XP Repair Site

One of the differences between inkjet printers and laser printers has to do with handling of the data to be printed.

An inkjet printer gets its commands for each printed line, one at a time, from Windows. It prints the line and gets the data for the next line. Sometimes they buffer a little of the data so there’s no hesitation, but Windows is talking to the printer thoughout the whole print job.

That’s not the way that laser printers work. A laser printer has to get all the data for a whole page before it starts to print that page.

What happens if there is so much content, shapes or colors, that the printer’s memory can’t receive the entire page? You can’t print it. You have to add memory.

Continue reading Adding Memory to the HP Color LaserJet CP1518ni

Subscriber Gene Philbrick posted a question via my Terry’s Computer Tips blog, asking:

Subject: Routers Compatible w/Motorola SURFboard eXtreme Modem SB6120, DOCSIS 3.0——

I have two Dell computers (an XP & VISTA) wired in one room. The above new modem is enroute to replace Comcast’s Motorola 11b modem. Expect I may have to also upgrade my router (currently a Linksys BEFSR41 v.2).

I have been reviewing two $80 routers…

Continue reading Upgrading the Router in Preparation for DOCSIS 3.0 Speeds

Subscriber Louis Zarowin wrote this week to ask for some guidance. Louis needs to reinstall Windows XP on an old computer that had been upgraded to Windows XP.

At a time like that, we always worry about whether we’ve found all the needed disks and files, so we can make sure that all our software and hardware works again.

Terry:

I have a somewhat older computer I still use (Dell Optiplex GX-110) and I recently was told by “Dell Tech. Suport” who was on line screen sharing with me that I need to re-install the operating system on it all over again.

It originally had a “Windows 98 S. E. on it” then before I actually got it, it was upgraded somehow to “Windows XP Professional” but the problem with just going ahead and re-installing the “Windows XP Professional” all over again is that the “Drivers/Drives” aren’t directly there, so I was advised that if I can re-install the “Windows 98 S. E. again” then “Upgrade to Windows XP Professional” this would be fine as the “Drivers/Drives” for that older operating system can simply be downloaded from the “Dell Website” as they still have them for that older operating system, but they don’t have them for “XP Professional” from what they told me already.

Microsoft will be sending me the “Disc to Upgrade to XP Professional” shortly but I need the “Windows 98 S. E. Original Disc” and that may be difficult to find right now.

Do you have any further information and/or possible suggestions that can help me?

I trust that you will reply to me about this issue when you have a chance and thanks for the assistance in this.

Yours Very Truly,

Louis R. Zarowin

I wrote back to Louis to suggest that he try to get a replacement Windows 98 SE cdrom from Dell. That’s his best bet if he can’t find his original Windows 98 SE cdrom..

Whether you have to install Win98 before installing WinXP or not…

Continue reading Reinstalling Windows XP Upgrade On An Old Computer

Readers of my online newsletter will remember Bev’s problems of several weeks ago. Bev upgraded to Windows 7 Home. However, she was no longer able to get to Pogo.com to play games…

I had corresponded with Bev and made sure she had updated to the latest verison of Java (from www.java.com). But, Bev continued to have problems.

My last request to Bev had been that she write to tell me how she ultimately solved the proble.

This week, she wrote back to report that the problem was solved — and in a way that was quite surprising to me:

Hi Terry, Just wanted to update you on my Pogo.com issue that I wrote you about.

I ended up talking to Microsoft and they remotely assisted but after two days they couldn’t resolve the problem, called Linksys who wasn’t any help as router is outdated, called Pogo and they didn’t have any answer and called my ISP.

I finally called my friend who is super busy as computer tech and he did a few things like trying to download update firmware for my router of which wasn’t available any longer and his last fix worked, buy a new router as Windows 7 did not like my old router. So he had me buy a Netgear WNR2000-100NAS.

I did the switch and setup all by myself as their setup disc is so simple and by golly everything is working great besides being fast router for desktop as well. Thank you Terry for all your help, you are a trooper for sure. Happy Thanksgiving early.

The solution was surprising, but perhaps should not have been. Linksys has had a lot of versions upgrading and improving their WRT54G router that Bev used. Her’s was about …

Continue reading Wireless Problems Solved with New Router

Well, the install was a pain. Not really — but my initial install worked extremely smoothly until Windows rebooted.

At that point, it simply failed to boot with an ambiguous error message that was less than helpful. It told me to reboot the installation DVD and select the Repair option.

When I did selected Repair, there were five new options that showed up. Fortunately, one seemed appropiate — automatically fix the windows installation (or something like that). Unfortunately, it didn’t work. The only good thing was it told me that it was unable to fix it.

Here’s what the real problem was, which was not identified by the Windows 7 RC installation: I was trying to install Windows 7 on a Logical drive within an Extended partition. So far, every Windows version has required that it be installed in a Primary partition.

Continue reading A First Look at Windows 7

A reader wrote recently that he was havig problems with his router on his DSL connection:

Terry,

I have been using Linksys DSL wireless router (4 data ports and 2 analog phone ports) for over one year. Lately, I can’t access to the internet (via this router). I did run a quick DSL speed tests, the download speed was good ~2340Kbps, but the upstream test had problem to finish the test? As long as I bypassed the router, then I can connect to the internet, but I could not use my Vonage VoIP phone.

Please advise and thank you so much in advance.

I wrote back to suggest how he might solve the problem.

He could try logging into the router’s administrator control panel and writing down his customized settings. Then, he should use…

Continue reading Router Seems to Have Failed

I received a question from Adam, a Terry’s Computer Tips web site visitor recently, who was having problems with two of his computers:

Hey Terry, just read your XP SP3 woes, got another one two for you. i have a small home network running with shared internet connection. When SP3 came out both computers immidiately downloaded the update. on PC1 the same happen to as did to your previous writer with the dvd-rom issue (gave up and bought another) on PC2 my onboard network adaptor, uh, mulfunctioned and my computer no longer registers any outside computers from my network port. i do not want to use system restore point. is there a way of repairing online? SP2 cd does not work

I wrote back to Adam to tell that there is a new online service about which I have been reading, that might be what he was looking for. InformationWeek, NetworkWorld and eWeek had very interesting articles about it. I also advised him that I have not tried ReImage yet.

Continue reading ReImage for Windows XP

Reader Herman Barnes wrote to comment and ask about problems with the beta version of Internet Explorer 8:

Thanks for a great site. Ihave IE8 beta on winXP. My favorites star button won’t open. Star depresses like it’s going to to something but nothing happens. Recent activity were uninstall Norton Security and install AVG. Any ideas? Thanks..

I wrote back to Herman to tell him that I’m not using the IE8 beta and can’t provide any help on it. I seldomly use beta software, whether Microsoft’s o r from other companies.

Remember that beta software is software that is released in the hopes that users will find and report bugs. It is not perfect, is not a "release candidate" nor final version, and often has known bugs that simply haven’t been fixed yet.

Whether from Microsoft or other companies, you should not have any expectation that beta software’s known bugs have been fixed — whether they are functional or security bugs. There’s a reason that beta software licenses are even more emphatic in their disclaimer of any warranty and disclaimer of any damages that they may cause to your data or your system.

If it doesn’t work correctly, report it. If it bothers you, uninstall the beta software and go back to the current version.

Now, of course, IE 8 has been released as a regular download — it’s no longer a beta. The next rumors are that Microsoft will issue Internet Explorer 8 as a Critical Update for Windows XP and as an Important Update for Windows Vista.

A reader wrote me to ask about IP address security. I’m not really sure whether he meant keeping his IP address a secret, or whether he was asking if someone could break into his network and use his ISP connection with his IP address, so, let’s first look at the idea of keeping one’s IP address a secret…

Terry,I just recently came across your site and have joined your online email newletter. I have a question relating to I.P.addresses.I have a home network,router(encrypted /password required ),a firewall (not Win xp),several antispyware programs.The other day my ISP sent me an email,alleging I had violated copyright laws and had downloaded a movie from some place in [identifying information removed - Terry].I called my ISP and we discussed it,I did not download any movies and never heard of the film co.in question,my concern was how would they obtain my IP address,as it is like a fingerprint.I asked my ISP is there any way a 3rd.party could gain access to my wireless network and they could not provide an answer as to how this happened and advised me to disregard it.Is there a way for a 3rd.party to obtain my IP address ?? this is a security concern to myself and my wife. Thank you for your time

I wrote back to him to explain thatt the real question is not how they got his IP address, but how they tied that IP address to him. Only his ISP can do that, unless you logged in somewhere (or used an ID that linked to his name or email address) or in the program used to access it.

First, let’s go through how TCP/IP works – how the computers communicate like …

Continue reading IP Addresses and Security