Stephen

My laptop suddenly lost it's intenet connection. I had it connected to my home network via a wireless router. It suddenly lost it's connection today. After trying several different things, I tried hooking it up directly to the router via a ethernet cable - no luck. I then tried hooking it up directly to the modem - bypassing the router - which also didn't work (even though I was able to do this in the past when I was first working on setting up the network). I'm hoping this doesn't mean the network card is somehow toast - but I'm at a loss. Any suggestions?

I'm interested in hearing the pros and cons of Eset Smart Security, Outpost Pro 8, and Kaspersky Internet Security 7 - how they compare in terms of protection, resource use, ease of use, etc.

I currently have the Dell 1702FP monitor. I'm looking to upgrade to one of the following: HP w2007 Samsung 2232GW Samsung 226BW ViewSonic VX2235WM I'm looking for the pros and cons of each, from people who have direct experience. I'm also interested in how much of a difference going widescreen will make for internet and word documents (I know it will be a big improvement for video editing and gaming) - and will the difference for these applications be entirely positive. I remember reading sometime ago that 24" widescreen monitors are better than 30" monitors at resolutions lower than native - does this fit with real world experience? What about 22" widescreen monitors?

Does anyone know anything about the ViewSonic NX2232W LCD monitor? I'm interested in how it performs for video editing and gaming. How true are the colors? How fast is the response time? Other than being smaller, how does it compare with the Dell 2407WFP-HC performance wise? Is it compatible with the ATI X1950Pro video card?

Thanks for the suggestions!

My daughter's speakers blew out last night. She uses them primarily to listen to ITunes and YouTube, with an occasional game thrown in. I'm looking for a replacement set - not more than $150 but preferably less. I'm interested in suggestions for the best quality set I can get in my price range.

In Vista, whenever I open a window in IE7, the mouse cursor does a brief imitation of a blue toilet flushing. When it is spending any time thinking, it flashes on and off in a rhater spastic manner. Does anyone else have this happen? Does anyone know of a solution?

I meant X1950 Pro. Thanks for the advice.

I have an ATI Radeon X950 Pro graphics card. Having finally upgraded to Vista, I'm starting to check out graphic cards that can handle Direct X 10. I'm interested in a card that has the same (or better) performance as my current card, and ideally uses less power / puts out less heat. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

I am getting ready to move from XP Home to Vista. My current setup is IDE. I'm thinking of switching to AHCI before I install Vista. Should I wipe the HDD first? Leave XP on the machine, make the change to AHCI and then install Vista? I've read that if you leave the OS on, change the bios from IDE to AHCI or RAID you may not be able to boot - is this true? I have the Bad Axe 2 mobo, if that makes any difference.

Thanks for the help - between this and several other forums I finally got everything working!

Update: I hardwired the laptop to the router using an ethernet cable, and that worked fine. I updated the router's firmware. The wireless still won't work. I ran ipconfig /all. It gave me an IP physical address that is a series of 5 sets of 2 characters, which doesn't look right. It also said "IP Routing enabled - No" and "WINS Proxy enabled - No". Is this right? How do I get a valid IP address, gateway, and DNS address?

I just replaced my router - going to the D-Link DIR655. Setup worked fine for my desktop. However, I'm having an issue with my laptop. The laptop finds the wireless network connection, says the signal strength is excellent, and shows it as connected. However, when I try to open the internet, I get an error message that I'm not connected to the internet. I've tried to follow the directions in the manual - to no avail. HELP!

Is there a need for Power DVD software if I have Nero 7?

I have 2 GB of Crucial RAM - DDR2 PC2-6400, which is twice the RAM of the other computer. The software is the same on both, so background processes should be the same.

I have an E6700 cpu with a Bad Axe 2 mobo. It is overclocked to 3.2. This set up seems to have a hard time multi-tasking (e.g., printing pictues while surfing the net)- particularly compared to my other computer, which has an Intel D875PBZ mobo with an Intel P4 3.2 with Hyperthreading. Shouldn't the E6700 handle multi-tasking easier?

I currently have a Netgear RP614v2 wired router. I'm in the market for a wireless router than can provide as fast and consistent service as my current router for the two computers that will continue to be connected via ethernet cable - and that can provide fast, consistent wireless access for a laptop computer used in various locations in my home. The modem and router will be located upstairs (2 story house, built in the mid 80s), and the laptop will be used both upstairs and on the first level. I looking for advice and suggestions based upon real experience.

Is there a way to transfer files from one pc to another using a USB transfer cable if both pcs are XP?

Thanks!

I'm looking for directions on how to remove the stock HSF from a P4 socket 478. There are two levers which I unlkatched. The HSF doesn't lift off. What else do I need to do?

I have an Intel 875PBZ Mobo with a 3.2GHz Pentium 4 processor - with a stock HSF that is rather noisy. Are there any decent HSFs that are quieter than the stock one AND that can be installed WITHOUT removing the mobo from the case?

I have a Netgear router, model RP614v2. It works fine. However, the Netgear website says it has been discontinued, and is not supported in Vista. If I don't want to change it's settings, can I still use it after I switch from XP to Vista?

I currently have XP Home, and have backed up my main drive to my secondary hard drive, using Nero 7. I will be doing a clean install of Vista in about a month. At that time, can I use Nero to restore my files from the secondary hard drive to the primary drive which will then have Vista? If not, is there a way to use Nero to backup the non-windows files? I'm looking for a way to backup My Documents, plus the other non OS programs and associated files using Nero?

Thanks!