Did you go through the TCP/IP settings and refresh your connection first? Just wondering, because if so, that's probably what did it.

btw... pre-loaded with Netscape? That's.... odd. XP comes with Internet Explorer... never heard of it coming with Netscape before.


Anyway, not sure if you have or not, but you should really get some virus protection like pronto. There's a fantastic free antivirus program that's real popular called AVAST and it works great. I've been using it for years and haven't had a single virus since then. Google it and pick up the home version for free.
You may be used to Macs not getting viruses out the ass, but it's a different story with a PC.

Just a heads up.

First thing I thought as well.

Dali for pres! Solving everyone's problems one thread at a time.

I get this annoying thing everysooften and I have to shut down my laptop to overcome it, in the browser if I click a hyperlink it opens the webpage in a whole new window, and in itunes i cant click on a song, it just highlights them all, I dunno about other areas what happens, but it's so annoying, any ideas? :(

sounds like your CTRL key is getting stuck...

cool. i will get avast. i had norton, but it expired.

i have another question...

our modem has only one ethernet-out jack. this means one computer on the net at a time, which can obviously be rather inconvenient.

so, do i have to buy a new modem? or a router (wireless or otherwise)? or is there an ethernet "splitter" that i can plug into the back of my modem that will make one cable into two?

cheaper is better obviously, but i will obviously do whatever it takes cuz this is about as annoying as not being able to use the net when i need to.

and again, thanks for your help.

You can simply go to any electronics department store (ie. Radioshack) that sells consumer routers and modems, and get a small Switch. A switch is basically a device that allows more than one computer to access a single connection, but does so more intelligently and efficiently than a simple splitter or hub as it manages data flow so there are no collisions and manages bandwidth better.
Here's an example:
http://rsk.imageg.net/graphics/produ...901118w345.jpg
$24.99 Available at: http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...dsInSession=1#

On the back, there is an ethernet port for the connection to the modem, and 4 ethernet ports for PC's to connect to. Each computer will need its own straight-through ethernet cable to connect to its own port. You will also need a third cable of the same type for the connection between the modem's output port you're currently using, to the input port of the switch. The maximum cable length between your PC and switch, and switch to modem, can't be more than 328 feet, although I doubt you'll need that much. With the cable you have now, you should be able to get a separate short cable for the connection between the modem and switch, and a longer cable for you or your girlfriend's computer. Cat-5 straight through cables are what you're looking for. You can find them anywhere. Check Amazon for online, or your local electronics provider. I think even Walmart has them. (Switches too, if I'm not mistaken)
Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) Category 5 cable: (usually sold as UTP-5)
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA280_.jpg

Another option, albeit a more expensive one, is if you both have laptop computers with wireless cards and want more mobility without having to connect with a cable, you can get a wireless router instead of a switch and just connect wirelessly. This is a bit more difficult because you actually have to configure the router for connectivity, and you'll also have to lock it down so other people won't leech off you. Speeds are also slower with wireless by virtue of its collision avoidance method and error detection needs due to the nature of the transmission method and medium (radio waves via air). If you value speed, lower price, and ease of setup over mobility, you should go with the switch.

In either scenario, you won't have to buy a new modem. You simply connect the switch or router to the modem and the switch or router will be your access point.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Does it type in caps on it's own as well?

It's not the shift key. Shift only affects capitalization and ordinary keys with another character assigned to them.
CNTRL affects different things, such as link opening, directed navigation, and other things depending on the program it's used in. Shift key is mostly just a typing thing, which doesn't apply to default link behavior unless you have a program to specifically set it that way, which she would have known about.

I don't know if you're using a mac or what, but shift for me has always opened browser links in a new window and ctrl in a new tab, shift clicking anything in windows explorer, itunes, or whatever else selects everything from what you have selected already to what you shift-click on and ctrl click lets you select each thing individually.

well thanks!

and i do have more questions... for which i apologize.

i bought a DLink switch. it has 5 ports in the back. one of these ports (it doesn't specify which one, on the switch itself or in the manual) is to be linked to the modem, and the remaining 4 go to computers. the ports are numbered, so i figured the first one takes it from the modem and 2-5 can go to computers.

i have a connection on both my PC and my gf's Mac... but i only get one at a time, which lands me right where i started, shuffling cords and whatnot.

i've tried a multitude of arrangements as far as the ports on the switch go, and it doesn't seem to matter what port is used for what. it also doesn't work unless i turn the modem off and back on, and when all the lights are lit on it i THEN plug the cable into the modem (coming from either computer). i even tried plugging both computers into it simultaneously, but to no avail. i knew going in that that one wasn't gonna work, but i was desperate!

anyway, the models:
router: D-Link DSS-5+ (Express EtherNetwork)
modem: Motorola SB5101 (SurfBoard)

so i guess that's it for now.
again, i'm sorry about all my questions. i kinda feel like a d1ck for getting free advice like this, but it seems if you call the tech lines everyone there has a crazy accent and try as i might, i can't make out too much of what they say and end up hanging up. fer serious. happened twice today.

Merged

Satch, thanks for merging but was it necessary to move the tech support thread into the Stereo & Production Equipment forum?

When threads from seperate forums are merged, the post-merge thread sometimes moves itself by mistake like this.

Anyway, fixed.

How the **** did I do that!?!?

Moved...again.

Thanks fellas.
Hope I didn't sound pissy or anything, I was just wondering how/why it was moved. Figured it could have been a merge issue.

:)

So I bought this new mouse, and it has an alt tab button that I cant work out how to disable, I can assign all the other buttons to do whatever or nothing in the software that came with it, but cant unassign this alt tab one, which I keep accidentally pressing while gaming, which is a bitch.

this sounds like a job for X-Mouse Button Control!

http://www.highrez.co.uk/downloads/X...tonControl.htm

I'll give it a go, but the mouse came with some similar software, but it wont let me unset the alt tab button, and the button still works when the software isnt running, unlike the other functions I can set.

Edit: Yeah that didn't work.

I was thinking something more along the lines of a registry file that'll disable it, I think I disabled my left windows key via one on my old computer, but I could be wrong.

This (obviously) is my first post, so I apologize ahead of time if this topic already has been discussed in this thread. I couldn't find it in a quick skim, but then again, it's easy to miss in a 34-page thread.

The albums on my iPod almost always have their tracks displayed in the proper order when my iPod is connected to my computer, but when it is not connected, it displays the tracks in a different order. I don't think I articulated that particularly well, so I'll give an example.

When my iPod is connected to my computer, the track listing for Beggars Banquet in my iTunes library is as follows...:
1. Sympathy For the Devil
2. No Expectations
3. Dear Doctor
4. Parachute Woman
5. Jigsaw Puzzle
6. Street Fighting Man
7. Prodigal Son
8. Stray Cat Blues
9. Factory Girl
10. Salt of the Earth

...but when my iPod is not connected to my computer, it lists the tracks for Beggars Banquet as follows:
1. Sympathy For the Devil
2. Jigsaw Puzzle
3. Stray Cat Blues
4. Salt of the Earth
5. No Expectations
6. Dear Doctor
7. Parachute Woman
8. Street Fighting Man
9. Prodigal Son
10. Factory Girl

Has anybody else experienced this problem, and if so, do you know how to fix it?

Did you make sure the tracks are numbered correctly inside the "info" popup window?

Yes, of course. I also made sure they had the proper disc number, same album artist, etc. Unless I made an obvious mistake that I am missing, all the track information is correct.

I don't use iPod, but I found this on Google and thought I'd throw it out there just in case it helps:

"Make sure that all tracks in an album have consistent tag information in *every* field, otherwise iTunes considers the song to belong to a different version of the same album.

Look at these fields in particular and make sure they are the same for each track in the album:
- Compilation checkbox (Easy to miss!)
- Album artist (might be set to Various Artists if you got the track off of a compilation)
- Track number, Disc number and Year

The easiest way to fix is to multi-select the whole album, right-click Get Info, then correct all at once.

You can see if everything is right in iTunes before transferring to iPod.
Change to the Cover Flow view; if iTunes shows two of the same cover for what should be one album, then some tracks still have inconsistent tags."

I'll give it a try. Thanks!

**** my laptop. Yesterday this thing started coming up saying I had like 30 infections and had to pay 50 pound to get rid of them all it's popping up every two seconds and as an added **** you it's not letting me use my last fm it's annoying the laptop was working perfectly until this **** came up.

This may sound really basic but have you quit your browser and just restarted.

Multiple times

And these messages that are popping up, are they coming from your browser or your operating system?

You need to clear your computer of spyware and mallware. Restarting your browser doesn't fix anything

It would if they were just those pop-up windows that are made to look like warnings from your OS. That's why I asked.

Yeah, this is mallware, however. A lot of places will install something on your computer and then tell you that there are hundreds of these on your computer. But wait, funnily enough we can clear it all for you for just a small fee, lol.

Some**** called Security Tool i've never saw in my life it keeps on changing the supposed amount of infections though so I don't buy it.

That certainly sounds like some kind of malware. Do you have a program like Norton Anti-Virus that you could run?

^nope

You really need to get one.

WHat browser do you use?

^As in like internet browser if so Internet Explorer

DEFINITELY Malware. Just had to delete it from my little sister's computer 2 weeks ago. Just Google "Security Tool Virus" and you'll hear all about it.

Anyway, there are plenty pages on google that address how to do it and even some more crap they want you to download, but I'll give you the quick & dirty manual version because it's still quite fresh in my mind:

(The following applies to Windows machines. I don't use a Mac, so if that's what you're on, then you'll have to do some Googling)

1. While you're logged in, hit CTRL+ALT+DEL to bring up your task manager. In Vista, you'll actually have to choose the task manager option. While trying to dodge all the ridiculous pop ups and crap, hit the PROCESSES tab and start scrolling down the list until you find a .exe with a name that's just random numbers. The one I had to get rid of was called "4946550101.exe", so if it's the same, lucky you. If not, it's going to be a random string of numbers. Write the random string of numbers down.

2. Reboot your computer and boot into SAFE MODE.
(For instructions on how to do this, see the note at the end of the steps)

3. Open up COMPUTER and navigate to your C: drive, then DOCUMENTS AND SETTINGS, then your USERNAME. If you DON'T see a folder called APPLICATION DATA, then you're going to have to enable hidden folders. To do this, simply click TOOLS on the menu up top, then FOLDER OPTIONS, then VIEW. Look in the drag box and select SHOW HIDDEN FILES AND FOLDERS. Click OK. Now you'll see APPLICATION DATA. Go there.

4. Look at your little piece of paper with the random string of numbers, and scan all the folders in the APPLICATION DATA folder you're in until you find the folder named the same random string of numbers. You can look in it if you want for shits and giggles, but you don't need to. Delete the whole folder. If any dialog box pops up, yes to everything. The whole folder goes bye bye. (If you get a dialog that says a file is in use, open your task manager again and locate the random string then right click it and click "end process", then hurry and delete the folder... Because the .exe will try to come back like night of the living dead. You're literally shooting the zombie in the head by deleting the folder that contains the .exe, so get 'r done.)

5. Click your START button and in your run/search bar (Vista) or by clicking run (XP) you want to type MSCONFIG. Once the config dialog pops up, hit the Startup tab and check to see if the random string of numbers is in there. If so, it probably has a check next to the box. Uncheck it. This will prevent you from getting any popups about the program being missing when you start your computer. You can go further by actually deleting the startup item, but it's not necessary and will require further steps.

6. Restart your computer back into normal mode. Just simply restart it. You won't have to press any keys. Once in Windows, verify that you're not getting any more popups. You'll probably get a popup saying you made changes to your MSCONFIG file. That's fine. Just OK it. It won't come up any more after that.
If Security Tool put a desktop icon on your desktop, delete that. Empty your recycle bin. Eat a Twinkie.
Now, you will still have the registry key for Security Tool in your registry, which you can leave it there if you want, but it's always a good idea to have a nice and clean registry to get rid of old, unused keys, as it allows your registry to be read faster... so if you want to do this safely without dicking around in the registry, just download CCLEANER from Google and run the registry cleaner along with anything else in there. Useful program. I love the hell out of it.

7. Stop clicking internet popups. Security tool is a user-initiated install. Meaning, something popped up on the internet and you clicked it. They're tricky bastards in that sometimes they'll encode a download/self-installing package INTO AN OK/CANCEL BUTTON. This means that sometimes when you THINK you're clicking OK to close a popup... you're really downloading their trash. Easiest way to evade those popups when you're not sure is to go to your task manager and under your programs, right click your browser and press END TASK. You usually have to do that because they lock the browser until you click their popup. Killing the whole browser is sometimes the only way, but it's perfectly safe, as long as you aren't in the middle of doing something like I'm doing now, typing a billion words without having saved any of it.

So that should do you. If not, then tell me exactly what didn't work and we'll fix that. I'm just working from rote memory here, so it's completely possible I left something out. But the basic thing is Find the program, delete it in safe mode, remove the startup trigger, and reboot.
If I assumed you were well versed in computer operation, I would have just said that... but... I'm an IT guy and this is just my thing. ;)


::::SAFE MODE PROCEDURE::::
You'll need to hit the hot-key that brings up your boot menu. Watch your screen when you're rebooting and you should see a message on the black background saying "Press F12 for boot menu". It could be a different hot-key, but F12 is usually pretty standard. If not and you can't figure it out, just google your computer model and add the following key words to the search: "boot menu hotkey". When you've got the boot menu, you'll see a list of options... Choose "SAFE MODE". Don't worry about safe mode with networking or any of that other stuff. When you start booting, you'll see a bunch of drivers loading and all... Perfectly normal. Windows will load up, and your screen will look like crap because Windows only loaded its generic 16-bit video driver. Perfectly normal.

When I press ctrl alt delete it pops up saying "taskmgr.exe is infected with worm Lsas.Blaster.Keylogger this worm is trying to send your credit card details using taskmgr.exe as a remote host" so it's not bringing up task manager.

Don't believe that. Blasters are worms, Keyloggers are not. They're simply mixing devious terms so you think it's important. Not only that, but task manager doesn't access network resources to send data. The information you're getting is part of the malware you already have.

Anyway, you might just have to first restart into Safe Mode and find the folder I mentioned that will have a random string of numbers as its name. These damn Malware progs change and get smart... But before you do all that, ensure that it's Security Tool that you're infected with, because if it's actually something else, their file might use a different naming convention and I'll need to find it online to let you know what to look for, so let me know on that.

Key characteristics of Security Tool Virus will be the addition of the Security Tool program on your desktop (shortcut) and will pop up a program that looks like it's scanning for viruses and will tell you your "infections", which are all false.

At the very least, reboot into Safe Mode and open up Task Manager and type to me all the processes that are currently running in the dialog box. I'll be able to identify which one doesn't belong, even if it takes a little research. Thing is, this dam Security virus isn't going to go away and you'll be plagued by it, so we need to get this licked ASAP.

If you can't open task manager while in safe mode, for some odd reason, then navigate to the folders I was talking about (Application data) and write a list of the folder names in there. If it comes up that we can't find the offending file folder, we'll go from there.