Okay never mind my last question, this is more important - my computer won't recognize some audio cds at all. I've looked around the internet for answers but I'm not the most computer literate. I have a packard bell computer if that helps.

CD-R/RW or standard redbook CD's (albums, etc)?

Just normal albums that I bought in the shop..every other album on CD I've ever put into my computer works apart from two and I don't know why.

If the CDs themselves are physically ok and aren't scratched up, then it might be some kind of protection... I remember reading about certain CDs being manufactured by record companies in a dodgy way that prevented them from being played on computers in order to curtail pirating, but how true this is, I can't say for sure.

There's a term that was used for it, but I can't remember it. Anyway, I think you might have luck if you use a CD ripping program that can get past this. If you don't want to go through all the trouble, you can simply download the albums online at FilesTube - Search for files on rapidshare and other download sites and use your CDs in the car or stereo.

Yeah I'll look into that anti-piracy thing, I'd be absolutely pissed if that record company thing is true though. I have a cap on my internet for how much I can download per month so thats the reason I bought the physical albums. If all else fails I'll just download them next month. Thanks for all your help though :thumb: .

Hello. You're all wonderful.
How do I get my Last.FM to not scrobble the music my sister listens to? Can't have people thinking I listen to All Time Low.

have a different windows logon and don't set up the scrobbler on the other account? i dunno...

Oops. Its on iTunes. I just delete her songs, I guess its no big deal.

You can turn off the scrobbling function whenever you're not using the computer. Just bring up the Last.fm application and click the icon in the bottom right.

Not quite sure if this belongs here but I've been having issues with accessing some websites. They load, for a brief while the page is displayed, and then it goes blank and on the bottom left corner it says: "waiting for www.google-analytics-com".
It never moves forward for this and I must say It's getting bloody irritating, as some schoolwork might even depend on the fact that I have no issues of the sort.

Some websites use Google Analytics for statistics tracking on their sites... why it's taking so long in your case, I don't know, but since it's not something that adds anything to your personal browsing, you might as well just block it.

Go here and follow the instructions:
Block Google Analytics

(P.S. don't include the quotations... you'll see what I'm talking about)

If you're still having trouble after that, let me know.

The problem persists. I added that to the file (both with a space after the last thing that was written and all together), restarted and it's exactly the same.

Are you blocking any cookies in your browser?

Not that I'm aware of...I don't think I made any changes before this started randomly happening either.

What I do know is that the other day I discovered my Firewall was off, which is a bit worrying, since I don't know for how long that lasted.

I ran a scan with AVG Free (hooray...) and it revealed I had two Trojan Pakes (I believe) and a Trojan Downloader something, something.

Might that have anything to do with it?

It might be possible, but I'm not sure.

It seems like your browser is just hanging when google analytics tries to process. I believe it places a cookie on your computer that is used for tracking purposes. Since you've made no changes, settings shouldn't be an issue but there is one thing I'm thinking... Go ahead and clear your browsing history/cache/cookies from your browser. Sometimes that solves a lot of different problems.
After you do that, go ahead and close then re-open your browser and test it out. If it's still doing it, then another alternative is to block the cookies to see if that works. Change the cookie settings so that you don't accept any at all and restart your browser.... if that works, then you'll want to set it back to accepting cookies but make an exception for google-analytics.com or whatever the site is, so that it blocks just those cookies.

If none of that works, I'll do some more research and see what I can come up with.

Apparently I haven't the faintest idea of how to disable cookies...

I was able to delete some individually (among them some called "google-analytics), but that's the only thing I could do.

I've searched about and everyone seems to say that I should go to Tools - Options - Privacy, but the only options that show up when I do that are history preferences, a clear history and a delete individual cookies one.

Oh, and I've been clearing my history quite regularly lately, anyway...

And to make it all clear, I'm using Mozilla Firefox, but the same problem persists on Chrome, which I downloaded speficically for testing purposes, except the page just goes blank and that's it.

In Firefox you can just go to Tools and in the drop down you'll see "clear recent history", then you can select all the stuff you want to clear, and the time range. It should clear everything out. But if you're having the same problem on Chrome, it's obviously not that.
If you still want to see if disabling cookies helps, in Firefox go to Tools > Options > Privacy and untick "Accept Cookies From Sites".

I did some looking around, and a lot of other people are having/have had this problem. The annoying thing is for all the cries for help, no real solutions have been given. The only thing of interest that was mentioned was disabling javascript in the browser...

You need Javascript for a lot of web pages to work optimally, so I wouldn't recommend disabling it permanently or anything, but it could be worthwhile to try disabling it simply to narrow down the problem. If it turns out to be that, maybe updating to the latest version of Java could solve it.

To do this, in Firefox, go to Tools > Options > Content... then untick "enable Javascript" OK then restart your browser. I'm not sure if this will do anything, but since it was mentioned elsewhere with positive results, I figure you can at least try.

Disabling Javascript seems to have worked. I should just download the newest version then?

Btw, there's nothing to untick in the Privacy tab, that's what's odd.

And thanks for all your help mate, you've got a respectable amount of patience for the ignorant.

I misspoke regarding updating Java. Javascript is a coding language for webpages, so Java itself has nothing to do with it. It won't be something you can update. I'm just kind of baffled as to why javascript is causing the issue. I might do some research on it, because I'm not fully aware of how google analytics works in the first place, so if I run across some info that could provide a permanent solution, I'll let you know. Until then, just keep javascript disabled until you need it for something (if a web page requires it, it will let you know).

Regarding your Privacy tab, in the drop-down box that has "firefox will:" in front of it, make sure you select "use custom settings.." in the drop-down menu. This will make the cookie options available.

I'll have to keep enabling and disabling it to be able to read my e-mail and do some schoolwork and all that, shouldn't bet too much of an issue, albeit nettlesome.

Could I just milk it while I'm at this?

What does this sound like?


ASUS N53JN

The ASUS N53JN sports a 15.6-inch HD TFT screen with a 1366 x 768 pixels resolution display. It will be also be powered by a choice between the Intel Core i5-520M (2.4GHz- 2.933GHz) and Core i3-370M (2.4 GHz). With an Intel Core inside, it is with no doubt that the N53JN comes with seamless capacities that user can enjoy.

In addition to these great features, the N53JN also comes with the following specs:

* Genuine Windows 7 Premium 64 bit OS
* 320GB/500GB (5400rpm) storage
* 4096MB RAM (2048×2) DDRIII 1066 RAM
* Blu-Ray Combo optical drive
* Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
* Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
* Built-in webcam
* SonicFocus audio technology
* 17-in-1 card reader
* Various port and jacks such as HDMI, one USB 3.0 port, two USB 2.0 ports, e-SATA and two audio jacks (headphone and SPDIF/MIC-in)
* Li-Polymer 48WH (6 cells: 4400mAh) battery

And: On the left are ports: HDMI, the network e-SATA/USB and a USB 3.0 and SDXC card reader.

On the right side is the optical drive, 2 ports s USB 2.0 and microphone jack and headphone / speaker out, also the on / off wireless button.

The ASUS N53JN price ranges from £649.99 – £999 (SRP inc VAT).

Asus N53Jn Review (video) | Laptop Review Shop

Reviews seem to be good, though sometimes the specifications are a bit fuzzy...

Even if you decide I'm pushing it (completely understand), thanks for your time once again.

It's not a problem.
Seems like a decent laptop to me. The specs are good and will handle anything you throw at it, but I don't see any video card specs so as far as gaming, it would depend largely on how much video ram it boasts.
It has an onboard audio card, 24 bit probably, but if you're planning on doing recording, you'll want to get an external audio card anyway for input options.
The hard drive isn't the fastest at 5400 RPMs, but whether that will affect you will depend on what you're planning on using the computer for. Plenty enough storage though.

Ultimately it all comes down to what you plan on doing with it. If you just plan on surfing the web and listening to music, those specs are overkill and you could get away with paying less for something more reasonable for your needs. If you're planning on doing some basic recording, you could get away with getting something with a little less beef and using the money you save to buy an external audio card suited for recording and you'll be better off. For gaming, your focus should be on the graphics card mainly, but the rest of those specs would do fine.

Same laptop, the specs I meant to have posted:

N53Jn Asus Technical specification:

- 15-inch LED glare display with 1366 x 768 pixels;

- processor is an Intel Core i5-540M, 2.53 GHz, 3 MB Cache, 3.06 GHz Turbo;

- 4 GB DDR3 1066 MHz;

- Intel GMA integrated HD video card;

- Nvidia GeForce GT dedicated video card with 1GB VRAM 335M;

- Samsung 640 GB HDD 5400 RPM and 8 MB buffer;

- 6 Cell Battery – 4400 mAh and 48 Wh;

- Bang & Olufsen ICEpower Speakers;

-LAN 802.11b/g/n – Operating system Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit.

Doesn't the whole "SonicFocus audio technology" spec. conflict with the "Bang & Olufsen ICEpower Speakers" spec.?

Listening to music, surfing the net, some gaming...

About recording, I might have to get informed about equipment of the sort later on...

I also need an electric guitar...might get one of those cheap ones that come with a 10/15 watt amp or something...No idea what I should go for there, but that's off topic.

Ok, Ill cut and paste a convo I had from another thread where I was hoping for a little help for my external harddrive and new TV.

i was wondering if there is a way to throttle my download speeds to a certain kb/s? i ask because i currently am on this crappy connection that maxes out at around 350kb/s. if i'm not downloading something via jdownloader, i don't know how to do this.

i ask this because often times the download will hog all the bandwidth and the other people on my network get annoyed.

i've done many google searches on this to no avail.

You'll need some type of software. If you use Firefox, give this a spin:
Firefox Throttle - Bandwidth utilization throttling plug-in for Firefox (Windows only)

i use chrome, i guess i should search the extensions.

There are some other programs out there, but a lot of them want money. It's just a matter of searching around. Search for "Traffic Shaper"

the i5 is a beast, 4GB DDR3 is about all you'll ever truly need. If it has a dedicated card and a integrated one, its probably a deal where the dedicated GeForce card will probably turn off when the computer is unplugged. You should be able to play most older and some newer games. As far as music and surfing the net goes, your golden. While I'm not positive how hard the music recording and editing suites push computers, with those specs I'd assume you'd be alright.

Does anybody know where I can find FREE human head modeling references?

I really want to make a human head on Blender but there aren't any free references. And if they are free, they usually have a watermark on them. All I want is a perfect picture of somebody's head (front view) and a near-perfectly matching side view.

You just need a picture of someone's head?
Seems like you could find something like that on google images. Or is a reference some kind of specific formatted thing in 3D modeling software?

I need a picture of someone's head at two different angles. In order for the model to be precise, it has to be a really good resolution picture and both pictures need to be perfectly aligned, This meaning that it has to be at the same zoom, both sides need to line up, and the images have to be the same size. That way, I can set it as the reference image and model it from there.

How do I backup the music info in Windows Media Player?
 

hi all

I plan on formating my computer and don't know how to backup up the wmp info, such as rating and artwork. Any help?

Regards

Famous

HOw did this thread end up in the music section? O_o

Haha... thanks for saying something man.. I remember merging someone's post into this thread yesterday and apparently I forgot to ensure the destination forum was correct. Fixed.

I need any help I can get from any possible computer smart people.

So here is my situation. I have had a Toshiba N(et)B(ook)205 for about a year now. Despite having gotten a few viruses and malware, I had no problems with it. When I did have the virus, I simply restored to factory setting, and it was fine. So I have been using it the last 3 weeks and it ran beautifully. I mainly use it for music and music only, of course Internet browsing as well. So all I've been doing lately is just browsing the web and downloading a couple of albums from Mediafire. So today, I woke up hoping to be able to play some music, but what the hell? A black screen with a blinking line in the top left corner! I thought, no problem I'll just restart it. It's not that easy. I restart it, and all that happens is it says Toshiba...Loading Innovations... And in the bottom it says Setup or Boot Options. The weird thing is that it doesn't show the classic Windows logo with the loading bar...weird huh? So basically all I can do is load it up, and view Toshiba setup which is useless. Boot Options isn't helpful either. Apparently, what I have is known as the Black Screen of Death.

Has anyone had any experiences with this before?
Any fixes?
Anything helps.

I'm on my iPod Touch btw.

Hmm... it doesn't say anything about not being able to find the operating system? Usually black screens are due to that. Sometimes it's as simple as opening up the case and re-seating the hard drive and making sure it's tightly fit into the sata or IDE connector and that no gunk has built up on any of the pins.
We know your bios isn't at fault since you get boot options. Have you tried booting into safe mode? Try doing that. If you can do that, then you'll probably need to start looking into the possibility or driver errors or malware. The fact that you contracted viruses in the first place leads me to believe that a virus is the most likely scenario.
If you can't boot into safe mode, or you need help doing that, let me know.

I tried booting into safe mode, but nothing happens when I tap the usual F8. I gave it the laptop to my uncle, since he is works with them. Apparently, Windows somehow uninstalled, which is why I only got the Toshiba pop up, and not the windows, and in result, I could not go into safe mode or get any other options. So, if he can't fix it, I'll probably just sell it cheap and get a new one. My guess is a virus too, damn things.
Thanks for the response FD.

a virus that uninstalls windows? badass.

Heh.. dude, even if he couldn't somehow restore your operating system as it was without reinstalling the OS, you really don't have to sell the computer. All you have to do is wipe the machine and reinstall the original image or OS. The hardware itself should be fine.
But before you do any of that, if you have stuff on your hard drive(s) that you would like to save, you may want to think about getting a bootable program that's able to act as an operating system on its own and still access your file system so you can go in and back up what you need before you reformat and reinstall your OS on your computer.

P.S... viruses don't ruin computers. Ignorant users do. Virus protection isn't just a concept that sits around enjoying itself as a concept. It serves a purpose. If everyone used it, there probably wouldn't even be viruses anymore.

Nah, I mean the laptop sucks overall. When it was new, it froze constantly, the touch pad is very unresponsive, and it shuts down randomly.

I had all my music on their, 2,000 or so songs, but it should give me something to do over Thanksgiving. Nothing life changing though. And I do realize that viruses are in some way caused by ignorance, but it could happen to anyone, and I highly doubt they will ever go away. I ran a scan about every week after I got the first one, but somehow that mother****er came back. I was just on iTunes, MB, and just browsing some usual sights and I called it a night, I closed everything, and shut it down. Next morning, turn it on, and it's ****ed. If I was downloading porn or opening shady e-mails I would blame myself, but I wasn't. My opinion, they just suck.