Submit common computer trouble tips here, in write up format if you will.

Looking for help? Search through the tips listed below for help, if a tip doesn't work or needs to be changed, please contact a moderator, and proceede to post in the Computer forum.

Also, you may be able to find help at the RL Tech Support Archive.

Posted Mon Jan 26, 2004 12:14 am:

How to get a Picture from a movie:

Ok, here's what ya need to know:
There are several ways to do capture a movie image:

1) Just use SnagIt 6 (Google it) and run it it with "Direct X" for input. Now just hit scroll lock as you would print screen.

2) Another solution is to disable hardware acceleration in the application that is playing the video, or disable hardware acceleration system wide.
To disable graphics hardware acceleration globally for all applications , Start Button & Settings & Control Panel & Display & Properties & Settings & Advanced & Troubleshooting (in Windows 2000 or XP)
On other versions of Windows select Start Button & Settings & Control Panel & System & Performance tab & Graphics & Advanced settings.
In both cases slide the Hardware Acceleration slider to None, you may then use the printscreen key. However, take note that video playback may be Chit.

Also,
1) What software are you using? 90% of the decent packages given away with DVD drives have a screen capture button... PowerDVD I know has this button.

Step 1: Download PowerDVD.
step 2: Load PowerDVD.
step 3: Hit the © key, or the screen cap button.
step 4: Paste into Photoshop/Other image program.
step 5: Save.

2) Hypersnap-DX should be able to do this as well, http://www.hyperionics.com/hsdx/downloads.asp
However, be sure to "Enable Special Capture" (it's in one of the menus) so that it'll capture what you want.

More info:

It's all about video overlay.

It breaks down like this...when a computer plays a DVD, the player program sets up a rectangle for the movie to play in and fills it with a solid color (near-black (Actually, 16,0,16 (RGB)). The DVD video signal is then overlaid onto this rectangle, turning anything of the solid color into he DVD picture. The problem is that this overlay usually happens after the computer's video signal has left video RAM. Since screen captures are usually just video RAM dumps, all that shows up in the capture is the solid-colored rectangle.

Posted Mon Jan 26, 2004 12:17 am:

MSIE Not loading images and showing red X's? Increase how long it tries!
How to Adjust the Timout Settings of MSIE.

There are several reasons why you may wait a long time for a response:
Others sharing your connection are sucking up bandwidth downloading mp3 files or photos.
Your ISP is servicing too many subscribers at once.
The internet connection you are using is bogged down by flooding attacks and spam.
The site's IP address was not registered to a recognized DNS server.
THe site's firewall has blocked your ip address.
The site's DNS server is not working.
The site's telecom lines are overloaded
The site's servers are overloaded
If you receive a timeout error such as the following, it may be the site's server or your brower setting.

Microsoft Internet Explorer error 10060 connection timed out.
-or-
Internet Explorer cannot open the Internet site web address.
-or-
The operation timed out.
-or-
The page cannot be displayed. Cannot find server or DNS Error.
So that you do not wait endlessly for the server to come back with data when the server has a problem, Internet Explorer imposes a time-out limit for the server to return data. (five minutes for versions 4.0 and 4.01)

In Internet Explorer 4.01 Service Pack 1 or later (IE 5, 5.5, 6), you can change the timeout by adding a ReceiveTimeout DWORD value in registry key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ Software\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Internet Settings
with a data value of (number of seconds)*1000.
I.e. To set a 2 minute timeout duration, set the ReceiveTimeout data value to (2*60*1000) = 120000.
Then, Restart your computer.

Posted Mon Jan 26, 2004 12:20 am:

Prevent Windows Xp/2000 from restarting randomly.
We are talking about the "Restart on Error" settings in Windows 2000/XP that causes the system to reboot instead of showing you an error message.
To prevent that from occuring go to: Start, Control Panel, System, then the Advanced Tab. Down on the bottom you will see a button labeled "Startup and Recovery" click it, then look at the bottom under "System Failure" and then uncheck "Automatically Restart".
Now when you get an error it should write to the log look at the log it "should" give you some idea of what is causing the problem... This may prevent the reboots, and at least give us somewhere to start anyways...

Posted Mon Jan 26, 2004 12:23 am:

Help! Messages pops up on my PC Randomly!

Disabling the Messenger Service
To remove the ability for anyone in the world to pop up messages on your computer, you can disable the Messenger service. Its easy to reverse at a later time if you wish to do so.

Windows 2000
Click Start-& Settings-& Control Panel-& Administrative Tools-&Services
Scroll down and highlight "Messenger"
Right-click the highlighted line and choose Properties.
Click the STOP button.
Select Disable or Manual in the Startup Type scroll bar
Click OK


Windows XP Home
Click Start-&Settings -&Control Panel
Click Performance and Maintenance
Click Administrative Tools
Double click Services Scroll
down and highlight "Messenger"
Right-click the highlighted line and choose Properties.
Click the STOP button.
Select Disable or Manual in the Startup Type scroll bar
Click OK


Windows XP Professional
Click Start-&Settings -&Control Panel
Click Administrative Tools
Click Services
Double click Services Scroll
down and highlight "Messenger"
Right-click the highlighted line and choose Properties.
Click the STOP button.
Select Disable or Manual in the Startup Type scroll bar
Click OK


Windows NT
Click Start -&Control Panel
Double Click Administrative Tools
Select Services-& Double-click on Messenger
In the Messenger Properties window, select Stop,
Then choose Disable as the Startup Type
Click OK

Windows 98 & ME
Windows Messenger Service cannot be disabled, however through the use of a router or a Firewall (Software or Hardware).
Thanks: Billf

Posted Mon Jan 26, 2004 12:27 am:

Ads appear ALL THE TIME! What software can I use?
Lavasoft Ad-Aware
Spybot Search&Destroy
Norton Anti-Virus 2004 (I am told this has this feature)
[ADVANCED]HiJackThis

I second that..

We need to add the good software thread to this list.

Gah! My video doesn't show up!
"GSpot Codec Information Appliance v2.21"
Website: http://www.headbands.com/gspot/

Unzip the program, run it, select your AVI file that's not behaving, and GSpot will load it into itself, and it will then check your system to make sure it will run properly. If it won't, GSpot can usually tell you what is wrong or what codec you may need to download ni order to make it work.

The Nimo Codec Pack is often a causer of nuisances rather than fixes, so with that in mind I suggest that if you need codecs:
1) Always update your Divx (http://www.divx.com) install, even slightly older versions have been known to not play video encoded with a new version.
2) Use the Nimo Lite codec pack instead [It's often better than the full pack, especially if trying to watch Xvid movies]
3) Before opening a movie, run The GSpot Codec Information Appliance over the file, determine what codec you need, download and install it, then happily watch the movie.

Ok. I stickied it. I'm sure if that was the wrong thing to do, Martin will take me behind the woodshed.

Why don't you go ahead and change the thread title, infin, to something which will direct people to LOOK HERE FIRST!

THanks for the hard work.

amlthrawn";p="265356 wrote:Ok. I stickied it. I'm sure if that was the wrong thing to do, Martin will take me behind the woodshed.

So thats Martin's game. >_>
EVIL!

Syntax Error Code on Reallifeforums!
From within IE:

Tools | Internet Options | Advanced
In the Browsing section, check "Disable script debugging"
~Posted By MartinBlank Somewhere first

That should help some IE users out. >_>

Help! I need an image shrunk/edited! What can I use?
[Sorted by Cost]
Adobe Photoshop pCurrently @ Version 8/CS] - $649.00
---- The clear front runner when it comes to image editing, and price shows that as well. VERY Very powerful tool, with an enormous user base. Aimed primarily at Industry Professionals and the like (Due to price).
Paint Shop Pro [Currently @ Version 8] - $109.99
---- Cheaper image editor aimed to compete with Adobe Photoshop, revamped interface (completely re-written from version 7.04) with many new and useful features. Aimed more towards home users looking for more power than a basic app, yet less costly than Photoshop.
The GIMP [Current @ Version 1.2.5 (Stable)] - $Free
---- Free, Open-Source image editor aimed to compete with Adobe Photoshop as well. Keep in mind that being open-source and free has it's benefits and downsides as well.

MANY More can be found Here. But the ones listed previous are used most commonly.

Posted Mon Jan 26, 2004 9:19 am:

What software does Greg use for RealLife?

Greg The Almighty uses Adobe Illustrator [$499.99] to create Real Life.

Posted Mon Jan 26, 2004 9:43 am:

What is the Difference between Bitmap Images (Raster Images) and Illustrator Images (Vector Images)?

---Bitmap Images
Well, Bitmap images, also known as raster images, are made up of pixels in a grid. Pixels are tiny dots of individual color that make up what you see on your screen. All these tiny dots of color come together to form the images you see. The typical computer monitor has 72 or 96 pixels per inch, depending on your monitor and screen settings. However, bitmap images are resolution dependent. However, when printing bitmaps, your printer needs much more image data than a monitor. In order to render a bitmap image accurately, the typical desktop printer needs 150-300 ppi. If you've ever wondered why your 300 dpi scanned image appears so much larger on your monitor, this is why.
Because bitmaps are resolution dependent, it's difficult to increase or decrease their size without sacrificing a degree of image quality. When you reduce the size of a bitmap image through your software's resample or resize command, you must throw away pixels. When you increase the size of a bitmap image through your software's resample or resize command, the software has to create new pixels. When creating pixels, the software must estimate the color values of the new pixels based on the surrounding pixels. This process is called interpolation.


---Vector Images
Vector images are made up of many individual, scalable objects. These objects are defined by mathematical equations rather than pixels, so they always render at the highest quality. Objects may consist of lines, curves, and shapes with editable attributes such as color, fill, and outline. Changing the attributes of a vector object does not effect the object itself. You can freely change any number of object attributes without destroying the basic object. An object can be modified not only by changing its attributes, but also by shaping and transforming it using nodes and control points.
Because they're scalable, vector-based images are resolution independent. You can increase and decrease the size of vector images to any degree and your lines will remain crisp and sharp, both on screen and in print. Fonts are a type of vector object.
Vector images have many advantages, but the primary disadvantage is that they're unsuitable for producing photo-realistic imagery. Vector images are usually made up of solid areas of color or gradients, but they cannot depict the continuous subtle tones of a photograph. That's why most of the vector images you see tend to have a cartoon-like appearance. Even so, vector graphics are continually becoming more advanced, and we can do a lot more with vector drawings now than we could just a few years ago. Today's vector tools allow you to apply bitmapped textures to objects giving them a photorealistic appearance, and you can now create soft blends, transparency, and shading that once was difficult to achieve in vector drawing programs.

Might want to add that although Messenger service cannot be disabled in Me and below, the pop-ups can be prevented with either a router or a firewall.

Block Messenger Service Adds PERMANENTLY

I know that if you just change the setting, it has been known to reverse itself. So I found this thingy called EMblocker.
Download The Blocker program

http://www.arghcomics.reallyrules.com/f ... locker.exe

Open it up, click the messenger service off button, click exit, never worry about messenger service ads again.

Forenote: The link thread. I got sick of editing and typing, so I started cutting and pasting. Cyn, you can fix it up if you want. I'm hungry.

http://housecall.antivirus.com - Free online virus scan

http://www.grisoft.com - free virus scan download

http://www.lavasoftusa.com - free spyware cleaner (Ad Aware)

http://www.safer-networking.org - free spyware cleaner (Spybot SD)

http://tntmax.com/Download/Software/Win ... x.exe/view - Windows XP tcpip repair program

http://www.editplus.com - A very fine text editor.

http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml - Nothing starts up without your authorization.

http://www.ultraedit.com - Another very fine text editor

http://www.globalscape.com/cutehtmlpro - A nice HTML editor

http://www.dumeter.com/ - Incoming and outgoing TCP/IP Monitor

http://www.powerarchiver.com - An archive compressor/decompressor

http://www.mozilla.org/products/firebird - Small fast internet browser

http://www.mozilla.org/projects/thunderbird - Huge cousin of Firebird. Email, FTP, browising.

FreeSurfer: Freeware popup blocker. Works like a champ.

SysMetrix: Cool system Meter program like the DU meter above, however it can be setup to monitor everything, and anything, even whether or not you have mail. It is also skinnable.

Wincustomize: Everything you could ever want to skin, change or otherwise affect the apperance of the windows GUI. Includes some nice stuff like the ObjectBar sidebar, very cool program.

PowerQuest Drive Image
Acronis DriveCleanser
Acronis PartitionExpert
Acronis RecoveryExpert
NOD32 Anti-Virus
PestPatrol
Sygate Personal Firewall Pro
System Mechanic
WordPerfect Office Standard
Mozilla application suite
Mozilla Firebird
Adobe Acrobat Reader
Adobe Photoshop Elements
DVD Profiler
mIRC
AdSubtract Pro
FileZilla
NetCaptor
NetScanTools Standard
ScreenGrab
WinRAR
ZOC
MSN Messenger
Messenger Plus!
DivX
Exact Audio Copy
Macromedia Flash Player
IrfanView
MP3Gain
Media Player Classic
OptiPNG
Quicktime
VorbisGain
Winamp Pro
XviD
Nero
PocoMail
Trillian
UltraEdit
Python

Openoffice Free office software with Spreedsheets, Word Processor, Presentation Tool, and more!
LinuxISO: Has a list of Linux Distros and a description of each so that you can figure out what distro is best for your needs.
Opera Anougher Browser for use on Linux, Winodws, or MacOS.
Google Toolbar Popup blocker for IE.
Theme XP Has skins for Windows XP useing Style XP link to it on Theme XP site.

HTML-Kit - A nice little HTML editor.
Roadkil's Unstoppable Copier

http://toolbar.google.com

Active Perl. A nifty perl compiler so you don't have to deal with clunky ISP debuggers or the dreaded Error 500: Internal Server Error
FTPx. My favorite free FTP client. It's not as fancy as WS-FTP or CuteFTP, but it's very very light. It's installed on every system I work with.

http://www.smartftp.com - good free (for non commercial use) FTP but a bit easier to use than WSFTP or CuteFTP (but thats my opinion) Not as many features as CuteFTP however.

http://www.textpad.com/ - textpad, a nice text program with tabbed items and such. Its built somewhat with a programmers aim so it has some nice things like ASCII codes and you can compile and run java apps/applications from the interface (of course requiring a java toolkit to be installed beforehand)

http://www.aim.com - AOL instant messanger

GAIM - an AIM client that isn't the official AOL instant messenger. I just don't like the official client. Hey, play sounds with your ads through this, ya greedy bastards. I don't care to listen to crappy Matrix "trailers" through your stupid client. If they didn't add sounds to the ads, I'd probably still be using the official client. Note: Windows GTK+ is still a little buggy, so the Windows GAIM client behaves a little weird.

Cygwin - your GNU utilities, now for Windows! Great for Linux users who, for whatever reason, use Windows.

jEdit - Java programmer? Use a Java text editor! It works well enough, although some people probably wouldn't like it. I like the XML support available through a plugin, though - it works for my needs. Of course, that requires:

Java - If you're not a Java programmer, you probably don't want this, but for various reasons, if you want access to the wide variety of Java utilities available, what's not to love? (Developers may want this page instead, though.) Of course, you'll probably also want Apache Ant to make building easier or possibly even the Eclipse IDE. (It's almost worth it just for the Monkey Shakespeare Simulator

Trillian. Instant messaging without the AOL ad BS.

J-Builder. I like J-builder much better than Eclipse, but that's just a personal perference. The free version is sufficient for most personal/educational use... but commercial use is verboten. A fine product... but it's pretty RAM intensive IDE (I recommend 128Mb+)

http://www.miranda-im.com/

C++ FAQ Lite - great resource site for C++; if you have any general questions about the language this is probably the first place you should look

Boost - Boost is a great site for all purpose C++ libraries that are portable and work very well

wxWindows - Very nice cross-platform C++ GUI library; integrates very easily with Python for scripts, etc.

Loki - Generic programming and template meta-programming tools, mechanisms, and techniques. Don't try this in Java

YAMI: Yet Another Messaging Infrastructure - excellent library for sending messages across TCP/IP clients and servers; greatly simplifies the code you have to write to recieve and send messages. Cross-platform (FreeBSD, Linux, Windows, SunOS), and multi-lingual (C++, Python, Tcl).

DC++ - Direct Connect, a nice filesharing program with a host of servers and users on it.
eMule - Think Kazaa, but, you know, good.

eMule Plus - Think eMule, except... Well... Good.
The Best Reincarnation of Kazaa Lite

TSO Stole my idea.

Nicely done, though!

Meh. If I ever get bored I'll review the software, and take down the crappy software.

To make Windows XP Home or Pro look like MacOSX
theme over here you need to get StyleXP also to use it and you can get object dock over here

Oh Snap! My friends are tying messages in 1's and 0's!
There's a good chance they're using the binary speak utility, it can be found here.

Help! This program costs money, how about somthing a little more...free

http://www.sourceforge.net

If you need somthing, odds are its there and its free. The only real downside is getting help with a program you aquire can be difficult. Most of the time you can get programs just as good as off the shelf...exept free.