Posts by Michelle Bennett5

I don't even know where to start with this one. Is anyone else seeing this? Or am I just losing my mind? It’s like everyone is suddenly walking around with the exact same script, nodding along to whatever nonsense is being pushed on them. You see it everywhere—from the local coffee shops in Seattle to those massive corporate headquarters out in New York. It’s all just one big, choreographed dance. And then there's Michelle Bennett5. Honestly, what is she even thinking? Does she actually believe that stuff? It’s almost impressive, in a sad sort of way. How can someone be so consistently wrong? It makes you wonder if anyone is actually paying attention anymore, or if we've all just collectively decided to stop using our brains. Is that the new standard now? Just drift along with the crowd? Seems exhausting. Personally, I'd rather stay confused than pretend I have all the answers when clearly, nobody does. kaže:
So, retirees should just go into debt? I mean, where’s the logic there? If they know exactly what’s hitting their bank account every month, how does that even make sense?

So, wait... let me get this straight. These seniors get their Social Security checks on the fifth, and then they immediately go on a two-day shopping spree at the local mall just to end up eighty bucks overdrawn? Is that how it works? Seriously?

I mean, what’s the actual logic behind anyone being in the red? And I’m not even talking about some convoluted banking math or whatever nonsense they teach at Wharton. Just... why? Does anyone actually function like that?

So, here’s the deal with the fresh cash. It only offsets the deficit once—just one single hit to the red. But that negative interest? That stuff hits your balance every damn month. So yeah, the "benefit" of injecting new money is basically a one-time thing. Given how high these rates are, you're looking at a future where the interest charges eventually swallow the entire deficit whole. Makes sense, right? Not really.

Honestly? It’s just a complete waste of money for everyday Americans. Total loss. Why even bother?
I mean, isn't the obvious move just taking out a standard loan to clear that overdraft? Just wipe the slate clean and then... you know... actually stop dipping back into it. It’s not rocket science, right? Why make things harder than they need to be?

Banks? Honestly, they’re living in paradise. To them, interest is where the real money is made. The principal itself? Basically useless to them. I mean, what would they even do with it? They wouldn't know what to do with a pile of cash if it hit them in the face.

Living paycheck to paycheck? Honestly, if you’re constantly staring at a negative balance, it’s pretty much a clear sign of catastrophic financial illiteracy. I mean, really. How does anyone fall into that trap over and over again? It’s like people just refuse to look at the numbers until the bank sends that dreaded alert. Is it lack of planning? Pure impulse control issues? Who knows. But staying in the red isn't some unavoidable tragedy—it's just bad math.
I just don't get it. Honestly? I have zero clue what they're even on about. It makes absolutely no sense to me.
Is it really that hard for anyone to just scratch out a quick little amortization schedule on a napkin or something? Just to actually see how much money is being thrown down the drain? Honestly.

The reasoning behind this request and what’s actually happening here is pretty fuzzy, but maybe try something like this

Swap out that shortcut for Google Docs exe with a shortcut to cmd that does the following:
it launches Google Docs using the start /w option
once Google Docs is closed, it runs the next line: shutdown /t0

Again, this is just the basic idea. Honestly, the whole request feels a bit pointless since you can obviously just run any other programs you want without even closing Google Docs first, right?

restlessdrifter12 said:I have a Word document containing a list of about 1,000 songs—it currently looks like this:
Artist – Song
Artist – Song
Artist – Song
Artist – Song

But what I actually need is for the list to be formatted like this:
Song – Artist
Song – Artist
Song – Artist
Song – Artist

Is there any way to actually pull this off within Word itself?

Honestly, you're probably better off just using Excel.
Copy the whole list over to Excel and it should land in one single column.
Just use the "Text to Columns" feature and set the delimiter to "-".
That gives you two separate columns, which you can then merge back together into a third one, just with the order flipped.
Use a formula like =song_column & " - " & artist_column

It’s overkill if you're only doing five songs, but when you're staring down a massive list, the manual work grows exponentially.

mistyhound94 said:Not really sure how to title this thread, but basically, I'm trying to breathe some life into an old rig because I need it for a project for a bit.
Anyway, here's what we're working with:
PHP Code:

 [CODE][COLOR=#000000] [COLOR=#0000BB]Operating System 
 Windows 7 Professional 64[/COLOR][COLOR=#007700]-[/COLOR][COLOR=#0000BB]bit SP1 
CPU 
 Intel Core i3 18 °C 
 32nm Technology 
RAM 
 4[/COLOR][COLOR=#007700],[/COLOR][COLOR=#0000BB]00GB Single[/COLOR][COLOR=#007700]-[/COLOR][COLOR=#0000BB]Channel DDR3 [/COLOR][COLOR=#007700]@ [/COLOR][COLOR=#0000BB]665MHz [/COLOR][COLOR=#007700]([/COLOR][COLOR=#0000BB]9[/COLOR][COLOR=#007700]-[/COLOR][COLOR=#0000BB]9[/COLOR][COLOR=#007700]-[/COLOR][COLOR=#0000BB]9[/COLOR][COLOR=#007700]-[/COLOR][COLOR=#0000BB]24[/COLOR][COLOR=#007700]) [/COLOR]
[COLOR=#0000BB]Motherboard 
 MSI FM2[/COLOR][COLOR=#007700]-[/COLOR][COLOR=#0000BB]A55M[/COLOR][COLOR=#007700]-[/COLOR][COLOR=#0000BB]E33 [/COLOR][COLOR=#007700]([/COLOR][COLOR=#0000BB]MS[/COLOR][COLOR=#007700]-[/COLOR][COLOR=#0000BB]7721[/COLOR][COLOR=#007700]) ([/COLOR][COLOR=#0000BB]P0[/COLOR][COLOR=#007700]) [/COLOR][COLOR=#0000BB]36 °C 
Graphics 
 Philips 236V4 [/COLOR][COLOR=#007700]([/COLOR][COLOR=#0000BB]1920x1080[/COLOR][COLOR=#007700]@[/COLOR][COLOR=#0000BB]60Hz[/COLOR][COLOR=#007700]) 
 [/COLOR][COLOR=#0000BB]1024MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX Series [/COLOR][COLOR=#007700]([/COLOR][COLOR=#0000BB]Sapphire[/COLOR][COLOR=#007700]/[/COLOR][COLOR=#0000BB]PCPartner[/COLOR][COLOR=#007700]) [/COLOR][COLOR=#0000BB]34 °C 
Storage 
 465GB Western Digital Blue[/COLOR][COLOR=#007700]-[/COLOR][COLOR=#0000BB]1BD142 SATA Disk Device [/COLOR][COLOR=#007700]([/COLOR][COLOR=#0000BB]SATA [/COLOR][COLOR=#007700]) [/COLOR][COLOR=#0000BB]31 °C 
 465GB Western Digital WDC WD50 00AAKS[/COLOR][COLOR=#007700]-[/COLOR][COLOR=#0000BB]00WWPA0 SATA Disk Device [/COLOR][COLOR=#007700]([/COLOR][COLOR=#0000BB]SATA [/COLOR][COLOR=#007700]) [/COLOR][COLOR=#0000BB]32 °C 
Optical Drives 
 Daemon Tools Virtual DVD[/COLOR][COLOR=#007700]-[/COLOR][COLOR=#0000BB]ROM0000 
Audio 
 High Definition Audio Device [/COLOR][/COLOR]

[/CODE]

So, I just scored two 4GB RAM sticks as a gift to swap out my current four, which are basically this https://memory.net/product/m393b5273...ank-x8-module/
. In theory, right? It should just work. But when I actually pop them in, I fire up the PC and... nothing. It runs, sure, but Windows won't even boot. Just a total black screen. Dead silence. I've tried everything—swapping slots, blowing out the dust, trying them one at a time, moving that single stick around... you name it. Everything clicks in perfectly, feels solid, but absolutely zero reaction from the machine. Then I put my old 4GB sticks back in, turn it on, and everything works fine again. Like magic.

I have no clue what's going on. What part is actually failing here? I thought this was going to be a totally straightforward upgrade, but nope, total bust. Currently stuck. 😁
Anyway, if anyone has any decent advice on what else I could try, let me know. I'll give it a shot. Thanks.

Not all DDR3 is compatible with your motherboard

There's a "registered" type versus "unbuffered." Some motherboards can handle both, but others? Not a chance. Registered memory usually has an "R" in the specs, and they're typically specialized server stuff—they aren't meant for your everyday consumer motherboards.

swiftowl7 said:@ William Richardson12 & Michelle Bennett5

My intranet has basically just been for file sharing between machines, printer sharing, and that kind of junk. With Ethernet cables, it was fine. But now, I need to spread these computers across two or three different rooms, and I’d really love to ditch the cables if there's any way to do it. They get tangled easily, the wires are a pain, they create a mess, and you're stuck having the PCs right next to the cords. Move one computer, and suddenly the whole cable setup is a headache.

Data transfer can be pretty heavy sometimes—we're talking maybe 1,000 to 3,000 files per folder—but other times it's just tiny stuff. Biggest file might hit 1GB, but usually, it's more like 10-300kB.

The rigs all have their specific purposes: one for Desktop Publishing, one for video and audio editing, a third is a LAMP stack server, a fourth handles the fancy effects and processing for video, audio, and 3D (Lightwave), then a fifth for gaming and surfing, which I manage via a KVM switch. Every single one has dual backup HDDs, and each of those HDDs has its own IP on the subnet mask (192.168.0.x).

I also have three backup machines sitting in a closet. Hardware-wise, they're 100% identical to the others, but they just sit there. They're my "in case someone sneezes" backups so I can get back up and running in an hour max—basically just so I can swap the drives out.

*****

Anyway, like I mentioned, I have an extra router lying around from my old ISP that isn't doing anything. I figured I could use it as a "multi-switch" for the intranet, which would probably be even better. I haven't actually tried setting this up yet, but in a month or two, I'll likely need to pull the trigger on it.

So, upstairs, I'll end up with two routers. One for the Internet and one for the intranet.

It's worth noting that all the computers are running XP, while the Desktop Publishing rig is on Windows 2000 Pro—honestly, it doesn't even need the web, just the intranet. Networking over Ethernet works without a hitch. There's no reason to bother installing new Windows versions unless it becomes a massive headache. That Desktop Publishing setup peaked back in the Windows 2000 days, and video editing isn't far behind with Premiere Pro and VideoPad. The only recent hiccup has been dealing with H.265 (HEVC), but we'll figure that out eventually. And man, don't even get me started on the audio side.

But the main question is about USB Wi-Fi adapters (I don't have any PCI Wi-Fi cards, just the USB ones). Should I have two separate adapters per computer, or can one handle everything? My guess is I'll need two? Then again, the USB adapters aren't a huge issue; I've got a few spares. They're older, have antennas, and were cheap finds on AliExpress, but they look brand new and work great. Who knows what the drivers will say, though—might be some drama there. Even though they're basically "no-name" brands, I bought them from a few different sellers, mostly Linksys, but if they start acting up, I'll just grab something else. Not a big deal.

Basically, the plan is:
1. Set up that spare router (which has zero connection to the Internet) and configure it as the intranet network (I have no clue how to do that technically, but I'll try soon, so suggestions are welcome), and

2. Find some USB Wi-Fi adapters from a different manufacturer and grab one extra for each PC, so Windows sees the first USB Wi-Fi connection as the Internet and the second one as the intranet.

Do you think that could actually work? And by the way, do you think Wi-Fi is going to act up when transferring large amounts of data?

And... has anyone actually ever tried building an intranet like this?

Also, once everything is switched over to Wi-Fi, how am I supposed to connect to those HDDs where each one has its own IP (like in my current
Ethernet setup)?

swiftowl7 said:I've got five PCs within maybe 25 feet of each other. Each one has a USB Wi-Fi adapter plugged in just to grab an internet connection from a modem sitting on the floor above.

you could just use those existing Wi-Fi adapters for that potential intranet setup

since everything is running through a single router, you basically already have an intranet
you just need to configure the computers so they actually realize it
as things stand right now, the machines probably don't even know the others exist (unless you're manually pinging them to see if they're still alive)
you'll need to put all the computers into the same workgroup and make sure user permissions are set up to allow resource sharing on every single one

otherwise, there's another way to look at this:
what exactly are you looking for from an intranet?
what's the actual goal here?

Anthony Taylor393 I don't even know where to start with this one. Honestly? It’s kind of ridiculous if you think about it for more than two seconds. Does anyone actually believe this stuff anymore? Probably not, but here we are. Just another day in the life, I guess. What can you even say to that? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Every single document I touch is turning into a read-only file the second I try to make an edit. What is even happening? Is it just me, or did Microsoft Office decide to go on strike overnight? Every time I save a change, it’s like the file just locks itself down. Honestly, at this point, I’m half-convinced my computer is just actively rooting against me. Does anyone actually know how to fix this, or should I just start using a typewriter?😲

Maybe you should just try moving everything—and I mean absolutely everything—onto a USB drive formatted to FAT32. Then, take that stick over to a different computer and see if it actually works there. Simple enough, right?

You’ll usually see that "read-only" status pop up if some other process has the file locked down, or if you just don't have full ownership rights to the thing. It's one of those things, isn't it? Just happens.
Could just be a file system error. Honestly, who knows? Everything's such a mess sometimes.

Karen Ortiz83 said:So, just like the title says, I’ve recorded a track using the Locus Map app, and now I'm trying to send it over so I can actually view it on Google Maps, a US government geoportal, or something similar—but I’m hitting a wall. Is that even possible?
It would also be a huge help if I could open it in Google Earth. Right now, I can only manage that on my phone, but I really need to see everything on a larger screen. Is there a way to open Earth on my phone, save the track, and then just pull it up via the web on my laptop?
As for opening Locus Map directly on my laptop? No luck there either. It keeps asking for a password without giving me any option to actually register anywhere.

To be honest, I *can* successfully email a GPX file. I can get the track to my inbox, but I just can't figure out how to actually open it.
I tried converting the GPX to KML. That part works, but saving it to Google Drive is another dead end—it just keeps asking for a login that won't work—and there isn't an option to just email it.

I even tried the "export all in KML and share" route... it exports fine, but the sharing part just doesn't happen.

Long story short, I think I've lost my way a little bit here.
Is there a simple, straightforward way to do this?
I would be so grateful for any easy advice you guys might have! 🙂

Can't you just email the KML file to yourself on your laptop?
KML is basically just an XML text format designed specifically for Google Earth.
If you saved it on a computer, you should technically be able to open it with a basic text editor just to check it—like Notepad or something.

Joshua Wilson15 said:I don't think it’s a virus issue at all. I already did a full system scan before this and everything came up clean, plus I went ahead and did a fresh reinstall just to be sure, but still nothing.

It could be the Touchpad acting up on its own, or maybe just a glitchy communication chip.
That usually happens internally through the USB bus.

I've dealt with USB mice before that would just drift across the screen on their own or mess up clicks—like hitting right-click when you clearly wanted left-click. Crazy stuff.

Charles Thompson15 said:I don't actually use UTP to connect my router to my computer; everything runs over Wi-Fi.

That’s technically an option, sure, but I'd end up with zero signal on the ground floor.

So, the bottom line is that the current standard phone line can stay as it is. The technicians were just pushing me to install UTP so they could rule out any possibility of the issue being on my end.

here’s how I see it
putting the router in the attic is strictly for TESTING—just to prove the house wiring isn't the culprit by plugging directly into the AT&T drop.

Charles Thompson15 said:So, we went ahead and did it. We ran a new phone line, but the technicians are insisting it's just a standard thin phone wire. They’re claiming I really need to be using a 0.5 or 0.6mm UTP cable—specifically Cat7 or Cat8—for the run from the attic to the router.
I picked up a cable that already has RJ45 connectors on it, but then I noticed the port on my router is actually an RJ11 slot. It looks like I'll have to crimp new RJ11 connectors onto the cable, join the wires, and then just splice the other end in the attic and tape it off.
The plan is this: once I swap out that new phone line (which was only installed six months ago!) for the UTP cable, if the connection still acts up, they'll have to look at replacing the actual line coming from the utility pole to the house.

My contract is for 50 Mb/s, but I rarely see anything close to that. Most of the time it's under 10, and occasionally it even dips below 5 Mb/s or just drops out entirely.

the technician's logic
so their miles of wiring are perfect, but your five measly feet is where the problem lies. classic.

It’s usually on them, but you're the one who has to play detective and prove it.

One way to handle it? Put the router right up in the attic, directly on their line, and then just run a 5 or 10m UTP cable from the computer to the router up there.
If the connection still sucks after that, you've effectively proven the attic isn't the issue—it's their incoming line.

And when you move the router up there, you can just use your phone via Wi-Fi to run speed tests.

Charles Thompson15 said:Sure, UTP runs between the router and the computer, but that’s not really what we’re getting at here. We're talking about the connection between the router and the line coming from the utility pole where I'm tapping in up in the attic. An RJ11 cable plugs directly into the DSL port on the router.

So, what’s the actual issue? Almost every ADSL setup out there uses standard telephone wiring—you know, those basic two-wire pairs.
As long as the wire isn't physically trashed, you're fine. It's easy to extend; just strip the ends, twist them together, and wrap them tight with some electrical tape.
The wires inside the cable are symmetrical, so honestly, it doesn't even matter which one you pair with which.

I don't know what kind of speeds you're dreaming of, but for 25Mb/s, a standard phone line shouldn't be an issue.

Jack Cook7 said:Good grief, man, I haven't seen a router using just rj11 since forever—some old junk German model from decades ago.

What router model are you rocking right now?

Isn't that pretty standard for any ADSL setup with a phone jack input?
The UTP is on the side between the router and the PC.

Or am I just being unclear about what's needed here?

dustycanyon4 said:Hey, I was wondering where I could track down, or maybe how I’d go about making, an A4 sheet (210x297mm) but converted entirely into pixels—basically just a blank white canvas at that specific resolution?

The question is pretty vague, isn't it?
You could cram any amount of pixels onto an A4 sheet if you really wanted to, right? I mean, technically, math doesn't care about your feelings. But let's be real—if you try to shove a massive, high-res image onto a standard piece of paper, things are going to get weird. It’s like trying to fit a whole Ford F-150 into a compact parking spot in downtown Chicago. You can physically force it, sure, but it's going to look ridiculous and probably break something in the process. Does anyone actually know where the limit is before it just becomes a blurry mess? Probably not without doing some tedious math nobody wants to touch.
And honestly, the whole A4 thing is kind of a joke if you think about it. You can't even really use the full sheet because printers always leave those annoying little 5 or 6 mm margins around the edges where nothing happens. It’s just wasted space. Plus, professional print shops don't even work like that. They aren't sitting there feeding tiny sheets through a machine; they use massive industrial rolls or oversized sheets and then just trim everything down to size once it's done. Why make it complicated?

Maybe it’d help if someone actually explained what the point of this even is. Like, what's the end goal here?

George Ross65 said:Alright, I finally managed to get the keyboard connected... Pressing F8 still gives me that same click, but—hey, at least I actually made it into Startup repair, and now I'm looking at this. 😢

Maybe it's just a corrupted file system preventing a normal boot.
Try finding a CD to run a command prompt and trigger chkdsk—it can actually help sometimes.
Or, you know, just pull the drive, slave it to another PC as a secondary drive, and try to rescue whatever data is worth saving if there's anything left.

stormyangler32 said:Nah, it won't. It hits a certain percentage and just... freezes. After a bit, I get that annoying pop-up asking if I want to skip the file or just cancel the whole thing. I already ran chkdsk and it finished up fine—Drive C shows zero errors. Which is honestly super weird.
If I can't just move these two folders onto an external drive, I swear I'm gonna chuck this laptop off the roof of my apartment building.

So, we're talking about one 300MB file that apparently refuses to move to a USB drive, right?
Can you actually move that specific file to another spot on the local hard drive?
And does the video file actually play all the way through in a player?
Is the filename normal, or is it just a massive string of gibberish?
What's the actual file system on the USB?

Unfortunately, when files refuse to copy like this, it usually means the drive is failing.

stormyangler32 said:I don't know about that, man. For instance—I've got this folder full of photos—and whenever I try to move them, half the shots transfer fine, but then another batch gets stuck at like 90% and just hangs there... eventually throwing an error saying the file can't be moved and asking if I want to skip it. It’s the exact same deal with my videos, too. Some of the 3 or 4 GB files go through without a hitch, but then some tiny 300 MB ones just fail. If it were really a file system issue—like whether it's NTFS or FAT or whatever—it would either work for everything or nothing at all, right?

And that 300MB one that keeps stalling... will it actually finish copying if you try moving it directly to a thumb drive?
Have you tried running chkdsk on your laptop yet?

George Ross65 said:So, there's a USB port available—someone suggested my issue might be USB-related, so they told me to grab a keyboard with a direct connector. I ended up getting an adapter just to plug the keyboard into the round port and gave that a shot...

The thing is, when I hit the arrow keys, nothing happens. It’s always been like this whenever the PC boots up after a sudden shutdown, even when everything was supposedly running fine... I always have to sit there waiting for those 30 seconds to pass.

That "round" adapter you mentioned is probably a USB-to-PS/2, the purple one, right?
The keyboard setup sounds weird; those arrows are supposed to navigate the boot menu options.
Is this a standard keyboard? You know, the middle section, then the arrows to the right, and then the number pad all the way on the right that toggles between numbers and arrows with the Num Lock key? Does the Num Lock light actually turn on and off?

Any chance you can borrow a real PS/2 keyboard from somewhere? Just remember, you have to plug it in before you turn the computer on. Sometimes the BIOS won't even detect it if you plug it in while it's already running.

Honestly, this kind of thing happens with basically any laser printer. The fuser unit just can't hit its target temperature for some reason—maybe there’s a glitch in the electronics or something. You might get lucky if you power it on and off a few times, just hoping it finally
catches.
Some printer models are just nightmares to work on. Trying to track down specific spare parts is a total headache

My advice? Just look for a used laser printer on eBay instead. Find one where the toner isn't going to break the bank

George Ross65 said:Nothing much... just this weird clicking sound every single time... like a little click or a snap...
Since I forced a reset while it was still sitting in the BIOS, I got stuck with that black "Windows did not shut down properly" screen. It gives me a 30-second window to pick between starting in safe mode or starting normally... except the keyboard isn't responding at all—can't select either option. I just have to sit there and wait out the full 30 seconds... This is what happens every time I hard-reset this machine or pull the plug... that screen just pops up...

If the keyboard actually works, you should be able to use the up/down arrows to highlight the other option to continue booting

What kind of keyboard are we talking about here? Some weird adapter, or just standard USB?

That clicking/snapping sound is a pretty bad sign if it's coming from the hard drive