AdamCon.org > chat > 2001-05-05

Chat for 2001-05-05 14:00:00

rich: test
moved to room Meeting Place
changed username to Guy B.
Guy B.: Hi Rich
rich: hi Guy glsad to see you
rich: how are things in Chicago today?
Guy B.: I'm starting to transport some of the programs from the P133 to the Athlon. It's cloudy and cool here.
rich: we have the cool though not chill, and it's nice and sunny
rich: by the way, did you look into that xxcopy program?
Guy B.: The sun did peek through a few times, but we had some rain this morning. That moved out. No, I didn't go to the website yet. I will after I'm done here.
rich: from the look of it, it could be useful in your file transfers
rich: I gather you don't have the Athlon on-line yet
Guy B.: I did some file transfers just using copy from My Computer and the folders on the Athlon.
Guy B.: Not yet. But, I hope to get that setup later on.
rich: xxcopy would seem to be most useful if you have more than one bootable partition
Guy B.: The Athlon has one drive for the moment. Is the xxcopy program freeware?
rich: yes, it is. not sure if there is a commercial version or not
Guy B.: Ok, I'll go check this out and see how this works out.
rich: I guess you know I have two bootable partitions and space reserved for a third
Guy B.: No, the Athlon has one partition with Fat32 on it. I'm going to setup System Commander Deluxe on it as I'm thinking of getting Windows 98 for the AGP card.
rich: even when I go to a new computer I plan to keep a Win 3.1 patition
rich: it seems that even if your drive will read/write double density mode, Win95 won't support it, but 3.1 does
Guy B.: That's a good idea for you. When I got the new drive for the P133, I couldn't run Win3.1 on it anymore. So, I left it off.
rich: I have System Commander on my computer, and also Partition Magic
Guy B.: System Commander Deluxe does have a partition resizer built in.
rich: yes, but I'd bought Partition Magic previously and wasn't about to delete it
rich: also it has a friendlier interface on partition resizing, for my taste
Guy B.: I believe a new version of the program came out. Did you upgrade?
rich: no, didn't see any point once I had SC
Guy B.: I did download the update for SC Deluxe. I have to install SC Deluxe first, then I can install the update.
rich: that's usually how it works. was the update expensive?
Guy B.: It was free. All you needed was your registration number from your current version of SC.
rich: maybe I should look into it for mine, then
Guy B.: Go to their website V-com.com and click on downloads.
rich: I get inhibited about downloads, when every US$ of pricing is over $1.50 Canadian
Guy B.: System Commander 2000 is the newest version and if you want to upgrade, you can download it for US$24.95.
rich: to me that would be about $40 nad I doubt I'd get that much worth of use out of it
rich: by the way, you may have noticed that I seem to be constantly recommending interesting freeware
Guy B.: Then stick with what you have and see if there is an update for your version.
rich: have you found any of the items I've remarked on useful?
Guy B.: That xxcopy was the first one you told me about. I have seen websites dedicated to freeware.
rich: no shortage of those, for sure
rich: but I tend to go to them only on the recommendation of reliable sources
Guy B.: Even my Practical Windows CD I get some freeware programs.
rich: I think if you went to langa.com and subscribed to the free Langalist newsletter you would like it
rich: it comes out every week with material on how to deal with various aspects of Windows
Guy B.: Hmm. Might look into that. Do you have Notepad+?
rich: langa also recommends (with link) another newsletter called Tourbus
rich: I actually downloaded it at one point but deleted it when I found out it was spyware
rich: I don't want programs spying on my every mouseclick and reporting it to their head office
Guy B.: I have it. I don't think it is spyware, but this program is way better than Microsoft's notepad.
rich: if you don't believe it's spyware, get AdAware (at, I think, lavasoft.de) and you'll find out otherwise
Guy B.: Ok!
Guy B.: Have you sent your registration for the convention?
rich: anyway, I have Abiword which is an open source freebie and even includes a spellcheck
rich: no, not yet, really just procrastination - they know we're coming
Guy B.: I sent mine in last month with half payment which I'll payoff hopefully this month.
moved to room Meeting Place
changed username to Meeka\
Meeka\: Hello
rich: aha - wonder if that's Dave joining us?
Meeka\ changed username to Meeka
rich: no, it's Meeka - missed you Wednesday, Meeka
Meeka: had trouble logging on
Guy B.: Hi Meeka, missed you Wednesday.
rich: really? I made it in without trouble
rich: though that java chat applet takes forever to load
Guy B.: Dale forgot to connect the server Wednesday. Had to wait 45 minutes until he got home.
rich: or did you mean Wednesday? Dale didn't get the server online till 10
Meeka: yes i ment wednesday
rich: pity - you missed some fun. we had a dozen people on
Meeka: oh well
rich: today we're quiet, but maybe it will build. the wednesday chats started slowly too
Guy B.: Meeka, would you Doug a question for me if he's there?
Meeka: I can. he is in the basement, so it might take me a minuter
Guy B.: Ok, great. I still got two of the computers we got from March. I installed PCI soundboards and after I installed the drivers. Windows 95 would give me a Fatal Exception Error 07 on the one of the files. What would cause this error?
Meeka: brb
rich: While Meeka's gone, I downloaded a very nice user-friendly summary this week on how to edit the Windows registry
Guy B.: I got articles from my Practical Windows magazine on editing the registry.
rich: oddly enough, I don't buy computer magazines
rich: that's because we have three free monthly computer tabloids in Toronto
Guy B.: I've been a subscriber for the last several years. Lots of good stuff in there.
rich: there's We-compute, which is very carefully written for the average user
rich: then there's Toronto Compputes, which is given to product tests, tech news and stuff
rich: and The Computer Paper which is more technical and business-user oriented
rich: they have very informative websites, all of them
rich: and We-compute has a weekly newsletter with "cheap tricks" Windows tweaks and r4ecommended freebies
Guy B.: You get these by e-mail?
rich: in fact, take a look at we-compute.com - you might get a kick out of it
rich: I get the Langa list and We-compute newsletters by email
rich: but I have to pick up the papers at the library or computer store or coffee sho[p
Meeka: ok. he says he is not sure what #07 error is. I guess there are a whole busnch of diferent error messages it gives depending on what the problem is.
rich: yikes - even Doug doesn't know where to get a list of what Windows error messages mean? Bummer!
Guy B.: Could it be possible that these PCI boards are not compatible with the original version of Windows 95? I couldn't even get Windows up after this error and the only way I did regain control was to go into Safe Mode, removed the drivers then take the soundboards out. They are from Pinegroup.com.
rich: didn't the drivers come with some sort of documentation?
Meeka: don't know.
Guy B.: Yes, it did and I followed precisely.
rich: you'd think if it told you how to install the boards in Win95 that it would do it
rich: have you tried the pinegroup website for support?
Guy B.: Win95 did recognize the soundboard and only after I installed the drivers from the Cd-Rom would the error come up.
Guy B.: Three times already and they told me of new drivers, but they are the SAME version as on the Cd-Rom.
Meeka: ok. I had better get going. I just dropped in to say hi. I need to get some yard work done, and if I don't get started it will never get done. See ya wednesday night.
rich: terrific, Meeka, see you then. have fun
Guy B.: Glad you dropped by, see you Wednesday. Bye.
Meeka left chat session
rich: I also assume pinegroup doesn't know what fatal error 7 is either or what causes it
Guy B.: Rich this xxcopy is a Windows program, right?
rich: yes, it is basically a DOS program but apparently they have now set it up to run from within Windows
Guy B.: I'm taking the boards with me to the computer show tomorrow since I know the vendor will be there and I can ask if I can return and try another soundboard that I used for Jeanene's computer and that worked.
rich: either that or maybe he'll be able to tell you how to make them work
Guy B.: The tech guy claimed he has gotten them to work in older Pentium systems. But, I don't think he will get them to work on a P75 and P100 commputers.
rich: there are also some websites around that apparently offer free technical help
Guy B.: All I know is this has been a real headache and I just gave up.
rich: you're thinking the conflict may really lie in the BIOS, then?
Guy B.: What would I look for in the BIOS?
rich: heaves, I don't know. It's just that you seemed to feel the hardwarde could be at fault
Guy B.: The Plug and Play option was set. Both of these computers are an Award BIOS.
rich: is it possible that the driver usurps an IRQ that's already assigned elsewhere?
Guy B.: I don't know. Where would I look?
rich: I'm not really teh guy to ask - I know very little about computers
Guy B.: Where do I find some free tech help on the web?
rich: but if I recall there's one of the Windows programs that tells you which IRQs are assigned where
Guy B.: I can find that on the System Icon in Control Panel.
rich: try a search engine like alltheweb or google
rich: I think I've heard of one called pcnineoneone.com or pcnineeleven.com or something
Guy B.: Ok, I'll try Yahoo.
rich: yes, Yahoo is a portal, not a search engine, but might be better organized for this purpose
Guy B.: It does have a search feature.
rich: yes, though it doesn't work teh way search engines do - I realize that's sort of difficult to understand
Guy B.: I see what I find.
rich: but basically it searches through Yahoo and connected website mostly
rich: don't forget the value of newsgroups, if you have a diversionary email address you can abandon when the spam gets too thick
rich: another approach might be to try beaucoup.com
rich: they have huge libraries of categorized links, including computer sources
Guy B.: I have a program called Webferret that will do that. I put in what I'm looking for and it uses all the search engines to find it.
rich: yes, I picked up Webferret myself teh other day
rich: tried it but didn't find it as good as alltheweb or google
rich: but our Amiga pusher, Bruce, has it and use it all the time and swears by it
Guy B.: I used and I had to stop the search as the list got too big.
rich: depends on what you are looking for and how good it is at narrowing down the search to what you exactly want
Guy B.: The sun is out here in Chicago.
rich: good, after the winter w3e've had we deserve some good weather
rich: I actually was wearing shorts and a t-shirt Tuesday and Wednesday
Guy B.: I agree with you on that. Especially in December when we got all that snow.
Guy B.: So was I for most of this week until yesterday.
rich: yes. but Toronto is now at its absolutely most beautiful of the year
rich: all of the flowering trees and shrubs are pretty well out, and teh trees should reach full leaf tomorrow, right on schedule
rich: we're getting some of teh migratory birds through too
Guy B.: Even all the flowers are out now and I can smell the lilacs near the woods.
rich: right, our crocuses are long gone and teh daffodils are pretty well over, but the hyacinth are fine and teh tulips should be out soon
rich: the little forget-me-nots and violas in the lawn are showing their faces too
rich: our pear tree is in full bloom and the crabapple will be by tomorrow
moved to room Meeting Place
changed username to Guy B.
Guy B. requested to ban Guy B.
rich confirmed ban
rich: got droppeddid you, Guy?
Guy B.: Lost my connection.
rich: must have been at your end, since I'm still on
Guy B.: Now I hope to stay on as I need to download some files.
rich: you seem to have a lot of problem that way - is it core.com?
Guy B.: Sometimes it could be noise in the line. They have mentioned that.
rich: don'ty know what teh quality of phone lines is like in Chicago. We never have any problem here that way
Guy B.: Every now and then this happens. Most of the time I do stay connected.
rich: We all suffer that, but generally my ISP and phone connections have been pretty good
rich: one place I have problems is when I'm dong a long download and the screen saver tries to come on
rich: it can cause a disruption that breaks the connect somehow
Guy B.: Abby is telling me that she wants to go out, so I will have to go here. I'll reconnect later and look at that program you mentioned. So, I'll see you on Wednsday.
rich: Absolutely, Guy. Take care till then. Bye
Guy B.: Bye
Guy B. left chat session
rich left chat session
moved to room Meeting Place
changed username to scott
scott left chat session
moved to room Meeting Place
changed username to james
moved to room Meeting Place
changed username to rich

AdamCon.org > chat > 2001-05-05
Send comments to dmwick@home.com. I am Dale Wick