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Strange Things Your Computer Has Done

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Strange Things Your Computer Has Done

Unread postby Schadenfreude » Fri 04 Apr 2008, 00:23:33

I decided to do a clean install of XP using Professional instead of Home Edition a couple of weeks ago. I got all the necessary drivers updated and everything went fine.

But now I've noticed that the little favicons on my Links bar get jumbled up and sometimes get replaced by icons I've never seen before. Strange. Never seen THAT happen before. For example, a big red 'F' replaced the little 'PO' icon used for this site.

So I downloaded this piece of freeware called FavOrg, which supposedly helps you manage your favicons (hehe... no shit).
And this program will correct the problem by extracting the proper icon from each website... But order seems to return only for a little while, and then I notice that the little icons begin changing places, the occasional stranger making an appearance too. Unfortunately, FavOrg doesn't seem to be able to retrieve the little PO favicon.

Favicons have the extension .ico and the main folder that IE uses to store favicons is the 'Favorites' folder or the Temporary Internet Folder. But, apparently, little icons can be stored in a whole bunch of other folders in application folders and in Windows System folders and its a bit of chase to hunt them all down. So it's hard to see what in the hell's going on wit them.

What could possibly be causing my little links bar icons to be getting all jumbled up and attaching themselves to the wrong links?

Nevermind... I don't expect to find a solution. I just thought it might be amusing to hear about other people's computer glitches. Does your computer do strange things?
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Re: Strange Things Your Computer Has Done

Unread postby catbox » Fri 04 Apr 2008, 00:30:34

To be honest, no strange happenings with my machines...they keep humming along. I won't go into what I am using, but they never seem to give me hassles.

The machine at work is different than what I have always used at home....it does stuff out of the blue....pops up help menus, aks me if I want this or that, just plain stops working, shuts down and asks me to press some buttons to make it all better....that sucks!

Oh, it's interesting that we all work on a certain type of computer because our employer refuses to look at anything else, but we all have the other "type" at home!
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Re: Strange Things Your Computer Has Done

Unread postby jboogy » Fri 04 Apr 2008, 00:41:57

Every once in a while a robot voice says," check this out" and sometimes I hear like a loud slobbery ex-hale sound. I think it's stuff either Neopo or Aaron planted just to mess with me. Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean there aren't people messing with me.
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Re: Strange Things Your Computer Has Done

Unread postby AirlinePilot » Fri 04 Apr 2008, 02:28:20

Schade,

Do yourself a huge favor and download Mozilla Firefox. Its a better browser and while not immune, even my teenage children haven't dicked it up yet with all the crap they do. Its just not attacked by malware/spyware as much as IE....yet.
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Re: Strange Things Your Computer Has Done

Unread postby Grifter » Fri 04 Apr 2008, 05:21:06

At work, one brand of computers suffer from an ntlldr.dll is missing from time to time which is annoying. The other brande of pc's NEVER have this problem.

The strange thing is, the hard drives are made by the same manufacturers in either brand of pc. Same operating systems too.
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Re: Strange Things Your Computer Has Done

Unread postby MD » Fri 04 Apr 2008, 05:35:36

Until the day we finally settle into non-volatile operating systems, you will have "strange things". Personally I've given up waiting because it's obvious that MS is addicted to their maelstrom and can't give it up.
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Re: Strange Things Your Computer Has Done

Unread postby Kingcoal » Fri 04 Apr 2008, 08:25:36

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('AirlinePilot', 'S')chade,

Do yourself a huge favor and download Mozilla Firefox. Its a better browser and while not immune, even my teenage children haven't dicked it up yet with all the crap they do. Its just not attacked by malware/spyware as much as IE....yet.


Here here, long live Mozilla! One other big reason to use Firefox other than it being free and better is that it has a built in spell checker! Looking at the spelling in some of the posts, this is reason enough.

Regarding your problem Schadenfreude, it sounds like you have malicious code on your hard disk, possibly a virus, worm, etc. Run a virus check. Microsoft software is notoriously vulnerable to attack for several technical reasons I won't go into. Of course if you want to rid yourself of the problem of attacks, install Linux. You can dual boot either operating system or even run Linux right off of a CD/DVD and leave your HD intact. You might like it so much that you'll just wipe out your XP partition. There are several new distributions which are easy to install and use. There are equivalents to most modern Windows applications and of course, there is a Linux version of Firefox. Linux is free, free, free and supports tens of thousands of applications. One thing nice about these distros is that they contain thousands of applications along with the operating system and they are all free.

Ubuntu
Mepis
Fedora
openSuse

For the hardcore hacker:
Debian
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Re: Strange Things Your Computer Has Done

Unread postby bodigami » Fri 04 Apr 2008, 13:05:03

Well, there's the recomendation of Firefox and Linux... but what about Mac? I've owned a Mac since January 22 and it has being a great machine. Its simple interface saves time and is much more comfortable to work with. Almost half of the apps I use are Open Source.
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Re: Strange Things Your Computer Has Done

Unread postby lawnchair » Fri 04 Apr 2008, 14:00:53

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Schadenfreude', '
')Nevermind... I don't expect to find a solution. I just thought it might be amusing to hear about other people's computer glitches. Does your computer do strange things?


Not for years. No. My first computer was the TI-99. And I knew *everything* that was going on. I used DOS machines for years. And I knew *everything* that was going on. Then Windows 3.1. And a few things were obfuscated. Then came early Windows 95. And I did not know everything that was going on in my computer. Mid-'96, I bought a book with a Linux CD (only having 14.4 modem at the time). Took a while, but I once again knew everything that was actively running on in my computer. Nowadays, I run Ubuntu at home and work, since it is so bloody easy, even though I could hack around with "more raw" UNIXes (and I do maintain some OpenBSD servers, which are quite "raw"). And, I'll admit that I've stopped actually looking at some of the text files that configure various apps. But, I know darned well that there are such text files, and that I could know everything that is going on in my computer. Windows? With undocumented hexadecimal chunks in the registry? With unstoppable "services"? With Digital Rights Management and Activation? Proprietary data formats? Umm... sorry. No more mysteries for me.

Still, using open software (Firefox/Thunderbird/OpenOffice) on Windows is a real nice step. Get people using open-source apps all the time, and switching the OS underneath it is trivial.
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Re: Strange Things Your Computer Has Done

Unread postby AirlinePilot » Fri 04 Apr 2008, 14:09:02

One thing I decided a while ago is that if you want a flawlessly running computer there are a few things you can do to garauntee it.

1. Build it from scratch yourself.

2. Install a clean operating system of your choice

2.a If you use windows dont use Vista. XP is not a bad OS.
Learn about services and turn off the ones you dont need.

3. Only add what you need to work or play and NOTHING ELSE.

4. DO NOT USE IE. DISABLE ALL ITS FEATURES EVEN THOUGH YOU ARE NOT USING IT.

5. Only hook up to the net through a HARDWARE FIREWALL capable
modem.

6. ABOVE ALL ELSE don't let anyone else use your computer. Period.

I know that last one is hard for some but I have been able to do it and it's key when it comes to keeping things running smoothly.
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Re: Strange Things Your Computer Has Done

Unread postby Pops » Fri 04 Apr 2008, 15:05:31

I make money on a mac and no one touches it (them).

Anyone else uses the PC(s) - they are just converter boxes for my business clients' files, toys and Targets for Trolling Tots after all.
And crap, the automatic cup holder thingy broke of after just a couple uses!

:P
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Re: Strange Things Your Computer Has Done

Unread postby emersonbiggins » Fri 04 Apr 2008, 15:23:18

Am I the only one who likes Vista (Ultimate)? It is, BY FAR, the most stable OS I've ever used, up to and including XP Professional.

(speaking, of course, as someone who has never used linux! :P )

I never get blue screens or unexplained crashes, and I use a lot of RAM, CPU, and HD-intensive 3D rendering programs, CS3, Autocad 08, etc. etc. - solid as a rock.
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Re: Strange Things Your Computer Has Done

Unread postby jasonraymondson » Fri 04 Apr 2008, 15:29:00

Last week my primary computer over heated, caught fire, and I had smoke pooring out of the HD. Is that strange enough for you.
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Re: Strange Things Your Computer Has Done

Unread postby emersonbiggins » Fri 04 Apr 2008, 15:34:01

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('jasonraymondson', 'L')ast week my primary computer over heated, caught fire, and I had smoke pooring out of the HD. Is that strange enough for you.


Photos, or it didn't happen
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Re: Strange Things Your Computer Has Done

Unread postby TheDude » Fri 04 Apr 2008, 16:20:26

That's your 21st post since issuing the ultimatum?

I'm more than happy with XP too. Rarely crashes, except if I spill an ashtray.

Firefox is great! You might try Safari too (I haven't, we had that thread the other day on it though).
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Re: Strange Things Your Computer Has Done

Unread postby jasonraymondson » Fri 04 Apr 2008, 16:26:02

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('emersonbiggins', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('jasonraymondson', 'L')ast week my primary computer over heated, caught fire, and I had smoke pooring out of the HD. Is that strange enough for you.


Photos, or it didn't happen


Then i guess it didn't happen and the fact that my nice computer is smoldering pile of crap doesn't matter
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Re: Strange Things Your Computer Has Done

Unread postby emersonbiggins » Fri 04 Apr 2008, 16:27:36

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('jasonraymondson', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('emersonbiggins', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('jasonraymondson', 'L')ast week my primary computer over heated, caught fire, and I had smoke pooring out of the HD. Is that strange enough for you.


Photos, or it didn't happen


Then i guess it didn't happen and the fact that my nice computer is smoldering pile of crap doesn't matter


Did it look like this?

Image
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Re: Strange Things Your Computer Has Done

Unread postby Pops » Fri 04 Apr 2008, 16:28:21

Nice post from your Mind Meld Cyber connection.

Haven't you made you 18 posts yet?
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Re: Strange Things Your Computer Has Done

Unread postby Schadenfreude » Fri 04 Apr 2008, 17:10:00

Yeah, I've got all the different browsers...

I guess the problem was just a corrupted browser history folder in IE7. Now if I can just figure out why the cursor keeps jumping around when I type... That was the reason I decided to do a clean install of XP in the first place.
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Re: Strange Things Your Computer Has Done

Unread postby bodigami » Fri 04 Apr 2008, 18:02:02

nah,

0. Get a Mac

1 (optional). install Linux on your old PC to recycle it, you will be amazed not needing antivirus or reinstalling the OS every few months because it has slowed to a crawl.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('AirlinePilot', 'O')ne thing I decided a while ago is that if you want a flawlessly running computer there are a few things you can do to garauntee it.

1. Build it from scratch yourself.

2. Install a clean operating system of your choice

2.a If you use windows dont use Vista. XP is not a bad OS.
Learn about services and turn off the ones you dont need.

3. Only add what you need to work or play and NOTHING ELSE.

4. DO NOT USE IE. DISABLE ALL ITS FEATURES EVEN THOUGH YOU ARE NOT USING IT.

5. Only hook up to the net through a HARDWARE FIREWALL capable
modem.

6. ABOVE ALL ELSE don't let anyone else use your computer. Period.

I know that last one is hard for some but I have been able to do it and it's key when it comes to keeping things running smoothly.
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