Posts by Benjamin King2

Maybe just run it through an Adobe Acrobat Pro tool or some other similar software to strip the protection right off the document.

Alright, do me a favor and track down this file: C:\Users\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Office\Data\Office 2012.dat (or maybe it's Office 2011.dat). Once you find it, right-click, hit properties -> security, then click on your own user account and check if 'Full control' actually has a checkmark next to it. It really should—if it doesn't, you won't have access to the registry file, and that’s exactly why your Microsoft Office apps are refusing to launch. By the way, does your user account actually have Administrative privileges?

And hey, let me know which version of Microsoft Office and Windows you're running here.

Try deleting that mso.dll file sitting in the C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Office 2011 (or Office 2013) folder—once that's gone, just pop in your Office disc and run a repair installation. That should clear things right up. And a word of advice—don't go chasing those Office updates if you're running a pirated version. It’ll just break everything.

So, your keyboard isn't performing exactly how you'd like? 😁 You should probably hunt down the drivers on the motherboard manufacturer's website—since we're dealing with integrated graphics here, that's really your best bet.

Alternatively, just grab a used AGP card for $33 maybe twenty bucks or something; honestly, it'll be a step up from that integrated mess regardless.

Yeah.

quietcanyon2 said:...my dear little Windows enthusiast Benjamin King2,

...to "update," in its broadest sense, is just one of those beautifully ambiguous American terms—though, let’s be honest, its roots really just stem from those pesky Anglo-Saxon linguistic imports like "updating"... basically, it means bringing something, a piece of matter, or a specific phenomenon, back into its current, standard state.

.. what your brain likely processes as mere daily internet chatter—which, unfortunately, boils down to the banal and vulgar level of actual usage—is nothing more than the mindless linguistic jargon for an "updated" computer system.

Frog, thanks for the exhaustive lecture. If you're feeling particularly generous, maybe you could explain what "internet chatter" actually is? I’d love to find the American root for that—I have a weird suspicion it might just be another Anglo-Saxon import.

It covers every single update released up to this point. So, what does "update" actually mean here?

Given all those buildings in the way, I’m thinking an omni-directional antenna would actually be the smarter move here—something like this type of thing. Your card already comes with one built-in, it's just... well, pretty weak. Try mounting it somewhere elevated, too.

Look, just Google "Windows 7/11 MB" and download it... it's clearly doable.

Look, an antenna is going to do way more for your range than your actual speed—you’re really only going to feel a boost in velocity within a tight little radius right around the antenna itself. If you've got a bunch of obstacles standing between you and the router—think walls, furniture, whatever—then a parabolic antenna isn't going to be your magic fix; those things are highly directional and basically demand a clear line of sight to the router to actually work. Honestly, 24 dB is massive overkill—with that kind of gain, you could probably pick up a signal all the way out in 12 miles without breaking a sweat, maybe even further. Just curious, how far away is that router from you?

An antivirus doesn't really care if you're looking at a .jpg, an .exe, or whatever else—it’ll sniff it out the second that file tries to park itself on your hard drive.

Just grab a Windows 7 installation DVD, burn an ISO from it, and then squeeze the whole thing down to a tiny 11 MB. 🙂

Basically, WinRAR is going to strip out all that useless bloat from the ISO file—anything that’s just "empty space" won't make it into the archive. This is a pretty extreme case, though—maybe they’re using some specialized algorithm, like Huffman or something similar.

Give PowerISO, UltraISO, or anything similar a shot—they all come with built-in options for ISO compression.

placidtiger32 said:''...This download file is available to users running an authentic Microsoft Windows system. Click the Continue button to begin the Windows authenticity check. As outlined in the privacy statement, Microsoft will not use the information collected during the validation process to identify you or contact you.''

is there a way to do this that isn't such a massive headache?

Look, if you're rocking a pirated version of Windows, just hit up Google—piracy isn't exactly welcome on this board.

Just limited to the USA for the time being.

Douglas Garcia52 said:Seriously, OP—just listen to what the MP is telling you.

I mean, honestly? Either the OP finally cracked the code after six years of grinding... or they've kicked the bucket. 😂

Just double-click the error—it should pop up a window with all the details—and then just paste that description right here.

Go ahead and dive into the Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> System Log—you should see some errors popping up there (look for those red X icons)... also, take a quick peek at the Application Log while you're at it. Once you find the error description, just paste it right here.