■ For basic computer terminology, please read ths . (Unfinished) ■

Q:  
How do I remove temporary internet files (Cookies, history, cache, etc.)

A:  

FireFox - press Control + shift + del . Select the files you want removed, then press "Clear private data now" .

Internet Explorer 7: Click on "Tools" (the gear icon on the Vista version of Internet Explorer), and clear browsing history. Then click each one you want, or clear all for all of them.

Internet Explorer 6 : Click "Tools", "Internet Options" , "Clear Browsing History" then after that "Clear cookies" .

Note: Clearing your browsing history is an easy way to help prevent personal information and passwords from being discovered.

Note 2: Clearing cookies log you off of websites (if you are currently logged on), such as LiveWire. You will need to log back in.

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Q:  

My computer is acting funny, how do I do a Virus scan?

A:

First of all, you need an Anti-Virus program, such as Avast! Anti-Virus . Since there are so many AV programs that people are using I'll show you how to scan on Avast! and quick scans, which most AV programs have.

Avast! - Left click on the Avast! tray icon (the blue "a" next to your clock. Go to "Start Avast! AntiVirus". It'll run a memory scan first, to assure that no viruses will interfere with the start-up of Avast Scanner.

Click the button that looks like an eject symbol, in the top left corner, go to "Start Scan", "Scan area", "Local disks". Then click on the play button. And it'll start scanning.

Other Anti-virus: Most anti-virus programs have quick scans. To do this. Go to "My Computer", "Local Disk C:" right click it, and go to "Scan with ..." what ever the name of your AV program is.

Norton Anti-Virus notice: Norton how ever may be pre-installed on almost every PC you buy, I do  NOT recommend keeping it. Norton is a resource pig, it uses over 20% of your CPU time, and hogs a lot of RAM. It doesn't even do a good job of protecting your PC! I highly recommend removing it, and installing something better. Such as Avast! Anti-Virus. Avast! Is free, fast, effective, easy to install, has quick and less annoying updates then other AV programs.

Short and simple. Norton slows down your computer, and does a bad job protecting it.

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Q:

My school (work, etc.) is blocking a website! I want to go to that website!

A:

Please do not use these to surf porn, anything explicit, save that for when you're home.

Here is a long list of Proxy Servers created by BigHead1991, Tangaroa and Circa.

Proxy list

How Proxy sites work...

- You enter a web address into the address bar on the site.

- The proxy site recieves the address, goes to the website, and beams the website back to you, through the proxy server.

This masks your computer. So the website only see's the proxy server.

Also, this works by covering up the website when it goes through the filter at your school, or work etc.

Note: Proxy servers don't always work, try different ones if it doesn't work.

Note 2: Sometimes, by using your browsers back, forward and refresh buttons, you'll lose the proxy server connection, and it'll be a direct connection. You'll need to navigate back to the point where you were on the proxy server, and click the "go" button on the proxy server address bar, to reconnect.

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Q:
How do I reinstall Windows?

A:

Installing Windows is actually very simple.

Here's a short walk through. (Printing this up may help).

What you'll need...

► A copy of Windows.
► A COA (Certificate of Authority) Key (look on your Windows CD case, or on your computer) .

Note: It is legal to download Windows CD/DVD copies, but illegal to use key generators, and cracks.

Note 2: Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Vista are able to install with out reformatting, so you will not need to backup any files. But it is still safe to do so.

● Step 1: Insert your Windows disk in your primary CD drive, and restart your PC.

(Windows 95, 98, and ME are not bootable by CD, you will need a boot diskette. get one here, you will need a formatted floppy diskette.)

● Step 2: Press enter when you see "Press any key to boot from this disk...". Wait for the boot CD to load the installer.

● Step 3: Select "Install Windows"

● Step 4: Agree to the License Agreement (at your own will), select your main hard drive partition, and press enter. (DO NOT FORMAT, select Leave partition as it is, no changes).

● Step 5: Press the correct key to say "Yes" to allow Windows to install on another Windows partition.

● Step 6: From there everything is done, it just has to install the files, configure them, and there you go. You will have to set some settings such as time/date, and enter your info and COA key.

Note: Windows Vista installation is a little different. Except everything is easy enough to understand.

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If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. DO NOT POST THE QUESTION IN THIS TOPIC. Message me only!

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New!

Q:
How do I download video's from YouTube?

A:
It's quite simple, the hard part for many is playing the file, or converting it. I'll get to that (converting/playing) later.

Here's the easy part.

This is how to download the file. (Requires FireFox 1.5 or greater)

Get the "VideoDownloader" extension for FireFox, install it, restart FireFox.

>>Download "VideoDownloader" here! (for FireFox 1.5 or greater)
 

Go to YouTube (many other sites supported, such as iFilm, MySpace, Metacafe, etc. There's a large list on the VideoDownloader page), load the video you want to download, then, in the bottom right corner, on your FireFox window, click on the grayish blueish icon, then a Window will appear, showing all of the video(s) on the page that can be downloaded. Right click the one you want, and click "Save Target As", then save it where you please.

To play the video...

Download and install FLV player, here .

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end of FAQ's in this post.

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Don't see a FAQ up there? Want it answered? Then post your question here! (click this link). If you're question is not common enough to be added to the tech FAQ's page, I will still answer the question if I can, via message.

Note: I am not close to done with this FAQ page, I am just posting it, to add it to LiveWire, to get started. Also because I do not want an accident to happen losing this before I post it.

██ BEFORE POSTING IN THIS TOPIC ██

► Make sure you know what you're talking about.
► Keep it organized and easy to read.
► Avoid making "bricks", which is a large body of text, which is hard to read, looks unprofessional and will make this topic seem like a waste of time.
► Make sure the question is common, and will not be a waste of space on this page. If you want to discuss it before posting it, use this page (click this link) to do so.

(!) --- Updates --- (!)
→ 06-05-07 : Simplified the Norton Warning, Added updates section, added Basic Computer Terminology Section

→ 07-31-07 : Added FAQ! " How to download YouTube Videos! " , slightly updated visuals, cleaned the FAQ's up a bit.

Post edited at 2:13 pm on July 31, 2007 by Zw33K3RB0Y

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░░░░ You know what's annoying?
▒▒▒
▓▓
█ People who don't read signatures.

My computer is slow, how do I fix it?

A:

Note: This is only guaranteed for Windows 98 and later. I don't know anything about Mac OS.

There are many reasons why your computer would be running sluggishly. One possible explanation could be a virus (although unlikely, viruses are rarer than you are led to believe). Others could be a fragmented hard drive, slow processor, poor run time allocation, over heating, or low RAM/ hard drive space.

To check for a fragmented drive, go to My Computer and right click on the C: drive. Click 'Properties' and then click the 'Tools' tab. Click 'Defragment Now' and click 'Analyze.' It will then tell you that either do or do not need to defragment. If it says you do, click 'Defragment' and leave the computer alone until it is done.

If it's a slow processor (under ~2.0 GHz) I would suggest investing in a newer, faster one.

If you suspect over heating, download a program such as SpeedFan and run it. It will automatically detect any motherboard or hard drive temperature sensors. If there are no sensors, then this won't work. If there are sensors, then you can set in the options an automatic shut off temp. This is so that in the event that the computer gets so incredibly hot that it could damage the internals, it just shuts off. You can also set the target temp (100* F / 38* C is good).

Poor runtime allocation is unlikely and is not to be fooled with if you don't know what you're doing. If you open the Windows Task Manager and click the 'Processes' tab, you can set the run time priority by right clicking the individual process. Not all processes have the same name as the program it is associated with, so be careful.

Sometimes reinstalling Windows is a good idea, because many files from programs are still running in the system, and are very difficult to remove. Which requires a fresh installation of Windows. You are able to install Windows 2K + on the same partition, without having to reformat your Hard Drive.

Post edited at 6:15 pm on May 23, 2007 by motorhead

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If crime fighters fight crime
and fire fighters fight fire,
what do freedom fighters fight?

Please feel free to suggest any to be added, or help me finish this. Please do that, in this topic. (the topic linked) .

► Access time: The time it takes to access storage devices or a network source.

► Alias: A shortcut to another file ( An alias is not the original file)

► ASCII: Abbreviation for American Standard Code for Information Interchange - The standard data format used to exchange data between computers (Like a language for people).

► Background [programs] : Processes that run on your PC, that are not visible (On Windows 98+ , press ctrl+alt+delete , if you do not know what you're doing, please do not mess with the background tasks)

► Boot: The process of starting up a computer.

► Bug/glitch: An error or missing part of a program in which it causes an unwanted result or effect.

► Byte: A section of 8bits of data (8 binary digits. Bit = one digit)

► BSOD: Abrv. Blue Screen of Death: Originating from Windows crash screen, the blue screen. BSOD now refers to all kernel panic screens, in which OS's crash to.

► CD-ROM/RW: The most common type of compact media, or storage. CD-ROM abrv: Compact Disc - Read Only Memory.  RW = Read/Writable . DVD = Digital Video Disc .  

► Clock Rate: The measurement of a processor, and how fast it  is. Most commonly measured in Megahertz (MHz), and Gigahertz (GHz). In example Pentium 4 Processor 2.4ghz (2,400mhz).

► Command: An instruction given to your computer either by an executable (.EXE), batch (.BAT) or Microsoft Installation files (.MSI) or you, in which the computer executes the command.

► Compression: The act or state of being compressed, into a compressed file. Compression reduces the size of saved files by converting them into a different code. In example. Turning 4+4+4+4 into 2x8 . (that's just and example, they don't actually work like that, lol).

► CPU: Abrv. Central Processing Unit. Which is the basic component of a computer, which is vital to it running. Basically, a CPU is a very, very fast calculator.

► Crash: The result of a error in which a program cannot recover. Also known as kernel panic in Linux Terms. In Windows, crashing usually results in a BSOD (See BSOD).

(Unfinished) Will be updated soon .

Post edited at 10:38 am on June 5, 2007 by Zw33K3RB0Y

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░░░░ You know what's annoying?
▒▒▒
▓▓
█ People who don't read signatures.

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 Note: It is legal to download Windows CD/DVD copies, but illegal to use key generators, and cracks.

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A: Well, this is probably the stupidest issue with most computers. The computer doesn't want to boot to it's normal place, but instead, to an external drive first. No one really knows why, but it's just the way that, at least for the windows, they want to start. Of course, this may be an advantage, but for the most part, confuses many people.

Check and make sure that there isn't any iPods or other mp3 players, storage devices, cds, or anything that holds any form of data that isn't the main drive. If so, turn off the computer, take out any and all of these external drives, and turn it back on. This should work.

I know this can happen, and that this is a way to be alert before it happens, so you know what to do it something does happen. There might be a greater issue if this doesn't help, but I doubt that it would go to the "_   " screen and stop there, because that is where it reads what to load.

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Mais mots sont les choses, et une petite goutte d'encre tombent comme
de rosée, sur un pensée, produit qui fait des milliers,
voire des millions, pensez.
- Seigneur Byron

A: Well, first of all, I hope for the love of everything, you haven't tried to dry it by putting it in the drier. That is a foolish thing, and doesn't help. You need to find a way to dry it out, not just push the water around into more areas.  

You look around, freak out on not finding anything to do, but the answer is most likely in your cupboard. Rice. First, turn it off and put it in cold water, then into the rice bowl. Cold water will wash off all impurities and acidic things so it doesn't mess up the circuits. Take a bowl big enough to hold your electronic and then more. Add dry rice. Add the electronic, put it in the center, surrounded by rice.  

Rice is a very dry thing, and will suck up all of the moisture/wetness in your electronic, leaving it dry. So, wait a couple of hours, I would say, 5. Then, add batteries/charge it because it might have lost its power, and try it! It should work very well, I have personally used it before a few times, and is a very simple trick to save your electronics.

Post edited at 9:57 am on July 8, 2008 by Tavis

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Mais mots sont les choses, et une petite goutte d'encre tombent comme
de rosée, sur un pensée, produit qui fait des milliers,
voire des millions, pensez.
- Seigneur Byron