If anyone would be so kind I need instructions on how to post screen shots in the forums please.
And if you're bored, you could assist me in my attempt to recover my cd drives. They just disappeared after running mal-ware/spyware/antivirus programs. Ccleaner was not the culprit.
Where would they go to??? hmmmm Hiding?
Anyway, I'm a moron and cannot get my screenshots on the forum.
And if you're bored, you could assist me in my attempt to recover my cd drives.
Have you installed XP Pro yet, or are you still using ME? If so, update your Windows first!
That said, have you tried restarting your computer? The easy miracle cure, solves a whole lot of problems, since Windows searches for new (and old) hardware each time it starts up.
If Windows starts up, and the drives still aren't there, right-click My Computer, and select Properties. Then select the Hardware tab and click Device Manager. Go down the list and look for DVD/CD-ROM drives. Once you find it in the list, click the + in the box next to it to expand the list a view your drives. If your drives have an X going through them, they are disabled. All you have to do to enable them is right-click the disabled drive, and select Enable from the list. You may have to restart your computer after enabling hardware if it doesn't show up right away.
If the drives don't have an X, but instead have a ! next to them, they are either failing, or most likely in your case, have some driver problems. If this is the case, try right-clicking them and choosing Uninstall from the list. After uninstalling both of them, restart your computer, and Windows will reinstall the drivers when they start up.
Now, if you weren't even able to find any DVD/CD-ROM drives listed in Device Manager after restarting your computer, you won't be able to solve your problem with Device Manager. With no futher information on the problem, my best suggestion right now is to run System Restore (Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore), and go back to the most recent date when your optical drives still worked.
Have you installed XP Pro yet, or are you still using ME? If so, update your Windows first!
That said, have you tried restarting your computer? The easy miracle cure, solves a whole lot of problems, since Windows searches for new (and old) hardware each time it starts up.
If Windows starts up, and the drives still aren't there, right-click My Computer, and select Properties. Then select the Hardware tab and click Device Manager. Go down the list and look for DVD/CD-ROM drives. Once you find it in the list, click the + in the box next to it to expand the list a view your drives. If your drives have an X going through them, they are disabled. All you have to do to enable them is right-click the disabled drive, and select Enable from the list. You may have to restart your computer after enabling hardware if it doesn't show up right away.
If the drives don't have an X, but instead have a ! next to them, they are either failing, or most likely in your case, have some driver problems. If this is the case, try right-clicking them and choosing Uninstall from the list. After uninstalling both of them, restart your computer, and Windows will reinstall the drivers when they start up.
Now, if you weren't even able to find any DVD/CD-ROM drives listed in Device Manager after restarting your computer, you won't be able to solve your problem with Device Manager. With no futher information on the problem, my best suggestion right now is to run System Restore (Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore), and go back to the most recent date when your optical drives still worked.
Hope this helps.
I installed XP Pro on the 12th.
They are enabled with yellow(!) next to them.
I tried system restore, but that didn't work. Same with last good known config.
rridley posted instructions for me on how to post my snapshots in the forum. Then I'll put in the error log reports (they're really weird).
My Microsoft Antivirus Beta1 deleted 3 registry keys. My best bet is that this is the culprit. Either way I'll learn more about computers through this experience. (yes I am a dork)
...They are enabled with yellow(!) next to them...
...My Microsoft Antivirus Beta1 deleted 3 registry keys. My best bet is that this is the culprit...
Okay, first off, Microsoft + Antivirus + Beta = Crap. Having a beta antivirus is bad enough, and then when you use one made by MS, well... you get the idea. Heck, you'd be better off with Norton!
Anyways, since your drives have a ! next to them, obviously there is some form of hardware conflict. Have you tried uninstalling the drives individually, and then restarting the computer? I've had that work on several different computers.
If I was you, I would've tried that before I ran System Restore; I tried to put my suggestions in chronological order. Try that out and tell me what happens. Good luck!
I think IrfanView would actually be easier than MS Paint. The only problem with IrfanView is it doesn't to my knowledge create complaint JPG's because not all software/hardware can read JPG's saved by IrfanView whereas with MS Paint that isn't an issue. You may be better of saving as PNG with IrfanView, just make sure you have the PNG compression set to the maximum which is 9 by clicking Save As->Options. Using PNG can sometimes be smaller than JPG and yield better looking images.
...You may be better of saving as PNG with IrfanView, just make sure you have the PNG compression set to the maximum which is 9 by clicking Save As->Options. Using PNG can sometimes be smaller than JPG and yield better looking images.
PNG has different levels of compression? How is that possible? PNG is lossless, so if there were different levels of compression, wouldn't everybody always just use the highest compression setting, since the image would still look the same?
The only things I can think of that might cause there to be different levels of compression is:
1. The higher the compression, the smaller the number of transparent levels, or
2. The only difference is that less compression is faster (which seems like a pretty stupid reason, if that is the case)