Rangerland Forum Information

[Sed]

Smother the computer with a pilow - that'll stop the humming permanently.

[Rick91981]

Could be interference from other peripherals. Try unplugging everything you can and use the headset to see if it improves.

[Alitaki]

Or maybe just get a headset that plugs into the standard jacks.

[gr8flscott]

Microsoft Excel (2007, but I don't think that matters in this case)

I want to set up a spreadsheet to act in a checkbook sort of way. When I input a positive or negative number in the column, I want the total at the bottom to reflect the action. I used to use one to discover trade differences when I worked on Wall St., but that was 7 years ago.

Teach me, Oh Wise One (or anyone else who wants to chime in)!

[Eric]

You could use something like =Sum(A1:A20)

Of course you would change the letter and the numbers to match which cells you want to include in the sum.

[gr8flscott]

Thank you, sir!

[Lester Patrick]

I need to send a word file (2010 version) through g-mail to someone in pdf format. I have not been successful in finding clear instructions on how to change a word file into pdf format. Does anyone know how to do it, or has a link to clear instructions? Thanks.

[Sed]

I need to send a word file (2010 version) through g-mail to someone in pdf format. I have not been successful in finding clear instructions on how to change a word file into pdf format. Does anyone know how to do it, or has a link to clear instructions? Thanks.

1. Open the document in Word.
2. In the file menu, choose "Save As"
3. Under the file name, there's a box that says "Save as type." Change that from "Word" to "PDF."
4. Save the file.



This post has been edited by Sed: Apr 1 2012, 12:30 PM

[Lester Patrick]

Thanks Sed. I think I need to take a refresher course!

[Sed]

Thanks Sed. I think I need to take a refresher course!

Don't feel too bad - they changed the way that you do it a few years ago. It used to be through the Print menu, where rather than "saving" the file you would "print" the file as a PDF. I guess Microsoft finally figured out that that was kind of stupid.

[jburns]

Does anyone else have issues with Google Chrome being not as "crisp" as Firefox? It seems the text isn't a clear. SAD FACE.

[Rick91981]

Try using a different font in Chrome?

http://support.google.com/chrome/bin/answe...mp;answer=95416

[Ulfie #5]

I need help!

I had Comcast Internet installed today. The installer used my work laptop to get everything up and running and all was well with my wireless network. But tonight I turned on my home desktop and lo and behold, I cannot connect to the net. My laptop running XP connects just fine. But my Vista desktop can't. Signal is not the issue. For some reason Vista won't let me get on the net. I can get into the router UI just fine though.

Any ideas?

[Rick91981]

Sounds like a DNS issue. Open a command prompt (start->run type cmd and hit enter). first try to type in ping google.com and hit enter. See if it replies. If it does reply then it is more of a browser issue.

If it does not reply try to type in ping 74.125.226.197 and hit enter. See if that replies. That is a IP address for google. If that replies and the first doesn't then it is definitely DNS. Post back and let me know.

[Ulfie #5]

Hi Rick,
You are absolutely right that it was a DNS issue.

Last night I lugged my desktop down to the garage where the modem and wireless router are. I was able to access the net wired but not wireless. So I called Dlink, the manufacturer of my router. We went through a bunch of settings and even deleted the home network and created a new one. Still no dice. Finally, we went into the IPv4 settings. "Obtain IP address automatically" was checked. But the DNS address was set to manual. We changed that to automatic and BINGO!

I am not sure how it got on manual. I don't think I changed it. Anyway, it's now working.

Thanks for be there for me in my time of need!!!!

[Rick91981]

Glad you got it all sorted out.

[NYRhitter]

Hi Rick. Can you help me turn off network discovery in XP? I'm trying to stream media from my PC to my android phone via an app called skifta and I think network discovery is on.

Thanks a bunch!

Mike

[Rick91981]

Never used that program, but I would think you want to leave network discover on. I would look more at the settings on the desktop client to make sure the shares are setup properly.

[NYRhitter]

Never used that program, but I would think you want to leave network discover on. I would look more at the settings on the desktop client to make sure the shares are setup properly.

Here's where I got it from:

Cnet

Problem is I'm running XP not Vista and I can't find the network discover at all. Since I'm not on Vista I only have WMP 11. I didn't think those things would make that much of a difference, but here I am.

[Rick91981]

Watching that video, the girl says make sure to turn network discovery on but turns it off. Very confusing. But I would most definitely say it needs to be on for it to work, not off. At any rate, there is no network discovery in XP exactly. But you do need to make sure File and Print sharing is turned on. See here for directions.

Also make sure you don't have a firewall program that is blocking access.

[Lester Patrick]

Hi Rick! My next door neighbor is going to build his own computer. His motherboard he bought mail order at a discount because it had been returned by someone else. The motherboard was claimed to have been with all parts in the box, but it is missing the i/o shield. He sent an e-mail to the manufacturer to see if he can buy one from them, because he feels that that would still wind up cheaper than buying a new motherboard, but in the meantime, can he build the computer without the i/o shield? Would that cause any damage to the computer, and wouldn't he have to take the board out when he gets a replacement shield? I'm trying to tell him to wait until he gets the shield.

[Rick91981]

Hi Rick! My next door neighbor is going to build his own computer. His motherboard he bought mail order at a discount because it had been returned by someone else. The motherboard was claimed to have been with all parts in the box, but it is missing the i/o shield. He sent an e-mail to the manufacturer to see if he can buy one from them, because he feels that that would still wind up cheaper than buying a new motherboard, but in the meantime, can he build the computer without the i/o shield? Would that cause any damage to the computer, and wouldn't he have to take the board out when he gets a replacement shield? I'm trying to tell him to wait until he gets the shield.

He would definitely need to take the MOBO out to put the I/O shield in. He would be better off waiting until he receives it before assembling everything otherwise he is just going to do it twice.

What I do suggest is to "breadboard" the PC first to test all the components. That basically means install the RAM, CPU, Heatsink, etc and lay all the rest of the parts out on a table and connect them and see if it will POST. If all the components seem to work, then put them into the case when he gets the I/O shield.

[Lester Patrick]

Hi Rick! My next door neighbor is going to build his own computer. His motherboard he bought mail order at a discount because it had been returned by someone else. The motherboard was claimed to have been with all parts in the box, but it is missing the i/o shield. He sent an e-mail to the manufacturer to see if he can buy one from them, because he feels that that would still wind up cheaper than buying a new motherboard, but in the meantime, can he build the computer without the i/o shield? Would that cause any damage to the computer, and wouldn't he have to take the board out when he gets a replacement shield? I'm trying to tell him to wait until he gets the shield.

He would definitely need to take the MOBO out to put the I/O shield in. He would be better off waiting until he receives it before assembling everything otherwise he is just going to do it twice.

What I do suggest is to "breadboard" the PC first to test all the components. That basically means install the RAM, CPU, Heatsink, etc and lay all the rest of the parts out on a table and connect them and see if it will POST. If all the components seem to work, then put them into the case when he gets the I/O shield.

Thanks Rick, I'll mention these suggestions.

[Rick91981]

Glad to help.

[Kusand]

Any ideas on this one, Rick? Gmail stuff from a friend.

I have 2 Gmail accounts. They are setup identically as POP3 accounts in Outlook. One works fine but the other has an odd problem that I cannot resolve.

Any time I reply or send an email it also send a copy to my inbox. This happens both in Outlook and my online Gmail account (IMAP). There is no setting that I can find (myself or in help) that addresses this problem.

[The Fast Choker]

Any ideas on this one, Rick? Gmail stuff from a friend.

I have 2 Gmail accounts. They are setup identically as POP3 accounts in Outlook. One works fine but the other has an odd problem that I cannot resolve.

Any time I reply or send an email it also send a copy to my inbox. This happens both in Outlook and my online Gmail account (IMAP). There is no setting that I can find (myself or in help) that addresses this problem.

Sounds like it's setup to auto-bcc, but I don't think gmail or outlook have that as an option, unless something extra (script, etc) is installed.

[Rick91981]

Does the account have any rules configured that could be causing it? disable any rules you might have and then test.

[Rick91981]

Also now that I think of it, in gmail, where you enable POP there is an option to what to do with the message after it is downloaded. Is that set differently on the different accounts? Might be a source of issue.

[xcdudesquadloves...]

Rick the sound has stopped playing on my MacBook Pro. Its a very new computer and I have not done anything to drop it or anything. I checked all the volues and nothing is one mute.. Any ideas?

[xcdudesquadloves...]

Nevermind I ran a software update and now its fine.

[Bavoo]

I recently gutted an old PC with a fried CPU and I removed the 2 HDDs.

I still have the ribbon cables attached and, of course, the power cables. Is there a way to attach them to a laptop to see what's on them? I'm 99.99% sure I backed everything up, but the thing's been sitting for at least 2 years and my curiosity is peaked! The OS should be XP, if that helps.

Thanks!

[Rick91981]

I recently gutted an old PC with a fried CPU and I removed the 2 HDDs.

I still have the ribbon cables attached and, of course, the power cables. Is there a way to attach them to a laptop to see what's on them? I'm 99.99% sure I backed everything up, but the thing's been sitting for at least 2 years and my curiosity is peaked! The OS should be XP, if that helps.

Thanks!

The easiest way to do that is invest in one of these.


Connect the old drive to it, plug in the power, and connect the USB to the laptop.

[Charlie]

Hey Rick, I don't know how much you know about Droids/Google music, but I have one really annoying issue with mine.

If you don't use Google music this will probably be nonsense to you, but if you do maybe you can help.

When I try and pin music offline on my phone it automatically downloads to my phone's hard drive. Is there a way to make it so google chooses to automatically download the music to my sd card? I've been browsing various forums, but there doesn't see to be a consensus.

Connecting to my laptop then dragging and dropping files doesn't work. If I move the files google can't find them and says the music can only be accessed online.

Thanks.

[Charlie]

Also, a thing you are more likely to know.

I'm in the market for a new laptop. I've had my HP 550 for 4 years now, and while it is still fine, it is noticeably slower than other laptops. It's got a number of other annoying problems, and I'm ready to upgrade.

This is the one that I've been looking into and think I want to buy. http://www.staples.com/HP-Pavilion-dv6-6C1.../product_424329

Have you had customers who have had significant problems? The customer reviews I saw on Amazon were pretty overwhelmingly good.

[Eric]

I only know this because I work at the place but you can get the dv6-6c35 for the same price from Best Buy. It comes with the same size hard drive, same amount of ram but with the AMD A8 processor instead of the A6.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+15.6%22+P...p;cp=1&lp=1

[Rick91981]

Hey Rick, I don't know how much you know about Droids/Google music, but I have one really annoying issue with mine.

If you don't use Google music this will probably be nonsense to you, but if you do maybe you can help.

When I try and pin music offline on my phone it automatically downloads to my phone's hard drive. Is there a way to make it so google chooses to automatically download the music to my sd card? I've been browsing various forums, but there doesn't see to be a consensus.

Connecting to my laptop then dragging and dropping files doesn't work. If I move the files google can't find them and says the music can only be accessed online.

Thanks.

I don't use Google Music so sorry I do not know the answer to this.

Also, a thing you are more likely to know.

I'm in the market for a new laptop. I've had my HP 550 for 4 years now, and while it is still fine, it is noticeably slower than other laptops. It's got a number of other annoying problems, and I'm ready to upgrade.

This is the one that I've been looking into and think I want to buy. http://www.staples.com/HP-Pavilion-dv6-6C1.../product_424329

Have you had customers who have had significant problems? The customer reviews I saw on Amazon were pretty overwhelmingly good.

Any computer can break down at any time really, but HP is generally decent. Are you set on an HP? With Acer you can generally get more for your money.

[Charlie]

Also, a thing you are more likely to know.

I'm in the market for a new laptop. I've had my HP 550 for 4 years now, and while it is still fine, it is noticeably slower than other laptops. It's got a number of other annoying problems, and I'm ready to upgrade.

This is the one that I've been looking into and think I want to buy. http://www.staples.com/HP-Pavilion-dv6-6C1.../product_424329

Have you had customers who have had significant problems? The customer reviews I saw on Amazon were pretty overwhelmingly good.

Any computer can break down at any time really, but HP is generally decent. Are you set on an HP? With Acer you can generally get more for your money.

No, I'm not married to any brand.

I don't really want to spend any more than $600 and want to get the most power possible for that amount without sacrificing reliability.

I'm not a gamer so I don't care about that kind of stuff.

[Charlie]

Also, a thing you are more likely to know.

I'm in the market for a new laptop. I've had my HP 550 for 4 years now, and while it is still fine, it is noticeably slower than other laptops. It's got a number of other annoying problems, and I'm ready to upgrade.

This is the one that I've been looking into and think I want to buy. http://www.staples.com/HP-Pavilion-dv6-6C1.../product_424329

Have you had customers who have had significant problems? The customer reviews I saw on Amazon were pretty overwhelmingly good.

Any computer can break down at any time really, but HP is generally decent. Are you set on an HP? With Acer you can generally get more for your money.

No, I'm not married to any brand.

I don't really want to spend any more than $600 and want to get the most power possible for that amount without sacrificing reliability.

I'm not a gamer so I don't care about that kind of stuff.

After surfing Acer's site, I am down to these two:

http://us-store.acer.com/product.aspx?prod...5&catid=103

and

http://us-store.acer.com/product.aspx?prod...8&catid=103

Any suggestions? The HP's are still totally in the running.

[Rick91981]

After surfing Acer's site, I am down to these two:

http://us-store.acer.com/product.aspx?prod...5&catid=103

and

http://us-store.acer.com/product.aspx?prod...8&catid=103

Any suggestions? The HP's are still totally in the running.

Between those two, I would go with the first one. The Core i5 is an excellent processor and it has tons of RAM. Also check out newegg.com and tigerdirect.com as depending on your state, you may not have to pay tax. That could save you some money.

[Tex]

okay, at some point a few days ago, whenever I roll a utoob clip the sound is all shitty. The system volume input levels and settings are not maxxed, the in-viewer volumes are not maxxed and regular audio files play without any distortion at all, no matter how high or low I mix and match combinations to replicate the ruckus. I tested utoob on IE and everything works fine, but it's not my normal browser. WTF? Do I need some new codec for Firefox?

halp?

[Tex]

someday, I'll learn to google first. I really will. I pumice.

[Tex]

guh. I can't fix shit. oh well, signs point to problem being a recent Flash update, so, guess it'll wait until they patch it.

[Rick91981]

guh. I can't fix shit. oh well, signs point to problem being a recent Flash update, so, guess it'll wait until they patch it.

Try to uninstall flash then reinstall it

http://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/uni...er-windows.html

[Rocha]

I had a downright insane virus/trojan/rootkit yesterday which took me 12 hours of tinkering to fix. Seriously. All I did all day long was read about the Dropper.BCMiner and ZeroAccess trojans and techniques to get rid of them. They came into my system via a fake Adobe update that looked like the exact real thing, so beware. They're new and starting spread very widely.

ZeroAccess injects itself into your system drivers and services (in fact, it was services.exe that was like the end boss for me to kill!) and are able to hide from virus scanners and/or shut them down completely. They also act as a key logger for passwords, were redirecting a lot of my web browsing, and downloading more viruses and rogue services onto my system through a backdoor. Any virus scanner that would find it and clean it didn't really do that, as it just pops right back up on the next scan.

But I was determined to beat it without re-installing Windows, and finally after being awake for 22 hours, working on this straight for 12 of them and about to pass out, I remarked to Claudia on my way to bed, "I'm the computer champion."

Fun:
http://blogs.mcafee.com/mcafee-labs/target...s-achilles-heel

[Rick91981]

12 hours? Damn you should have just posted here. TDSSKiller then Combofix and you'd be running again within an hour.

[Rocha]

12 hours? Damn you should have just posted here. TDSSKiller then Combofix and you'd be running again within an hour.

10 hours more accurately, and a lot of that was because for the first 6 hours I didn't disconnect my external drives, so every reboot needed to index them, adding 10 minutes each time. Also adding to a lot of that time were two separate hour-long scans from aswMBR that never completed, and I'm not sure why they were taking that long, but I let it run because it was finding infections in the drivers, which most other anti-malware programs weren't.

TDSS was actually totally useless, but yeah, Combofix was a champ. I was afraid of using it until the end though because every time I read about it, people would swear up and down, don't use unless instructed! Could seriously harm your computer! Finally I was like whatever, I've tried everything else and I was about to replace services.exe with one from my laptop (also Win7 x64), which I'm sure would've caused other sets of problems.

RogueKiller was also very helpful, running scans on reboot managed to get rid of everything but the main core of the trojan in services.exe, which Combofix took care of. This trojan made MSE, Norton and a couple others its bitch. It pretty much stepped on MSE's head and tossed it down the stairs. Shame, and I liked that program up 'til now, too.

[Rick91981]

This trojan made MSE, Norton and a couple others its bitch. It pretty much stepped on MSE's head and tossed it down the stairs. Shame, and I liked that program up 'til now, too.

That's because the infection is what's known as a rootkit. Normal virus scanners will not detect it. A rootkit hides on suck a low level they can hijack the antivirus scanners to make them think everything is normal. You need specialized programs in order to detect a rootkit.

Combofix was a champ. I was afraid of using it until the end though because every time I read about it, people would swear up and down, don't use unless instructed! Could seriously harm your computer! Finally I was like whatever, I've tried everything else

Combofix can indeed be dangerous but when you are infected bad enough that you were to the point of reloading your machine anyway then you have nothing to lose at that point. The problem with ComboFix is it is not user friendly at all and is extremely aggressive. Everyone says to use caution with it to cover their own asses. 95% of the time it will run and fix things without issue. But I have seen it happen a few times that the machine will no longer boot after it ran.

and I was about to replace services.exe with one from my laptop (also Win7 x64), which I'm sure would've caused other sets of problems.

Probably a bad idea. Never mess with system files unless you have to. Also you would not be able to replace a service that is running anyway and would have to replace it from outside of the Windows environment.

[Giac]

Rick, it's become painfully obvious that I need to upgrade my PC/desktop at home. I've got a Gigabyte-brand motherboard and an Intel Core-2 Duo 2.66-gig processor with 2 gigs of RAM. This was fine when I wasn't doing a lot, but it's woefully short of where I need to be to process my photos. I've been told that processor is limited on how much RAM it can handle. Now that I have the Canon 5D Mk II, which is a 21.1 megapixel camera, my RAW image files are significantly larger than with my old Rebel XTi, so I need to bump my processing power and RAM accordingly. I'm not a gamer, and use the computer primarily for image processing. Can you recommend a good processor that can handle a shitload of RAM, and for that matter, a good brand of RAM to use? I'm guessing I'll need to update the motherboard as well, so any recommendations along those lines would be most welcome.

Thanks in advance for any advice you're willing to share!

This post has been edited by Giac: Jul 1 2012, 01:08 PM

[Rick91981]

The processor won't limit your RAM. What will limit it is the operating system and the motherboard. What kind of budget are you looking at? That will be a big factor in my recommendation. I would look along the lines of a Core i7 and 8+ GB RAM. You would need to upgrade the motherboard yes. Hard drives, DVD drives, video card, case, power supply, etc can all the stripped from the old machine and put into the new one so save some money. If budget allows for it, I highly recommend a solid state drive as your primary boot drive. As far as brand of RAM, you cant go wrong with Crucial, Kingston, OCZ, or Corsair.

If you give me a price range and let me know what components from the old rig you plan to keep, I can help you piece together the new parts.

[Giac]

The processor won't limit your RAM. What will limit it is the operating system and the motherboard. What kind of budget are you looking at? That will be a big factor in my recommendation. I would look along the lines of a Core i7 and 8+ GB RAM. You would need to upgrade the motherboard yes. Hard drives, DVD drives, video card, case, power supply, etc can all the stripped from the old machine and put into the new one so save some money. If budget allows for it, I highly recommend a solid state drive as your primary boot drive. As far as brand of RAM, you cant go wrong with Crucial, Kingston, OCZ, or Corsair.

If you give me a price range and let me know what components from the old rig you plan to keep, I can help you piece together the new parts.

Rick, I won't say price isn't a consideration, but it's less so since I use the computer primarily for my photography and I now have my GET (General Excise Tax) license for my photo business in here Hawaii so it'll be a tax writeoff at the end of the year. I'm currently using Windows XP Professional, but will obviously (I think) need to move to Windows 7 since the support for XP is going away (shame, too, beaciuse I like XP -- my wife has Windows 7 on her Viao laptopn, and I like it considerably less).

I don't know anything about solid state drives, but would appreciate any advice on that front; I'm expecting a bonus at work later this year so I intend to put all that toward upgrading my rig. I currently have two internal hard drives (120-gig each), one for OS and programs, the other for data, as well as two 1-terabyte externals for photo file storage (each one is a copy of the other - I'm from the Department of Redundancy Department).

I see NewEgg has the Core i7 Quad-Core processors from between $200-$300, and that's certainly not a problem for me. I've got everything else I need (though I do want to replace the two internal hard drives, one Maxtor and one Seagate -- they're both 5+ years old and I worry about them dying), so if I can keep the new motherboard, processor and solid state drive(s) under $1000-$1500, I'd consider that money very well spent. I'm tired of having to reboot on a regular basis just so I can continue editing, and again, I'm going to write the expense off my taxes.

I do appreciate your time and expertise on this, Rick.