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    Looking for DC project that is actually making a difference

    I was heavily involved in DC a few years ago running several machines including one built specifically just for DC. Got out of it for two reasons. One, as I looked into some projects and especially how much some management got paid, I personally thought it was unethical and misleading to those...
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    What ever happened to the under $500 laptop?

    I remember a few years ago the prediction of laptops, then usually $1,000 min, were going to hit $500 and keep going lower with technology advances and increases in performance. What I see for $500 now is so bare-bones that you have to upgrade it right away to even make it usable. The eee...
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    NAT for Dial-up?

    NAT provides a lot of protection it seems. Is there a NAT router or something similar for dial-up users?
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    Is a Laptop bought in US going to work in London?

    Thinking about a laptop as a gift, besides the power issue 110V? Will wi-fi and dvd's and everything else work ok over there? Is this the correct forum for this question? Thanks.
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    Anyone subscribe to consumer reports?

    What was the latest ranking for reliability on laptops? I'm looking for the most inexpensive laptop that has high reliability for my girlfriend. She does 99% internet surfing and sime wi-fi but thats it, reliability is #1, technology last on the list. Thanks
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    Spybot very very slow

    Version 1.6. Win XP, dual-core proc and 2GB ram and very few programs installed. Have used spybot on all my computer for years and had no problems, now on my laptop its so slow its unuseable. Everything else works fine and the program will finish if I had a day to leave the computer on. I...
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    How open a .XLS file?

    I don't have excel and I need to open a few .xls files. Any quick free downloads? I've searched and only found very few shareware options. I've almost never had a need for this before, don't know why they use .xls. Thanks
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    Security suites with VPN for use with public wi-fi?

    Looking for a security suite product that includes VPN. Most VPN services just by themselves run at least $50/yr. I figure for that price I may want to consider some sort of package. My only real need is to be able to use public wi-fi securely and VPN seems to be the best and easiest...
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    Disk boot failure on new MB install

    About to toss the whole deal. After months of constant reboots that were never correctly diagnosed or fixed, I ordered a Biostar NF61-s-M2, AMD 64X2 500)+ and 2 1GB memorys sticks hoping to upgrade and fix all problems at the same time. The board has only 1 IDE slot, I have WD IDE HD and a...
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    Need replacement motherboard

    I believe my Asus A7N8X is bad, but cant verify it, all other components seem to work. So I was thinking of just getting a cheap MB w/vid and reinstall my AMD xP-2800. The cheap ones seem really cheap. Only need it to last a year or 2. Performance is last on the list, just want reliability...
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    Cheapest place to buy a AGP 4x/8x?

    Think mine is bad and have no other card and cant find one to borrow to test it out. Its either the video card or MB and after several posts have been unable to find a way to test either. Just want to buy the absolute least expensive card to go on an old Asus A7n8X MB. If the new card doesnt...
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    When using free wi-fi

    Can everyone see what I'm doing online or can I adjust settings to prevent that? Did a search but most info is on setting up wi-fi instead of using free wi-fi as you travel. There seems to be a fre signal almost everywhere.
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    Can P.S. lock up motherboard?

    Antec LS400. Homebuilt computer that has worked fine for years, then a month ago started not wanting to shutdown and would reboot at the last second. Couldnt fix the problem and now the computer can only be turned on via the ps and then no video, no HD noise, just the fans and the green MB...
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    Can video card failure lock up a motherboard?

    ATI Radeon 9250. Everything was fine until a month ago when my computer didnt want to shutdown and kept rebooting at the last second. Now it turns on via the ps only, no video, no HD noise, but all the fans turn and the green MB standby power light is on. I noticed the video card fan wasnt...
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    DEAD COMPUTER, SUSPECT MOTHERBOARD

    Home built with Asus A7N8X, Athlon XP-2800, (2) 1GB memory sticks, ATI 9250 video card, 400W ps. Also been on high quality surge protector, line conditioner and UPS since new. Never been overclocked or overheated, temps are always low do to excellent due to excellent cooling. Unit is 4 years...
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    Computer won't shut down

    My apologies to those who answered a previous thread on this subject, but I can't find my original post. When I click turn off computer it goes through its normal shutdown even to the point of the monitor turning off and at the last second reboots. The on/off button will just keep rebooting it...
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    About half the time I shut down WinXP, it reboots?

    About half the time I shut down my computer, it goes through the normal process of closing files and says shutting down and at the last minute, just reboots? I ran all the anti-everything software to find the problem, but no luck. Can't figure out or connect it with any particular program, it...
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    How to remove a program that doesn't want to be removed?

    WinXP, several programs won't allow me to fully uninstall them. I tried the program provided uninstall, add/remove program in windows and did a file search and tried removing them there, and they won't go. Too many programs to list but this is unusual for me and find the pop-ups annoying as...
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    How to clear drop-down list of Google and MSN?

    I've got a tracks cleaner program and tried it through XP and it keeps a list a mile long.
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    Any reason to upgrade Netgear RP614v2 firewall/router?

    This is the hard-wire version, not wi-fi. I guess its more of a router than a firewall, but it does have NAT and SPI, I also did the software upgrade to v3. I only paid $20 for it after rebate about 4 years ago. Does it still offer adequate protection or is the some new technology in...
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    IE7 worth it?

    I've tried twice and can't seem to find half the stuff I need. Other IE upgrades were seemless as I recall, but not 7. I would like the extra safety features but find IE7 not user friendly. Is it just me?
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    WinXP won't shut down

    I do the typical "turn off computer" it acts like, says its shutting down then reboots back on. I have to turn off the power supply. Just started doing this. Ran every virus, spyware, update available. Whats going on? Thanks
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    Is there a website that tells what ISP's are available in an area?

    I will be moving and have some choice in the area Some are smaller towns and I'd like to find a website that would list what ISP's are available in that town or zipcode. I'd assume that all towns would have some provider since all have phone service. Any ideas? Thanks
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    Free Wi-Fi Hot spots

    Got a new notebook with a wireless card installed. My home service is sbcglobal dsl. The only time I'll use the notebook is when travelling and to check my email. Don't have a cell phone. Can hot spots be used to log-in to sbc or do I have to hook up to 56k somewhere and dial or what?
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    Best way to set up notebook for free wireless while travelling

    Just got my 1st notebook, it has a a/g wireless card and the only time I'll use the computer is when I'm on the road and just check emails. Whats the best and safest way to set up XP to not connect to anything specific, but just use free hotspots. Remember I'm new at this. A easy to understand...
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    Help me chose between these two AMD proc's

    Athlon TM 64X2 Dual core TK-57 1.9Ghz/256k OR AMD turion TM 64X2 dual core mobile TL-58 1.9Ghz/512k Price difference $60 These are choices for a Dell 1000 Vostro notebook. How can I find out how much power each uses and what are the main differences...
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    Opinion of Dell Vostro 1000 series

    Any real difference between the Inspiron and Vostro as far as build quality? Thanks
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    Which Dell wireless card for notebook

    Is there any reason to upgrade from the most basic wireless Dell card if I only plan to use it for email? They offer so many options now its difficult to figure out whats worth the extra money or isn't.
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    Lots of "application hangs" and "not responding"

    XP,dsl, have all updates, ran antivirus, spyware, ad-aware, also in safe mode. Did shellEXView and it worked for a short time. Ran WD HD diagnostics, no problems. Some of my usual sited work at perfect speed, others very slow. I am the point where I tried to format the HD but it keeps telling...
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    Slow computer, frequent application hangs?

    AMD XP-2800, 1GB ram, XP, DSL. Overall the computer has always ran fast. I use all the anti-programs and everything is up to date. A while back i Had a similar problem and ran ShellEXView and it fixed it. Now I find not the same but random pages that will freeze and show "not responding" in...
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    "Program not responding"

    In brief, there are many files now that when I try to remove them, the computer freezes and the hourglass appears and sometimes the alt-ctrl-del works and sometimes I have to shut off the computer. Nothing in event viewer and all I've seen in task manager is program not responding, and I then...
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    Computer freezes when I try to remove programs (necro)

    Certain files that I do a "search" for and try to remove them, I get the constant icon and computer freezes and will not reset, I have to turn off/on to get going again. I had this problem maybe a year ago and fixed it with system resore, however the only options it gives me now is a restore...
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    Looking for DC project.

    Have done some DC in the past, but had often found them to be somewhat unethical in that they had ties to private companies or that you couldn't find out how much management was paid. Sometimes it just plain appeared we were working for them for free and not doing much good. I know for some...
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    How to tell if my Dell Laptop HD is going bad>

    Inspiron 5100, the HD is Toshiba MK3021GAS 30GB. Very slow, a lot of clicking, but most things work. Any diagnostics?
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    Toshiba Notebook HD diagnostic utility?

    Can't find one that will check my Dell Inspiron 5100 HD which is a Toshiba MK3021GAS, HDD2181, 30GB. If Toshiba doesn't have one will any others work? Thanks.
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    HD replacement on Dell Inspiron 5100 Notebook

    Do I have to replace it with a propriatary Dell HD or can I get another less expensive drive?
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    Can't remove desktop icons or some file--computer freezes

    When I try to remove desktop icons that have installed themselves for programs that I did download, the hourglass icon appears and the computer freezes. When I try to search for the file, find it and click on it to remove it, freezes again. I now have several files like this. As long as I...
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    Convert back to Win98SE from XP

    Why the hell would someone want to do that? I'm selling the computer and keeping my XP version, and want to reinstall the OEM 98SE that came with the system. What's the easiest way to do this? Nothing I need to save on the HD, but last time I did this it seemed 98SE didn't have a driver for...
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    Video problem Gateway 450

    If this is not the right forum, please point me in the right direction. Bought cheap from a friend this notebook and what happens is that the video just shows vertical lines and a bunch of other colors and the computer stops. Sometimes it does it on startup, other times 15 minutes later. I...
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    AVOID MAD DOG REBATES

    I do a fair amount of rebates and have only run into problems with MAD DOG. I keep copies of everything so I'm well prepared just in case. * 1st they said I didn't send a copy of the upc code, I offered to fax it, they said they don't have a fax machine, I must mail it, I did. *2nd, a...