You should put your Security settings at the "Default" level - you should see a "Default" button on the Security settings screen. You set it to the lowest level ONLY to see if that was your problem, and hopefully it was.
Note that your PC came with the Security setting at the "Default" level. You accidentally set it higher, and your problems using your credit card on the Internet followed. I'm actually a retired programmer, with a lot of tech support experience. I never diagnosed problems over the phone - as a corporate employee, I was able to go to the person's office and see what was done on the PC and fix it from there. I can't really tell what you've done or not done (or what others told you to do) from these short messages, so it's hard for you to get detailed help from these forums.
So how do you "back up data" if it's not done through Ghost? Is it just click and drag to a created folder on an external device like an external hard drive?
Can you restore a ghosted image piece by piece to see where the problem is or is the whole ghosted image corrupt?
Do all the software companies freely and easily give out new serial numbers and registration numbers, because so many of them have limited usage now. My impression was that if I used Ghost the software would be still installed.
Now that I've put my security settings as low as possible how do I protect myself. Is it done with the various softwares like windows firewall, norton internet security, norton antivirus and spysweeper??
We had done that reset to defaults in the security settings more than once(with Dell and with the DSL people) and the internet ordering still didn't work. It was only by setting at the lowest that it appears to work (jury is still out as i'm not sure if the purchase fully worked on itunes, but i'm much encouraged). Now I have to go back in and set back at defaults and see if it still works.
Guardian, what do you mean by "system checks"?
I did get Norton to register and did do a Ghost last night (albeit maybe a faulty bunch of info).
NIS?? Norton Internet Security?
TCP??
Again thanks for help. Any ideas how to get card readers to work or be recognized etc.?
The word from home is NOT good. I'm at the office fixing the ills of the world and I'm told that NOW neither AOL nor Internet Explorer will even load at all!! I put the security settings on low as that was what I was told was the problem and the reason that I couldn't fully use the internet. There was absolutely NO mention of then resetting them and that's why I asked the questions I did today. I guess I get to call India again tonight. This truly is getting ridiculous. Once again, customer service comes down to the individual and this thing hasn't fully worked most of it's life so far.
You should only have set the security level low to see if it solved that one problem. But if your Norton AntiVirus is protecting you, it should prevent anything destructive from occuring. And if you re-read the first post, I did advise you to set it at the "Default" level, thinking it was probably set higher and preventing you from accessing secure transaction pages.
I don't think Dell is going to help you with software problems. My advice is to hire a Best Buy Geek Squad (no, I don't work for them either) or any other kind of PC specialist in your neighborhood who can spend an hour with your PC and straighten out all of this mess. You'll never get to a steady state if you keep going back and forth with us!
Message Edited by PenguinNest on 01-24-2006 06:49 PM
Lol, great idea! I read an article recently about a tech person who went to houses to fix PC's in his spare time. The spare time business became his full-time job - there were so many people who needed him, he couldn't keep up with it all. People expect a PC to be a useful appliance like all the other electronics in their houses, but they really are inherently unstable because they're software-driven.
Anyway, maybe you can find such a service in your area if you can't get a friend to do it for "dinner and a movie"!
Now, I'm sure no one is still out there interested in my sad story. With much monkeying around I've somehow gotten the internet to so far work! Good news/bad news. I've no idea what I exactly did different than I've done a hundred times before. Monkeyed with some security settings which I've done myself multiple times and have done with DSL tech support and Dell tech support and restarted a bunch of times. Alas another evening spent flattening my rear end.
I will tell you a secret, if you promise not to tell too many people... One or two of those times I crossed my fingers on my left hand, wiggled my toes, looked crosseyed, passed gas and whistled the star spangled banner during the entire restart and I really think that did it.
My next remaining issue is the card readers on the front of the tower. How do you go in and get the computer to see them or fix them??
Personally for card reader problems, I've found that standing on your head with your right eye closed while reading Frost's "The Cow in Apple Time" backwards has yielded the most success - 67% success rate, in fact...
PenguinNest
62 Posts
0
January 24th, 2006 18:00
You should put your Security settings at the "Default" level - you should see a "Default" button on the Security settings screen. You set it to the lowest level ONLY to see if that was your problem, and hopefully it was.
Note that your PC came with the Security setting at the "Default" level. You accidentally set it higher, and your problems using your credit card on the Internet followed. I'm actually a retired programmer, with a lot of tech support experience. I never diagnosed problems over the phone - as a corporate employee, I was able to go to the person's office and see what was done on the PC and fix it from there. I can't really tell what you've done or not done (or what others told you to do) from these short messages, so it's hard for you to get detailed help from these forums.
belling
17 Posts
0
January 24th, 2006 18:00
belling
17 Posts
0
January 24th, 2006 18:00
belling
17 Posts
0
January 24th, 2006 21:00
PenguinNest
62 Posts
0
January 24th, 2006 21:00
You should only have set the security level low to see if it solved that one problem. But if your Norton AntiVirus is protecting you, it should prevent anything destructive from occuring. And if you re-read the first post, I did advise you to set it at the "Default" level, thinking it was probably set higher and preventing you from accessing secure transaction pages.
I don't think Dell is going to help you with software problems. My advice is to hire a Best Buy Geek Squad (no, I don't work for them either) or any other kind of PC specialist in your neighborhood who can spend an hour with your PC and straighten out all of this mess. You'll never get to a steady state if you keep going back and forth with us!
Message Edited by PenguinNest on 01-24-2006 06:49 PM
NemesisDB
2 Intern
•
7.9K Posts
0
January 24th, 2006 21:00
belling
17 Posts
0
January 24th, 2006 22:00
PenguinNest
62 Posts
0
January 24th, 2006 22:00
Lol, great idea! I read an article recently about a tech person who went to houses to fix PC's in his spare time. The spare time business became his full-time job - there were so many people who needed him, he couldn't keep up with it all. People expect a PC to be a useful appliance like all the other electronics in their houses, but they really are inherently unstable because they're software-driven.
Anyway, maybe you can find such a service in your area if you can't get a friend to do it for "dinner and a movie"!
belling
17 Posts
0
January 25th, 2006 04:00
Now, I'm sure no one is still out there interested in my sad story. With much monkeying around I've somehow gotten the internet to so far work! Good news/bad news. I've no idea what I exactly did different than I've done a hundred times before. Monkeyed with some security settings which I've done myself multiple times and have done with DSL tech support and Dell tech support and restarted a bunch of times. Alas another evening spent flattening my rear end.
I will tell you a secret, if you promise not to tell too many people... One or two of those times I crossed my fingers on my left hand, wiggled my toes, looked crosseyed, passed gas and whistled the star spangled banner during the entire restart and I really think that did it.
My next remaining issue is the card readers on the front of the tower. How do you go in and get the computer to see them or fix them??
Again, I appreciate all the responses.
yitsak
10 Posts
0
January 25th, 2006 12:00
ricolit
66 Posts
0
February 3rd, 2006 22:00