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Old December 8th, 2012 #1
AJG
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Default Computer/Technology Questions and Answers

Hello and welcome to your 1-stop shop for information concerning all manner of electronic devices you encounter in your daily life!

I've been a computer hobbyist for quite a few years and sometimes neglect to remember that many, many people don't have much of an idea about how they work and can be intimidated by computers and technology in general. This thread aims to fix that. You can ask about a problem you have with your computer, ask a question about how an aspect of computers works, ask for advice on buying a new computer, etc. You can also come here for information on phones, tablets and to a smaller extent, televisions. I also want to make it clear this isn't "my thread" and anyone that is knowledgeable on the subject should feel free to help out.

I'll start with a fun fact: Macs are PCs that Apple makes exclusively so they can charge you 50% more than they're worth for proprietary reasons. There is no difference outside of Apple propaganda designed to make you associate the term PC with viruses. Stay far away from them and anything Apple.
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Old March 16th, 2013 #2
Fred
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I have a problem. My main workstation will not boot up unless it runs Chckdsk first. I am using XP. Should I let Chckdsk run or not? Should I take the drive out and put it another computer? Is my data lost? Is chckdsk safe?


Thanks.
 
Old March 16th, 2013 #3
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Are you turning your computer off properly through the shut down button?

Yes running it is safe. It tries to repair any lost data when the computer is shut down improperly.

Also there are viruses for Macs, it's just a smaller market so there's less time put into developing them.

Last edited by varg; March 16th, 2013 at 12:39 PM. Reason: .
 
Old March 16th, 2013 #4
AJG
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chkdsk is a small program built in to Windows which verifies the integrity of your file system. In general, you should let it run if Windows decides to but if it's happening every time your computer boots, you may need to replace the hard drive. Your post seems to suggest that chkdsk runs and then the computer boots normally but your asking if your data is lost suggests otherwise, so you'll have to be more specific in that area. Do you just cancel chkdsk and go into Windows, do you let it run and then Windows boots or can you not get into Windows?

If you're able to get into Windows, the likelihood is the hard drive being checked has a fault that Windows can't fix, which would almost definitely be hardware-related. If that's the case, I would recommend you backup all important data to another hard drive immediately and replace the hard drive. It's probably the hard drive which has your operating system on it, which will suck as you will have to re-install everything, but it's luckily a cheap and pretty easy part to replace.

After backing up your data, you can run a deeper version of chkdsk to see what kind of problems Windows finds and is able to fix. Go to My Computer -> right-click the hard drive being checked -> click properties -> go to the Tools tab -> click Check Now -> check both boxes in the new window -> click start. If the drive being checked is the main one with the operating system, you'll have to restart your computer for it to run. You can probably expect it to report errors. The good news is chkdsk might just mark some parts of the drive as "bad" and let you continue using the rest of it. If this version doesn't report errors but chkdsk continues to run, you should replace the drive. If it does report bad sectors but is able to fix them, you can keep the drive but risk other sectors failing and they could have very important data on them.

If you're not able to get into Windows at all, but chkdsk still wants to run, that probably means there are hardware faults in the drive that are affecting Windows' ability to load system files. You should be able to take that hard drive out and put it into another computer, retrieve the data that isn't in the bad parts of the drive and put a new one in to replace it.

Hope this helped. Feel free to explain or ask more.
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Old March 16th, 2013 #5
Fred
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Yes, Varg you are right. The computer locked up when I was using it. So I did not shut it down correctly. I had to do a hard reset. Now it wants run chkdsk before booting.

Right now the computer goes right to chkdsk while it starts windows. I turned it off before Chckdsk started. It does give the option to press any key to abort but for some reason my keyboard is not working because chkdsk will continue no matter how many keys I press. So I can't boot to get my data unless I run chkdsk first.

You guys are telling me that I should go ahead and let the computer run chkdsk and unless the computer HD is damaged it should boot up. chkdsk is a safe program to run. Correct?

If it does boot I will immediately get the files off that I want. Most of the important stuff is redundantly backed up but I would sure hate to have to re-install everything. So I want to avoid wiping out the disk.

Last edited by Fred; March 16th, 2013 at 01:15 PM.
 
Old March 17th, 2013 #6
AJG
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Chkdsk is better than safe. It makes your computer safer to use. Without it or an equivalent, you would lose a lot of data and have no idea why.
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Old March 17th, 2013 #7
Fred
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OK Thanks


This is what I will do. I am going to get an IDE to USB converter. Take the drive out and see if I can get the data on another computer. If so, grab what I want. Then put the drive back and run chckdsk.
If the drive is still good it should re-boot the workstation.

This may sound strange but I am an old DOS guy. I used to run chckdsk and de-frag frequently. Then about 7 years ago while using XP, I used chckdsk and it ruined all my files. Maybe the drive was bad, I am not sure. chckdsk did rename all the files on the disk. It was a pain in the ass.

I should not worry and go ahead an use chckdsk.
 
Old March 17th, 2013 #8
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I've never heard of chkdsk doing anything like that. If you're wary of it, then I suppose backing up first would make sense, but I don't think it's necessary in this case. Windows really just wants to verify the drive before letting you back in so things don't start corrupting as you're using the computer. It's probably just fine.
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Old March 17th, 2013 #9
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Thank you AJG, I will let you know what happens.
 
Old March 19th, 2013 #10
Crowe
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Couple good programs I use to keep my PC clean:

CCleaner:

http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner

- This cleans all the junk files out of your PC and in the registry.

Avast antivirus:

http://www.avast.com/index

- Don't pay for Mcafee or Norton.

I like avast because it has a pre-boot scan and its free. This helps eliminate a lot of stuff that a regular scan might overlook.

Problems with your PC running slow, or taking forever to boot up?

First - run CCleaner. I run it twice a week.

Too many people got too many programs loaded up on their PC that boot up on start up by default. That just means a slower boot time.

Go to the windows icon and type "msconfig" - then click on start up and uncheck any programs that aren't absolutely required to run windows. This is frequently an instant fix for a lot of people's slow boot up times.

Too much crap on your hard drive, and too many shortcuts on the desktop can also slow your boot time. I got about 10 shortcuts on my desktop. Most people's PCs I've seen got the screen completely filled up with desktop shortcuts - that just means you boot slower.
 
Old March 19th, 2013 #11
Fred
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A bunch of questions.

1. Chckdsk will not complete then it boots up the computer. It will not access one of the volumes on one of my drives. It is probably physically damaged.

2. I would like to get the data off my drive. What data recovery program would be right?

3. From the above post and for others if they have comments.
I am currently using Windows defender. My computer still seems to be full of silly programs that automatically downloaded. What should I do for security? How can I get rid of all the silly programs like pricegong and such?

4. I got high speed internet for the first time. I live in a remote area. I have been using pirate bay for torrents. I was told that unless I do "Peer to Peer" downloading I could get in trouble if I download an old Zappa album.
How do I do Peer to Peer?
 
Old March 21st, 2013 #12
AJG
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Crowe View Post
[...] and too many shortcuts on the desktop can also slow your boot time. I got about 10 shortcuts on my desktop. Most people's PCs I've seen got the screen completely filled up with desktop shortcuts - that just means you boot slower.
That's too bad. The rest of your post was actually decent but then you had to go and say something nonsensical like this. While I would like others to contribute to this thread, it's a good idea to know what you're talking about before you do.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fred View Post
A bunch of questions.

1. Chckdsk will not complete then it boots up the computer. It will not access one of the volumes on one of my drives. It is probably physically damaged.
When you say it boots up the computer, does that mean Windows boots up or are you shutting it down right after chkdsk finishes?

Quote:
2. I would like to get the data off my drive. What data recovery program would be right?
That might not be necessary if you can still access the drive in Windows after chkdsk. If so, you can just move things to an external drive. Unfortunately it's been about 5 years since I had to deal with a hard drive recovery and I can't remember which software I used. If it turns out your hard drive isn't accessible through Windows, I can google some stuff for you.

Quote:
3. From the above post and for others if they have comments.
I am currently using Windows defender. My computer still seems to be full of silly programs that automatically downloaded. What should I do for security? How can I get rid of all the silly programs like pricegong and such?
Control Panel -> Add/Remove Programs (XP)/Programs and Features (Vista/7) -> Go through the list and remove whatever you don't use/recognize. Google programs you aren't sure about before you remove them. Anything that isn't in that list but you find on your computer will have to be manually deleted. I would recommend using AVG anti-virus free edition. I haven't heard anything bad about Windows Defender/MS Security Essentials though.

Quote:
4. I got high speed internet for the first time. I live in a remote area. I have been using pirate bay for torrents. I was told that unless I do "Peer to Peer" downloading I could get in trouble if I download an old Zappa album.
How do I do Peer to Peer?
P2P is a very broad term that includes a number of different technologies. Downloading things from pirate bay (through torrents/magnets) is P2P. What your friend was warning you about was record/movie companies monitoring those downloads and suing people they catch. The best way to avoid this from what I understand (I live in Canada where this isn't an issue) is to use a VPN. Short of that, you can turn on forced encryption and change the IP being reported by your client to random numbers (utorrent offers both of these features) but sophisticated software can still see through those masks. It seems to only happen with popular/newly released torrents so you probably shouldn't worry too much about downloading old albums/discographies but it's still something to be wary about. You know how much kikes love their money.
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Old March 24th, 2013 #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AJG View Post
That's too bad. The rest of your post was actually decent but then you had to go and say something nonsensical like this. While I would like others to contribute to this thread, it's a good idea to know what you're talking about before you do.
I've been using PCs for 20 years. I started using them when I was 7 years old, back in the 80s before there was even windows. At 7 years old, I knew how to type in a command in DOS to play a game. My father was a graphic designer, owned his own business, so I was always around state of the art PCs growing up.

Flooding your desktop with shortcuts might not be noticeable if you got a blazing fast PC, but on older PCs and in the past it made a difference.

I got a blazing fast I5 2500k CPU + a SSD - too many desktop icons won't give me any noticeable changes in boot times. But for others running older/slower machines it could.

I got an old pentium 4 hooked up and it boots up noticeably faster after I removed most of the shortcuts. Basically that PC ran slow as hell when it was given to me, and now it runs almost as good as new. So I do know wtf I'm talking about.

Last edited by Crowe; March 24th, 2013 at 04:05 PM.
 
Old March 24th, 2013 #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fred View Post

3. From the above post and for others if they have comments.
I am currently using Windows defender. My computer still seems to be full of silly programs that automatically downloaded. What should I do for security? How can I get rid of all the silly programs like pricegong and such?
You need to go in your installed programs, and uninstall anything you don't use/need. Its under control panel. And programs you do use, but just don't want on start up, simply remove them from start up.

Also some of these programs might be addons in your browser. In which case you can go into the addons section and simply remove them.

If you are unsure if you need a program or not, ask us here. Sometimes these programs might be needed, like drivers.

Quote:
4. I got high speed internet for the first time. I live in a remote area. I have been using pirate bay for torrents. I was told that unless I do "Peer to Peer" downloading I could get in trouble if I download an old Zappa album.
How do I do Peer to Peer?
Torrents = P2P. Also ISPs and other groups monitor torrents, so using them can still get you busted, but there are ways around it like setting up a proxy via Utorrent, and also using peerblock.

www.peerblock.com/

As for how to setup a proxy:

Go to this menu here in Utorrent:



See the boxes I got checked? Also you might want to enable UPnP and NAT-PMP. I usually keep those enabled, but for some reason didn't have them enabled.

As far as free proxies:

http://www.hidemyass.com/proxy-list/search-225371

Where it says "all ports" - delete the 80, then click "update results" or it will only give you port 80 results.

Also, ignore the other information I got put in other than the proxy. Its not necessarily relevant.

As far as which one to pick and how to input it in Utorrent - refer to the image above. Input the type, port, and IP address in Utorrent, then click "apply", and then "ok". Another thing to note is I always stop the torrent, and restart after changing a proxy.

Note that not all of them will work with Utorrent, and you might have to try several different ones until you get one that connects to seeds, which allows you to download. Be patient - because sometimes this could take 3-5 minutes. Find and test the ones with high speed and connection. Sometimes I had to try 4-5 different ones before I find one that works good. And these change from time to time, so you might have to find another one tomorrow. Personally I've had the best luck with getting socks4/5 types to work and get good speeds. Whereas the HTTP ones almost never work.

As far as which one is better, peerblock or using a proxy. A proxy is definitely more secure. Peerblock isn't foolproof, it blocks most, but not all people from trying to track you. A proxy gives them false information and hides your real IP.

I pirate software/movies/games like a madman, and if I can get it for free - I do. I've never gotten a letter in the mail from my ISP. They know I'm downloading something, they just don't know what.

Use basic common sense when downloading torrents. Read the comments. People will let you know if its fake, or if its legit. Usually if its put up by a skull user then its legit with no malware. Also "cracks" will sometimes register as a false-positive on one of your antivirus programs. Cracks are basically hacks that allow you to bypass whatever protection they got on the said software. Its mostly used for games to bypass DRMs "Digital rights management" software.

Last edited by Crowe; March 24th, 2013 at 04:38 PM.
 
Old March 24th, 2013 #15
varg
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You don't understand proxies and utorrent.

From the Manual/FAQ:
Quote:
Use proxy for peer-to-peer connections forces µTorrent to communicate and transfer data with peers through the proxy. By default, this option is disabled, and µTorrent only uses the proxy to communicate with trackers. This option may not work with some HTTP proxies (not all HTTP proxies support HTTP CONNECT).

Note: µTorrent can only proxy UDP-based communication through SOCKS5 proxies. Proxying of IPv6 traffic is currently not supported. By default, connection types that your proxy does not support will simply connect as normal.
Quote:
Does µTorrent support proxies?

Yes. Open the preferences and go to Connection. It supports SOCKS4, SOCKS5, HTTP Connect, and HTTP proxies. Peer communication proxying is not supported with standard HTTP proxies, and UDP proxying is only supported with SOCKS5. HTTP Connect proxies are HTTP proxies that support arbitrary TCP connections.
If you're using an HTTP proxy it is only downloading the information and peers from the torrent tracker, not the actual p2p transfers of data. Because torrents are transferred using the UDP protocol, only SOCKS5 proxies would work for actual transfers. Same goes for 'hostname lookups' (dns lookups) because only SOCKS5 proxies support UDP routing and hostname lookup.

HTTP and Socks4 proxies do not have the capability for the data transfer torrents use.

Try checking "disable connections unsupported by the proxy" and see what happens. Nothing downloading right? Yeah because the torrents you've been downloading have still been downloading using your connection. The only thing that went through the proxy was your connection to the tracker if you've used http or socks4 proxies.

I find it hard to believe you're finding free socks5 proxies on the internet that don't have strict bandwidth limitations either.

If you're paranoid about beint caught downloading torrents, the best bet to stay safe is to buy a VPN or a Seedbox (list of seedbox companies)

Last edited by varg; March 24th, 2013 at 05:03 PM. Reason: ..
 
Old March 24th, 2013 #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by varg View Post
You don't understand proxies and utorrent.



If you're using an HTTP proxy it is only downloading the information and peers from the torrent tracker, not the actual p2p transfers of data. Because torrents are transferred using the UDP protocol (not TCP), only socks5 proxies would work for actual transfers. Same goes for 'hostname lookups' (dns lookups) because only SOCKS5 proxies have that feature.

Try checking "disable connections unsupported by the proxy" and see what happens. Nothing downloading right? Yeah because the torrents you've been downloading have still been downloading using your connection. The only thing that went through the proxy was your connection to the tracker.

I find it hard to believe you're finding free proxies on the internet that don't have strict bandwidth limitations too.

If you're paranoid about beint caught downloading torrents, the best bet to stay safe is to buy a VPN or a Seedbox
What I underlined is news to me, because there is a way to check your Utorrent IP:

http://www.checkmytorrentip.com/

When I check my Utorrent IP on that website, the only one that shows up is the IP for the proxy I'm using.

I don't understand all the ins and outs about why it does/doesn't work. I'm not claiming to know everything, but the info I provided about setting it up is still valid. And what I shared I found on a tech website, and they suggested leaving "disable connections unsupported by the proxy" unchecked.

And Varg, I only got 5mb DSL out here, and I don't run into any caps with that connection on many of the free proxies. I believe you are incorrect about it not routing anything through the proxy, because I do have "Use proxy for peer to peer" checked. And "Disable features that leak identifying information".

Last edited by Crowe; March 24th, 2013 at 05:09 PM.
 
Old March 24th, 2013 #17
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Because when you use socks4 and http proxies you're only downloading the tracker information not the actual file transfer.
 
Old March 24th, 2013 #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Crowe View Post
I believe you are incorrect about it not routing anything through the proxy, because I do have "Use proxy for peer to peer" checked. And "Disable features that leak identifying information".
I didn't say nothing isn't routed through your proxy, just the tracker download https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BitTorrent_tracker
If you're using socks4/http proxies then the actual transfer is still going through your normal IP.

I could be wrong however, since I haven't used torrents in a while. But I'm pretty sure the actual download of the file is sent over UDP. Only socks5 proxies or VPNs support udp routing.

From their help manual:
  • Note: µTorrent can only proxy UDP-based communication through SOCKS5 proxies. By default, connection types that your proxy does not support will simply connect as normal.

So when you use the wrong proxy type it is just connecting normally through your connection, because socks4/http proxies don't support those features.
  • 'Disable connections unsupported by the proxy' will disable connection types that your proxy type cannot handle. For HTTP, HTTPS and SOCKS4 proxies, this will disable all UDP-based communication (DHT, uTP, UDP trackers, IPv6). If your proxy is misconfigured or not working, all traffic in the client will stop.

When you checked that did your downloads stop?
 
Old March 24th, 2013 #19
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I'll use Socks5 then. I'm already aware that a paid VPN is the best way to be secure, and I'm not saying a free proxy is as secure, but I would say its better than nothing.

I've been torrenting for years and never got a letter from my ISP, and yes they do track torrents, because friends of mine have gotten letters in the mail over torrenting movies.

And yes, my downloads stopped when I checked that, but it seems to work with socks5.

Actually, thanks for the info Varg.

Last edited by Crowe; March 24th, 2013 at 06:04 PM.
 
Old March 24th, 2013 #20
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I actually just use peerblock without a proxy and haven't had any letters either. I don't really download using torrents other than Linux distributions (which is perfectly legal) though.

If you do use peerblock make sure you click the Allow HTTP connections button. You don't have to worry about blocking http connections if you're just worried about torrents. With block HTTP enabled sometimes certain websites you visit might be blocked because they're listed in the same IP range. I can see people using peerblock and wondering "Why won't this website load now?" The Block HTTP options is for blocking ads, but there's more false positives and you'll be locked out of certain sites unless you make exceptions.

But yeah I definitely recommend using peerblock if you're torrenting. Also remove your download in utorrent once it's finished so you don't continue seeding.

Last edited by varg; March 24th, 2013 at 06:27 PM. Reason: ..
 
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