I'm not even going to lie, I don't know how to do that :(.

Google the brand name and model number of your computer and then add the word "drivers". Your computer brand's website should store all the driver updates you need, just download them, unzip them, and install them. I just partitioned my laptop's hard drive so I could put Windows 7 back on it and still be able to game, but I had to download drivers for everything, internet, touchpad scroll, and sound.

Righto, thanks Pete. Will it tell me which ones I need or will I just download them all?

You'll have to choose which ones you download, as well as if you want to get 32 bit version or 64 bit version. If you don't know what version you're using, go to Control Panel, click on System and Maintenance, and then click on System, it will tell you there.

I'm still a little confused with your keyboard thing though, I've honestly never heard of something like that. You may want to google that question as well with your brand and model number, someone else may have experienced something similar and posted their solution.

have you checked to make sure you're not just leaning on the mouse derp?

I hate flash.

It's a bit annoying the standoff between Apple and Adobe so you can't view flash pages on iPod/iPhone/iPad.

In a way yes, in a way no. In a way yes, well, since a lot of sites use it. In a way no, because it's dying and unstable. It crashes ALL the damn time on my computer. That's what I was referring to when I made that post.

Yeah I'm not a big fan of flash but it's annoying when sites don't have a non-flash version to view on the iPod.

Hi, i will add my problems here which i got from my computer.

I'm starting a small business and I need a phone line. What would be the cheapest possible route?

I found this, but I'm not sure it has what I want.

If possible, I would prefer something that is run entirely through my PC. I don't mind using a headset, and it should have voicemail.

I just noticed this folder on my C:// drive that was created 2 days ago and had a really long name consisting of random characters. I don't know where it came from, but it refuses to be deleted. Can anybody help me?

And no, I scanned it and it seems to be safe, so removal via Anti-Virus programs isn't an option.

A new program probably put it there. You can't delete it because something is using the files inside (a program).

Does anyone know how to bypass those annoying region restrictions on youtube and other video sites?

Only thing I can think of is using a proxy that is being held somewhere in a different region.

Two easy steps:

1. Fly to another country
2. Visit YouTube

Second question: While disinfecting a friends Windows laptop I came across a number of registry entries under a section called "Image File Execution Options" with a whole heap of applications all seemingly pointing to the same target. My question is can I just delete all these entries or could some of them be legitimate? I found one in there that I removed because it prevented launching the GUI console for Microsoft Security Essentials. I just don't know whether there is a legitimate reason for all the other entries or if they were all created by the virus.

Not real sure how to do that. I tried a few sites that were supposed to mask my IP but they seem to get as far as loading the page and the video doesn't load.


Ok, thanks but let's call that plan C for now :). I think if I could afford to go to another country I might have a few higher priorities than YouTube.

There are guides that show how to do it. Kinda like this one

I've never done it, but this guide looks pretty legitimate reading through it.

Cool, thanks. I'll check it out.

Hopefully it's helpful. If it is, let me know. I'd love to set up a proxy myself as well.

I usually just re-install infected machines and teach the owner how to not do it again.

Yeah this one was well borked but I don't have any Windows disks to start fresh and he got the laptop off ebay sans disks. He reckons he just clicked on a Facebook link and it killed his computer. It was one of those fake antivirus viruses so I think he mistook it for his own AV software and okayed it without thinking anything of it.

It takes some knowledge to use, but HijackThis is excellent at removing deep seeded bad stuff (you can also post logs to knowledgeable people that will help you on their forums).

I damaged my laptop, and after the startup screen I get "Boot from AHCI CDROM: Operating System not found" any key I hit repeats the same thing, if I try recovery on startup I get this message still, the only thing I can access is F2 setup.


Is there anything I can do to have a go at fixing it, or is it physical damage? cheers

Try removing the disk from your optical drive and restarting.

Go into your BIOS and set your HD to be the primary boot device.

If that doesn't work you may need to do a startup repair. A quick Gugle should get you going in the right direction.

Cheers guys I changed the bios, I made a recovery disc and run startup repair, so now I've got basic recovery options but the diagnostic says "a hard disc could not be found. If a hard disc is installed, it is not responding."

Apparently your HDD is screwed. You can try to salvage the data you had on it by hooking it up to another computer, or you can re-install windows and lose everything that was on it.

Have you checked the connection on the HDD? Is it possible that it was unplugged?

Download/install/run Malware bytes on the machine in regular and safe mode, deleting anything it finds, then download/install/run/do a full startup scan with Avast Antivirus in both regular and safe mode. Delete anything it quarantines.
In both scenarios, let the programs update themselves while connected to the internet, and before running the scans, disable the internet connection.

Both programs are free.
If either/both of them don't solve the problem, get a look at one of the fake antivirus virus popups if possible and google it, as they usually have specific fixer programs for some of the more entrenched viruses like that.

Anyway, I wouldn't recommend randomly deleting stuff from the registry unless you are 100 percent certain that the keys you're deleting are not detrimental to the operating system. If you get the virus defeated with the above methods and want to clean the registry, download Ccleaner (free) and run the registry cleaner on it, which will get rid of any issues and keys that don't have any function.

In the bios, if you do not see the hard drive listed, the drive is either dead or not connected. If you do, it's possible that the partition table or master boot record on the drive is corrupted.
If you don't see the drive listed, reseat the hard drive and try to boot. If you do see it listed, assuming that the file system is not corrupt on the hard drive, you can connect it to another computer and access it like you would a secondary drive, and salvage any data, then wipe the drive and reinstall an operating system on it.
Also, you can download a program called MsDart or ERD Commander, (not free, but you can get it pretty easily or use a trial version with a 30 day limit) as a .iso, and burn it to a cd (as a bootable cd) and inside the program after you boot to it, there's an option for Disk Management that will let you mount the hard drive and explore it.
If the drive is unmountable, there is a problem with the MBR or partition table. If that is the case, you may still be able to retrieve the data by choosing not to mount the drive but exploring it anyway. If the file system is intact, you will be able to browse the contents and back up any data straight to an external drive.
If you can't even explore the contents of the disk, you're likely not going to be able to retrieve any data, and should just wipe the drive, format it with NTFS, and see if you can access it normally on another computer. If so, then that's your option.
If you can't format it/doesn't show up in Disc Management in Windows, the drive is dead and will serve the rest of its purpose as a paperweight.

Good luck.

Thanks for the tips. I did manage to disinfect my friends laptop but I will look into these. He is running Microsoft Security Essentials but it seems to have a pretty big performance hit and it did allow him to install this virus so I'm not sure it's the best option for him. I don't know that anything will actually stop a virus once you choose to install it though.

I might give these a try on another friend's computer. He has a persistent memory stick virus that has been pretty tough to remove. It auto-installs on any stick plugged into the computer and adds an auto-run to the stick so it infects any other computer it's plugged into.

Cheers for that man, I already sent it in to get looked at. I'm pretty sure the hard drive is dead, because it was being listed as unknown, but if it comes back unfixed I'll have another go and try that.

The Blue Screen of Death
 

Anyone now how to fix this? Please don't just send me to a link but if you think you'd be able to walk me through it let me know.

Comp starts but when I click on my username it just goes black until the battery dies. I believe its the hard drive but I'm no expert.

:bonkhead:See you in hell blue screen of death

Thats not a blue screen of death. As the name implies, the blue screen of death is Blue.


Also there is a tech help thread at the top of the forum. Ask in there.

What version of Windows?

Actually it is... because the blue screen of death came up.. then the computer started acting like this... Thanks for the input though. :crazy:

It is Vista my man

Can someone please help me figure out how to open an .awd file in Windows 7? From what I've gathered online its impossible. :/

That file is actually a fax - do you have Microsoft Fax software? I believe that's the only program that will open a AWD file.