Andyphilpott
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Posts posted by Andyphilpott
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Latest thrilling (!!!) instalment.
Dell called me from Bombay - very nice chap - and took control of my PC remotely. It still fascinates me that someone on the other side of the world can move my cursor around. Spent half an hour trying different things which did not fix it and has now gone away to do some more research. We will make contact again next week to see what he has found out.
Nothing new from Bayo yet.
Watch this space.
Andy
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That sounds very complicated! I had no problem downloading a couple of Region Complet's and 3 x 1:25k, just the older 4. Now Dell techies are calling me on Friday to see if they can throw any light on this and I have just had an e from Bayo seeking further info on the spec of my Dell. If only they would talk to each other and just give me the solution wouldn't that be brilliant!! I guess that there is as much chance of that as of finding a truthful politician!
In the meantime I will continue to persevere and will let you know the outcome.
Incidentally, I do not tend to run the programs from the CD but download them to my PC as soon as I get them (when I can!!) although you have to leave the CD in when you first launch the program after downloading according to the instructions.
Andy
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I use Moneybookers.com for small amounts (say up to £5k) as there is no charge from Credit Ag for receiving it from them and only a nominal charge by moneybookers. Rate is good, delivery timescale varies a bit though!
Andy
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I use Credit Ag and they are always pretty helpful if somewhat overburdened by red tape!
When our debit cards are due for expiry we get a letter (sent to the UK) reasonably well in advance saying they are ready to be collected from the branch which is usually impractical unless we are visiting around that time. A friend of ours in the village just goes into the bank and asks them to post them to us in the UK which they do and without charge! Small village so the bank staff know most of those in the village which might help I guess. They have even been known to hand over the cards to our friend to hold pending our next visit!
My only gripe is having to pay for debit cards, albeit one is at half price, but that is how they work so just grin and bear it.
Andy
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Will do.
I am speaking with the technical people at Dell on Friday but doubt they will be much help if past experience is anything to go by!
Also Bayo have their development people on ths case. Clearly it will be an issue for them since Dell PC's are so common as if it is a software conflict with Dell then it will affect many people in time. Odd that some CD's have loaded OK though. Bayo sent me the latest software but with that loaded it made matters worse as I could not open the program at all then! Reloaded v 3.09 and all except the 4 Vaucluse and Var maps worked OK. I have it all loaded OK on my old PC but since I took that to France at Christmas and installed it there it is a long round trip to work on it!
At the end of the day there must be a reason why the software works on some PC's and not others even using the same OS so it has to be something installed by the PC manufacturer I guess.
Andy
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Thanks Brian - I have not heard of the GPS Passion site - can you provide details please?
Beats me why the map suppliers cannot sort out compatibility problems before they launch new software! This one certainly seems to have Bayo baffled. I checked the Microsoft site and the Runtime Error certainly seems to be recognised as affecting a number of different softwares (although Bayo is not mentioned) so I have sent Bayo details - which Microsoft helpfully translate into French - to see if that helps them.
What annoys me is that the maps loaded fine on my old PC which uses the same OS but not on the new Dell. I have asked Dell to look into it too, but hold out little hope of getting a sensible response; they tend to lose interest once they have your money!
I really did not want to hear that there are problems with Net++ I have enough on my plate with the existing problems!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fortunately I have not yet come across this problem and hopefully I will not, but knowing my luck with things technical ...............
I am tempted to order another new IGN digital map to see if that loads OK - it is only my 4 oldest maps which do not - but at £20 a throw I don't want to waste money if it does not work. I have asked Bayo if they think it might be OK. Incidentally, Bayo did suggest that the problem might be caused by DVD burning software of a Microsoft patch, but neither of these were the problem. They then sent me the very latest software (V3.13) but that actually made it worse as with that version I could not even open the programme at all - the Runtime Error message came up as soon as I tried to launch it so i could not then even see the maps I have loaded! I uninstalled it and reinstalled v 3.9 which at least restored the status quo.
I am off to the Var in an hour - cannot wait to get back there but not looking forward to the 800 mile flog down the autoroute I have to say. Foggy start here too to make matters worse.
I will log into the forum on my return and let you know what, if anything, has happened with Bayo.
Andy
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Much obliged Pierre I will give that a try.
Any chance that you could translate what you have said into French and then I will pass it on to Bayo to see if it rings any bells with them!
I did have an inkling that the problem was with the software on the older maps but of course they are at present not admitting to that!
Regards
Andy Philpott
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I hope that there is some clever person out there who can help with this one!
I have used the digital IGN maps (Carto Exploreur 3) for some time now and they are great for planning routes on your PC at home and then downloading them into my GPS to do the actual walks. I have has occasional problems in loading the maps from CD's but the Bayo support people have always been able to solve the problems until now.
I have bought a new Dell PC and need to reload all my IGN maps (supplied by Bayo software) on it.
Although the main software installed OK and I installed 3 maps at 1:100000 and 1 (06 Sud - a recent purchase) at 1:25000, when I tried to instal my 4 older maps (Var Est and Ouest and Vaucluse Est and Ouest) from the CDs I received a warning message as follows.
Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime Library
Runtime Error!
Program E:GeoTools. exe
Abnormal program termination.
I contacted Bayo who suggested removing Microsoft update KB917422 which I did but that did not solve the problem. They also suggested that the problem might have its roots in CD/DVD writing software such as Nero (which I use and is on my old machine with no problem) and Daemon. They asked me to use Task Manager to stop all processes possible to avoid an "emulated securom" problem, but having tried this too that has still not fixed the problem. I even uninstalled Nero to see if that helped but to no avail.
I have since sent more e mails to update Bayo with the lack of progress but they have not responded, maybe suggesting that they too are baffled. I have suggested that I buy another new digital map to see if that loads OK, but I do not want to do that if I will not be able to load that either.
I do not understand why some maps instal but others do not. Perhaps the software on the old maps has some differences?Living France Techies are my only hope now!!
Andy
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Looks like it.
Makes you smile (or grimace) when you think that there are also proposals to cahrge motorists by the mile so as well as the high cost of a passport you will also be 'fined' for travelling up to 80 miles to get it!!
The thoughts of emigrating from the UK are of increasing frequency with no compelling argument to stay other than a desire to hand over all my hard earned wealth, such as it is, to a load of grasping good for nothing bureaucrats.
Andy
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I agree with all Ecossais says.
I have a Tom Tom 910 (as this model includes detailed European street level mapping) and am very happy with it indeed. It does get a bit 'lost' sometimes - mainly where roads have changed and not yet been updated on the digital maps (like on the new part of the A28 which it still thinks is a field) or where the Local Autority have changed the road system (like in Rouen where it asks you to turn right although there is a no entry sign). However you just need to drive on a little further and it quickly re routes you.
We took a route from La Tranche sur Mer on the west coast to Chinon and set it up to avoid motorways. Excellent drive through some pretty villages and it took us straight to the door of our hotel.
I do a bit of hiking and a useful feature is, when you have found the starting point for a walk, you can record it into the Tom Tom as a point of interest so that if you want to repeat the walk another time you can find the parking area easily. You can also carry it with you and it will take you back to the place that it was last docked (i.e. when you removed it from the car and turned it off) although I have not done this myself since I use a Garmin hiking GPS for navigating off road.
I like the way that you can do route planning etc on a PC too.
Andy
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I have used the on line banking for some years now and I used to enter the account number in the first box followed by the password.
That has now changed so you still enter your 11 digit account number in the line and then in the grid you click, in order, on the numbers in the grid which make up your password (a string of 6 numbers)
Hope that works for you
Andy
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On again today according to the radio. This time because of bad weather in the channel.
Andy
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I did not think that anyof them actually saved you any money! With Sanef the tolls are the same as if you pay cash and in addition you pay the one off up front fee (refundable if you hand back the telepeage badge) plus the monthly or annual charge.
In my view it is well worth the extra cost - I cannot see the point of making small savings at the expense of convenience. I agree entirely with andyh4 but who is your badge with? The 1 in 6 free trip would be very useful to me!
I also did not realise that you could charge the monthly tolls to a credit card. I have had mine (from Sanef by internet - I am UK based) for nearly 5 years now and when I got it it had to be charged to a French bank account. No doubt it has developed since then!
For general questions on this have a look at the extensive thread on the subject which probably covers nearly everything now.
Andy
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We have to keep all shutters closed whilst we are out of the property where the window is less than 2 metres from the ground as part of our insurance requirements. In practice we tend to keep all the shutters closed in summer all the time we are out as it is a welcome relief to return to a cool house from being out!
So far, touch wood, we have been OK but that might be something to do with the house being in the old part of our village with roads too narrow for a vehicle and our lovely elderly neighbours who are always on the watch - know to us as our rottweilers - so not much gets past them, bless them!
Andy
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Alane, did you not have to return your old telepeage badge before getting a replacement? If not, did they make another one off charge for the new one? I recall that when I obtaiuned it there was a one off fee which you get back if you hand it in to them.
I have had mine around 4 to 5 years with no problems so far but in view of other comments I guess I should expect it to fail before much longer!
Andy
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Response to BJSLIV. My Taxe d'Habitation arrived last week (I have a house in 83 and demand received OK in UK). A modest increase on last year but still well over €1000.
Andy Philpott
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Does anyone know of outkets who sell spares for oil fired boilers etc in the Var?
I have a system which is very effecient but have just one problem with it. The twin tanks for the fuel are in the cellar in a bunded enclosure but it is necessary to leave the caps of the tanks open to allow air in for obvious reasons. This does mean that there is always a faint smell of diesel in the cellar. I have in mind trying to get hold of replacement caps with nipples to which I would attach plastic tubing to vent outside the house, allowing the caps to be screwed down tight which ought to eliminate the smell. I just have no idea if such things exist or if they do where I might get them.
Thanks
Andy Philpott
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I assume that you are resident in France and with no particular time pressures, since unless that was the case operating in cash - by making cash withdrawals and paying them in, paying bills by cash etc - would surely be very time consuming!
I also use Moneybookers and have had no problems with operating a French bank account. It is especially useful as I can only spend a limited time in France and to have all the bills set up on Prelevement makes sure that none are missed with all the hassle that entails. Credit Ag have always been helpful once we agreed that I did not want to pay for services I did not need.
Having said that the Nationwide service is excellent - makes you wonder why other banks cannot compete.
Andy
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Tom Tom take the same view as those who have posted here that there should be no problem but naturally they do not guarantee that. I have suggested to them that they produce a document (in French) which deals with the legal issues if one is stopped by a bold gendarme and they say they will consider that.
To an extent this thread has gone a little off track; I was not bothered about the speed traps themselves - I can avoid those by avoiding speeding - but that having the 'availability' of this on the Tom Tom would make its use (for navigation) illegal. I am personally satisfied from the helpful contributions above that this will not be the case and have since used it in France without any problems.
I have to say that navigating with it really is a doddle!
Andy
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I did not get a password etc when I signed up but that was a few years ago now so maybe not available then. I will ask them for this as it could be useful in future so thanks for the tip.
Andy
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I once had a missing statement and just called them and they sent me a copy. All entries on mine were correct but it sounds as if there may be a problem on yours. Get the statement and query it with them as necessary.
I assume you have kept the telepeage badge in your possession at all times!
I will be interested to learn the outcome.
Andy
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I have a holiday home in the Var and to save the mad dash when we leave and to help out friends and family who use the house I am considering looking for locals to clean the house, do washing, manage any small jobs of maintenance and gardening and all those little jobs which make life easier. It also adds a little to the local economy!
Do casual workers who provide such services need to have any registration which I would need to see?
I have no idea at all how much this might cost though, so does anyone have any guidance?
I appreciate that rates will vary across France as in the UK so focus on the South would be particularly helpful.
Andy Philpott
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Thanks Paul - that is what I was hoping to hear!
Andy
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The previous 2 posters seem to have missed the point by getting on that old speeding hobby horse again. My question had nothing to do with speeding but it will always suit some to twist a question to provide a platform for their views on alternative subjects.
I did not suggest that I intend to exceed the speed limit. I do not advocate dangerous driving in any form and that includes both speeding and those who tootle along at too low a speed causing congestion.
My question was simply whether using this NAVIGATION equipment was illegal simply because it also showed where safety cameras are located. BJSLIV clarified that and I have now heard from Tom Tom who agree with him, pointing out the the French Government publish the locations and indeed they are now shown on most road maps. They point out that these are called SAFETY cameras and they clearly have no problem in drivers knowing where they are given both the publication of data and the prominent signs shortly before the location of the cameras; in fact it is believed that this improves their effectiveness. However Tom Tom make the point that the difficulty could come where trying to explain this to a gendarme who might be unable, or more likely unwilling, to understand this point of law.
Has anyone out there been stopped and questioned about using these navigation tools?
Andy Philpott
Theres a hole in my bank account
in French Finance
Posted
This is so refreshing! It really is what this forum is all about - helping others in France. It is heartening how people are prepared to go out of their way to help when you approach it in the right way.
As for the underlying problem, I used a friend to sort out EDF when I bought my house and she handled everything with them and also the water services. All went without a hitch. I get statements sent to me in the UK, I pay by Direct debit which is always correct. Maybe I am lucky.
I know it is difficult to cancel Direct Debits in France, but it is possible with help from someone who speaks French and understands the systems.
Andy