Geek stuff, computer misc

1. Has anyone any experience comments on the newish Microsoft Security Essentials? It's getting good reviews. I have been using AVG for years, but the new version (2011) caused some serious froze-the-whole-system problems so I finally got it uninstalled and am back to AVG 9. Please don't suggest Norton: I believe it's a resource hog and I won't use it.

2. Does anyone know if it's possible to run both OFFICE 2003 and 2010 at the same time? We haven't upgraded yet. Well, we did but the function of 2003 in Excel is such that it changed how all our engineering charts display and it was a disaster, so we had to change back**. (many engineering companies had this problem) We've been using a document converter for the .docx files, but it's getting to the point where other than the excel issue, we should really upgrade. But, we'd like to be able to keep Excel as 2003.


**note on the excel upgrade. All the colors and tools for making charts were changed so that all the graphs and what not ( years and years worth) displayed different and/or inaccurately from the original input. The previous options were eliminated. MS told us Excel had been "improved" and there was no way to get the old tools back. We would have had to manualy re-do thousands of files to fix them to appear correctly, so we just reverted to 2003 and have stayed there.

ideas anyone?

I have office 2003 & 2010 installed on my mini - the only problem is sometimes when you're opening a document from a directory or whatever, it opens in the wrong version (and if I went into the control panel and changed the file extension linkages, I could fix that) - I just generally open the version of word or excel I want to be in, and then just open the documents through that.

I used AVG for a long time without any issues, but when I had my computer repaired (non-virus thing), the computer guy put Avast on. He says he runs it on all his computers and recommends it to his customers. He says its the best out there. It's also free.

I have newer Excel but often have to "save down" to share documents with clients who have 2007. I've experienced no problems doing that.

YMMV.

I run Microsoft Security Essentials and have had no problems with it at all, most of the time I don't even notice it's there.

AVG has been a solid product for a very long time, but they really sc***ed up everyone with a 64-bit machine this past week with an update. Thankfully I changed to Avast about a year ago. I was getting ready to go back to AVG but after this week I will not do that as I have a 64-bit machine.

There isn't any problem with running multiple versions of Office on a Windows machine, can't speak for Macs. Just be aware that if you decide to uninstall one of them then it might cause issues with the other - or not - I've seen both outcomes. Many of the people I know at work have both versions of Excel for the very same reason you mention.

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Originally Posted by Catrin

AVG has been a solid product for a very long time, but they really sc***ed up everyone with a 64-bit machine this past week with an update. Thankfully I changed to Avast about a year ago. I was getting ready to go back to AVG but after this week I will not do that as I have a 64-bit machine.

There isn't any problem with running multiple versions of Office on a Windows machine, can't speak for Macs. Just be aware that if you decide to uninstall one of them then it might cause issues with the other - or not - I've seen both outcomes. Many of the people I know at work have both versions of Excel for the very same reason you mention.

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Thanks Catrin. Maybe I'll just ask the geek child ( my elec. eng/comp sci kid) to help us set that up when he comes home for xmas.

Catrin, what's the issue with the new version of AVG? I'm pretty sure my Windows "partition" running under Parallels is 64-bit, since the host computer is? I downloaded it whenever they released it and haven't had any trouble yet, but I basically use Windows only for SportTracks and nothing else.

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

Catrin, what's the issue with the new version of AVG? I'm pretty sure my Windows "partition" running under Parallels is 64-bit, since the host computer is? I downloaded it whenever they released it and haven't had any trouble yet, but I basically use Windows only for SportTracks and nothing else.

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You lucked out since you don't have a Windows 7 machine, you can find more information here, and here.

Basically they released an update for AVG that made Windows totally unusable on a Windows 7 64-bit machine. I know 6-7 people personally this happened to and heard of others. They had no choice but to reformat their hard-drive and to reinstall everything as the fix suggested by AVG did not work for them. AVG did remove that update version and took care of it, but the damage was already done.

Everyone makes mistakes, but after THAT size of a mistake I won't be risking their product again - sadly. I like the interface much better than Avast...

Before I installed the update I did some googling on it and it appeared there was an issue that may or may not have been resolved, so I knew I was taking a chance when I installed it. I didn't have a full crash thank you but there were definitely problems.

How do I tell if my machine is 64 bit or not? It's a custom build that the geek child did for me a few years ago.

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Originally Posted by Irulan

Before I installed the update I did some googling on it and it appeared there was an issue that may or may not have been resolved, so I knew I was taking a chance when I installed it. I didn't have a full crash thank you but there were definitely problems.

How do I tell if my machine is 64 bit or not? It's a custom build that the geek child did for me a few years ago.

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They haven't been common for all that long - but if you go to your start menu/control panel/system it will tell you if you have a 64-bit operating system or a 32. Also apparently Windows 7 was more susceptible than others - and I doubt that problem update was out there all that long before this was discovered and dealt with.

Sheesh....makes me glad that I've been dragging my feet on installing my Vista-to-7 upgrade!! I am running AVG 2011....

That's scary stuff!

Windows 7 is great, I like it much better than Vista. AVG should have checked their installation on 64-bit machines more thoroughly. At one time they were not very common, but more and more PC manufacturers are selling a larger percentage of 64-bit operating systems and some ONLY sell 64-bit....

I suspect that AVG will not make that mistake again as this will hurt their reputation for at least a time.

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Originally Posted by Irulan

Thanks Catrin. Maybe I'll just ask the geek child ( my elec. eng/comp sci kid) to help us set that up when he comes home for xmas.

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Could you ask your Geek demi-god son on how to fix my mistake.

My partner's laptop PC has only 40G drive and we upped it to 160G. XP was pre-installed on the 40G so I had to create an XP install disk with service pack 2 (SP2) off the pre installed XP on the 40G, which I did. The disk is burned as a ISO disk, which you must if the disk is to become an install disk.

I loaded XP onto the 160G, typed in the appropriate product key code and it more or less installed. I also managed to get rid of all the junk it comes with, things like IE, AOL,...And we upped the RAM to 1.5G from mere 250K

Spend some extra time to load up the LAN driver, Modem not that we need it, fixed up the video, PCI driver etc. Loaded up with Firefox, Photoshop element, Quicktime, iTune, Acrobat Reader, open office, Flash...

Two things are still not working right.

No sound. Hardware is still there. SigmaTel drivers are there but it can't see the hardware. Control panel says huh? to sound. I may have to uninstall and do a fresh install. This normally fixes things.

The second one is something I've never seen before. sometimes, the message appears in Russian? but most of the time its in American English. As an example, I go into the control panel and click on the system, most options are in English, system, settings, but hardware option is in Russian. This is just bizarre. Regional language is set to American English.

Will your son have any clue?

As for AVG, I prefer running Linux for just this reason. I can import and export pdf files, word docs, excel, powerpoint, from open office and its a FREEBIE!!! What more do you want?? Open office allows me to create pdf files too. Oh I also run Adobe photoshop elements, Quicktime, and I tune on my Linux box.

I love my penguin!! Such a cutie!! My partner refused to budge from XP, windows 98, dos 3.3.

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Originally Posted by Catrin

They haven't been common for all that long - but if you go to your start menu/control panel/system it will tell you if you have a 64-bit operating system or a 32. Also apparently Windows 7 was more susceptible than others - and I doubt that problem update was out there all that long before this was discovered and dealt with.

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Athalon 64x2 Dual.... is that it?
Still running XP w/no issues

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Originally Posted by smilingcat

Will your son have any clue?

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Smilingcat, I have to beg my son to help and he'll only do it after I've done this...

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Originally Posted by Irulan

Athalon 64x2 Dual.... is that it?
Still running XP w/no issues

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It sounds like you do indeed have 64-bit processors - cool ---- but you still may have a 32-bit operating system. XP did come in a 64-bit option (I think it was the Professional version) and there should be something on your system display that says which version of the operating system you have. What information does it provide for your operating system when you go to the start menu/control panel/operating system?

My display has a line for operating system type - and this is where it says that I have a 64-bit OS, but XP may display that differently - it's been a long time since I've worked with XP.

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Originally Posted by Catrin

It sounds like you do indeed have 64-bit processors - cool ---- but you still may have a 32-bit operating system. XP did come in a 64-bit option (I think it was the Professional version) and there should be something on your system display that says which version of the operating system you have. What information does it provide for your operating system when you go to the start menu/control panel/operating system?

My display has a line for operating system type - and this is where it says that I have a 64-bit OS, but XP may display that differently - it's been a long time since I've worked with XP.

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I am still using XP home so I bet it's not the 64 bit. The geek child does like to build me nice systems... too bad he moved 2000 miles away. :(

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Originally Posted by irulan

smilingcat, i have to beg my son to help and he'll only do it after i've done this...

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i love this.

The flow chart is very funny. I loved it. Something every computer/electrical engineering geek would love.

I talked to some wizards about the Russian text and they told me that the registry is messed up somewhere. hmmm.... Well I could live with it. And my partner doesn't have to deal with control panel, system settings, so she wouldn't see it and don't care.

Soo just one problem. The speakers/sound.

Oh she's liking the quickness of the laptop. Noticeably faster without all that bloated junk and going from 250Meg memory to 1.5G. Everybody is a happy camper for now.

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Originally Posted by smilingcat

The flow chart is very funny. I loved it. Something every computer/electrical engineering geek would love.

I talked to some wizards about the Russian text and they told me that the registry is messed up somewhere. hmmm.... Well I could live with it. And my partner doesn't have to deal with control panel, system settings, so she wouldn't see it and don't care.

So just one problem. The speakers/sound.

Oh she's liking the quickness of the laptop. Noticeably faster without all that bloated junk and going from 250Meg memory to 1.5G. Everybody is a happy camper for now.

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Of course it is your choice whether to fix the registry problem - which would likely require a clean installation of Windows to be safe - but you might want to consider that at some point. You don't know what else might be wrong in the registry and that would have me uncomfortable. Of course your wizards likely have more experience than I and if they are not concerned then don't worry about it.

Have you uninstalled/reinstalled the drivers for your speakers/audio card?

I ran Linux for a few years, but my work requires that I have Windows and as I spend more and more time on the computer for my job, I find myself less inclined to play with different operating systems outside of work. All that being said, I have found Windows 7 to be just as fast on my computer at home as any Linux installation or other operating system. Imagine my surprise when I realized that! Of course, my computer at home is more robust than any computer I've ever worked with (so I can take home traffic microsimulation work) and that has a lot to do with it.

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Originally Posted by smilingcat

The flow chart is very funny. I loved it. Something every computer/electrical engineering geek would love.

I talked to some wizards about the Russian text and they told me that the registry is messed up somewhere. hmmm.... Well I could live with it. And my partner doesn't have to deal with control panel, system settings, so she wouldn't see it and don't care.

Soo just one problem. The speakers/sound.

Oh she's liking the quickness of the laptop. Noticeably faster without all that bloated junk and going from 250Meg memory to 1.5G. Everybody is a happy camper for now.

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Were you using a legit copy of windows? There are some hacked versions out there that have different languages for the hacked parts.

Did you go to the manufacturers website and download the new drivers for the sound card? Delete/uninstall the drivers you have and reboot to let the computer detect new hardware?

I'd say you'd be better off with a fresh install to work out the quirks, but if your partner isn't going to mind?

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Originally Posted by Cataboo

Were you using a legit copy of windows? There are some hacked versions out there that have different languages for the hacked parts.

Did you go to the manufacturers website and download the new drivers for the sound card? Delete/uninstall the drivers you have and reboot to let the computer detect new hardware?

I'd say you'd be better off with a fresh install to work out the quirks, but if your partner isn't going to mind?

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Well, the install disk was created from the installed XP on my partner's laptop.And on the laptop, there is a bonafide MS sticker with the product key. It is a genuine MS XP. Laptop is from Dell.

And yes, you can create an install disk from pre-installed XP on a machine provided... that certain directories and files are there. This disk is burnt as a ISO disk, quite different than a usual disks. Also very different than a recovery disk. Not the same.

I don't want to do a fresh re-install. :D

The registry problem occurs in very obscure place and it has to do with authorization level. Sort of like you have admin rights versus user rights...

Oh, and service pack 2 is no longer supported by MS. However, service pack 3 (SP3) is out. I think you can just run the install of SP3 into your XP SP2.

So we are being legit here even though I have talked about Hackintosh and jail breaking of cell phones, droids and such. It just isn't worth my time to do so. (translated. I don't know how :p)

Open Office FTW!!! I haven't looked back since installing it, screw MS and their changing file extensions to sell crap/inconvenience you. I'm a card carrying open source nerd girl and OO rocks my socks!

www.openoffice.org

My friends who use OpenOffice love it. I wanted to stay with 2003 as long as possible, but my computer's little "event" back in October put an end to that. I actually thought about getting OpenOffice, but since I still had an available download of Office from the software center (and some of the graphing software I need apparently doesn't like OpenOffice's spreadsheet thing), I went that route and am now using 2010. It's okay. I like this version of Word better than I did 2007, and the review options are easier to find.

I have heard decent things about Office 2010. I have tried Open Office over the years, several times. While I generally do like open source software I kept running across those elements in the suite that didn't work so well. I gave up on it. I will probably try it again at some point, but probably not while I am still in my current job.

I have to confess.

MICROSOFT BRINGS THE WORST OUT OF ME!! AND NOT ITS NOT ABOUT EXORCISM!!

AND ITS NOT ABOUT LOVE HATE RELATIONSHIP! PLAIN HATE HATE RELATIONSHIP!! DESPISE DOESN'T BEGIN TO DESCRIBE!!

EXCELL 2007 piece of garbage. Spend all day at the office trying to do a simple graph and it kept on freezing up on a brand new machine. okay so the number of data points were around 30,000. I was so ready to RAM THAT COMPUTER THROUGH THE WALL!!

LINUX and Open Office :D :D now that's better. :D :D OO I used it back when it was OO 1.0.x now they are up to 3.3.0 I tried the latest stable release and it is so good!! Haven't downloaded the 3.3.0 release candidate 7...

I just needed to vent.

As for virus protection AVG is free but not that great. It's like putting a band aid on a big hole in a dike (microsoft os).

just my personal opinion.

Get a Mac or Hackintosh and be done with it!! or go with Ubuntu, Suse, Mandriva, Slackware Linux. And if you want a small foot print to boot off a USB stick, get Puppy Linux, yes that is what it is called.

Thank you for letting me vent about MS windows 7 and excel garbage.

Next time I post a windows related question, I am just going to state up front, "mac lovers go away". Yes, I know all about the "lack of issues". I don't like using them. I can't find anything on a mac system. it is counter intuitive to me. I don't want to relearn a whole new way to do it. Plus, the industry we work in uses mostly Windows. I rarely have "real" problems with windows, and I've fielded enough "help me with my Mac" phone calls from my mother to know macs aren't perfect, and nothing is. Maybe back in 1995 when the BSOD was fairly common Macs were vastly superior, but I don't buy it, not now. On top of it Apple has way too much proprietary stuff, don't EVEN get me going on that....hate iTunes...

back to our regularly scheduled discussion now.