Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2008 November 25#Powering down HDDs

I have a wireless router, but I can't connect to it. I know the problem isn't the router, because my other computers can connect to it without any problems. I can also connect to other wireless connections without any problems. The problem only occurred after installing Spybot. 98.221.84.235 (talk) 00:14, 25 November 2008 (UTC)

:Spybot does have the feature of blocking registry changes (it prompts you to deny or accept each change), so, if the wireless router for some reason requires a registry change, this could, indeed, be the prob. StuRat (talk) 01:31, 25 November 2008 (UTC)

:So if you turn off all of Spybot's features, can you connect? --128.97.245.27 (talk) 03:35, 25 November 2008 (UTC)

::I uninstalled spybot, but I still can't connect. Can there still be protections active that prevent me from connecting? 98.221.84.235 (talk) 14:36, 25 November 2008 (UTC)

:::You did reboot after uninstalling, right? Assuming the answer is yes: I have often found it helpful to first connect to the router's web-based administrative interface when there is trouble connecting to the web. If you type "ipconfig" from the command line on one of the computers that are connected, you'll get some lines of information, in which the IP address of the router is presented as the default gateway. If you type that address in the address bar of your browser, you will either see the login window of the router's administrative interface, or get a message that the connection is not working. I have several times experienced that first connecting to the router, gets the connection to the web working, for some reason. Typing "ipconfig /renew" from the command line might also help (if you are using DHCP, which is the default). If you are able connect to the router, but not to the web, there is probably a DNS problem. You can diagnose that by typing the IP address of a website directly into the address bar of your browser. You can find the IP address of a website (say, en.wikipedia.org) by using the command nslookup en.wikipedia.org on one of the computers that are connected. Comparing the network settings in the control panel of the computers that are working with the one that isn't, might also be helpful. As might checking whether a wired connection works. --NorwegianBlue ^talk 21:07, 25 November 2008 (UTC)

Lately my laptop has been overheating. After an hour or so it shuts down. The green battery lot [LED?] blacks out and doesn't reappear for several hours. I need to pull in and out the AC cord to get the battery light back. The battery was used up a month ago and I've been using electric power since. But I only had this problem recently. --Gary123 (talk) 02:22, 25 November 2008 (UTC)

:Some suggestions to prevent laptop overheating:

:1) Don't use it on your lap, put it on a metal table (which conducts heat) or on "rails" so air can circulate underneath it.

:2) Point a fan at it.

:3) Keep the room temperature low. Wear a sweater. StuRat (talk) 03:14, 25 November 2008 (UTC)

::I've learned about #1 the hard way. --Crackthewhip775 (talk) 03:20, 25 November 2008 (UTC)

:::The fan may be locked with dust or may have failed. There may be a BIOS update that better. manages the power. --—— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 14:51, 25 November 2008 (UTC)

::Wow, StuRat, where do you live? :o) I'd almost think that late in November most Wikipedians either 1.) live where it's getting so cold outside that you do have to wear a sweater inside anyways (unless you're overheating your room, which is a waste of energy anyways), or 2.) live somewhere where it's so warm outside that you can't cool it down without using an AC (and I sure hope you don't suggest that for the sake of a computer--that'd be a bit too much of a carbon footprint for any thinking person in the 21st century)... but well, 3.) = who knows... :o) --Thanks for answering (talk) 04:25, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

:::I'm a man for all seasons, and so is my advice. I can further customize it for winter (if the Aussies and Kiwis will forgive me) by saying they should use the laptop in a cooler room, such as one with lots of windows, as opposed to an interior room with a roaring fire (hopefully in the fireplace). Using the laptop near an exterior wall within such a room will also help keep it cool, especially if their home insulation is as pathetic as mine (I think my new windows are actually better insulated than the old walls). StuRat (talk) 01:28, 27 November 2008 (UTC)

:I agree with StuRat - but I'd add that there are several companies that sell laptop coolers that sit under the laptop and get rid of the heat by one means or another. My laptop sits on a leather-topped writing desk for much of the time - and because leather is a pretty good insulator, it had terrible overheating problems until I made a little aluminium stand to put it on that allows air to flow underneath - and has a big black bit sticking up behind the screen that acts as a radiator.

:Oh and incidentally: In Texas we are in the brief time each year between air conditioning on full and heating on full - when you can turn off the thermostat and even sit out in the back yard in shorts and a T-shirt and not die from some climate-related disaster. This season started about 10am this morning and is scheduled to end in the next hour or so. :-)

: SteveBaker (talk) 18:26, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

:::I thought such temps were viewed as an open invitation by tornadoes and/or hurricanes. :-) StuRat (talk) 01:20, 27 November 2008 (UTC)

About 1/4 of the time I click on a Google result it redirects me to different ad or filler sites tangentially or not at all related to my search. If I hit the back button my browser then I am able to click the link again to get to the actual site. This only happens for Google results. I have tried deleting the cookies of the site I get redirected to, but that does not help at all. I ran my anti-virus (AVG free) and it found nothing. Is this just one cookie wrecking havoc or something more serious? Any help is appreciated. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.84.49.100 (talk) 03:23, 25 November 2008 (UTC)

:One of the many problems by brother-in-law has had with his PC sounds almost exactly like this. Something had hijacked his network settings, replacing the DNS IP address with a different DNS based in Ukraine and began taking him to sites that had a keyword in common with the site he expected. IIRC, this one was particularly resistant to removal because it was protected by a rootkit which hid two programs working in tandem to ensure the DNS was always the ukrainian one.

:Test the IP addresses of each DNS with a whois service - DNS's usually belong to your ISP or a bigger ISP company in your country. If you use Windows XP, I would then recommend you run one or more of these rootkit detectors which should show what is being hidden, then halt and destroy all trace of the malicious programs from your disk, the registry, the list of services, etc. Unfortuntely, I'm yet to find a detector that works with Vista. BIG, BIG WARNING: there is a high risk of seriously messing up your PC so, before you start, back up anything you can't replace.

:Astronaut (talk) 05:14, 25 November 2008 (UTC)

:You probably have some sort of spyware or adware. I would get adaware or spyspot search and destroy software ASAP and run them (google them).

Dear Wikipedians:

Much to my delight I was able to successfully install Windows NT 5.0-based operating systems (2000 advanced server and XP to be specific) into logical partitions and have them boot off of a neat little DOS primary partition I created at the start of the hard drive (which actually contains an instance of genuine MS-DOS 6.22, yes, I'm still somewhat of a DOS afficionado). I think Microsoft really did a great job designing the booting mechanisms of NT 5.0 operating systems.

However, I'm not so sure if they have done as good a job with Windows 9x. So my question is: could I install Windows 9x into logical partitions and still have them boot properly, or do I have to install each instance of a Windows 9x operating system into its own primary partition (which is a scarce resource, since I'm allowed only 4, whereas logical partitions are unlimited). Or is there some tricks that I can employ to fool Windows 9x into installing and booting off of logical partitions?

Thanks,

70.52.151.100 (talk) 04:11, 25 November 2008 (UTC)

: With some boot loaders like GRUB you can swap partitions around so the operating system thinks that what should be the F: drive (for example) is actually the C: drive. --wj32 ^t/c 06:00, 25 November 2008 (UTC)

I hate being distracted by animations (usually ads) when I try to read something on a site. So I manage flash with Flashblock. and since other animated ads usually come from a different site, I can just block images from that site (a Firefox option that the msWindows version doesn't seem to have, by the way), without missing the images I want to see. Thus I have happily led an almost ad-free surf life for quite some time now. But now there is an ad that often appears at the top of the IMDB site, which Firefox doesn't seem to recognise as an image. Right-clicking on it doesn't give me a list of options. Can anyone tell me how to get rid of this? Note that I don't mind the ad itself quite so much as the animated bit. Here's the section of the source code that appears to be responsible (yes, it's from the old fiend doubleclick).