HawkBoy

I just lost a 30GB maxtor due to a power surge (along with my power supply, motherboard, and processor). I got one of the big recovery companies to take a look at it and they said it would cost about 700 USD. I talked to a couple of ppl and they said they had recovered data in similar situations for about $50. So, I know the big company is ripping me off since they give me a different price every time, but can it be possible to recover the data for under $200!? NOTE: the hard drive doesn't even turn on when the computer is turned on. It recieves NO power and, therefore, it is not detected by the motherboard (on the new system). Thanks

What CD-RW do u guys recommend? I want to be able to burn everything (music/data/vcd/. . .) PC specs: Athlon 550, AMD 550, 256 MB ram, crappy motherboard (though it will be replaced soon enough), . . . I remember a time when most burners would create problems (writing, reading, installing, . . .). I've noticed that most of that is gone. Is there anything I should watch out for? Thnx in advance Hope you don't think this is a bad question =)

Wow, thanks for all the replies. During this time, I've been doing some research (that's an understatement, hehe). No one has said anything bad about lite-on (I haven't seen anything bad about copying audio). I have found some disappointing reviews of the older plextore drives (24/10/40) and asus has come off quite well. Unfortunately, I can't find many good reviews (aimed at someone other than the average computer newbie) that are recent. Could you please tell me if you know any good review sites? NOTE I have already checked Tom's hardware (nice), CNET (not deep enough), ZDNet (same as CNET), and PCWorld(same as CNET and ZDNet).

I want to learn about linux, and how to run it without destroying my pc. Know any good sites? Keep in mind that I'm pretty good with computers, not affraid to get technical, and despite the name, I'm 18 years old =)

Admiral LSD: I installed linux once: I gave it an empty hard drive. I turned off the other one from the CMOS. After the installation, I could not use the other hard drive if I turned it on. In fact I could not use ANY other hard drive configuration without my startup beeing interupted by and infinite stream of 1s and 0s (I never thought I'd actually see 1s and 0s anywhere other than in assembly)

I installed new agp drivers and they are REALLY screwing my pc up. How can I replace them and bring back the windows defaults? I can't find the agp drivers in any of the usual places (device manager, . . .). Any ideas? Thnx in advance

Is there a way to see what they say? My blue screens disappear in less than a seconds (actually, a LOT less than a second).

I got the following error when trying to INSERT INTO a database: Error Type: Microsoft OLE DB Provider for ODBC Drivers (0x80004005) [Microsoft][ODBC Microsoft Access Driver] Operation must use an updateable query. According to microsoft's support site, "The most common reason is that the Internet Guest account (IUSR_MACHINE), which is by default part of the "Everyone" group, does not have Write permissions on the database file (.mdb). To fix this problem, use the Security tab in Explorer to adjust the properties for this file so that the Internet Guest account has the correct permissions." The problem is, how do I do what they told me to? I see no security tab on the file's properties, and I can't find the "everyone" group (I could in win2k, but can't in XP)

Thanks a lot. Saved me a lot of hassle. Until now I was using brinkster to test my code and that's just a pain =)

I installed it in order to learn asp (using some crappy net tutorials). Well, it didn't work that well, I got sick of it not accepting standard commands, hanging up, not being able to restart the server, . . .. So, I want to remove the piece of !@#$. The problem is, when I go to add/rmove prog, click on win components, uncheck the IIS box, and click next. It gets stuck on "configuring IIS component" (or something). If I give it about 20 min, it'll move past it, give me a blue screen (for about a millisecond) and then restart. Any ideas on how I could get this thing off my pc? (without formatting, hopefully)

how do i reinstal a windows component?

right click on ur my computer icon, click properties, it's under the remote tab

I've searched the forum and haven't found anything useful, so forgive me if this topic has already been discussed and I was unable to find it. here's my Q: What would happen to "private" folders if the OS dies? Will u be able to access those folders from another system, . . .?

Sorry if this is a stupid question but I was wondering what the odds of a program being incompatible with NTFS are. Also, what do u guys think of the convert command (to convert to NTFS)

I know that I need it in order to use the net (sometimes), and I know that it is a part of win2k, but the heck does it do? The times that it accesses the net seem to be random from my prespective, and I can't find any decent explanations of what it does, just that i should "allow it to connect". A lot of pretty smart ppl use this forum and I was wondering if anyone knew what this magic prog does.

Hi, I'm considering buying win XP. I currently have 3 hard drives installed, 2 of which are running win2k. I would like to keep these running win2k and have winXP on the third for a while to make transition easier (I don't want to loose all my programs). Will this work? I remember installing linux on my pc and it took over the other two hard drives (i think it re-wrote my boot sectors) and I couldn't boot of anything other than linux. will XP do the same? Also, I plan on removing one of the hard drives and making a few upgrades quite soon. Will XP lock up? (I heard that it fingerprints ur pc, . . .) Thnx in advance

Like what percentage of sites use which language, what browsers ppl use. I'm writting a report and it would help a lot if had something I could quote about how many sites require javascript, how many need IE/NNS 5 or higher, . . . The site doesn't have to be reliable or anything, just something that looks OK

Just one last question If I decide to remove winXP (just format or get rid of the HD that it is on), will the other two OS's still work?

thnx guys =) Why is NTFS better? I mean, it does give more security, but doesn't it kill more space? also, all that stuff about it fingerprinting the pc . . . was I wrong?

Hi, I'm looking for a site that is at an intermediate level. I know what a motherboard is and does, I know what pci, usb, . . . are. I have assembled my own pc more than one time, and I know what to buy. I want a site that takes me through the more technical aspects of what chipsets are made of, what the north and south bridges are (I can't find any site that has this!), . . .. Anyone know a good site?

I know this is a minor question, but: How can I Export my desktop Scheme to another pc or back it up in case i need to format or something? are the themes in a file or something? I haven't been able to find that file.

I have IE 5.5. I want to set up a proxy server other than the http://proxy:8080. When I change the proxy settings, it works for as long as IE is still open. When I close and restart IE, it resets to the original http://proxy8080! What do I do? BTW I don't have the "automatically detect settings" option on.

I have decided to admit there is a lot I don't know about hardware. I need a site that explains hardware (specially motherboards) from the ground up using technical terms. I need to know what a front side bus, . . . is. I don't want a site that has childish explanations and relates the CPU to the thinking center of the pc or something! (I'm not that dumb!) I know the basics (or what I consider to be the basics). If u know any site that might help me, plz tell me. Thnx in advance.

COME ON! HELP MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

What are the system requirements of windows XP pro? Can XP pro have two users be "on" at the same time? (have programs from 2 user profiles run at the same time)