Well it turns out the real reason why the discs won't play is the fact that it's a RW drive. I was right about the "copy-protection mumbo jumbo" in the first place. Can't copy the discs if they won't load. Now I'm going to have to get an additional plain DVD drive just to watch movies on my PC. Lame. Thanks for the help though.
I think I have a generic model because there's no brand name on it in the device manager so that could be why also. I'm going to look into maybe buying a new one myself and changing it.
Just to let you know, I just ordered 512mb extra memory, once it arrives and I get it in, maybe I won't be threatening to crash all the time. So I'm leaving the stone age :lol:
my xp went kaput so now I'm using Ubuntu linux as I'm trying to find the disks that came with the XP that I have. Linux isn't that bad as I mostly used open source programs.
I have a question about something. On some sites the text has become really small on my computer, but on most of them it's fine (the bad ones are the news type sites foxsports, espn, msn, etc.). Anyone know how to change it?
Soooo, I'm looking to get a new computer in the near future (sometime in the second half of august through september). I've been looking at them online to get an idea of what I want/will be spending. I'm definately leaning towards a Dell, since I have had good experiences with them in the past, and they are in my price range. Anyway, I don't need to get into specifics of what I want in it, but my main question is: Does anyone know if there is a new processor coming out between now and then? I know they probably make new processors like every week, but I'm talking about the main ones that you get in a normal computer. The builds I've been putting together online I have been going with the Intel Core 2 Duo, which seems to be the most recent/reasonable. Basically what I want to know is if I should go ahead and get this or if it will be outdated soon and I should hold out to get the next version.
July 22nd they are releasing a whole new line of the core 2 duos and the quad cores and the previous core 2's will have price drops. Your better off building your own man. Also... AMD is pushing out the AMD Phenom line of processors... they are Quad core and will be reasonably priced. I guess with these you can run dual processors as well giving you 8 total cores.
I thought about building my own, with my cousins help, who has built many machines before. But after having so much trouble with my last computer I really just want a nice solid computer and the technical support option that I won't have to worry about for the next few years. My old computer (one I have now) was an HP a656x = boxed piece of shit. I bought some more RAM and a better vid card so I could play games, but the power supply wasn't enough for the vid card. I then got a case from a friend who builds his own and transferred my shit into there (since it had a better power supply). In the process I guess some static got onto my hard drive. That was the end of that. So I bought a new HD (RAM+Vid Card+HD = $350), but of course I don't have a windows disk. I eventually get one from my cousin, but have to use a counterfiet registration key, so I can't get any new drivers or updates. Plus the damn cideo card shits out every few hours and my monitor goes black so I have to restart the whole thing. So now I have a 4 year old computer, that wasn't any good even when I first bought it. With a fake copy of windows, a video card that shuts down my computer, is slow as hell, and in the biggest/ugliest case ever. That's basically why I want to just order one from Dell made to my likings. But, I may just go talk to my cousin and have him pick everythign out and put it together. Depending on what will be cheaper/more durable.
Well you have the option to build though me man... PM me if your interested. I think thats the cheapest/best way to go upgradeability wise and you have this thread for tech support :lol:
My son's computer (a Dell Dimension 5100C) suddenly has a major problem. It won't connect to the internet, but that is just a small part of the story. When booted up, the LAN connection is recognized, but it won't connect to anything (a laptop on the same cable connects fine). If the cable is removed, it is recognized as having been unplugged. Also, the Windows firewall is off, and when we try to turn it back on, we get the error message "Cannot start Windows/Firewall/Internet Connection Sharing Service." So, I called Dell tech support. I actually got through pretty quickly, and they went through lots of things quite reasonably. Unfortunately, nothing worked (I apologize if something I say here isn't quite right, since it is from my notes): (1) I tried to restore to an earlier date using Windows Restore. It failed, leaving the settings the same. (2) I tried running ipconfig. The computer said that that was an invalid command. (3) I tried to reset the TCP/IP settings by deleting winsock and winsock2. No change. (4) I tried installing the internet protocol. No change. (5) I tried resetting the IP setting. No change. At this point they ran out of ideas, and said the only thing left is to reset the computer to the factory settings, since the OS (Windows XP) was corrupted. Obviously I don't want to do that if it is at all possible to avoid. Any ideas? Anything I can do short of a complete wipe that might work?
Have to agree. We just did my computer at my house for I think $500 or so. New tower, new motherboard and processor (Core 2 Duo 2.4), 2Gb memory, I think 256(could've been 512)Mb video card, another HDD, everything. Not too bad.
I would also recommend building your own pc. There are always going to be problems with computers, even those that you purchase off someone else's shelf. When you build your own just make sure who you buy the parts from has a warranty on the pieces and keep the receipts. Also, it gives you some flexibility upgrading later on down the road. And there are plenty of folks who can help you on this site with issues.
