Here I am!

[ballaratdragons]

G'day all!

My pooter BLEW UP!!!

Yep! I turned my pooter on last Sunday, and as I was walking back to the loungeroom to wait for it to boot up I heard a very, very loud BANG!

Of course I blamed the boys as they were mucking around in their bedroom. Then Cheryl screamed out " quick, look at all the smoke!" I turned around to see smoke pouring from the pooter. I raced over and turned the power point off.

The pooter fix-it-man couldn't get here till Thursday so I vanished from Cyberspace. When he came, he leant me this pooter to try for 2 weeks to see if I like it. It is a 1.2ghz with XP Professional. And Laurie, it has NERO Express.

Quite frankly, I can't find my way around in it and I can't find my email!!! :bashcomp: He has put my old Hard-drive in here so I can retrieve info from it but I still can't find my email?????

It is nothing like my Windows 98 and I am like a tourist in a strange country.

Any help on finding my email would be appreciated. Thanking you in advance!

p.s. I apologised to my boys for blaming them for the noise. :ashamed:

[Daring Dave]

Good to see you back Ken..

What email proggy were you using?? Outlook Express??

[ballaratdragons]

Hi Dave, nice to be back.

I was having withdrawal symptoms!!

Yes, I was using Outlook Express. I opened that one in this pooter and it is empty! I hope I haven't lost all my past emails as I haven't answered all of them and all the addresses are in there too.

HELP!!!!!

[[1ponders]]

'scuse me sir, but do we know you???? :lol:

Ah once you get used to that XP you'll be dying to get back to 98 :P Have you set up your email accounts for that computer? If you haven't and don't know how to then you might have to check your emails online. Your ISP should have a section on webmail so you can check your emails when your away from your computer. To access it, your username and password should be the same.

[[1ponders]]

BTW, :welcome: back Ken :)

[ballaratdragons]

Hardy Ha Ha!

Why? Is XP that bad?

No I haven't set up anything coz I don't know how!

If all else fails I will try emails online (???). Thanks Paul!

[Daring Dave]

The help you need might be here Ken
http://ask-leo.com/can_i_import_outlook_express_email_ into_another_instance_of_outlook_ex press.html

After setting up your email on the new pc (Name, password,server details etc ) you need to import your old mail from your hard drive....

See how you go.....I havent done it for years as I use Outlook and its just a single file .pst that you save somewhere.....

Good Luck

DD

[cahullian]

Never used outlook express ken always thought it was more trouble than its worth.
Good to see you back on the web though. Do yourself a favour and join up to hotmail or gmail even if your pooter blows up you will still have your emails easily accessed from any other pooter in the world.
Gazz

[xstream]

Welcome back mate!
I thought those horses had finally gassed you. :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[ballaratdragons]

Thanks guys!

Gazza, Most of my emails are for the Rugby League Club and District and they are set up by Sporting Pulse in Melbourne. It is a national Sport website, so I can't fiddle with it.

Dave, going to have a look at that site now!

[ballaratdragons]

John,

I felt like letting the horses gas me LOL!!!!

[Mick]

Welcome back Ken. :)

[Daring Dave]

Ken

PM sent

[Striker]

Welcome back Ken...XP is far more superior then windows 98

I agree with Cahullian...get a hotmail or yahoo account for your emails....its always their if you need it no matter what computer your on........their free.

here's the link Ken

http://join.msn.com/?page=hotmail/gbb&pgmarket=en-us&ST=1&xAPID=1983&DI=1402

[ballaratdragons]

Ok, here's what the website said to do:

I'll assume you're running OE 6. Hit File, Import, Messages, select Outlook Express 6 (or whatever version of Outlook Express you're importing from, and press Next. Now select Import mail from an OE6 store directory, and press OK. The next page of the import wizard will let you point to the directory containing the other OE's store. Once you've selected that, press Next

I did all that and it can't find anything!!??

[ballaratdragons]

Thanks Tony but it is out of my control. It is set up in Melbourne.

AND Cheryls ebay store is in there too and she is panicking!

[h0ughy]

Great to "see" your around Ken.

Sorry to hear about your 'pooter. Now may not be the time to say backing up your data is very important, SO I won't say it now :P
Since this is a borrowed computer you really can't set it up for you to do everything, however if the Nice Mr computer fixit man put your existing HDD in the machine you can now do a few things to rectify your problems.
1. backup all of the data on your old HDD.
2. get the computer fixit man to make your windows98 drive your main drive and boot to it, you will of course have to load a few device drivers and such being a new motherboard, but if you can doctor a picture you can handle this. Then you reboot and life should be sweet. Of course this doesn't happen in the real world. You'll swear, cuss and the nice young man will wish he could curl up and disappear.

Ken you should be able to use your old operating system in the new box. I have built many systems for people who cannot take to XP and stay with 98, mainly because they have old software that won't work in XP, some even still use 95. So ask him nicely! It will get you back to the blue screen of death that you miss so much :rofl: . You will also get back all ofthe services you have customised and setup on the old computer!

[[1ponders]]

Ken, do yourself a favour and ring your ISP help line and ask them to walk you through setting up your email accounts on Outlook express. Many here could walk your through but we'd need to know your POP server etc. Your help service can help you do it in about 2 minutes.

Nothing wrong with XP as an environment, it just that it takes too much memory to run all the background stuff. I'm not a computer geek by a long shot, but my old computer took forever when I loaded XP on it. If you've got the revs is fine.

[Daring Dave]

I can't believe I didn't think of that..... :scared3:

Thats the way to go Ken.

Of course when you get a new puter with XP on it you still have to import your mail...

[ving]

welcome back... now quick hack a picture... we are ahving withdrawls! :P

[ballaratdragons]

Thanks all.

Dave, I followed your link in PM and read my email. Thanks.

Houghy, you have now confused me even more! Plus, the fix-it man can only get out here on rare occasions as he is about an hour away. (that's a long way at 100kph).

Paul, I shall ring them tomorrow.

Thanks all for the help you have given.

I might have to keep checking the link Dave gave me for my emails every day coz in 2 weeks I won't have this pooter any more and whichever pooter I end up with I will only have to do it all again!

I hate pooters! Fun to do graphics on though.

[toetoe]

Welcome back Ken.
You hate pooters now, what are you going to be like when you have 2 of them :poke: one for you and one for the kids. :D :D

[ballaratdragons]

I can't David, I don't know how on this thing :(

Looks like you are all safe for a couple of weeks.




But I will learn :wink2:

p.s. everything is so slow on this XP!

[h0ughy]

sorry Ken, confusing you is the last thing I would want to do!

I didn't realise that you were't part of australia;-) So it really takes an hour to get to kenville!

[ballaratdragons]

Hey Peter,

My daughter has a pooter and she thinks I am an expert coz I keep fixing hers. Yet I can't fix my own. Go figure :confused:

[ballaratdragons]

Yeah Houghy, I am way out bush west of Ballarat and he is way out bush East of Ballarat and he is very busy. And I ain't getting a new fix-it man. He hasn't charged me a cent! I offered and he didn't want it!!!! Not even the petrol money! He is also fixing our stuffed Microwave Oven for $20.

[toetoe]

For the novice computer user they can be buggers of things. :bashcomp:

[Daring Dave]

XP is only slow as you have a slow machine there Ken...On something a little more modern XP flies along...

[toetoe]

I can see it now, a pooter flying out of Snake Valley. :bashcomp:

[ballaratdragons]

Yeah, instead of getting him to fix my old dinosaur I am going to ask him to build me a good FAST system. If XP is recommended by enough of you over windows 98 I will get him to build a pooter around XP.

I am tired of using junk!

[ballaratdragons]

:( :( What a great opening for a terrific graphic and I can't figure out how to do it with this thing yet!!!

It's like salt in an open wound!!!!

[toetoe]

Just remember your the boss Ken, don't let the pc beat you. :)

[h0ughy]

Ken

with the mouse select start

then select All Programs

then select accessories

then select Paint

[Daring Dave]

Im fairly sure W98 is no longer supported by Microshaft...IE security upgrades etc.... Security updates are pretty important if the pc is on the internet...

In time you will get used to XP...Its different...but not that much....

[h0ughy]

did i just do something very bad :scared3: . Ken has been very quite since I showed him where the paint pot was!!!!!!! :D

[ballaratdragons]

Houghy, I'm not quiet. Iv'e been reading your PM and trying to understand it. and yes you did something BAD!!!! hehehehe!

Also, w98 isn't supported any more!

[Striker]

Correct Microsoft has not supported windows 98 for a couple of years now....get with the times...lol..go XP

[h0ughy]

Quite correct, 98 isn't officially supported, however there are patches and other tweaks that are available and Microsoft does support the software that runs in 98. leagally they couldn't completely drop the support, it is still there, just not advertised.

But do yourself a favour and go with XP. i only mentioned 98 to get ken up and running ASAP, he already has it loaded on his old HDD.

[ballaratdragons]

After all the PM's and suggestions in here let me see if I have this right.

What I need to get built is:

2.4ghz Pentium 4 or 2400XP Athlon
200 gig Hard Drive
512MB memory
A Motherboard with a Graphics card on board
Windows XP Professional

Is that right?

What about the thing you all call RAM? I think someone suggested 40MB of Ram once before.(???)

[RAJAH235]

Hi Ken, WELCOME BACK. :clap: Sorry to read about the comp. blowing up. The question of RAM is already answered in the list you posted. The 512 meg is the RAM. IMHO, you only need around a 40 or 80 gig Hard Drive. You'll never use 200 gig. If you're going to go BIG, then get 1 gig of RAM.
The best browser & eMail progs. IMO, are Firefox & Thunderbird.(www.mozilla.org) FREE. Team them with Mailwasher,(the Pro version you pay about $30.00 for), ((this allows you to read & deal with your mail at the server without D/L'ing it)), & don't use IE or OE, too many holes. You just import all your addy's to Thunderbird once it's set up. Do contact your provider to set up your eMail tho.as noted by Paul.
Post if you have probs. Somebody will walk you thru.
Get a 3D graphics card & XP Home edition is O.K. Bit cheaper.
HTH. Regards, L.
ps. Anyone got SP2 on disc for Ken????? Might save him around 6 hrs of D/L'ing.
pps. Sygate personal Firewall is a must have as well, Ken. Don't rely on the windows F/Wall.

[ballaratdragons]

Laurie,

I don't understand a word you just said! Sorry.

The only bit I did understand was "XP Home edition is O.K. Bit cheaper." All the rest went way WAY over my head.

Foxes and Thunderbirds and D/lings, IE's & OE's, SP2's, Sygate, F/wall, mailwash. ????

I am unable to change my email accounts as they are linked in with 'SportingPulse' which is a national Website company for sporting clubs and my email addresses are also printed on everything: business cards, letterheads, other websites etc, etc. and they are from my Internet Provider.

Love the cartoon though! Very talented aren't you!! A picture tells a thousand words and you captured it!


How does this sound
2.4ghz Pentium 4
40 gig Hard Drive
512MB memory
A Motherboard with a Graphics card on board
Windows XP Home

Is that better?


Dragons got beaten by Parramatta!! Not Good! What else can go wrong?

[RAJAH235]

Yep. Much betterer. :thumbsup:
Firefox is a browser like Internet explorer. Thunderbird is an email prog. like Outlook express. They are just safer & better. Mailwasher/Pro is a prog that enables you to 'wash' your mail at the server if nec, before 'D'own 'L'oading it to your computer. The server has better/more expensive spam/virus,filters than you/I do.
The rest can wait till you get your new comp. up & running.
HTH. Regards, L.

[ballaratdragons]

Oh, Ok.

Can I still stay with the same internet provider to do all this and keep my same email addresses if I change to a Firefox and a Thunderbird and Mailwash/Pro? I currently use AVG for viruses and email checking.

p.s. The list in the previous post PLUS a burner! (of some sort)

[RAJAH235]

The programs/applications that you have on your comp. have no bearing on your provider. You keep the same one. You just open the prog in the same way,(2x click), & use it the same as always. It just works better & safer. Mailwasher comes in 2 versions, free & bought. The bought version is the Pro. More features = better.
When you, can I say D/L now?, Thunderbird, (email), you run it as normal. Goto >address book>tools>import. You can bring all your info/addys etc from OE into Thunderbird. Make/sort your new folders etc etc.
You'll have to have all your server info to set it up tho. This is done thru>local folders>view settings. This is where your info goes.
HTH. L.
ps. A DVD burner is the way to go. It does both CD & DVD.

[ving]

thats about whatr I bought ken and it works fine for me. I have upgraded a few things but for general use this would be fine. :)

[Kieken]

Must see something astronomicaly from ballaratdragons before I ...
Help my little chicken (kieken ((flemish) = chicken (english) =kip(dutch)).




Anyway, I've never used Win98 before, soo can't really help you. Sorry 'bout that.

[acropolite]

Welcome back Ken, hOughy is spot on with the advice on your old HDD. Most 98 installs will run when the HDD is placed in a new machine, you just need to reload some of the drivers etc. Don't know what has happened with your old machine but usually when they go bang and smoke pours out it's just the power supply. I've seen literally dozens go and never a problem with any of the other hardware. Replacement of the power supply usually brings them back to life. Recovery of your old data isn't rocket science but it can be time consuming, so your computer guy may not be all that keen to resurrect your email, despite the fact that it's relatively simple to do so. It can take over a day's work to get an XP machine looking and running exactly as your old 98 installation was, particularly if you have old versions of applications that you want to work. If you can get the old HDD to boot you can simply drag and drop the emails to a folder and put them back into the new email client the same way. Similarly once you boot the old HDD you can get the email settings from the Tools Accounts menu in OE. If the old HDD is connected on the secondary controller as a master, getting the old HDD to boot on the new machine may be as simple as changing the boot order in the bios. XP isn't all that different to 98 it's just got a different coat of paint and some extra bells and whistles. There are simply too many variables to give you any simple fixes. I suggest you seek out an IIS member with some experience and do some work over the phone. :bashcomp:

[acropolite]

If you're buying another machine, you don't need to spend a fortune. If your not playing processor intensive games a Celeron CPU is fine, I have an all in one motherboard made by MSI, it's rock solid and has onboard Intel extreme graphics (with OpenGL) which handles starry night pro (fast) with no problems. That M/B cost under $100. As far as HDD's are concerned you probably can't buy anything less than 120Gb, the last 120 I bought had 8Mb cache and was $75+GST. 1G of Ram will only set you back an additional $75 over 512Mb. I paid $65+GST for a DVD burner. In a nutshell you should be able to build a reasonable box for under $700 and you can add around $140 for XP home. Pro has no advantages for the average user, and isn't really any more powerful, just a little more sophisticated and secure in a networked enviroment.

[ballaratdragons]

Thanks Phil.

It will take me a while to translate and absorb what you just said but I'm getting there.

I did a lot of looking around on the net and it appears that 512MB memory is twice the price of 256MB and not as popular.

So I think I will go for 256MB memory to keep the cost down. Yes, No?

[acropolite]

Ken 512Mb of Ram should cost you not much more than $75.00. It costs twice as much because it's double the size. If you like to fiddle with graphics the more memory the better. Is it really worth saving $35......BTW XP loves RAM; the more the better.

[ballaratdragons]

Ok. I get it. So 512MB is the way to go then.

It was the power supply that blew. Parts of the capacitor that exploded were rattling around so I shook them out.

Mr. fix-it said about $25 for a new power supply.

[acropolite]

If you can resurrect your old box, with a $25 Power supply, it would make your job of transferring and setup of your email and files a lot easier. Then you could hand the old machine down to the Kids..:D

[ballaratdragons]

Yes Phil,

That is the plan. Mr Fix-it-man still has to find out the original problem of it crashing every 10 minutes or so, and put in a new power supply. I will then transfer anything I need to the new pooter.

Then my daughter will get the old one and my boys will get hers!

[ballaratdragons]

:confused:

[toetoe]

With all these pooters at your place, you will be an expert in no time :poke: :bashcomp: good onya
ken.. :D

[ballaratdragons]

What type of Burner should I get. There are different ones aren't there? and is Nero a program I need to run it?

[toetoe]

Nero normaly comes with the burner as part of the package.

[fringe_dweller]

WB BD! :)
Kearn

[ballaratdragons]

? :confused:

What's a WB Kearn?

[Daring Dave]

WB=Welcome Back !

Ken

I'd recommend a pioneer 109 burner... About $80 bucks.. Ive burnt over 400 DVD's with my 107 and 109 burners without an issue.. Im sure most of the other ones are just as good...I believe the Sony models are OK too...

The main thing I have found is to avoid using the cheapest DVD blanks you can buy...(Princo) and others. I personally only use Ritek G05 . Not the most expensive but at around $23 for 50 blanks.

It works for me..

[ballaratdragons]

:doh: I knew that. Honest, I did. Really! :ashamed:

[acropolite]

Ken most if not all of the DVD burners are OK, I have used ASUS, Pioneer and LG and all have been reliable. Make sure what ever you get does double layer and +R,-R,+RW and -RW formats. ATM dual layer media (blank disks) is expensive but will eventually drop in price. Single layer blank media is cheap as chips. If you have any choice get a drive bundled with Nero software as it's useful if you use DVD shrink (which is a free DVD copy tool). DVD shrink uses the nero engine to burn.

[ballaratdragons]

If I went to a pooter shop and bought all the things on my list as parts, would I be able to build the pooter myself?

And would it be cheaper?

[Daring Dave]

I wouldn't bother assembling it yourself Ken....Especially on your own... Most shops charge a nominal fee to do it....

I usually get new machines assembled initially but I add to them myself from time to time...

I always install the operating systems... Thats another thing ...You need to aquire a copy of Windows XP too..... $220 for the pro version is the best price Iv'e seen.

[ballaratdragons]

Ok Dave,

I will get my Mr. Fix-it-man to assemble it. That's what he does. He builds pooters to order. I was just wondering if it was worth doing it myself.

I will probably get XP Home as it is cheaper.

[RAJAH235]

Ken, That's all you need. XP Home edition @ about $130.00.
One thing to remember, get ALL the original program disks. :D L.

[Daring Dave]

Ebay Store??? Whats Cheryl selling?????

[acropolite]

Ken, a monkey could build a P.C. once shown, and putting it together and loading the OS would be valuable experience.

[h0ughy]

Hey, us primates need the "kens" of this world to survive :rofl: :stupid:

[ballaratdragons]

(insert monkey noise) Don't confuse me. One says don't build it, another says build it.

Sheesh!

[ballaratdragons]

How about this unit?

http://www.tpg.com.au/images/banner_notebook.gif

[h0ughy]

:2thumbs: not a bad option there ken for you. :scared3: you could even add goto gizmos galore to your little dobbie and be a real buzz clicker :rofl:.

its small, portable and will handle photshop very well. Also have a look at the dell and acer ones.

[ballaratdragons]

Thanks Mr. Houghfengergenhoffer,

Mr. Fix-it told me to avoid Acer. Something about you can only use Acer stuff in them or something like that???? I'll have a look at their websites if I can find them.

[h0ughy]

yes true with some products for sale!! Dell is ok, butthe tpg one is not bad value for money Ken!

I can't pronounce my name now! :rofl:

[ballaratdragons]

Fritz, (short for Houghfengergenhoffer)

I'll go find the Dell site.

p.s. Hope these units have dial-up capability???

[ballaratdragons]

Went to Dell . com . au and the closest they have is a desktop for $1395 and it's only 256MB Ram. (getting used to some of the lingo).

Makes the TPG Laptop seem very cheap and it's a 512MB Ram.

By the way, what's a WIFI PDCIA or whatever it's called?

[h0ughy]

way to go Ken! I knew some Special High Intensity Training would rub off on you after a while :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

You know your old General Manager of Ballarat Council is our General Manager! :D

[ballaratdragons]

What's his name?

Here is the site for that Laptop:

http://www.tpg.com.au/online/amd_notebook.php?type=amd&TPGSESS=b48ef0148e65bacc5b4dd0ea6e6 31fea

[h0ughy]

Her name was/is Janet Dore!

[ballaratdragons]

Never heard of her. Must be a fake! :D

What is a WIFI CIA thing on the pooter.

[ballaratdragons]

Hey Laurie,

I got it. Posts to go till I get to 2000! Coooool!!!

[h0ughy]

you will never use it in anger Ken! it is for networking

[ballaratdragons]

I don't do that! (Whatever it is).

Laurie has pointed out to me that I am rapidly approaching 2000 posts. Gee I'm a chatterbox!!!

[ballaratdragons]

Mr. Fritz Hoffmeisterhoffermueller.

So, after looking at the link I gave with the technical Specs do you think it is a good bargain? and a good pooter?

[h0ughy]

not too bad

[ballaratdragons]

Gee, that fills me with confidence! :rofl:

[asimov]

They tell me on the grape-vine U receive a free nagler with every 500 post's!....Did U sell the other 3 or what? :jump: (not true noobs!)

[h0ughy]

I think if you go to http://www.whirlpool.net.au/ and search for a forum on these units. You will get the picture very quickly. :2thumbs:

[h0ughy]

try this one too Ken

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-search.cfm?s=9023&r=6351106 :2thumbs:

[ballaratdragons]

Houghy,

There were no search results for AMD Athlon 64.

Thanks anyway.

[h0ughy]

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=369896

try this one Ken. Also get some glasses LOL

[ballaratdragons]

Houghy,

Iv'e got glasses!!!!! but they are for long distance, not looking at the pooter.

I checked that link you just gave and it told the bloke to go to TPG Laptops. I did and I still can't find anything on Athlons. Probably coz I got a migraine and not taking a lot in.

I will go back in when I am feeling better. Should go to bed and let this migraine go away.

[h0ughy]

has tony given you a headache?