The Geniuses' Thread

QueenOfLeon

Noel2k9 wrote: »

Maybe all your pixels are dying.. that happened to mine and I had to get a new one grr

I'm frantically backing up stuff...:(

shadowninty

Just copy your home folder somewhere safe really like

QueenOfLeon

shadowninty wrote: »

Just copy your home folder somewhere safe really like

Like...?

shadowninty

QueenOfLeon wrote: »

Like...?

like.

QueenOfLeon

shadowninty wrote: »

like.

-_- Did you mean a memory card or something? I can't find one so I'm just carrying on an online backup I started a while ago..

shadowninty

That'll take days! (for me at least, I get 80KB/s upload )
Unless you only have a few documents.
I'd backup it to an external hard drive! A large Memory card could be big enough too...

QueenOfLeon

shadowninty wrote: »

That'll take days! (for me at least, I get 80KB/s upload )
Unless you only have a few documents.
I'd backup it to an external hard drive! A large Memory card could be big enough too...

*sigh* Don't have access to either at the moment

Its mainly photos, most of them are on facebook, either private or public, so I *sorta* have them backed up that way. Started backing them up online a few weeks ago, but ya, its taking forever. Only have about a quarter of them up.

shadowninty

How many Gigabytes?
Don't you have a phone?

Jackobyte

QueenOfLeon wrote: »

Oh hai computer genii. My laptop screen is flashing every time I click something, every few letters I type, and when I scroll down on pages etc. What's wrong?

What programs did you uninstall last night out of interest? And did this happen before then?

QueenOfLeon

Jackobyte wrote: »

What programs did you uninstall last night out of interest? And did this happen before then?

Hahaha I knew someone would bring that up :P Ya, this has been going on about 2 days. Its getting more frequent though. The stuff I uninstalled last night I checked beforehand with the person who had installed them there in the first place so they were grand to get rid of.

I could check with my dad who worked in the aul computer fixy business for years, but tbh, I don't trust my laptop and entire boards etc history with anyone :pac:

Edit: Dad had some super speedy automatic backup thingy. Woo! Although now all my files will be sitting on a device in the house. When I'm not here. Hmmmmm.

esbo

QueenOfLeon wrote: »

Oh hai computer genii. My laptop screen is flashing every time I click something, every few letters I type, and when I scroll down on pages etc. What's wrong?

That's not a great explanation of the problem, is your whole screen flashing?
Or is it just the window?
Sound like the whole screen from the way you describe it.

And how exactly does it flash?

Does it flash once when you click a key?

I would try booting up in safe mode and seeing if that clears the problem.

Also does it happen outside windows? Ie when you first boot up you get some options before you go into windows, you could try going into the bios (don't change anything or save and changes if you accidently do).

When a key is pressed it generates an interrupt, same goes for scroll, maybe that is interfering with the screen.

Could possibly be a virus, possibly a (badly written) keyboard logger (just a guess). So I would virus scan. The virus would probably not work in safe mode, but it not working in safe mode don't mean it is a virus.

You could also try downloading Linux and burning to a disk and seeing if that has the same problem, but that's a fair bit of work.

I would try some virus scans, also hijackthis and such like, but be careful as some anti virus stuff you can download can be a kind of virus so get any stuff from a well know legit site.

Like this one:-

http://download.cnet.com/windows/security-software/?tag=rb_content;main


But it may just be a corrupted table which controls the screen attributes in the browser. Does it happen in other browsers? As I said your explaination ain't reallly very helpful.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0nERTFo-Sk

QueenOfLeon

Thanks for all the info esbo I got it sorted a few days ago and have everything backed up anyway just in case.

shadowninty

What it'd be worth doing is keeping all your files in your Dropbox folder. This is what I do, I have my Video, Music, Pictures and Documents folder linked into the folder. It works seamlessly (at least in Ubuntu) and you'd only notice by the little shortcut arrow on the folders

This way your stuff is always being backed up, and you can access the files everywhere too!


eh, actually do you have Dropbox? If you dont you could sign up using my refferal :L
Sign up Link

Jackobyte

shadowninty wrote: »

What it'd be worth doing is keeping all your files in your Dropbox folder. This is what I do, I have my Video, Music, Pictures and Documents folder linked into the folder. It works seamlessly (at least in Ubuntu) and you'd only notice by the little shortcut arrow on the folders

Works the same in windows. Only thing is that a recent change of TOS means that dropbox can apparently access (legally) all of the files you upload. There was a thread in the photography forum recently saying that dropbox have the right to use any photos you upload at their own discretion from Sept 1st.

Cakes.

:pac:

I put the wrong BIOS password in and now it won't turn on!

Have to open up the computer now,anyone know what i'm looking for in there ?

eVeNtInE

This post has been deleted.

Cakes.

It's ok it's fixed!

shadowninty

did you do as I said? :rolleyes:

Cakes.

shadowninty wrote: »

did you do as I said? :rolleyes:

I just left it and tried it this morning :pac:

I still don't know the BIOS password and have tried to crack it but it's not working.

shadowninty

Your welcome. I only saved you about €50 :rolleyes:

Just hold F10/12 at boot instead of going to the BIOS if its locked

Grindylow

Is ubuntu quicker than Windows?

If so.. should I install it?

shadowninty

Yeah it should be. Crashes less too. At least for me. And its pretty

Grindylow

shadowninty wrote: »

Yeah it should be. Crashes less too. At least for me. And its pretty

Would I still be able to use iTunes/MS word/connect my cameras/phone, etc, and use wifi though? I hear sometimes they get messed up

shadowninty

You cant use iTunes. There are alternatives for everything. You can run most windows apps through WINE too. Like Google Earth or Picasa for example

My phone, camera, PS3EYE, etc all work fine

Ubuntu is awesome. I deleted my Windows last night

Grindylow

*decides not to use ubuntu, I need my iTunes*

shadowninty

http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/itunes

Cakes.

Noel2k9 wrote: »

*decides not to use ubuntu, I need my iTunes*

You can run windows as well as Ubuntu and just use Windows for iTunes and stuff that's not on Ubuntu.

Rhythmbox, which comes with Ubuntu, is basically a quicker iTunes. It does the job for music, anyway. If you want apps and all that, there are other options for Linux too.

Jackobyte

Noel2k9 wrote: »

Is ubuntu quicker than Windows?

If so.. should I install it?

With ubuntu, I get from power button press to boards.ie in 38 seconds.

While it is fairly idiot-proof stuff can go wrong. Read up on it before you do anything, calculate the risks and then decide yourself.

Noel2k9 wrote: »

Would I still be able to use iTunes/MS word/connect my cameras/phone, etc, and use wifi though? I hear sometimes they get messed up

There is an alternative program for nearly everything on ubuntu, but I still kept windows as well for when I want windows-based programs.

About wifi, it all depends on your laptop hardware. Most laptops are supported out of the box, but others need tweaking to get to run right. Wifi not working is one of the more common problems that occurs on install.

Deleted User wrote: »

Rhythmbox, which comes with Ubuntu, is basically a quicker iTunes. It does the job for music, anyway. If you want apps and all that, there are other options for Linux too.

I love Rhythmbox, its just tidier and way less bulky than any other comparable software.