Advice for all computer newbies out there

[richamies]

This is for the good of the nation please forward this on and help your friends get better use out of thier diskettes.

(1) Never leave diskettes in the drive, as the data can leak out of the disk and corrode the inner mechanics of the drive. Diskettes should be rolled up and stored in pencil holders.
(2) Diskettes should be cleaned and waxed once a week. Microscopic
metal particles may be removed by waving a powerful magnet over the surface of the disk. Any stubborn metal shavings can be removed with scouring powder and steel wool. When waxing a diskette, make sure the surface is even. This will allow the diskette to spin faster, resulting in better access time.
(3) Do not fold diskettes unless they do not fit into the drive. "Big" Diskettes may be folded and used in "Little" drives.
(4) Never insert a diskette into the drive upside down. The data can fall off the surface of the disk and jam the intricate mechanics of the drive.
(5) Diskettes cannot be backed up by running them through a photo copy machine. If your data is going to need to be backed up, simply insert TWO diskettes into your drive. Whenever you update a document, the data will be written onto both disks. A handy tip for more legible backup copies: Keep a container of iron filings at your desk. When you need to make two copies, sprinkle iron filings liberally between the diskettes before inserting them into the drive.
(6) Diskettes should not be removed or inserted from the drive while the red light is on or flashing. Doing so could result in smeared or possibly unreadable text. Occasionally, the red light remains flashing in what is known as a "hung" or "hooked" state. If your system is hooking, you will probably need to insert a few coins before being allowed to access the slot.
(7) If your diskette is full and needs more storage space, remove the disk from the drive and shake vigorously for two minutes. This will pack the data enough (data compression) to allow for more storage. Be sure to cover all openings with scotch tape to prevent loss of data.
(8) Data access time may be greatly improved by cutting more holes in the diskette jacket. This will provide more simultaneous access points to the disk.
(9) Periodically spray diskettes with insecticide to prevent system bugs from spreading.....
(10) You can keep your data fresh by storing disks in the vegetable compartment of your refrigerator. Disks may be frozen, but remember to un-thaw by microwaving or briefly immersing in boiling water.
(11) "Little" diskettes must be removed from their casing prior to use. These containers are childproof to prevent tampering by unknowledgeable youngsters.
(12) You can recover data from a damaged disk by scratching new sector marks on the disk with a nail file.
(13) Diskettes become "hard" with age. It's important to back up your "hard" disks before they become too brittle to use.
(14) Make sure you label your data. Staples are a good way to permanently affix labels to your disks.

[jman01pa]

Does this also apply to CD's? I heard that by scraping a cd with sand paper (100 grit) you can re-record over them. Also if you scrape the written side of the cd it can be recorded to as well. This works especially well with those pesky free AOL cd's.

J http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

[richamies]

apparently if you use some rather coarse sandpaper on the AOL cd's you can play them back on your old vinyl player.....anyone remember those?

[jman01pa]

I never thought of that. I got a new electric sander for Christmas. I am now gonna put it to good use.


J http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

[AQR8]

Hope it's an orbital and not a belt sander http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

[Dave_H]

I still can't find my "any" key.

[pickel]

The any key is similiar to control/alt/delete
sequence but can only be used when reversing the images on a CD. But first the CD must inserted in the drive upside down to acheive
the full effect and must be set to 800/600 with 256 colors.This is esspecially useful in Windows 98 2nd Edition where everything seems **** backwards.

the pickel

[Dave_H]

Thanks pickel,
When I put my Windows CD in upside down, It spun backwards and was able to get to all the hidden messages. I think I herd something like "Bill is De**".

[deep_sky]

i found this to be especially useful during those cold nights.....remove all fans and heatsinks and install a heater on the processor. when it is hot enought, then it's SSSSSSSSSSMOKIN'!!!!!!!!!! you might have heard that when things get hotter, the electrons of that substance start moving faster. so heat those processors and the electrons will move faster!!!!!!!!!!!!

[theCorvetteDoctor]

I find that running 220vac into mine results in a dramatic change. Also wiring in my Chevrolet Corvette ignition directly to the CPU keeps my cat off the ATX case. When out of floppy discs, get a vcr tape and pull out about four feet and tape it to a 2 3/4" piece of card board and VIOLA you got urself a hommeade floppie. I like to use 3M spray adhesive inside my case to keep dust from getting out. To save electricity, I removed all my case fans and plugged all the holes in the case to keep extra dust out, also keep the hot air outside the case..

[noresull]

I just plugged all the wholes in my case, but I was told to do that, so it retains the factory smoke.

Was I wrong? http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

[XT]

Great tips guys!!

Another great tip, If you want to save on heating bills this winter, and we all do, Buy a computer with a cyrix chip, the older M1's especially, can find them cheap, usually under a hundred dollars, leave the case on or off, depending on how hot you want your house. I personally overclock my cyrix 6x86 120 to 166 and leave the cover off thus emulation a tropical rainforest in my house. Spend 35 cents so far on heating bills. Only bad thing is the EPA came to my house and confiscated my cyrix chip and brought me up on charges of global warming. So here i sit writing to you from a jail cell. P.S, Kevin Mitnick says hi..

XT http://www.sysopt.com/forum/wink.gif

[Ed_S]

Great tips!

Watch that heat thing though - too hot & you let out the magic smoke which IS the secret part that keeps 'em running.

Nobody's mentioned how that big metal case makes a GREAT place for those BIG refridgerator magnets! http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

[davem]

I vaguely remember a post that was very similar to this one not so long ago:
Somthing about .... Ferrets and celery !!!!
That one was very informative as well .
If I keep reading posts like this I will be a fully certified techky by .. Oh the 12th of......
Man you guys are so clever (shucks!!)

[yaroa]

Thank you guys, I just got this computer as a chritsmas gift and I could not figure out what to do with it. Keep those good tips coming.

[Todd Beck]

If a CD-ROM starts getting worn out, you might try playing it back on a record player. Get one of those LP hole-to-CD hole adapters, hook up the outputs from the record player to the inputs on your computer sound card, put the CD on the turntable shiny-side-up, and put the needle down on the track nearest to the middle of the CD (this last step is tricky, just remember that CDs play from the middle to the edge). Flip the CD over and repeat if you made one of those double-sided CDs according to the instructions above.

Plugging the holes in your computer case will not only help keep out dust and hot air, it's also an excellent way to catch more computer bugs since they will no longer be able to escape out the holes. Keep a roach trap in the bottom of your case, and remember to check and/or replace it every 10-14 days.

[This message has been edited by Todd Beck (edited 01-04-2000).]

[Richard_Cranium72]

If you install Windowz ME with the Disc upside down, you get the Satanic version. http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

[fshanda]

Ok, I have passed all of my floppies thru the largest magnet I could find in the garage. Then disassembled my hard drive and sanded the surface with my orbital sander. I only had 80 grit paper but it did a good job of laying down deep groves for better data storage. I also dipped it in some 10W40 motor oil before reassembling to keep things moving smooth. Disconnecting all the fans was a breeze. Then after reassembling my fully tweaked system,I used some foil tape to seal off any air leaks. I didn't see any smoke in the case from the factory. I guess I will have to wait a wile to build up a nice thick cloud. The only problem I have now is getting my computer to boot. Could someone please help me.

Fshanda

[Imperion1]

Hey Doc Vette, I thought you already had the satanic version installed.
I guess that I installed mine wrong, now where did I put that coaster.
I replaced my esc key with a Red Panic button. Wife used my computer, went to shut it down, W98 locked up on the shut down screen. My wife panicked and started hitting the Panic button. Laughed for at least five minutes about it. She doesn't know much about comps.

[Imperion1]

When running out of targets to practice your archery or shooting skills, CDs make for an excellent backup.

[barry glisson]

Stupid Question: Are the beginning posts
on this thread really from January?

[socalgal]

Barry - Yes. The posted date/s as listed is/are the actual date/s of postings.

[Wiruz]

COOL! - ALT+F4 cycles the colors of the forum. ;-)

CTRL+W switches to a Widescreen browser.

~Wiruz

[Beemers]

I guess none of you guys have discovered that the reverse side of a cd is blank and recordable!

Cheers!

[Imperion1]

Cool, I always thought it was that side my drink should sit on.

[Richard_Cranium72]

LOL @ Imperion1

Wiruz,, what the H*** are you talking about, is there anything in this thread even remotely related to that ?

Maybe I missed something,
1. being brain damaged,
2. dyslexic,
3. hypoglycemic,
4. chronic odoctophobic,
5. hypersensitivity to neurotics,
6. Phase III add,
7. Hypersomniac,
8. and a registered Hypocrite.

So it's highly likely that I missed the point since
every thing I look at;
is difficult to interpret,
is upside down and backwards,
is rough for me cause I'm either sleepy or running 500mph
is spelled in Chinese,
is somehow related to a DDS,
is possibly created by someone from a dysfunctional line of genealogy,
is difficult for me to focus upon long enough to decipher even the simplest of words,
is impossible for me to retain what little I did understand because of uncontrolled spontaneous Deep REM unconsciousness
is hard for me to relate to because I do it all too.

http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gifDrVette

[CujoRbd]

one more tip you guys forgot!

always be sure to place the needle of your record player directly on the surface of the CD -- never use those fancy coatings that they give you. (They're just a rip-off.)

oh! and be sure that you staple your label onto the CD as well (not just the floppies) or you'll forget what they are.


Cujo http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/wink.gif

[vass0922]

Hmmm guess I need a better stapler, it won't make it through the CD http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/frown.gif
To get my CPU really hopping I prefer to feed it some gatorade, it eats up those carbos real quick!!
It gets SOOO charged up with the gato that it even sparks a bit!
I once saw a kid feeding it a grilled cheese sandwich into the floppy, and being the smart tekky that I am I thought I could one up on the kid. So I took the case off and put the gato right onto the CPU.
You want factory smoke? THIS IS THE TIP FOR YOU!!!!
(one more quick tip, don't give the CPU coke... the powder only condenses on the top http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

[LittleKing]

You know what is funny about all of this?

There is some true to it. Someone, somewhere, had to try one or more of these idiotic things.

LK

[HfdWolfPack]

I spray WindeX in my cdrom drive for the cleanest of clean installs.

[skuz]

Wanna have fun with some REAL experiences like these ?

I got this URL somewhere, I don't remember where... maybe it was on this forum some time ago.
http://www.rinkworks.com/stupid/

[RobRich]

skuz, Thanks for that link! It has been a long time since I've seen that site. http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

My favorite story from there is:

At my previous job, we were porting a UNIX system to Windows NT using Microsoft VC++. A colleague of mine, that was in the process of porting his portion of the code, came to me, looking really upset.


Colleague: "Hey! I hate these Microsoft guys! What a rotten compiler! It only accepts 16,384 local variables in a function!"

Later,
Robert Richmond

[Richard_Cranium72]

Skuz, you're killing me http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif Oh, my side hurts http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

I looked for the one entitled "NO SMOKE"

anyone remember that one ?

Great.

Oh,, on cd's that need cleaning,, someone uses 80 grit,, I find that 36 or 24 grit polishes them quite nicely..

If you don't have these handy, a few swirls around in a gravel road will suffice http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

[mudoggy]

Wiruz... hahahah You *#&$*#)_@! hahahah
I KNEW the first one wouldn't quite work as advertised, but I was a little suprised with the result! haaha I hope I'm not the only one that tried! http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

Gave me a good chuckle, though!
Too curious for my own good sometimes... http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

[Brangwen]

Yeah, I admit it... I pressed Alt F4! Oh, man, some of us just can't resist! I'll likely try Ctrl W later!

Seriously though, any high quality black spray paint (Tru-Value is good) will get rid of that irritating screen glare. MAKE SURE TO USE "FLAT" BLACK, especially for "flat" panel displays and ALL laptops! And it cost so much less than those silly filter things that hook on the front of the monitor. You would think by now that Gateway, Dell, Compaq, IBM and the other socalled "big" guys on the block would ship monitors pre-painted! Note: Be certain to tape over the plastic areas of your monitor before applying the spray paint, as paint on the plastic moulding has been known to cause video freeze-ups. Something do do with hydro-carbons. But that's a whole other thread. Happy surfing!

Brangwen http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/wink.gif

[Wiruz]

Newbie> Uhm... im kinda new here - how do i change the text color in this chatroom?

Wiruz> Easy! - just thold down the ALT key and press F4 - it will cycle the colors...

Newbie> Thanx man!

"Newbie" has logged off
"technogirl" has logged off

...and so on - gets 'em every time

EvIL WirUZ

[Rat]

For all those newbie laptop users: there is an undocumented feature to your new laptop: to charge your battery when there's no outlets available or if the electricity goes ou, place the computer outside with the screen facing towards the sun. The LCD (Luminent Collection Device) will convert the solar energy to DC current and charge the battery. Most batteries will fully charge in about an hour with strong sunlight

Rat...
"The object of war is not to die for your country but to
make the other ******* die for his."
--George Patton

[RampageIII]

Use thermal paste on cd's to prevent heat buildup at high speeds. (Works on HD's too!) http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

[Richard_Cranium72]

NO NO NO, Rampage,, that won't work..

Mix up about a tablespoon of Epoxy, cover the CD , then stick it into the CD-ROM, or Better yet , Into a CD-Burner

DrVette

[yankinoz]

D'oh! I can't believe I fell for Ctrl-W - even after catching myself on Alt-F4.

True Story - I dropped a CD-RW that I used to store images - seems I knocked them all out of focus. Be careful out there!