Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2006 October 15

Humanities Science Mathematics Computing/IT Language Miscellaneous Archives

The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions at one of the pages linked to above.

Revert graphics settings

Is there a way I can revert back to my graphic settings from a previous date in Windows XP?207.200.116.65 00:35, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

Did you create a system restore point? If so, you can use that. Alternatively, just go into the display properties (right-click on the Desktop and choose "properties") and reset things to the way they were before. Display settings are very simple to change. Or did you have a specific problem that can't be fixed so easily? — QuantumEleven 20:30, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

cartoon

I want to draw pictures, scan the minto my computer, and put them into a sequence as to look like they are in motion, like a cartoon. What is a good program I can use that's free. I have a MacBook and the latest OS from Apple. Thanks for any suggestions. schyler 03:38, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

GIMP? - Mgm|^(talk) 17:34, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

I can't find X11 on my install disk. What files mus I open to get to it? schyler 17:54, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

You can do this sort of animation in iPhoto and iMovie, so no need for GIMP. Firstly, import all your scans into iPhoto. Then in iMovie, you set up a "slideshow" of the animation frames album, but you set them to transition really quickly, like three video frames a photo. iMovie plays at 30 frames a second so this means about ten images a second. You can play it slower by setting more frames per photo. --Canley 01:51, 17 October 2006 (UTC)

searching wikipedia from the MS Office Research task pane

hi,

how can i add Wikipedia to the MS Office Research feature so that i can search Wikipedia directly from the Research task pane?

thanks.

Xero

Sort or count by word

I have this page that I'd like to sort by color, and also count the number of times a color appears (each color has a 6 digit string, so this is basically a word sort and word count). Can this be done, maybe on notepad or something? Thanks. NoSeptember 14:59, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

I use EditPad Pro (which you can try for free) as a text editor, it allows you to count the number of occurences of a word (by going on find/replace (Ctrl-F) typing in the search string and pressing count), but there seems no easy way to order the list, is this useful?--Bjwebb (talk) 15:11, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

I whipped up a quick little program that sorted the list by date. Is this ok? Oskar 18:00, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

That is very very excellent :). I will link viewers of my list there. Could you run that program once a month (say on the 5th of each month (to allow for my usual month-end updating))? NoSeptember 18:18, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

Sure, no problem. I should use your page as a source, I'm assuming? Oskar 18:59, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

Yes. And if you are interested, you could do two versions, one with the semi-active list included, one without. We can dig through the history of your new subpage to find the version we want. And if this ever becomes a bother to you, just post the code on the talk page and we will find someone to do it. As for myself, I am completely non-tech savvy ;). 19:12, 15 October 2006 (UTC)NoSeptember

Allright, I added sections on semi-active, inactive and former admins. I'm putting a note in my calendar to update it every 5th of the month. If I forget, please remind me ;). The code I used is on the talk page. It's filthy, but it works. Oskar 20:20, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

Low price computer

What is the lowest price pc, including monitor, that can be bought new?--Bjwebb (talk) 15:11, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

BJWebb lives in England - Adrian Pingstone 17:18, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

That depends entirely on what you want. You can probably get an old PC from someone who is replacing it, or from a company that's getting rid of old material, for very little (under £100). However, it probably won't run modern programs - if that's not a problem for you, then that's your best bet. Check out shops that assemble computers, they can probably point you in the direction of second-hand computer shops. — QuantumEleven 20:28, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

You might even be able to find a friend or coworker who is tossing out an old computer, and get it for free. The computer I'm typing on was given to me free from my brother's employer, as they were planning on tossing it out anyway. It's old (running Windows 98), but works fine, and I couldn't beat the price. StuRat 22:42, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

I think maybe the previous two respondants missed the word "new" in the original query. --jpgordon^∇∆∇∆ 05:30, 16 October 2006 (UTC)

Are ex-demo PCs considered "new" for your purposes? If so, that might be a fruitful line of investigation: you might not get a box, but you will be sure the thing works! But I'd highly recommend getting hold of a (paper) copy of the weekly Micro Mart magazine - it's not much use for classified ads any more as they've mostly migrated online, but you'll find a large number of budget PC sellers advertising in its pages, though be very careful to check the small print.

However, I do think you're likely to struggle to get much below £300 allowing for the cost of a monitor and delivery. A recent Computer Shopper throws up the Aries Performa 5571N, which comes in at £295.95 inclusive and has this spec: AMD Sempron 2800+, 256MB RAM, 40GB hard disk, CDRW/DVD combo drive, 64MB integrated graphics, integrated sound and a 15" TFT monitor. As far as I can tell, you do not get Windows with it, but you can get hold of a copy of Linux for a few pounds by mail order. (Well, free if you download it, but that's a bit hard without a computer!) Loganberry (Talk) 23:50, 16 October 2006 (UTC)

Or you can get Linux on a CD for free, if you decide to use Ubuntu and order one of those freebie CDs from their site. TERdON 23:45, 21 October 2006 (UTC)

Why one of my speakers will eventually stop working?

It is very common for me to have my stereo+subwoofer or just stereo speakers to become forcefully "mono". Why is that? How can I prevent my new speakers from breaking down? Thanks.

This might be rather obvious, but just in case, you do realize that when you play mono music on a stereo, it still comes out as mono, right ? StuRat 22:38, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

Well it still might come out both speakers but it'll still be only one channel of data. --froth^{T C} 20:03, 16 October 2006 (UTC)

If one of your speakers occasionally or frequently "cuts out", it's more likely to be a problem with the connection, not the speaker itself. Try rotating or jiggling the plug that connects the speakers to the subwoofer, or the connection to the computer. --Canley 01:34, 17 October 2006 (UTC)

Shell32.dll cannot be replaced because it appears to be in use.

I need to update my shell32.dll to get a program working, but I cannot replace it because "another process is using it". What now? = Mgm|^(talk) 17:16, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

• Additional info: I'm using Windows98, so I'm not expecting support from Microsoft on this one. And I get the error message "HC.exe is gekoppeld aan ontbrekende uitvoer shell32.DLL:SHCreateDirectoryExA" which means so much as "HC.exe is linked to missing output shell32.DLL:SHCreateDirectoryExA". I found something about a fix but that was for a specific other problem with that DLL not mine. - Mgm|^(talk) 17:33, 15 October 2006 (UTC)
• I got a patch from them, but now the program crashes on start up. They're looking into it, but any smart insights are still welcome. - Mgm|^(talk) 19:49, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

Windows 98 huh? Use a DOS boot disk, this should let you replace your dll, but it won't register it, which may be necessary. Unless you don't mind reinstalling windows if something goes wrong, i'm not sure I would try this manually. Vespine 05:39, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

Rome:Total War -- Low budget alternative

I've tried Rome:Total War at a friend's place. My computer is very low end (around 700 MHz and very little disc space. Can anyone recommend a war game with a similar gameplay but a little less demanding on my system. I specifically prefer non-turn based games. - Mgm|^(talk) 19:49, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

• I don't mind low-tech or 2D setups. I do like historical battles (Roman, Alexander, etc) better than WWII. If you know of a free game, I want to hear about it as long as it is not turn-based. Non-free suggestions are welcome too. - Mgm|^(talk) 19:58, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

Well, there are always the precursor games, Medieval: Total War and Shogun: Total War. Both were outstanding for their time, and if you overlook the somewhat dated graphics both still play exceptionally well (I used to play a huge amount of Medieval before getting Rome, and I can attest that it's excellent). — QuantumEleven 20:26, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

Will those two really work on a 700 mhz computer with no graphics card? I'd recommend one of the classic 2d-rtses, Red Alert 2, Warcraft II, The Settlers III (fantastic game, but you have to have the patience of a small galaxy), etc. Oskar 21:01, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, check out the requirements on the articles. Medieval: Total War requires at least an 8mb video card, but that's still pretty low, and Mgm didn't specify anything in this regard. As Quantum said, it's a excellent game, and despite the low requirements you can still have some massive battles. It just looks somewhat dated compared to Rome:TW and Medieval 2:TW. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 00:01, 16 October 2006 (UTC)

My suck-ass trojan

I've just downloaded this trojan, ntdll.exe. It's not doing anything though. Occasionally, maybe once per day, I'll get a pop-up that explorer.exe has encountered a problem due to ntdll.exe, but that's about the extent of this trojan. None of my spyware scanners can find it. A search for executables created in the past few weeks comes up empty. What's up with it? Hyenaste ^(tell) 20:32, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

Just because you aren't seeing anything happen doesn't mean nothing is. It's probably using your computer as a bot and either DDoSing people or sending spam using it. I'd suggest you download Autoruns and see what is starting when you put on your computer. Look for the exe there. Look where it's located, remove it from the list and the drive. This probably won't help you, but do it and report what you get (I'm assuming that you've googled for guides to remove it, yes?) Oskar 20:58, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

Nothing unusual. I wouldn't even think I had one except for that occasional pop-up. Hyenaste ^(tell) 21:21, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

• Visit symantec.com and get a removal tool. You may not see it, but it may be exploiting a security leak and those can relay all sorts of info from your computer you do not want in wrong hands. - Mgm|^(talk) 23:33, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

It's not the trojan you should worry about, it's the army of horny Romans sitting inside ready to rape and pillage your village.  freshofftheufoΓΛĿЌ  06:28, 19 October 2006 (UTC)