thailand produce half the world's condoms and most of those are lubricated with Nonoxynol-9 (a spermacidal jelly).

If you haven't already, try asking the local Pharmacist for a jelly/lubricant/foam which contains Nonoxynol-9. Another resource would be the gynecologists at a local hospital or clinic.

Then.....there's always mail order.

I suspect there's more here than meets the eye.

The tower case is "grounded" internally at many, many points. Therefore if your "feeling" slight shocks by touching the case, and this was caused by a poor mains plug ground, at 220vac your playing with a potentially lethel situation. Also, if that were the problem, I'd be surprised if your CPU and most of the mother board IC's haven't already been "fried". Unplug everything and have a professional check your electrical outlets for proper grounds. The problem could be just the one outlet your using, or in your apartments individual fuse box or possibly the whole building itself.

Have you tried another outlet, either in another room or preferably at a friends home? Do you get the same "shocks"?

(PS - Before you try grounding the case, make sure you have a flashlight and fire extinguisher handy, as on attaching the ground, you may hear a big bang and find yourself sitting in the dark with your hair on fire. )

For info:

Everything you want to know about DVD's, and more!

sbk - Below are a few links which may help you resolve your networking problem:

How to troubleshoot home networking in Windows XP

Networking between WindowsXP and Windows95/98/ME

Home PC Networking[

Networking Windows XP and Windows 9X/Me and Sharing a Broadband Internet Connection With a Router

From the info you've provided, I would, resources permitting, upgrade the older PC in this order:

1. RAM; add 256mb (cost approx $20 (US))

2. CD BURNER ; space permitting, add as second drive or replace current CD-ROM. (cost for a 48x24x48x approx $25 (US), software included.)

3. HDD; upgrade to 40 or 80gb, 7200rpm/8mb cache/Internal unit (cost approx $25/$50 (US)) Keep current 8gb drive and setup as drive D:\ (Slave). Use for backup. (New 7200rpm/8mg cache HDD's cut program load time by over 40 percent. Very noticable improvement.)

And finally, if the XP installed on the newer machine is an upgrade or full version (NOT the OEM version which came with the newer machine) then I'd probably install it on the old machine too, after upgrades were completed. This should reduce possible networking problems and the mental "juggling" needed, when switching between operating systems. Cost: None, only about 1 hours labor.

Good luck and keep us posted on your adventures in "techie" land.

Yes.....very sad indeed.

I still use/prefer WinAmp (would you believe v2.6). And the excellent plugins like DFX and Geiss.

Isn't it interesting how one company, like AOL, can ruin so many excellent products (e.g.: Netscape, WinAmp, etc.) in such a short time. Personally, I believe AOL's itself will fail within the next few years. They have lost 40 percent of their dialup subscribers and with DSL at $20/month (US) now cheaper than AOL's dialup $25/month (US), the handwriting is on the wall. Even Time-Warner was smart enough to see that coming. As the inventor of the "pop-up", they deserve everything they get. And let's not forget those hundreds of millions of CD now polluting virtually every landfill.

Sorry for the rant.

sbk - Decending from a long line of Scots myself, I do not consider it "kii-nio" (stingy), but rather frugel, to save ones hard-earned resourses before parting with same, for ANY reason.

That said, to solve your "duplication" problems, I would just delete, one-at-a-time, each item in Device Manager, which has a conflict (eg: CD-ROM). Reboot after each deletion and the Windows "Plug & Play" feature should detect and reinstall the correct device and its associated driver.

Now, as to upgrading this rather elderly but faithful computer. First, comes the question of economics. As I and others have stated, you definately should have more RAM (memory). This is the least expensive thing you can do to increase speed, reliability and overall performance. As your motherboard has 2 memory slots, you could leave the 64mb installed, purchase an additional 128mb, install it in the second memory bank, thereby ending up with a total of 192mb. Check the local cost for both 128mb and 256mb. If you have a reliable service center, ask them if the have any "used" memory, which they may have removed from a similar computer, when that owner upgraded. (Just be sure this used memory is guaranteed and that the cost is not more than 50% of what a new one would cost.)

Next, comes the question of your hard drive (HDD). What size is it? Any new operating system (be it XP/2K/NT) uses a lot of storage space. HDD costs are relatively inexpensive these days. I have seen new name brand 40gb/7200rpm/8mb cache drives selling for under $20 (US) and 80gig drives for under $40 (US).

You said you don't have a CD burner. These are dirt cheap today, so you may want to consider installing one. Check the prices. I think you'll be pleasently surprised.

Now comes the "new" OS. We all seem to agree....."forget Windows ME". You could stay with Win98/Win98SE or go for Win2000, WinXP-Home, or WinXP-Pro. Win2000 and XP-Pro were replacements for the original WinNT. They are both very stable, but somewhat expensive and require considerably more HDD space than Win98/98SE do. The ergonomics of Win2000 are very similar to your Win98/Win98SE, so the transition period should be much faster than, say to WinXP-Pro.

Now the big question only you can answer. After adding up all these "upgradeing" costs, would it be better to buy a new computer, or fix-up the old one. Its the same question you'd ask yourself when considering a major repair to your "old" car.

New is nice, but like a new girlfriend, expensive. And the "learning curve" can be very stressful.

good luck in your efforts.

sbk - First, DO NOT upgrade to WinME. Stay with Win98 or Win98SE, whichever you already have installed. WinME is nothing but headaches.

Second, YES, upgrade your memory to at least 128mb, or preferably 256mb. Its the cheapest thing you can do to improve performance/speed. Check your owners manual for details or this Crutial website (Most systems built within the last 5 years will work with at least 256mb.)

What utility/program/VIRUS is telling you your BIOS needs updating? For info, your BIOS is located in a ROM (Read-Only-Memory) chip on the motherboard. The BIOS contains all the code required to control the keyboard, display screen, disk drives, serial communications, etc., etc. On startup, many computer manufactures copy the BIOS data into memory, as RAM is faster than ROM. However, this occures each time the computer is restarted.

To permanently change the BIOS instructions, it would be necessary to "Flash" the BIOS, a tricky process not recommended unless your very computer literate. A first step in this process would be for you to check your computer manufacturer or BIOS manufacturers website, to see if they have issued any update(s) to your specific BIOS.

You did not state the speed of your P-III. Again as to the question of a new OS, check the Microsoft XP website to see if your system (with a memory upgrade) can run XP. IMHO This would be the way to go, if you feel it necessary to upgrade the OS.

I have just tried to update mine, and have come up with:[Error number: 0x80072F78]. I wonder if this is the end of my updates?

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marquess - The error message your receiving is well documented and may be due to "server connection" problems between your OS and the Microsoft servers, rather than from having an "invalid" product key.

More info and fixes below:

1. XP Windows Update Error 0x8024402C / 0x80072f78 / 0x8024502D

2. You receive Initialization error 0x80072F78 while the Windows Update Web site is loading

3. You receive Initialization error 0x800a01b6 while the Windows Update Web site is loading

4. You experience problems when you access the Windows Update Version 5 Web site through a server that is running ISA Server

Hope this helps

No more nasty requests to sign up for Hotmail plus. 

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Just wait.......you'll still get those "Plus" sales pitches. I do!

Don't worry.....help is on the way!

A new European recycling law for electronic waste, taking effect in 2006, was voted in unanimously by the European Parliament. The law includes rules that stop printer manufacturers from including "clever chips" in their printer cartridges that prohibit different brand cartridges from being used in printers or stop consumers from refilling cartridges.

The new law has been made to help try and curb some of the 6 million tons of electronic waste ("electroscrap") that is produced in Europe. The clever chips were seen as detrimental to future recycling practices as they stopped consumers from recycling printer cartridges altogether, forcing them to always buy a new cartridge. Printer companies have warned that the new recycling law could see costs go up considerably and those costs will more than likely be passed on to the consumer.

HP claims that the chips used in their printer cartridges don't prohibit reuse. They say that only 10% of their cartridges include chips that monitor the level of ink in the cartridge. Thus, the only negative effect from refilling an HP ink cartridge with an embedded chip should be loss of the features of that chip, and not loss of use of the cartridge itself.

Remember, everything comes to he who waits!

(......and I'm still waiting for her. )

madsere - Take a look at the HP1210, HP1315 or HP1350 "Multifunction" inkjet printers. Recently rated "Best Value" by Consumer Reports. Priced in the 90-130 (US$) range. They Print/Scan/Copy. A Six-ink color cartridge is also available for photo printing.

PLEASE........let's not rehash the old XXX-OS is better than YYY-OS.

Linux is basically UNIX, which was originally developed by Bell Laboratories division of AT&T (American Telephone & Telegraph) in 1969, and still used today in many business systems. IT AIN't NEW !!!!!! (Most IBM OS's include the UNIX/Linux kernel, however, IBM's OS's are proprietary, not open-source, due mainly to the fact, our old friend Microsoft holds many copyrights.)

Apple's OS is based on OS/2 (which is similar to UNIX) developed back in 1985-1987 in a collaboration between IBM and Microsoft. It was originally intended as the successor to MS-DOS, but Microsoft bowed out of the deal and went on to develop Windows, while IBM continued with OS/2 development. In 1996, IBM indicated it would slowly withdrawl support for OS/2, although today, most of the world's banks and ATM's still run OS/2. (A third party has, with IBM's support, taken over most OS/2 work.)

As Linux has 40-50 percent of the server OS market, there is hope other software writers (eg: Adobe) will eventually rewrite their programs to run on Linux. However, I wouldn't count on it becoming available in the near future.

Now be honest, you have to admit Microsoft has made a little progress with improving Windows, since v1.0.

A lot of good information on cleaning/refilling/resetting inkjet print cartridges is available online. Try a google search.

A few examples:

Some suggestions for unclogging your Epson printer

Fighting the Epson ink chip and winning!

Beat the chip-Build your own resetter

Cracking the 1290 chip

Epson Cartridge Reset/Freeze Software

Sometimes, just a few drops of alcohol (vodka works well ) or water & ammonia (Window Cleaner) could get your "old printer" working like new.

......I don't think it's as easy as simply inserting the hard drive......

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If your talking about a hard drive (hdd) with a full operating system installed on it (eg: Win98/ME/XP), then it could be just as simple as installing a little utility like "BootMagic" (from PartitionMagic/Symantec) on both computers, then when the hdd in question is installed on either computer, you just select which drive/operating system you want to use, during boot-up.

Another solution might be you utilize a service like "Go-To-My-PC" where, from anywhere in the world, you can transfer/access/ulilize any files on either computer. More info and free 30-day-trial details here:

Or...if your planning to purchase new computers, you might want to take a look at the new HP models, which have a slot/door on the fromt panel for a "plug-and-play" removeable hdd.

There are also many online storage sites where you can upload/download files, and again, access them from any computer worldwide. (A monthly fee is usually charged, depending on amount of storage needed.)

Some laptops (eg: Sony) have models with interchangeable hard drives, at the push of a button.

A final note. Read and heed francois and Ming~Ming cautions. If your planning to transport a hdd back and forth between the US and Thailand, make sure it is first placed in an anti-static bag then mounted in a "shock-proof" container, such as the original hdd shipping box. Despite some claims, hdd's are quite fragile and easly damaged.

good luck in your travels

A FREEWARE utility to accomplish this is WebTime 2000 by Gregory Braun.

"WebTime 2000 is a small utility program that will synchronize your PC's internal clock with one of the several atomic clocks maintained by the United States National Institute of Standards and Technology."

The program also allows you to insert/change URL addresses, as needed.

More info, a screenshot and download link here:

The Reference File update server is working. The last update was SE1R16 28.10.2004 (released October 28, 2004).

You can download, then manually install the latest update, from this link:

http://download.lavasoft.de.edgesuite.net/public/defs.zip

Additional information on this updated release can be found here:

http://www.lavasoftsupport.com/index.php?showtopic=50152

For information, Microsoft has released a new update (patch) to fix a problem in Internet Explorer 6 while running on the WindowsXP platform where Service Pack 2 has been installed.

The Problem:

When you view a Web page that can render vector graphics on screen in Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 running on Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), Internet Explorer may stop responding or crash and you receive an access violation in Vgx.dll.

Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 885932 here:

Download here: (English Version)

If your system utilizes a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) TV type monitor, then 50 to 60 percent of your total system electrical cost will be consumed by the monitor itself.

Most CRT's have 3 "guns" (red, blue and green) each with a filament, similar to a regular light bulb. In other words, leaving your monitor (or TV) on 24/7 is like leaving 3 light bulbs turned on, 24/7. You can reduce the overall electrical consumption of your computer system by manually turning off the monitor or having Windows automatically shutdown the monitor during periods of non-useage (see Windows Help for details).

For example. a standard 17 inch CRT monitor utilizes about 100 watts of power when turned on but less than 8 watts, when turned off. (See your monitor specifications for complete details.)

If you normally leave your computer system on 24/7, you might think about turning it off completely, when you won't be using it again for several hours. This will reduce overall power consumption, as well as wear and tear on moving parts such as hard disk drives and fans.

Hope your enjoying your new "toy".

Re: Low-level formatting:

Important drive information (servo, sector layout, and defect management, etc.) is stored in the low-level format at the factory. This information is designed to last the life of the drive, therefore, it is not possible to low level the drive outside the factory.

Although some drive manufactures and BIOS's provided so-called "low level format utilities", they actually perform a write-read verify of the drive’s user data sectors, and do not actually perform a low-level format. In the event of a corrupted master boot record or boot block virus, use FDISK /MBR command to restore the master boot record.

If you need to low level format your hard drive then check the drive manufacturer and download such a utility from their website. Every drive manufacturer provides just such a utility. The following is a list of hard drive manufacturers with links to low level format utilities:

IBM(Hitachi)

http://www.hgst.com/hdd/support/download.htm

Seagate

http://www.seagate.com/support/disc/utils.html

Maxtor

http://www.maxtor.com/en/support/downloads/index.htm

Fujitsu

http://www.fel.fujitsu.com/home/drivers.asp?L=en&CID=1

Samsung

http://www.samsung.com/Products/HardDiskDr...ities/index.htm

FAQ: Low level format

Western Digital

http://support.wdc.com/download/index.asp

Note:

If normal (high level) hard disk formatting is required, you can use DOS FDISK command to first erase and create partitions and then use FORMAT. It is also a good idea when your hard disk becomes inaccessible to see if it is just the system files that are corrupted. Most of the time, that is the case, and SYS will do the job of replacing those system files. Therefore, low level format is always of LAST RESORT when you encounter HDD problems.

iPod retail prices in US stores are:

20 gig version $299 (US$)

40 gig version $399 (US$)

Very few dealers offering discounts, due demand presently exceeds supply. (Reportedly, over 2 million have been sold in last 3 months.)

Which OS are you reinstalling?

Are you:

...reinstalling over a previous version of the same OS?

...or a newer version over an older version?

...or a complete reinstall including HDD format?

???

......My friend didn't take my advice on keeping his harddisks cool with fans (proper fans, not the gimmicky harddisk coolers) and his harddisk full of precious data overheated and died a few days ago.  RIP.

An interesting new monitoring program from O&O Software, "DriveLED v2.0", may help in recognizing pending hard drive failures, before they happen. (A full version is available for testing, in the download section.)

More info here: