Posts by goldenviper13

Ronald Nguyen3 said:Lately, every time I boot up my PC, I'm hit with this menu asking if I want to load Windows 10 or Windows 7. I have no clue why this started happening out of nowhere; everything worked perfectly fine for months, and honestly, someone is practically glued to the computer constantly.
I've poked around the settings provided in that menu, and while you can technically set a priority so it boots one automatically after a few seconds of waiting, it's still an annoyance.
To make matters worse, even when I try to select Windows 7—which is easy enough to miss if you click the wrong thing—it just throws an error and fails to launch anyway.

Is there a way to disable this prompt entirely and just have Windows 10 boot up automatically without me having to touch anything?

Thanks for the help.

I'm pretty sure this covers what you're looking for: http://www.nextofwindows.com/how-to-...d-line-utility

Nicholas Wells74 said:I deleted those two objects. Now, I can't get online at all; I'm actually typing this from my neighbor's computer. I suspect
AdwClean on might have misidentified that first object as malware when it was likely just a core part of Windows. My brother is connected to my router via Wi-Fi and his internet works fine, but mine is completely dead.

What should I do, people???

I don't think AdwClean on is the culprit here; something else is clearly going on. Have you tried plugging the PC directly into the router with an Ethernet cable?
Try booting up in Safe Mode and running a scan then.

Nicholas Wells74 said:Thanks for the tips. It's getting late, so I'll give some of those a shot tomorrow.

Can you even run two anti-malware programs on one computer at the same time?

Technically, you can, but there's really no point. Running them together can actually cause conflicts and mess things up.
Just stick to one main program, then maybe run a manual scan with Malwarebytes every few months just to be safe in case you pick something up.

Nicholas Wells74 said:I’m sticking with Internet Explorer 12 instead of jumping to version 34, which is the current standard.

The reason I’m clinging to such an ancient version of Internet Explorer is because it lets me assign a two or three-letter nickname to a specific website. I just type those few characters into the address bar and the browser takes me straight there, rather than forcing me to dig through a massive sea of bookmarks trying to find what I need.

I have terrible eyesight, and this shorthand method for my notes is a lifesaver for people like us—the visually impaired and the nearly blind. Any minor tweak to a UI design is a total nightmare for someone with vision issues. That’s why I won’t switch to the new version of the browser; I have no idea if it even supports nicknames. I suspect it doesn't.

And honestly, I'm not sure it would even matter. Even when I try using the newer browser to access the forum, I still get bombarded with all these ads and whatnot.

To make matters worse, over the last couple of days, Chrome Canary refuses to load certain websites at all, even when I type out the full URL.

At this point, I’m convinced I’ve picked up some nasty malware, especially since I often put my PC into sleep mode to keep the room quiet while I'm working on other things.

Download this tool https://www.malwarebytes.org/mwb-download/. The free version should be enough to run a scan. Once that's done, run this one too: http://www.surfright.nl/en/hitmanpro (just sign up for the 30-day trial via email). That should help clear out any malware. You should also grab http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/adwcleaner/ to wipe away any adware. If none of that works, then you're dealing with a different kind of problem altogether.

Mark White8 said:thanks, but I did a little digging... turns out my system won't even boot up properly... it won't even get me into macOS.... it just sits there loading forever and never actually reaches the macOS desktop....

The reason I suggested Safe Mode is because I recently helped a buddy fix a nearly identical issue where his macOS wouldn't boot. When I ran the machine in Safe Mode, the system didn't fully load either, but it did manage to flag which specific driver was causing the hangup—it pointed directly to the culprit (if I recall correctly, it was an Avast file, specifically aswrvrt.sys). Once that file was wiped, the system booted up perfectly fine.

Mark White8 said:So, I downloaded Avast online about a month and a half ago, and now when I try to boot up my computer, macOS just won't load... it's like, it shows this scanning screen at the start, hits 100%, and then just fails to get into macOS... total disaster. What should I do?

Try booting into Safe Mode.

Charles Fox10 said:A few years back, I had a similar headache with the wireless on a Dell, and this actually cleared things up http://www.iobit.com/en/driver-booster.php. To be fair, Windows XP still had decent driver support back then.

The software isn't terrible, but it can be a bit temperamental on XP. Honestly, just do what Noah Miller6 suggested. Once you get WZC running, refresh the network list and everything should fall into place perfectly.

lonefox18 said:I tried booting into Safe Mode, but it didn't help—the Blue Screen of Death just keeps popping up.

It’s entirely possible you're looking at a failing hard drive or a bad stick of RAM. You really ought to run some diagnostics. Start with the RAM, then move on to testing the HDD.

Amanda Barnes39 said:Exactly!

For the longest time, I was actually a huge advocate for Mozilla because, back in the day, they really were the gold standard. It felt good supporting a smaller outfit, didn't it? I stuck with them until things just started going downhill. Unfortunately, Google Chrome has absolutely taken off and left them in the dust.

At the end of the day, the statistics don't lie. 😉

To be fair, Chrome has really pulled ahead in recent years, mostly because those usage stats are heavily driven by smartphones. Mozilla is pretty much on par with Chrome—sometimes better, sometimes worse—but I’m worried that Chrome’s tendency to drop support for certain things will eventually alienate a huge chunk of the user base. 👍

steelhawk26 said:I am looking through the drivers on that page, and I would rather not download anything I don't actually need.
I only need the ones for my Wireless, audio, and graphics, but it isn't clear which specific driver is for the wireless among these options:

Dell Inspiron 1501 Wifi Card Driver
Wireless LAN Card Driver Windows Vista(32/64)/XP

Dell Inspiron 1501 Wifi Driver
Wireless 1395 WLAN MiniCard Driver

Dell Inspiron 1501 Ethernet Driver
Broadcom 4401/B0 Ethernet Drivers

That page provides the network drivers, and you should just grab the full package (Dell wireless 1350/1450/1370/1470 wlan MiniPCI card, wireless 1350 wlan PC card, Wireless (US) WLAN Card, wireless 1490 Dual-Band wlan MiniCard, wireless 1390 wlan ExpressCard, Wireless 1390/1500/1505 WLAN mini Card Driver), unpack it, and run the install. You can check the details section to see the specific installation method.

lonefox18 said:Basically, my laptop hits me with a Blue Screen of Death the second I turn it on, and then I'm stuck. I've tried everything I can think of, but I'm definitely not some IT expert. Can anyone help? I really need this laptop for work/school.

That error could point to anything from a Windows issue to faulty drivers or even a hardware failure. Every Blue Screen of Death includes an error description at the bottom: STOP😛 followed by some specific codes
. Just Google that specific error code and you'll find out exactly what's going on.

Robert Rodriguez2 said:Wait, why not just put some cash aside and buy a new laptop?
By $500 there’s already hardware out there that’s four times better than that old Dell. Plus, unlike that thing, a new machine actually supports modern software and won't leave you wide open to security risks...

I'm assuming if he actually needed a more powerful (and expensive) laptop, he would have just bought it three years ago when he was originally picking this one up.🙂

Nancy Thompson8 said:I’ve been running into this weird hiccup where I try to watch certain videos on a few different sites, and even though I’m pretty sure I’ve got the latest versions of everything installed, it keeps nagging me about needing Java.
Whenever I head over to the addons/plugins section, I end up seeing this
I’m honestly a bit stumped as to why it keeps flagging Java in red like that; clicking through the updates or digging into the "more information" links doesn't seem to actually fix anything or move the needle. Does anyone have any advice on how to get this sorted out so everything runs smoothly?

The issue most likely isn't Java at all. It's probably because Adobe Flash Player (listed as Shockwave Flash in Mozilla) isn't installed. It's a separate thing entirely. Just download Adobe Flash Player and that should clear things up.🙂
If that still doesn't cut it, try performing a "refresh Mozilla."

steelhawk26 said:My brother bought a “Dell Inspiron 1501” about three years ago running Windows XP. (Mobile DualCore AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-50, 1600 MHz --- 896 MB (DDR2 SDRAM))
He lives on a small island, isn't particularly tech-savvy, and works in the tourism industry. He uses his computer strictly for sending and receiving emails, printing documents, and occasionally using Word to keep track of guest records. That's it.
About a year ago, a neighbor installed Windows 7 and Norton on it. Since then, my brother has been complaining that everything runs incredibly slowly.
When I visited him to check things out, I noticed the following:
1 - Booting up Windows takes an eternity.
2 - Once Windows finally loads and I launch the Chrome browser, the antivirus (Norton) icon just spins endlessly in the systray; it takes nearly two minutes before the browser actually opens.
3 - After the browser finally opens and I try to check email (Hotmail), Norton starts spinning again, making the loading process feel endless.
4 - Once the email is open and I click print, there is another 2-3 minute delay before the print window even appears.
5 - Launching Word also takes forever.
As a layman, I assume the reasons are:
1- The memory is too low for Windows 7.
2- The Norton protection settings are too heavy for this machine.
Am I correct, or is there another underlying cause?

You're spot on. If he rolls back to Windows XP, things will smooth out. Windows 7 is just too heavy for a configuration this weak.

Susan Vaughn25 said:Okay, I finally got it working. I can't quite remember which site I used, but I think it was that one.

But now I'm running into an issue with my Administrators privileges.
I am logged in as an administrator, yet the system won't let me save applications to certain folders. If I try to save them elsewhere, it refuses to run them because it claims I don't have administrative rights—even though I clearly do. I checked the user accounts, and this specific account is definitely listed as an administrator.
Windows 7

Anyone have a fix for this?

You can verify your admin status this way: right-click on "Computer," select "Manage," and go into "Computer Management." On the left-hand side, look for "Local Users and Groups," expand that, and click on "Groups." You'll see the "Administrators" group in that list, and you should have the option to add yourself to it there.🙂

Susan Vaughn25 said:Hi there!

I picked up a new Dell Inspiron, we got Windows 7 installed on it, and now I'm hitting a wall. It won't install the Wi-Fi driver because it claims it isn't compatible—even though when I downloaded it, it looked perfectly fine for both this specific laptop model and Windows 7.
The thing is, looking at Device Manager under Network Adapters, there’s no sign of the Wi-Fi card; all I see are two Bluetooth entries. My guess is that's where the issue lies.
Any ideas?

Did you pull the drivers directly from this site? http://support.dell.com/us/en/prod...Inspiron-notebook

ambergull said:I went through the tutorial, but there is absolutely nothing in the Windows-Minidump folder. It’s completely empty.
When I powered it up today, I was hit with an error: "Loading system error. Insert system drive."
This actually used to happen a few days in a row back in the day, so I would check the HDD cables, reseat them, and everything would work fine... until now.

It could be a driver issue with the DVD drive or a failing hard drive. Have you checked the BIOS to make sure the HDD is set as the primary boot device? If you have an installation disc handy, try running a system repair.

Anonymous said:Your logic actually holds up... since I'm strictly using my phone's earbuds. I even had to fiddle with the jack just to get a signal during connection.
So, walk me through how you figured out the jack was the culprit in your case? And how did you actually fix it... did you swap out the port on the laptop or what?

On the laptop, we just cleaned out the port—standard headphones were used there, and that did the trick. But with the desktop, since I was using those mobile earbuds, it required a trip to the repair shop because the jack simply wouldn't reset to its default state.

I downloaded it and got it running, but there isn't a single scan option in sight. Everything just looks completely empty...

Here is a tutorial:
Just a heads-up: if those dump files get wiped out, you won't be able to read the error at all until the next crash occurs. So, the moment a BSOD hits again (fingers crossed it doesn't), run either this tool or that other one immediately. 🙂
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Anonymous said:My laptop speakers aren't working. If I plug the laptop into my TV via HDMI and switch the audio output to the TV, everything sounds fine. But once I switch the audio back to the laptop, silence. Headphones work perfectly fine, but the internal speakers? Nothing. I already tried updating the drivers, but that didn't do anything. A friend suggested I boot from a Linux disc just to see if the sound works there... still nothing. How can I be certain the speakers themselves are dead? I'd really rather not tear the whole laptop apart and swap out hardware unless I'm sure that's actually the issue. It's a model with Harman Kardon speakers.

I dealt with a nearly identical situation once with a client who lived in their headphones. As long as they were plugged in, the audio worked through them, but the second they unplugged, the system wouldn't route sound to the external speakers. It happened out of nowhere and drove them crazy for weeks. Turns out, the headphone jack itself was the culprit—it was stuck, essentially acting as if a plug was still inserted. Just a side note: if you're using smartphone-style headphones, you might run into this kind of thing more often. 🙂