PCinfospace

The reason I am writing this article is because I ran into this myself.  The set includes three CDs and a book with the license sticker attached.

Here is what happened: I started by inserting Disk one into the DVD-RW drive.  I booted (started) the computer and let it load. I then followed the instruction as to weather to load the system, delete and format the hard drive etc.

If the disk will not load you may need to go into the setup screen to change the boot order.  The CD or DVD must be the first device to load for this to work.

After the hard drive is formatted the operating system continues to load. It will eventually ask for Disk number 2. Needless to say I inserted the disk and it continued to load.  Some time during the loading procedure of Disk 2 a screen comes up that says “Please insert a compact disc label Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 into your CD-ROM Drive (D:) and then click OK.”  I figured I was supposed to load the Update Disk which came with the disk set.  I inserted the disk but it said it couldn’t find iexplore and/or i386.  This may sound simple to certain people but at least I was lost.  After searching inside Disk 2 and the Update Disk I decided to cancel to files it was asking for and I let the rest of the system load.  The desktop eventually appeared.  However, there was no way to access the internet and Internet Explorer was nowhere to be found.

I decided to contact people I knew.  One person seemed to have the answer.  He told me the message saying  (to load XP Professional service pack 2) is misleading. You need to reinsert Disk number 1 (one).  I was thinking it couldn’t be that easy.  I decided totry again and reload the operating system.  This time when the message came up I inserted Disk 1.  I couldn’t believe it.  That was the answer.  It loaded great and everything worked.

What about the update disk?

That’s a good question.  I found out you can go to Start>Programs (Windows XP) and then pick Windows Update.  This will give you any and all updates that are available.

Warning! Be sure all your drivers are loaded and that you activate the product. If you don’t include drivers for Sound, Video, Network etc., those devices will not work.  Also, without the network driver you will not be able to access the internet.

If you don’t activate the product it will stop working after 30 days.

This article emphasizes the importance of understanding how operating systems need to be installed.  You may need to find a professional in your area to help you through the installation process if you can’t get it to work or don’t understand it.

Licenses
If you load or reload an operating system of any kind it MUST have a legal license from whichever company made it. If you attempt to use an illegal copy of the software you could be charged with fraud, pirating or other charges.

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This is a question that comes up many times especially in business settings.

The short answer is that it may not matter. Mostly there is nothing wrong with leaving it on. However, it may matter how you use your computer and when. If you use your computer at length during a certain time of the day you might as well leave it on.  It may be possible you leave it periodically but not for long periods. Then you also would want to leave it on.   It does take a while to boot up and load necessary programs. It is very frustrating to wait for a computer to boot just when you need it the most. If however, you are away for any length of time it would be a good idea to turn it off.

Why would you want to turn off your computer in the first place?

For one thing programs take RAM (memory) to run. Periodically memory is not released after you close a program. Eventually this can add up and things can get slow. If your reboot your computer you “release” the memory. If it is still slow once you reboot you probably have a different problem such as a Virus or spy-ware. The reason I feel is even better is the amount of power they take. You can save significant amounts of money by turning off your computer. There is also something else to look at here. What about all those devices you have hooked to your computer? A lot of them have transformers. I have seen times where there were more than six transformers connected to one surge protector. This can also be unsafe. If you overload your power outlet you could cause a fire. Your monitor, printer and other devices are also power drains.

What is the best way to handle it?

I would recommend plugging everything associated with the computer into a surge protector. However there is a limit as to how many you can plug into one wall outlet. After you close down the computer you only need to push one button on the surge protector. It will not bite you! It is not hard to do. Take a look at your electric bill. Now that may bite you!

There are many schools of thought about this subject. I like to put it in dollars and cents.

Also, if for any reason you are having trouble rebooting your computer it may be an indicator of a bigger problem. If this happens you should contact a professional to check into it.

If your computer doesn’t run as long you will extend its life by quite a bit. Just think! If you shut down the computer over night every day for a year how much time we are talking about and how much money you could save. For every second the hard drive and components aren’t working you are extending their life.

I need to say that due to technology changes there is no simple answer to this. I want to first discuss mother boards. Older machines may have mother boards that have separate cards. That is to say the sound card, Video card and others were all separate. Most of the mother boards today are integrated. This means that video, sound, Network cards as well as other necessities are integrate right into the board.

Why am I telling you this? If you don’t have the original driver disks or floppy drive that came with the separate card or device you may need to go through a lot of work to reload the driver you need if you ever need to reload it for any reason. With motherboards that are integrated you will also need the original drivers. However, they are either on the Manufacturer’s web site or on a disk if the computer was built by you or someone else.

I know this seems unimportant but you will see why I told you this shortly.

Here is the troubleshooting steps to find out why you’re not getting any sound:
1. Go to the back of the computer. Find the plug that goes to the speakers. See if it is plugged into the proper outlet of your sound card. This is normally a light green color. Either that or try each one and test to see if you have sound or not. Media player has samples you can use or try a music CD.
2. Check to see if you have power to the speakers.  If you have speakers that has a transformer (most do) be sure it is plugged in to a power strip that is turned on.
3. Check the power button on the speaker itself. If it is on, most speaker will show an indicator light which should be green.
4. Here is the one I usually find: Be sure the sound knob is turned up. I have found this turned down in many cases.
5. Test to see if you now have sound.
6. If you still don’t have sound things start getting more complex. Find the small speaker emblem in the lower right corner of your computer screen. (Some sound cards will put a different emblem there). Double click it or whatever program you are using.  A screen should come up that shows sliders. Be sure these are turned all the way up. There is a small square in the lower left corner of the Speaker volume section. BE SURE “Mute all” is NOT clicked.
6. Again test for sound if you changed any settings.
7. If there is no small speaker or other program the driver is probably corrupt or is not working for some reason.
8. FOLLOW THIS CAREFULLY!! Left click “start”. Right click “my computer”. Left click on properties. You should see a hardware tab. Left click it. Left click the octagonal button that says “device manager”.  This is the screen that shows the devices installed in your computer. If there is an explanation mark or other symbol chances are the driver for the sound card isn’t working. If that is the case your sound will not work until you fix it.
9. Find your original disk for the sound card or the board if sound is integrated in the mother board. Double click on the device unknown section. Find the “driver” tab. click on “update driver” and follow the instructions. Sometimes you will need to go to the manufacturer web site to find drivers.
The above instructions should allow you to have sound again. If not you may have other serious problems. Here are some possibilities: Problems with operating system, bad sound card (if separate from board), bad motherboard, plugged into wrong sound card if there is more than one installed and others.

If you can’t figure out what the real problem is you need to find a professional to take it to.

Definition of a Routed network:

A routed network is just a network that gives you access to servers and other network devices that are not on your physical network. If you have ever connected to the internet, you have used a routed network!

How do they work?

Every computer has a number, also known as an address, and these addresses are used to send messages back and forth. Since all of the servers on the internet are not located in your building, the traffic to the internet must be routed to the internet through a device that is actually called a router. A router forwards messages to either the server in question or another router. Any break in this chain will cause your internet to stop working.

If your internet stops working, the first thing you must do is look at the physical connections and hardware. This means that we need to make sure that everything is physically connected together and working correctly. Assuming your computer is on, check your router and make sure it is on and that the lights are correctly illuminated. Next check the network cable going into your computer and make sure it is seated properly. Now do the same with all the cables connected to the router. A high percentage of network issues are simply a matter of cableing not being connected or improperly secured.

Troubleshooting

You may need to do some troubleshooting if the internet is still not working. You need to get to a command line in order to do this. The command line is the black box with the white cursor where you can directly type in commands. Click on START>Run. Type “cmd” in the box that comes up. Now we are at the command line. You now need to check the settings. Type ipconfig, and press the enter key. This shows you the network address. If it is 0.0.0.0, or starts with 169.254, this means that your computer has no address. Restarting your router will generally fix this. From here on out, the only way to fix what you find will be to contact your Internet Service Provider, or ISP. The next thing we will try is the ping command. Type “ping <web address>” at the prompt. As an example: ping http://www.google.com. You must leave a space after the word ping and the address must be the full address. This is going to tell us two things. The first thing it will do is turn the name into a number. If it cannot do this, it will return a message saying, “unable to resolve host”. This means that there is a problem with the Domain Name System (the system that converts numbers to names). If it resolves the name, it sends out little messages to see if the other server is out there. If it is not, it will say “100% packet loss”. Either way, you will know what to tell the ISP. You local service

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Periodically your default browser gets changed without you realizing it. Maybe you click on a link in your e-mail and it goes to the wrong browser as an example.  If so here is what to do:

How do I set Firefox as my default?

1.    First, at the top of your Firefox browser, click on Tools and then Options.
2.    The options window will appear. Make sure that you are on the “Advance” tab.
3.    Next you want to go to the “System Defaults” section near the bottom of the options window.
4.    Click on the box that says “Check Now” to see if Firefox is your default. If it is not, you will receive the following message:
5.    Click “Yes” to make Firefox your default.

If you’d like to double-check to be sure, go back to the “Check Now” button and click on it again. You’ll get the following message: Firefox is now your default web browser!

How do I set Internet Explorer as my default?

When opening Internet Explorer, if you do not receive a prompt to select the application as your default browser, follow the directions below to access settings for Internet Explorer.

1.    Open Internet Explorer
2.    Click Tools from the top of the screen and select Internet Options
3.    Select the Programs tab
4.    Place a checkmark in the box next to Tell me if Internet Explorer is not the default and click Apply.
5.    If the box already contains a check, remove the check by clicking on it, click Apply, recheck the box and click Apply again
6.    Click OK
7.    Close all open Internet Explorer windows
8.    Re-launch Internet Explorer
9.    A confirmation window should appear that prompts you to select Internet Explorer as your default.
10.    If desired, remove the check in the box next to Always perform this check when starting Internet Explorer.
11.    Click Yes
12.    Internet Explorer should open and now be established as your default browser.

If you have a different browser than the two above push the F1 key while it is open.  It will give you the ability to ask almost any question.  This is true for any question you have while you are in Windows or most other programs. You can also type in a question in a search engine such as Google.

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