posted on March 22, 2001 07:44:41 AM new
Reddeer: You may find it helpful to shut down Go Back. Having it running all of the time will sap systems resources anyway and make doing a defrag or scan take forever.
I am assuming you have Go Back running from the system tray in the background all of the time... May I ask why?
posted on March 22, 2001 08:21:23 AM new
Smw ...... Sorry, I got side tracked shoveling snow. Yes, GoBack is running in the background all of the time. It seemed like a good idea when I purchased it a few months back. No? For a non technical person like myself, I figured if I screwed something up on a download, I could always just "go back".
Have you heard anything negative about this software? I know a few people that use it & swear by it, but perhaps they're as clueless as moi?
posted on March 22, 2001 08:30:37 AM new
I don't know of anything awful about the software. As far as I know it works as advertised. The only thing I have read or heard is that if you have it running all of the time it uses a lot of system resources(RAM) and slows down your system.
You can tell what it is using by looking at My Computer on the Control Panel to see the % of free resources, and then shut down Go Back and look again.
I wouldn't run it all the time unless I had at least 128MG of RAM.
posted on March 22, 2001 08:40:32 AM new
I have a Pent II 400, with a 10 GIG HD & 128 megs of Ram, so I imagine I'm ok as far as system resources go. But I could see where someone running on an older system with less than 128 megs of ram might want to think twice before installing GoBack.
Mud season was last week, looks like we're back to igloo season again this week.
posted on March 22, 2001 12:02:32 PM new
Hi reddeer. If you have a new hard drive it's probably going to take a long time to run scandisk and defrag. The best way to run these is through DOS before Windows boots due to all of the background programs running with Windows. A screensaver, virus scanner and a clock can cause scandisk and defrag to keep stopping and starting over and I'm sure running GoBack doesn't help either. NOTHING should be running in the background.
There is a great fix for this problem if it's just taking too long for these programs to run and I highly recommend using it if you don't want to turn things off or go through DOS. I recently purchased a Pentium 4 with 1.5GHz, 128 MB RAM and 80GB HD which would literally have taken me HOURS to run these programs the first few times. The more often you scan and defrag the less time it takes. I do it at least once a week and it helps to keep my system in top form.
The fix for scandisk is here: http://www.winmag.com/fixes/scandisk.htm You have two options; you can run the fix directly from that page or download it and run it from your computer. Be sure to check off FULL SCAN and FIX ERRORS when your scandisk window comes up. The fix for defrag works the same way and is here: http://www.winmag.com/fixes/defrag.htm
What these fixes do is put a run once key in your registry so that the NEXT time you start up your computer they will run automatically at boot before Windows kicks in but they will only do this ONE time. So, when you want to run scandisk and or defrag you would run the fix and then shut down your computer. The next time you boot up the fixes will run automatically. I usually shut down and restart right away so I don't forget these programs are going to run first the next morning when I turn on my box. If you use both fixes scandisk will run first followed by defrag.
You will be amazed how much less time it takes to run scandisk and defrag - at least half the normal time. BTW, this works for Win 98, Win98SE, WinME and Win2000 but doesn't work for Win95.
toke, I'm proud of you. Doesn't it feel good to be able to do things yourself? I remember when my kids bought my first computer for me as a Xmas gift and how intimidated I was about the thing because I knew absolutely NOTHING about computers. Of course, after Xmas they both left to go back to their respective homes which are six states away and left me with this monster. It didn't take me long to "break" Windows 95 and I had to learn how to format my hard drive and start over. After that experience I decided I could fix anything and I was no longer intimidated. It sure feels good. Heck, I format my HD periodically now just for the hell of it.
posted on March 22, 2001 12:15:47 PM new
Hi Blanche
Good grief, do you leave a window open at night to keep the engine cool on that baby?
Thanks so much for the links, but for the time being Neil has no intentions of downloading *anything*. LOL I'm going to check them out later today. I always leave my screen saver off when running defrag, and other than that I haven't had any problems with scan disk or defrag starting & stopping.
I usually run defrag right before heading to bed, and when I wake up it's a done deal.
I suppose I could also disable GoBack before running these tools as well?
posted on March 22, 2001 12:26:27 PM new
Thanks Blanche...I was proud of me, too...heh. You wouldn't have wanted to be around when I dropped that naked module on the floor, though. I thought the anti-static bag was sealed...it wasn't.
I even vacuumed out the dust with my trusty little computer vac from Radio Shack. Amazingly clean, after 3 years in a room with a woman who hates housework....
That was a typo about the 80G hard drive, right?!!?
posted on March 22, 2001 12:36:46 PM newToke FYI - My computer tech said that using a vacuum cleaner to suck dust/lint from the computer was a major no-no. [too much static] A can of compressed air was his advice.
posted on March 22, 2001 12:48:30 PM new A can of compressed air was his advice.
Not to mention that those little cans of air work *great* on blowing off cookie crumbs and ashes off the keyboard, computer table, kitchen table, top of 'fridge.......
Oh, and a quick spritz down the back of the shirt on a hot day is like a God send.
posted on March 22, 2001 01:24:45 PM new
Blanche ~ How did you learn so much about your computer??? Got a book to recommend? Seriously, I'm so lost. It took me months to learn about my digicamera, how to get the pics uploaded, how to fix pics, etc. I was so frustrated and know if I had had somebody to just sit down with me and show me things, what took me weeks to learn, I could have learned in a matter of hours.
Yesterday, you were kind enough to answer in my post about finding the html thread I was looking for. Once I started reading it, I wasn't too sure I was so happy about locating it. My questions have just increased a thousand fold. Like, does EVERYBODY need FTP - no exception? I've got a Mavica and never even heard of FTP. Will I need it too???
posted on March 22, 2001 01:58:48 PM new
Hi molly001. FTP (file transfer protocol) refers to a file transfer client application that is used to transfer files between your local PC and a remote FTP server. Whether or not you need one depends on where your pictures are stored for your auctions. Some of the auction management programs include an FTP program to upload your images from your computer to their server or photo storage area but if you're using your own storage space and your ISP's server you will need an FTP program.
I learned about my computer by spending a lot of time at the many help sites on the net. I still enjoy doing that and am always looking for new "tips" and "tricks". Also, you should really read through any manuals that came with your computer and make use of the help files ON your computer. If you want to tell me the system you're using, Windows 95, 98, 2000, etc. I can give you a few good sites to check out.
posted on March 22, 2001 02:34:09 PM new
Hi Blanche!
My system - I'll do the best I can: Win98, 500 shows on the front of the case, 20G HD, Ram? (beats me). Need more?
I've never learned to find the help sites on the net because I don't seem to get search words right. Additionally, I didn't know the help sites were there. Gee, I'm so far behind, aren't I? Okay, everybody can have a good laugh! Okay, everybody can stop laughing now...
FTP: Here was me two weeks ago - I "did up" my images, uploaded them to AW from my floppy, launched my auctions from Auction Manager. Here's me today - no auctions currently running because I have no idea where to start. My ISP frowns on image hosting so I will respect that and not try to park my pics there. My thinking is that I will use a free image hosting site and prepare my auctions right from eBay simply because I don't know what else to do. This might not be the best way but time and expertise has not been on my side to know (or read about)if there is a better way. Add'y, I looked at eBay's auction form and haven't figured out how to get more than 1 or 2 pics on my auctions or how to get them from "parked" to eBay.
Having said all this, you're probably sorry now that you asked, eh? I'm stuck.
I've never learned to find the help sites on the net because I don't seem to get search words right.
I just went to Yahoo and did a search on "how to put pictures on ebay", and a bunch of sites came up. I don't know if they are all appropriate to your question, but I'll bet some are. I'm sure if you give it a try, you'll be able to find some help there.
Seeing as it's a good day to pick your brain, here's something I wanted to run by you.
I'm not sure why, but my little red light got to blinking again after I rebooted from a Norton's update. All I was doing was updating my Norton's files, Norton's prompted me to restart after the update, & after I did my CPU got to blink-blink-blinking like a mad fool again?
Sooooo, I decided to uninstall GoBack, which forced me to reboot again, and everything seems fine now? I wonder if GoBack is causing a conflict somewhere down the line?
Any thoughts?
posted on March 22, 2001 03:28:17 PM new
Thank you, Mrpotato! Now, that wasn't too difficult, was it? I didn't know you could be so free with your words in a search. I thought you had to come up with something real spiff to do the search.
Reddeer - I'm not going to say that Norton's is your problem right now but for your future reference, a few months ago, I did my routine Norton's updates and when I rebooted, my computer was running soooooooo slow. I called my computer guru and he had me do some things, none of which corrected the slowness. After I got off the phone, I tried to call Nortons and found if I had my cc ready, they'd be willing to talk to me. So, I went to their discussion boards, skipped the pay board and chose the free one. On there were posts in excess of 24 hours old without a reply from a tech. The posts were all dealing with the same problem I was having - some had even experienced a HD crash. All from a bad update. Norton's finally fixed it by putting up a new update. Bottom line, Norton's updates are not necessarily safe. Can you imagine me when all this happened? I went hours not having a clue as to what to do.
Needless to say, I am looking for a new antivirus program because my "pay for updates" time is quickly approaching and I simply do not deal with an organization who thinks they're doing their customers a big favor.
posted on March 22, 2001 03:41:18 PM new
I was totally shocked, myself. My perception of them was that they could do no wrong. This is not the case. Then, from lurking in the boards, I found this was not an isolated incident. Much complaining was being done by all.
posted on March 22, 2001 05:24:53 PM new
Hi everyone. OK, I guess I'll just make a start. My mom used to always say that when a project looked insurmountable.
toke, my computer uses Ultra-ATA or Ultra-DMA and it has up to 80GB1 ATA/66 hard drives using both available drive bays or 18GB U160 SCSI hard drives. I copied that from the specs and, no, I don't know what it means. LOL I guess I should have said 18GB though instead of 80 which is very misleading.
molly001, you're going to need an FTP program in order to load your pics from your computer to a storage area. The one I recommend is WS_FTP LE 5.08 which is the free version. You can download it here:
http://www.ipswitch.com/cgi/download_eval.pl?product=WL-1000 You have to fill in some info before you can download it but you don't have to put in your real name or even your real email address if you don't want to. Just make one up!! Also, choose INDIVIDUAL under USER TYPE.
To learn how to add more than one picture to your auction listing go to http://www.pongo.com. She has one of the best auction tutorials out there and even has a few free templates.
I'll get back to you in a few minutes with some good help sites for Win98.
reddeer, hang in there for a few minutes and I'll get back to you.
Blanche
[ edited by bhearsch on Mar 22, 2001 05:29 PM ]
posted on March 22, 2001 06:17:27 PM new
Hiya Neil, I'm sorry you're still having problems. Do you have the new 2.22 version of GoBack? If not, I think you should get the upgrade. I've heard from other folks that they've had some problems with 2.1 which were corrected with the new version. Check out this page and look under their knowledge base and troubleshooting to see if any of the problems are similar to yours. You can also get the new version there. http://www.roxio.com/en/support/goback/
I don't care much for Norton's antivirus software because it's sooo bloated. I like to keep a lean and mean machine. Also, I have seen many folks complaining on some of the message boards about problems with some of the recent downloads. If I can find those posts, I'll let you know. I prefer Inoculate which is free, very highly rated and doesn't hog your resources. http://www.antivirus.cai.com/
You may have a conflict between Norton and GoBack. Try running one without the other and see what happens. Also, have you checked your swap file settings?
posted on March 22, 2001 06:26:07 PM newreddeer, one more thing. I don't trust Norton and even if I did I think it's a good idea to scan for viruses using two different programs. This one from Trend is free and quite thorough. http://housecall.antivirus.com/housecall/start_corp.asp
posted on March 22, 2001 08:15:27 PM newNeil, I'm sorry for taking so long to get back to you but I'm trying to do two things at once.
A swap file is basically virtual memory which Windows uses when it runs out of physical RAM. The more physical RAM you have allocated for a project, the better your system will perform. If you notice that you CPU is working extra hard (making noise) you may have run out of physical memory and it's trying to use the swap file or virtual memory. This can happen most often when you're doing multiple tasks that require a lot of memory like photo editing. Are you using Win98?
I don't recommend setting a maximum size for your swap file, ONLY a minimum size. Please read this article and try setting your minimum swap file settings per his instructions: http://www.winmag.com/columns/explorer/1999/0913.htm
Also, go to START and RUN and type in msconfig and then click on the start tab. See if there's anything running that you don't use. If so, just uncheck the box next to the program.
Do you have RealPlayer or Windows MediaPlayer on your computer?
If you can't figure out the problem I recommend going to PC Pitstop and have them run some tests on you system http://www.pcpitstop.com/
BTW, if you ran Trend's virus scanner be sure to uninstall it when you're finished. You don't need anything else running right now.
Doesn't it feel good to be able to do things yourself? I remember when my kids bought my first computer for me as a Xmas gift and how intimidated I was about the thing because I knew absolutely NOTHING about computers. Of course, after Xmas they both left to go back to their respective homes which are six states away and left me with this monster. It didn't take me long to "break" Windows 95 and I had to learn how to format my hard drive and start over. After that experience I decided I could fix anything and I was no longer intimidated. It sure feels good. Heck, I format my HD periodically now just for the hell of it.