Kalyn Computers

If your internal and extrenal DVD writer are not recognising balnk disks, it sounds to me as though you're missing a driver or writing isn't enabled for the drive(s). You could try this: Go to My Computer Right click on the Drive in question and select properties Left click on the recording tab Put a check in the box that says: Enable CD recording on this drive. There is also a thread at Microsoft which may help: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;316529 If that works - problem solved, if it doesn't post again!   HTH Tim

If your internal and extrenal DVD writer are not recognising balnk disks, it sounds to me as though you're missing a driver or writing isn't enabled for the drive(s). You could try this: Go to My Computer Right click on the Drive in question and select properties Left click on the recording tab Put a check in the box that says: Enable CD recording on this drive. There is also a thread at Microsoft which may help: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;316529 If that works - problem solved, if it doesn't post again!   HTH Tim  

If your internal and extrenal DVD writer are not recognising balnk disks, it sounds to me as though you're missing a driver or writing isn't enabled for the drive(s). You could try this: Go to My Computer Right click on the Drive in question and select properties Left click on the recording tab Put a check in the box that says: Enable CD recording on this drive.   If that works - problem solved, if it doesn't post ahain!   HTH Tim  

Is it only typing that is slow? Do programs apear slow and jerky on the screen? If so, then I would suspect that the screen driver is the problem. Have there been any Microsoft updates done on the computer recently? Have you changed the screen resolution? If the answer is yes to any of these, then I would try a system restore and see if that cures the problem. Tim

FT English number: 0800 36 47 75 Tim

There's no need to turn the livebox off at all EXCEPT during thunderstorms. Tim

I am here and haven't gone anywhere! Telephone 05 49 72 34 79. Tim   PS - Contact now made!

Definitive answer! YES - the DG834 will work in place of the Livebox UNLESS you normally plug your 'voice' telephone into the Livebox - i.e. your normal telephone to make calls. In my humble opinion the Netgear 834 is one of the best routers on themarket - I have sold literally hundreds - I replaced 2 Liveboxes tody with 834's - typical after a thunderstorm which we had last night. HTH Tim

Hi Panda   Sorry about the confusion re the USB connection - the same question was asked elsewhere, and mentioned the USB connection, and I simply copied the answer I wrote there to here! However, without wishing to start an argument but being slightly pedantic - you DO need the Orange software to use the USB connection - which obviously counts as ANY connection. Unless there us a very good reason to, I would never use the USB connection on a Livebox - it uses lots of system resources and is nowhere near as reliable as a LAN (ethernet) connection. Tim

Sorry to disagree but the easiest way is NOT to start with the USB connection! To use the USB connection you have to instll the software and that is what can cause problems. The easiest way is to start with the Ethernet connect which needs no software. Simply connect the cable - it usually has RED plugs at either end, to your computer and the Livebox and then access the built is browser page to do the setup. You do this from Internet Explorer by typing into the address bar: 192.168.1.1, this will bring up the setup page, you may need a user name and password depending on the age of the Livebox (you may get a new style of an old style one) the default user name is admin and the passwod is admin. From there is it pretty self explanatory. HTH Tim

There are two main reasons for not using Word, firstly it isn't a web design program - it's a word processor, the second reason is that the html code it prduces is 'bloated' and isn't certain to display correctly in all browsers - even IE7! If you want a zero cost program that is easy to use and fairly intuitive, do give NVU a try. I have used it for several sites and found it very useful - it was only the gift of Dreamweaver from a grateful client that made me make themove away from it. You can get it here http://nvudev.com/index.php HTH Tim  

This is NOT an English based ISP! Look at the carefully and you will see that they are actually a French company. Their charges are not cheap and their broadband is repackaged from another ISP. Having said that, the people I spoke to last year are French but do speak English. HTH   Tim

You cannot run 2 liveboxes off one incoming phone line at the same time! The only way you could do it is to always have one live box switched off which probably partially defeats the object. The Maplin mains network suggestion will only work if you either have a single phase electricity supply to the house or, if you have a 3 phase supply, the socket you connect to in the house and in the shed are on the same phase - and it isn't easy to check! I would suggest that a cat5 network cable is the simplest way to connect the shed and house if you can run the cable easily. There is a limit of 100 metres to the length of a cat5 cable. HTH Tim

Regarding the BT Router, there is a very good chance it will work in France, you will need to change 2 settings, the VPI and VCI and of course your user name and password will also have to be changed to the Orange username and passord. Unplugging and replugging the Livebox may cure the problem for some people, if it does, I would suspect that the problem lies with you telephone line and not with the Livebox. It is impossible to generalise on this one as there are too many variable factors. One thing to note is that Liveboxes are no where near as good as modem/touters made by other companies! One other problem with Liveboxes is the Orange Parental Control software, it can cause silly problems and in my opinion, there are much better (and cheaper) alternatives available. France Telecom are not the only company who offer VOIP telephony, we use Voipcheap (and have for that last 18 months) and we find it a very good service and it isn't expensive, looking at my call history, this week alone I have made over 80 telephone calls, 50% to France 45% to the UK and 5% to the US, total cost of call? Approx 1€ - in total! We rarely run out of credit or 'freedays'. I don't get a commssion from Voipcheap - I wish I did because I have put over 100 people on to their service in the last 18 months. Tim

I have a customer who cannot get ADSL but  doesn't need satellite speeds so I advised them to get ISDN. FT told them that they no longer supply new installations of ISDN. I don't know if this applies to the whole of France but it certainly does in dept. 79. So looks like your only option is a second line. Cost should be approx 155€ to have it fitted and then the normal monthly line rental. HTH Tim

Unfortunately - Yes!! Liveboxes are notorious for their unreliability. I have lost count of the number I have replaced with a  'decent' wireless router such as the Netgear 834G. My advice? get rid of the Livebox and buy a Netgear.   Tim

Like another poster I have a fair experience of working with Microsoft and I am a Microsoft partner. Microsoft supply OEM versions of their software which may only be sold with hardware, theorectically hardware can be defined as a mouse, practically it is easy to buy an OEM version of MS software without the need to buy any hardware at all, As Timco has said, you can re-register if you go through a couple of hoops, I do it at least once a week on behalf of my customers, more often during the storm season when bits get fried and systems have to be rebuilt with new motherboards or hard disks. What is technically illegal is to buy an OEM copy of, e.g. XP home and then re-use it when you buy a new computer, but in practice, how can Microsoft stop this happening? When you install XP, an inventory is done of certain parts in the computer, motherboard type, CPU type, hard disk suze and type, whether there is a network card or not. This data in then used to generate the activation code which is used for the registration. Everytime the computer boots, the inventory is checked. If it changes, you may be asked to re-activate. In practice the MS EULA (End User Licence Agreement) is unenforceable in the EU and I don't think MS has ever tried to prosecute someone for re-using an OEM version of XP on a new computer. They have made an attempt with Vista to stop it being transferred to a new machine by tightening up on the way the inventory is generated and making the registration process more difficult. I have not had any experience of re-registering Vista yet (and I hope I don't for a long time!). To make my own position on this clear, I have no qualms if someone comes to me with a 'legal' copy of XP, OEM or not and asks me to re-install it on the computer to which the licence sticker is attached, in any language they want. I have talked to some of my contacts at Microsoft about this and they don't seem to think that there is a problem with me doing it. What I won't do is to install the same copy of XP on another computer UNLESS the orginal is being written off, I know that this is against the terms of the OEM agreement but again, unofficially, MS seem to turn a blind eye to this, in my opinion rightly so! I have looked at a French computer with Vista installed and the Vista disk that came with the computer was in French only (XP comes with lots of language options). Howver, my customer was able to buy and English version of the Vista disk from Microsoft in the UK for about £25.00 - this was for a 'backup disk' and came without a licence sticker. Tim

It isn't illegal for you to change your XP or Vista from French to English, you can elect to run your PC with whatever language you like. Service Pack 2 for XP does NOT limit your to 3 re-installs but re-registering with Microsoft afeter a re-install becomes a little more complicated. You can buy a new computer in France with XP or  Vista pre-installed in English, there are several  English run computer companies in France - I run one which is fully registered - and we build and sell computers in any language you want. Tim

Are there any Bridge players out there? My wife and I bith enjoy the game, I am a learner and she has played to a fairly high standard. She has also taught Bridge and would be will to teach anyone who fancies a go. We are in Nueil les Aubiers and we have plenty of space for teching and learning. Tim  

Glad you got it sorted. Tim

Hi Jimjams You are right and wrong: But one must have a modem to connect to the Net. A router is used to connect two or more computers to a single modem. The type of router I am talking about is a combined router AND modem, e.g. the Netgear DM111P. Some router/modems have both ethernet (i.e. network ports) and a USB port. Any ADSL connection will occasionally fail for a whole host of reasons. ADSL is delivered to you house by mixing 2 signals on the standard telephone line, the filter that you plug into the phone line actually splits the ADSL signal from the 'normal' telephone signal. Very high humidity, e.g. rain can cause some of the junctions boxes between the exchange and you house to fail temporarily, result - loss of ADSL. I have a customer in the UK who lives on a street with lots of trees, when there are very high winds, he loses his ADSL - BT finally cured his problem, after 3 years of complaints, by pruning one tree which was causing 2 wires to touch. I'm afraid that one has to accept that ADSL in normally 99.99999% reliable but very occasionally it can die for no apparent reason. I have seen my router/modem stay connect for over 4 months without a problem and then for a week, it wouldn't stay connected for more than an hour, then the problem disappeared and it has been connected for 7 weeks without a problem. The reason for turning the modem/router off is to force the built in software to reset itse;f, like all computer programs, the software can occasionally crash. To explain a little more, a modem/router is actually an little computer and it needs software to tell it what to do, very occasionally the software crashes so turning it off resets everything. Last but not least, you aren't being dumb - I should have made it clear that I meant a router/modem!!   Tim

All you need is the correct cable, not easy to obtain but they can be found.   HTH Tim

Unless the rules have changed recently, so long as you log in to your Wanadoo/Orange account every 90 days, your email address should remain active UNLESS it was issued when you had ADSL from them. Collectinng emails with an email program or using webmail counts as logging in. If you use Outlook,  Outlook Express or any other email program that downloads your emails, you won't lose them, they will stay on your computer until you delete them. If you use webmail, they should still be there so long as you can acess your account. If you go to another ISP and you use an email program (Outleook etc) all you need to do is add the new ISP's and your loging details to the email program and you can send and receive with them and Wanadoo/Orange - but you will have to change the outgoing mail server for the Wanadoo/Orange account - all fairly simple to do. HTH   Tim

This is a common problem with USB modems and is why many people use a router, and to be honest, it occasionally happens with a modem but much less frequently, I supply and use Netgear and Zoom modems and I finds that about once a month I have to switch my router off and back on again. HTH Tim

I presume your are running Windows XP, if so try the following: Method 1: Put your mouse arrow in a clear part of the screen and RIGHT click. A menu box will appear, slect PROPERTIES, another menu box will appear, select SETTINGS. This will show the screen settings your computer is using. Change the settings to e.g. 1024 x 768 and then click APPLY. However, you may not be able to see the APPLY button so try method 2: Restart the computer and as soon as it starts to restart (BEFORE you see the Windows screen) press F8 (function key 8) several times. This will eventually show a screen with several options, select the option VGA settings mode - or similar, this will start the computer in a 'known good' display mode and then you can go to method 1 above. If this doesn't work, then you have a deeper problem and you might want to talk to a good computer engineer HTH   Tim