Ai's Official Tech Support Thread
 

Got a computer problem? Post your problem here and I'll do my best to answer it for you. Also, anyone who feels they know the answer can feel free to jump in. :D

How do you fix a soundcard that constantly skips and pauses everytime you play back an Mp3? This has been going on with Winamp for like a year now.

Well, there could be a few things wrong with it.

1.) You need to install the latest drivers.
2.) Your speakers are busted (assuming it happens with every mp3 playback software).
3.) Your sound card is starting to go. Replace it.

I have the lastest drivers, the speakers work with everything else, so I guess it's the sound blaster. Damn creative labs. :(

Yeah, my Sound Blaster Audigy 2 sound card is starting to go, unless it's my speakers. I'll probably end up replacing both at some point.

Hey, Ai... How do you convert wave files to mp3 files? My brother wants to know. :) Thanks.

you use Nero. You start a new Audio Cd, copy them songs into the new ompliation and then rightclick on it (in the left window). Ther should be an option saying something like "Audio editor" or something alike. Click on that and then wait until it's fully loaded and all you have to do now is "Save as"

Yep, he just about covered it. If you don't use Nero, or just plain don't want to...

You can download this, and it's pretty straight-forward.

Whichever one you prefer. I just feel like I need to respond to everyone's problem. :D

Okay Ai, here's a killer for ya...

My friend's having MASSIVE problems with her internet connection. The modem's working fine, her ISP's the same as mine, her computer says it's connected (MSN works), but her browser has problems connections to websites. It's not just one or two sites, but every single site she goes to after using a browser for 10-15 min.

Could it be a problem with her firewall?

I got her off of Internet Explorer on to Firefox thinking that might help her, but it hasn't. Any idea what's going on?

Oh wow, I didn't even notice someone else had a problem. Okay, let me think about this...

So what you're saying is she can get to websites for a good 10-15 minutes, but after that, she has problems? Well, let's see here...

You could have her empty her temporary IE files. Even if she doesn't use IE anymore, it would be a good idea to do so.

Since she can go to sites for a good amount of time, it can't be a firewall problem, it seems like an internal computer problem. I've never encountered something like this, but from a nerd's intuition, it's probably something to do with that damn spyware that everyone keeps talking about. It seems like that's the number one enemy these days. So I would tell her to run a few programs (Ad-Aware, Spybot Search and Destroy, etc) and maybe run a virus scanner or some sort. You can find a free virus scanner if you search Google.

Try those out and let me know what's up.

I have some problems. Phone thing is fixed, but now AOL is giving me hell, and frankly, I'm fed up with taking their sh*t. Can anyone recomend any good ISP's other than America Off Line? They cut off, they've blocked access to this board (and most others) several times causing me to have to go manually virus scan because they wanted me to use they're buddy chat crap, and they're software is the most bug ridden piece of garbage I've ever seen. Also, the damn "parental controls" occationally come on for no reason blocking access to stuff (such as any site with the word f*ck). Yes, there's a lot.

I need someone new that works with dial-up until I can get around to affording cable. Email services don't matter since all my email accounts are stored on outside POP3 servers anyway.

Any recomendations?

I don't really know any other national ISP's other than AOL. You should try calling some places and doing some research in your area for a good ISP. Most ISP's are generally good, I mean, don't expect much from dial-up, but it's good enough. I seriously recommend cable if you can eventually afford it. It's like a dream or something, and it provides me with my pleasure in life.

Yeah, it does, but I won't be able to afford that for a few months. Gotta save money for E3 and stuff. After that, yeah. Till then, I gotta have something.

*googles*

*edit* What are the advantages and disadvantages of DSL?

forget cable man... I want that crazy 1GBPS connection they offer in Japan for the same price as our cable connection.

Anyway, you can get around AOL's software... just get connected, and open up Mozilla. Should connect. Thats what I always did, unless AOL fixed that.

Yeah, but I want something that I can just run the acess numbers through without AOL's software eating up the RAM. AOL can't do that.

We'll never get the 1GB stuff with all the competition over here. The Cable companies will block it somehow.

Actually....no, wait. Nah, we'll never get something that good here. The technology is known, and it's not hard to implement, but...no.

It's pry a good thing. Too many nerds would have joygasms.

This isn't really a computer question, but it IS something you could help with!

I've decided I'm going to learn C/C++. I have experiance with BASIC, so I know a little about coding. I'm at a loss as to how I should get started though. I found a site (cprograming.com) that has tutorials and such, and that'll pry work well for a while. Any tips?

Whoa, you added a question here. Okay, let me hook you up.

So you want to become a member of the programming underworld, eh? Okay, then. Good call. Since you know a fair amount of BASIC, the programming structure for C/C++/C# are surprisingly similar. Some of the functions and procedures are the same, too. It's good you have some form of programming background, as this will majorly help.

What I suggest you start with is to find Visual Studio.NET. You can buy it for damn near $200, or you can pirate it. However you get it, make sure you try and secure that software. It has plenty of tutorials and help files that will get you out of a jam in case you can't get a program to run. It also has great tools that will point out mistakes in your programs.

After you secure yourself that software, I would suggest (not required, but it definitely helps) getting a book on it. These books tend to be expensive, since they are mostly college textbooks, but they really do help. They have sample programs in it and it usually comes with a CD to also help you. Remember, you don't have to get a book. If you're comfortable with the tutorials online, then that's fine. I'm sure Visual Studio.NET will help you plenty enough, anyway. It's just my suggestion.

Finally, just play around with it. Type up some simple programs that add numbers together and outputs the answer, parse some lines of data into different segments, concatenate data, simple stuff that will get you started. Once you feel comfortable with those simple tasks, you should try more structured programs. This will require procedures, the more structured way to program. I find this infinitely helpful, as if you mess up, you know where to find your mistake.

That's it. Good luck with the programming, buddy. :D

here is a new problem for you to solve
 

i recently aquired an ibm thinkpad 600x, and i have 2 very annoying problems with it. the first, is that whenever i turn it on the first thing that comes up is an error, that makes me re-enter the date and time. after i do that i have to turn the computer off, and turn it back on. after that, it does fine. a friend of mine told me that it was probably the internal battery, that was dead, so im loosing my settings.
the second problem that i have is, that either my battery wont charge, or my computer thinks that it is dead, so all that i can do is use the power cord to power the computer. if anyone knows what the cause of either of these problems might be, i would appreciate your input.

I don't know much about Thinkpads, but from the clues you have given me, that's a faulty internal battery. I recommend getting that repaired or replaced in some fashion. That's probably also why you're losing your settings, because normally the settings are stored there, at least with something like a Thinkpad. So yeah, try getting that checked out.

thanks
 

thanks your a doll!!

do you think that could be behind the power source problem as well?

Hey Ai... I have a question.

My friend downloaded The Cutie Honey movie for me, but it's in MKV format... and I can't get it to burn to a video format DVD. any recomendations, or suggestions?

To Jamezer: Yes, I believe so.

To Alison Chains: You should check this guide out to convert the .mkv to an .avi file type. Then you can convert that to DVD format no problem. :D It's a bit extensive and tedious, but it gets the job done. It's unfortunate it had to be in that format.

http://www.afterdawn.com/software/vi...ls/tmpgenc.cfm

MKV to MPEG converter.

http://www.riverpast.com/en/support/...rt/mkv/avi.php

MKV to AVI conversion.

Hope that helps. :)

*edit* crap, beat me to it. :ohwell: ;)

Both work, and TMB's references seem to be faster. Feel free to try either one.

*kicks computer*

Something strange is goin on with my puter. its running Win98, Dell system, Pentium III...

I'm trying to run Photoshop, and during using it, the computer just suddenly stops working. Nothing's responding. I go to restart it, and something comes up.. "Alert! Regulator Failure" The computer starts up and works fine, but its done this to me twice so far when I run Photoshop. what is the regulator, and why's it messing up on me?

Oh...snap.

Okay, this is some serious stuff. What's happening is the regulator in the power supply is going bad, meaning it won't properly transfer the voltage to the CPU, which means you could end up frying your processor. I would suggest contacting Dell about it to see if they can send you a replacement power supply. I would also use your computer as least as possible, because it could fry your processor at any moment. Yikes...

Why it's happening when you run Photoshop is because Photoshop is pretty graphic-intensive when it comes to colors, shades, dimensions, etc. That puts a lot of pressure on the processor, and that's what causes your computer to hang, the processor isn't either getting enough power, or too much power. So there you go.

Oh ****...
This is a custom my brother made me, so contacting Dell wouldnt do any good.

Would it be safer for me to just remove Photoshop? I never had a problem before this...

If you want, but if you play any games on the computer, that might do it, too. You could also just go out and buy a new power supply. They can't be over $50.

Ugh.. ok, its still acting up, despite taking Photoshop off. I'm gonna take what I need off this and borrow out a laptop from the computer office tomorrow...

*grumbles* just what I need.... can this kinda thing just up and die suddenly, or is it something thats more gradual?

That really depends on how badly the power supply is screwed up. What it's going to do eventually is give your processor spikes of voltage, similar to what happens when there's a brownout. Once that happens, like the Japanese say, "GAME OVER desu!" If you're going to transfer stuff to a laptop, I suggest doing it as soon as possible to avoid any chance of it happening.

Oh geez... I"m gonna do it in the morning, cuz the Office here doesnt have any spare laptops til then. Could my hard drives be at risk of getting fried?

That would be the least of your worries. I mean, if your CPU gets fried, then you can have all the hard drive you want and it's still useless. If I was you I'd just get a new power supply asap. And I'd start making backups around now.

my brother fried his computer a year ago. Some 1.8 Ghz thing. Well, the big frying started somewhere around the RAM, but what was fried in the end, when the computer couldn't carry on working, was way more shocking. Mainboard, CPU, Hard Drive, both RAM-things. In the end, what still could be used was the Floppy, the DVD/CD/CDR-drive, keyboard, mouse.

Well, I've called my mom about the power supply, and have a laptop for tonight. Strange new experience for me. I talked to the computer guys here, and they wont do anything with it Unless I buy the power supply (about 80$) and bring it to them to install. But now I know whats wrong, and it'll be easy to fix...

I just wanted to thank you again Ai... if it wasnt for you, my computer probably would have ended up as one giant paperweight...

My pleasure. It pains me to see people with computer problems, mostly because I've been in everyone's shoes at one time or another. It is frustrating, but at least I can prevent it now.

hey Ai, do you know how to get rid of Spyware? I'm kinda screwed from BitTorrent.

Ah, yes. The ever-lurking spyware. I've answered this problem a few posts back, but I don't mind answering it again.

You can try one of two programs.

Spybot Search-and-Destroy

or

Ad-Aware

Both are free to download, and are shareware. Use them as much as you want. That should hook you up pretty well. If you still get problems, you can always wipe out your Startup by...

Start, Run, type in "msconfig." Go to the Startup tab and uncheck everything except the ones you use the most, such as AIM or MSN or whatever you want to start up whenever Windows starts up. Some spyware is activated when you start Windows, so you would be wise to turn it off, in case the spyware removal programs doesn't get rid of it.

Thank you so much. I'll try both :)

Do you know anything about wireless routers? Because mine is being a piece of **** today.

I don't know that much about them, seeing as how I don't own one, but I can give it a shot. Tell me what your problem is, Matt.