Sampson

You should install .net on your computer anyway. Both ATI and Nvidia will be building their drivers to work with .net in the future. Several different kinds of applications require it now anyway. As to the card, given the fact that it is a PIII, is the motherboard a BX board? If so, it may be that your AGP slot cannot support 4X and might only emulate 2X at best. If that is the case, it is surprising that the board is running at all. They still make cards for the PCI slot to work with older motherboards and work just about as fast as some AGP cards.

http://support.dell.com/support/download...=WW1&osl=EN Try this. If it doesn't take you to the exact page, just use the support.dell.com and fill in the "blanks." If it is an nvidia card, you should be able to get it from the Nvidia Home page. If it is an ATI card, try to snag it from Dell first. If unsuccessful, then go to ATI's home page.

Alec, they're not down; they are overtaxed. Anti-vir is having to update not just the virus definitions but also the engines. Apparently, the I-Bagle or MyDoom variant that is out there inserts a registry key and runs a program that disables the Antivirus program you are running. Anti-vir's servers are pretty taxed since this is the second engine in so many days it is having to download.

A number of Nvidia specific forums are reporting that the 75.xx series of drivers are overheating their cards. Granted that most of these are talking about the 6600 and 6800 level cards, there is no reason to thing that the same is not happening to some FX cards. Try some of the "lower" or earlier drivers to see if the temperatures remain constant.

I don't believe Thunderbird does support Hotmail. I am not sure that any POP Mail utility does. There is a shareware program called Hotmail Popper that provides the transition: http://www.boolean.ca/hotpop/ However, unless you use Microsoft's paid subscription for Hotmail, I am not certain that this application works with the free Hotmail accounts.

You might consider using CacheSentry. It is free. It repairs improperly written cache entries and from it you can control the amount of space you alot to IE's browser. It will do all of the hard work in the background. It will also work with the index that tracks the numerous files. This is a much less radical solution than editing the registry.

The main reason most overclocks reach their limit is 1) keeping the CPU from overheating and 2) the amount of heat on both the memory and the "south" bridge. Since it seems that you are running the memory at the standard setting, my guess is that you need to first increase your cooling of the CPU. Consult HardOCP to see what they recommend as the best cooling solution. Since they like to overclock there, they have articles on memory that they find best for overclocking. Keep in mind that not all CPU's are created "equal." There are certain ones that seem more overclockable than others all things being equal. Chips are not made to a certain speed. In any given run there will be a number of speeds that the chip will be rated at. You may have a 2.4 and a 3.2 coming out on the same "conveyor" belt. Each is given its designation by the initial test that gives its "minimal" stability. For some chips this may mean some overhead in overclocking. In others, there will be very little room. Gigabyte does have a piece of software that will allow you to overclock by the way. It is your computer and you can do with it what you want. Running one that will increase the operating temperature will eventually catch up to you and decrease the life of your components.

Are you running an Nvidia video card on your machine? Did you recently upgrade the drivers? With some international language OS's fonts are not always represented correctly if you installed the Nvidia drivers for English only. The other problem could be heat. Either the CPU is not being cooled correctly or the memory is overheating.

I am not sure exactly why you want to have multiple instances of IE running. For each one brought up you are taxing the resources of your machine. What you are looking for is tabbed browsing which will allow you to have the ability to have multiple site pages to view within the same browser. At present IE6 will not do this. You can try Avant, Slimbrowser, or Crazy Browser which run on the back of IE. You can also do this using Firefox, Mozilla, and K-Meleon if you want to use the Gecko engine and avoid some of the security problems in IE. Finally, you can use Opera, but the free version does include some advertising nuisances. Clearly, Microsoft sees the oversight they made and IE7 will include tabbed browsing.

In general, when XP will not install correctly, it is because the hardware is not correctly recognized and the drivers selected for it fail. There are some motherboards that I have seen that have failed to install XP mainly because onboard "peripherals" were not recognized properly. But, for the most part, it is sound boards and video cards that are the culprits. In your case it could be the sound board. You call it an sb board, but it may be a board that emulates soundblaster. On the other hand, since it is a PIII board, the AGP slot may not be AGP 2.0 or higher and is a subset of 2X off of AGP 1.0. The MX400 is still able to use this spec while a newer card requiring AGP 2.0 will cause your machine to go south. If you are determined to make XP run on that machine, I would investigate which of those two possibilities is the problem. Find out if the sound card is really a soundblaster. If it isn't, it might be your problem. Since there is nothing that you can do about the AGP, (your motherboard book will tell you the AGP spec), you could install a PCI card like the FX5200 and not run AGP slot at all. Either way, this will cost you some time and money. Or, you can stay with W2K, which is really a good operating system anyway.

This article from Microsoft tells you how to remove it: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/154850 To block an Active X control: 1. From IE, choose "Tools" then "Internet Options". 2. When the "Internet Options" multi-tabbed dialog box appears, select the "Security" tab. 3. Click "Internet". 4. Click the "Custom Level" button. 5. When the "Custom Level" dialog box appears, disable all options underneath the heading "ActiveX Controls and Plug-ins". 6. Click "OK" to close the dialog box. While disabling ActiveX Controls provides a higher level of security, doing so may disable Flash and the usage of Windows Update. You can, though, put valid sites in a "Trusted Sites" zone. 1. From IE, choose "Tools" then "Internet Options". 2. When the "Internet Options" multi-tabbed dialog box appears, select the "Security" tab. 3. Click "Trusted Sites". 4. Click the "Sites" button. 5. From here, enter websites as appropriate that you feel are trustworthy. Click the "Add" button after adding each site. 6. Click "OK" to close the dialog boxes. Since you are using Firefox, Active X controls do not affect it, unless you have installed an Active X plugin.

Actually, IntraLaunch employs an ActiveX control and allows you to launch applications like Excel from within IE or from a webpage. I wouldn't call it spyware since it is used fairly widely though generally over a LAN. Having said that, wouldn't put it past some script kiddie to incorporate it as part of an attack. You might look more closely at your firewall and write a rule that would exclude its use in the future. You may have removed values from your registry, who's to say they won't reappear after your next boot. As Alex suggested, you might consider a different browser in the meantime also.

While your motherboard is probably getting long in the tooth and the processor is old, these are generally that last things to wear out. You can go to www.majorgeeks.com and browse through their diagnostic tools and system tools and find a temperature monitoring tool. Generally, though, as a rule of thumb two other components should be looked at first - memory and video cards. Heat and age usually degrade these before motherboards fail. At the same site you can diagnostic tools to run some tests on them.

Sometimes the values are incorrect in the registry. This is a technique to try before you reformat and reinstall. This technique has been used to restore "lost" CD/DVD drives; it may help with your problem. Follow these steps: Start Registry Editor. Locate the UpperFilters value under the following key in the registry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} On the Edit menu, click Delete, and then click OK. Locate the LowerFilters value under the same key in the registry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} On the Edit menu, click Delete, and then click OK. Then, scan for new hardware, everything should come back to normal. Remember that you should backup your registry before editing it or export these values to be reimported in case this doesn't help.

I had a Zenith/Heathkit CGA monitor do this. Because it was a Heathkit, it could be tested. It turned out to be a solder connection in the monitor. Actually, it was in the solder itself. Some kind of crystal was formed. Have you tried this monitor on another machine to see if something similar happens? If it does, it is the monitor. If it doesn't, it may be in the video card or possibly the cord connecting the monitor to the card.

The answer is, it depends. The components inside a laptop are packed together pretty tightly and the airflow is more constricted than a desktop. Therefore, they will run hot. If all the components were going full time 24/7, it wouldn't take too long for something to melt or crack from the heat. However, all the components don't run full time, and especially when idle, many things shutdown including the fans to cool the machine when the ambient internal temperature lowers. In other words, occassionally leaving it on for prolonged periods, will probably not harm it. But, after all, they are a laptop meant to be turned off and on even if they can be placed in suspend mode. Best to use them for the way they were designed - not to run them 24/7.

Where your problem will come in is with the latency. You can use CPU-Z or a utility like it to give you the latency or timing of the memory module you already have installed. Try to make the latencies match up. However, as inexpensive as memory has become, why don't you buy the size module that you want to install and save yourself some grief.

You asked Peterh whether AVG will run fine with ZoneAlarm and you stated that AVG has no controls for cookies, javascripts, and Active X. The name of the game is defense in depth. Don't ask any one piece of software to do it all. Most AV modules will not control cookies, javascripts or Active X. You can control these in brute fashion by going into your browser be it IE or Mozilla or Opera and toggling how you want them handled. Some firewalls will do this also for you but generally you will have to dig into them. EZFirewall is a good example. Specifically, AVG 7.0, the paid subscription version, will alert you to viruses and run Outlook Express through a proxy to scan incoming emails for viruses, worms, etc. But, back to the subject "defense in depth." If you are on a cable/dsl line, the best "firewall" is to install a router between your modem and your computer. Then, install your software firewall. ZoneAlarm is an excellent firewall, but given the number of pings you can get off of cable/dsl network from infected servers you can be driven to distraction constantly acknowledging the "Alert." A router just drops these before it ever hits the software firewall. Antivirus packages that are free are what they are - anti-virus. AVG, Anti-vir, and Avast have proven themselves to be as reliable as the pay version. But, they won't protect you from spyware or "spycookies". You can use PestPatrol and the subscription version of Ad-aware to actively intercept spyware. Most people seem to be content to use the free version of Ad-aware, Spybot Search and Destroy, HiJack this, BHODemon, and the list goes on to dig out spyware passively. While you can control cookies from your browser, Cookie Pal and Cookie Crusher provide a level of sophistication to allow you to see what cookie is being proferred and whether you want to allow some or all of them. Neither of these products is freeware. There are some sites that will not let you on unless you permit their cookies, these will help you better to know the kind of cookie a site wishes to place on your machine rather than the message "Such and such a site wishes to put a cookie on your machine Yes/No." Microsoft still loves its Active X. If you have Microsoft products, you will have to allow Active X modules to be put on your computer if you wish to "live update" things like Office. Most other non-IE browsers like Opera or the Gecko bunch don't use Active X though you can, in the Gecko bunch import an Active X component snap-in, which can leave you as susceptible as IE. The browser you use will be another choice. IE has the largest usage so the greatest number of exploits are aimed at it. As Firefox grows in popularity, it will become more susceptible. And, no matter how good a browser is, even Opera, it still has to work under the Microsoft operating system and use its inbuilt components, which are subject to attack. Download managers are also sometimes risky. Some have spyware built into them. If you use them, see if they will work with your Anti-virus protection to scan the software as it is downloading. Remember though that a downloaded file may not be virus laden, but it can contain spyware. Use a variety of pieces of software for the task for which they were designed. There is no "all in one" system that does everything. You can stonewall a computer pretty well, but you can't protect it from yourself if you are going to play with peer-to-peer downloading or risky adult-rated and gambling pages. Know the risk you are taking if you want to use your computer this way, however don't trust that you will go unscathed through these sites just because you have a lot of good software to protect you.

Since we are just expressing opinions, I will weigh in based upon my own limited experience about Norton's AV/Firewall. It is a very sophisticated piece of software. And, it has an enormous user base. In fact, its virus definitions are used as the basis of other software products. Personally, I have found that 1) Norton's tries to do too much, 2) it tends to meld rather than separate the firewall and the anti-virus (and many other functions in its Swiss Army Knife approach) and 3) it tries to control rather than cooperate with other apps (as in the past by substituting .dll's for Microsoft's). If you understand its in's and out's - install it properly, and you have plenty of memory and resources, it will do what it was designed for. But, being an approach that tends to combine features, a breakdown in security in one component opens them all. Like Peterh, I prefer to use a firewall different from the anti-virus. To his ZoneAlarm, I would add Sygate, Tiny and EZ (though it too wants you to use their AV).

If you must run IE, and since it is closing down mysteriously, you probably have a number of browser helper objects attached. Download BHODemon: http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=3550 and have it help you find and get rid of them. Start using a different browser - Opera, Firefox, Mozilla, or K-Meleon. Use IE only to update windows.

I am not going to tell you that it can't be done, but it will be a lot harder than you think. 1) Measure the motherboard and note where all the screws are attached. 2) Look at (but do not touch) the PSU and note its output. After you do this you will quickly understand the problem. Dell makes its motherboard not to fit in generic cases and the PSU has some very interesting voltages. I don't know why you want to put it into a new case. If you are having a heat problem, remove a panel to let more air in. If you are wanting to put it into a smaller case, don't even think about it. My advice, call Dell's support. Talk to someone about what you want to do and why. You may get passed around a bit because most of their support personnel simply can't give you an answer to a query like this. You may find a sympathetic support staffer eventually.

Look at this site: http://www.savagenews.com/ It specializes in Savage drivers and info. It does have info on a lot of other things, but it has a forum and driver availability.

You can try this: Follow these steps: Start Registry Editor. Locate the UpperFilters value under the following key in the registry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} On the Edit menu, click Delete, and then click OK. Locate the LowerFilters value under the same key in the registry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} On the Edit menu, click Delete, and then click OK. Then, scan for new hardware, everything should come back to normal. Remember that you should backup your registry before editing it or export these values to be reimported in case this doesn't help.

1) You cannot remove all of the components from IE in XP. IE is imbedded in the operating system inextricably. One company http://www.litepc.com/ has done a decent job in trying, but you can't get it all. If you want to reclaim some hard disk space, it might be worth a try, but when your computer has intermittant hiccups for no reason, you might ask yourself whose fault it is. 2) IE was a superb product in its day. It was built to be super useful and that's what makes it vulnerable. Microsoft has not kept pace by building a more competent browser so the best that can be done is to patch it or use a less vulnerable browser or an add-on browser that protects you from popups, phishing, and spoofing. 3) The ugly secret behind popups is not the browser but the user. Where you go on the net without taking precautions is irresponsible today. If you don't have anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewalls installed on your machine, don't blame the browser. 4) If you are going to do online gaming, file sharing with Kazaa and the like, you will get infected. If you are going to visit online casinos and adult rated sites, you are going to accumulate spyware and cookies that will not only track you but can make you susceptible to a variety of attacks. As has been pointed out by those who have responded, there are tools that can block popups, but if you are experiencing the things you are writing about, you will have to use Ad-aware, Spybot Search and Destroy, HiJack this, and variety of tools to dig the stuff out that are hidden not only in your cookies, your Temporary Files in IE but also in your Registry. You should look into using a different browser though all of them have vulnerabilities. I guess the best advice is that if you cannot rid your machine of the stuff that you have accumulated from the net, it is best to reformat and reinstall. That will take care of the technical/mechanical side. The bigger problem will be thinking about where you want to surf and what the consequences of surfing there will be. The net is not as nice as it used to be.

Another thing to look at is the state of the hard drive in your machine. It sounds like the install is timing out and then loses communication with your CD. Microsoft is peculiar on installs since it likes lots of contiguous memory. So, if your hard drive is still operational with Win98, you will want to delete all the *.tmp files you can. Delete all the *.bak files. Then, run chkdsk to get rid of any bad fat pointers. Then, you will want to defrag the hard drive. After this right click on My Computer, choose properties and look at your system devices to make sure there are no exclamation points or question marks. If there are, you can try removing them (if they involve none of your real peripherals) or you can reboot into safe mode, allow Windows to try to "reconfigure" their access. Sometimes, with these "upgrades" you are asked to have the machine boot from the CD. You need to change the booting order in BIOS.