Computer Questions Not Worth Their Own Thread

[aimeeandbeatles]

My mom got me a CD drive at a yard sale for a few dollars. I found tutorials that explain how to install it. One question:

What's the worst that can happen if I install it improperly?

Edit: I'd like to know because it'd be good to install it right away, but I'm wondering if I should wait until the Vista installation CD comes in.

 

[Ulyaoth]

A cd drive? You could cause a wormhole that will cause the end of the milky way galaxy and the ascendancy of Andromeda.


Or nothing, as long as you don't jam the wrong power cord in it and maybe fry something that way, nothing can go wrong.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

LOL, thank you.

 

[Ulyaoth]

Really, it's a simple piece of hardware. You screw it into the drivebay, plug in the IDE cable, plug in the power card, done. I don't think cd drives need drivers or anything, I think that's just DVD drives.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

If it was a DVD drive (I think it is, I don't know why I said CD drive) wouldn't it kick in automatically on bootup? Hold on, I'll grab the box.

EDIT: DVD-RW drive. There's no CD in the box, unless mom took it out without me knowing.

ANOTHER EDIT: She didn't.

 

[Ulyaoth]

It'll work, but you may need some drivers. My new computer my drive works fine, only drivers it came with that I haven't installed are for lightscribe and the writing abilities.

 

[lndm]

You won't need drivers for a CD or DVD just to get it to read or write discs. Your BIOS will find it (if you haven't set it to manual).

Pin number one (red trace) on the left with the drive door facing you. If your system has a free IDE socket and you have a free cable then it should be straightforward.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Thanks.

Question: I felt like installing a game. So I put the CD in and it goes along fine until one file, where it always freezes up then gives me a copy error. I took the CD out and noticed a very tiny scratch. Is there any way to do it? I've thought of copying it to HDD then installing but dunno how the DRM would cooperate.

It's Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002.

Edit: Googled. the copyprotection is SafeDisc.

Another Edit: Damn! The Sound.cab file won't copy.

 

[lndm]

If you try to copy it to the HDD won't you get the same issue when you get to that file?

Anyway, IIRC you don't need the CD to play.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

I can't even install the thing.

I tried free flight simulators (e.g. FlightGear) but I can't even get them to work.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Another question: If you disable access to IE on your computer (I think you can in the Program Defaults), would that prevent programs from taking advantage of exploits (better security)?

edit: On moms computer, the mobo beeps when accessing the A (floppy) drive. Why?

 

[Sashie VII]

Trillian Issues.

I'm using Trillian Basic 3. I signed in but all my contacts are orphaned, and after re-adding each of them to my account, they're all still offline. I tried signing in via Yahoo! Messenger, and a lot are online, so I'm guessing it's a Trillian issue. What's happening and how can I fix this?

 

[Quintillus]

Another question: If you disable access to IE on your computer (I think you can in the Program Defaults), would that prevent programs from taking advantage of exploits (better security)?

It doesn't actually remove IE - it just removes access to it from the Start Menu. You can see that this is the case by going to Run and typing in iexplore and hitting enter - you're still able to access IE even though it's "disabled". So you will essentially have the same level of security as if you still had IE "enabled" but just never used it. In other words, no, it doesn't provide better security, assuming you don't use IE anyways.

Now, in Windows 7, you will be able to disable IE entirely so that it cannot be accessed. This should, theoretically, provide somewhat better security, although if Windows Explorer still has Internet abilities even with IE disabled that may not be the case. But that's still off in the future. For now, you can't totally disable IE.

Sorry, that's the only one of the recent questions I'm able to answer. Good luck with the others.

 

[Zelig]

Another question: If you disable access to IE on your computer (I think you can in the Program Defaults), would that prevent programs from taking advantage of exploits (better security)?

Sure, but the same thing is applicable to any browser.

Just keep IE updated, and don't worry about it.

Trillian Issues.

I'm using Trillian Basic 3. I signed in but all my contacts are orphaned, and after re-adding each of them to my account, they're all still offline. I tried signing in via Yahoo! Messenger, and a lot are online, so I'm guessing it's a Trillian issue. What's happening and how can I fix this?

Trillian 3 is ancient and has issues with pretty much all the protocols now, probably best bet is to use a different IM client.

FWIW, I've tried pretty much everything available, and have been unable to find a satisfactory IM client.

 

[Sashie VII]

Trillian 3 is ancient and has issues with pretty much all the protocols now, probably best bet is to use a different IM client.

FWIW, I've tried pretty much everything available, and have been unable to find a satisfactory IM client.

But I don't want a different client Trillian was made for me, it's so tidy and compact and clean.

The problem was somehow fixed after an hour and a half trying, but I don't know what I did that actually fixed it. Does anyone know if it's worth going pro with Trillian?

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Is the Pro version newer?

Edit: Or updated more often? It submitted before I was finished

 

[Zelig]

Is the Pro version newer?

Edit: Or updated more often? It submitted before I was finished

No, versions are exactly the same between the two, Pro just has more features.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_instant_messaging_clients

 

[Maniacal]

For some reason in Opera whenever I click on any link to go back to the sub forum from a thread, it does NOT show that the thread has been read and I have to refresh the page, every single bloody time. Sometimes when I open a thread I have to refresh to see the latest posts too, and for a long time even to see my newest post! I've cleared the cache and cookies but nothing works.

One problem thouhh is that there seems to be n way to delete every cookie at once, they seem to have to be deleted one at a time.

EDIT: And it's getting incredibly annoying. Even a DL speed of 660kbs (twice what I had before I moved) is not helping reduce the annoyingness.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Can games use overlays?

I tried making a screenshot of a game, and it gave me the characteristic black screen. Then I did something that the game didn't account for and there was a CtD. Tip: Riding a horse vertically up a cliff is not going to work.

Also, what exactly are overlays and why do they always give a black image? I googled it and got something about not using the PCI bus, but I'm sorta confused.

 

[Loki130]

i've downloaded a mod for a game (specifically operation anubis for battlefield 1942) but the mod says it cant download because I don't have version 1.45 of bf42 and I have to update. However, I already have version 1.61, and can't really go backwards. now what?