Computer problems

[ErikB]

I am having major intermittent computer problems. The last time this happened it was a hard crash, but I had a backup computer of the same architecture. Now that one is acting up in bad ways. I had purchased replacement hardware in the mean time. I just set up one of the replacement computers, but it only wants to run Windows. I cannot get at the low-level bios and it doesn't want to boot off the live image I use for the current setup. Sadly, both replacement platforms were made by HP, so I expect the same nasty behavior from the other one. The new one seems to want to hide the BIOS from the user, and needs network connectivity. I am super pissed. Trying the other computer will also require replacing the monitor as it does not support VGA, which is more work.

So, if I disappear for a while, that's what's going on. Dang it!

[WalterB]

Sorry to hear that. Sorry, I can't offer help. Unless it runs on Basic -

[ErikB]

Nice of you to offer to dust off your old Timex Sinclair! I ordered a computer with Linux already on it from a company I did not realize was just up in New Hampshire. Of course, this would have to be a holiday weekend as well.......

[WalterB]

My C-64 still works, lol.

[ErikB]

Well, I can now boot off the new hardware, but I think I have to manually select the correct version to get it to boot into memory. Also, the box says 12 Gig (already small), but it only comes up with 8 Gig, which my OS takes a healthy bite out of. I also have to disable the physical slots where the internal drives are, or I get Windows. I have made the USB boot have higher priority, but ended up with Windows anyway. Then I looked over and found I had forgotten to plug in the boot thumb drive. D'oh!

Also, I had originally installed vivaldi because Firefox could not handle whatever video tech the camshows used. This turns out to be a good thing, because vivaldi has a scaling slider that just popped up when it realized I was in super-low resolution mode. Firefox just provides ways to navigate around a gigantic display. Turning the resolution down to 50 or 60% makes the forum pretty useable. We'll see if it can handle the cam shows. I will try to remember to test on Monica's show.

I found a company in New Hampshire that sells Intel NUCs with Linux already installed (if you want). I placed an order. I don't know if I will lose a day due to Veteran's Day or not. But at least I can try to preserve whatever life is left on the "good" harware by doing the rest of my computing with this hobbled setup.

[ErikB]

My C-64 still works, lol.

I borrowed an Apple ][ from a friend (the kind with a single cartridge on top). I used it in college a little.

Anyway, I also actually owned an Atari 130XE. Not sure why I did not take that to college with me. Maybe my memory is playing tricks on me and I owned it close to or after graduation.

Anyway, I borrowed a book from that same friend on the processor used by the Atari. I used it to write my own assembler. Then I used the assembler to speed up the three slowest routines IN the assembler to make the assembler itself faster. Since we were limited to 8 characters for filenames (with 3 additional after a dot for file type), and this was an ORiGinal ASseMbler, I named it ORGASM. Aren't youngsters hilarious?

[lance_s]

I am having major intermittent computer problems. The last time this happened it was a hard crash, but I had a backup computer of the same architecture. Now that one is acting up in bad ways. I had purchased replacement hardware in the mean time. I just set up one of the replacement computers, but it only wants to run Windows. I cannot get at the low-level bios and it doesn't want to boot off the live image I use for the current setup. Sadly, both replacement platforms were made by HP, so I expect the same nasty behavior from the other one. The new one seems to want to hide the BIOS from the user, and needs network connectivity. I am super pissed. Trying the other computer will also require replacing the monitor as it does not support VGA, which is more work.

So, if I disappear for a while, that's what's going on. Dang it!

My opinions on HP equipment are not suitable for disclosure on a public forum. Suffice it to say that I would not willingly purchase any HP equipment for my personal use.

[lance_s]

From: https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/09/europe/l ... ckers-intl

Zero chance forgetting the nuclear launch code:
According to Bruce Blair, a former Air Force launch officer and nuclear policy expert, between 1962 and the mid-1970s the most powerful digits on the globe were simple – eight zeros.

Hope that makes everyone feel safe!!

[ErikB]

I am having major intermittent computer problems. The last time this happened it was a hard crash, but I had a backup computer of the same architecture. Now that one is acting up in bad ways. I had purchased replacement hardware in the mean time. I just set up one of the replacement computers, but it only wants to run Windows. I cannot get at the low-level bios and it doesn't want to boot off the live image I use for the current setup. Sadly, both replacement platforms were made by HP, so I expect the same nasty behavior from the other one. The new one seems to want to hide the BIOS from the user, and needs network connectivity. I am super pissed. Trying the other computer will also require replacing the monitor as it does not support VGA, which is more work.

So, if I disappear for a while, that's what's going on. Dang it!

My opinions on HP equipment are not suitable for disclosure on a public forum. Suffice it to say that I would not willingly purchase any HP equipment for my personal use.

I now agree. A lesson learned the hard way....

[ErikB]

From: https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/09/europe/l ... ckers-intl

Zero chance forgetting the nuclear launch code:
According to Bruce Blair, a former Air Force launch officer and nuclear policy expert, between 1962 and the mid-1970s the most powerful digits on the globe were simple – eight zeros.

Hope that makes everyone feel safe!!

Somehow missed this when I replied before. Reminds me of the sci-fi movie John Travolta paid for and starred in. His character wrote his password down next to his monitor. The humans trying to break in typed it but it didn't work. One said "maybe it's just written down backwards". Another said "no way he'd be that stupid...".
Typing it backwards worked.

[ErikB]

I missed the show due to thunderstorms, dangit. What a day. It started to raid JUST as I was outside feeding the birds earlier in the day. Then, the electrical storms the weather website predicted dropped out of the prediction, so I figured they revised it and I was safe. I was saying hello to everyone, then got a big rumble of thunder. Having lost both a computer and a modem to the same thunderstorm, I now turn off and unplug everything when a storm rolls through. This stupid storm went from 5 to 6:30. Just enough to cover Vicky's extended show! Grrrrrrr......!

[WalterB]

Don't worry. I noticed you were missing, so I did my share and your share of watching, too. Couldn't round up enough skin to close my eyes until after midnight.

[ErikB]

I guess that means I got an extra helping of watching since I watched the archives at around 11 pm when I woke up from "resting my eyes". I also logged in to the chat and read everybody's comments, trying to figure out which comment went to which part of the show. I still had fun, at least.

[lance_s]

Don't worry. I noticed you were missing, so I did my share and your share of watching, too. Couldn't round up enough skin to close my eyes until after midnight.

Sounds like I missed a good show. There's been a lot going on in life and I've been distracted. Hopefully everything is under control by the end of the week.

Lot going on = nothing bad or serious. Just lots of little things that take up time and attention and money.

[WalterB]

Missed a good show? Well, it WAS Vicky Vette,

I know how it is. Sometimes you've just gotta get a few things done, lol.

[ErikB]

I just noticed that I complained about a RAID that started as I was feeding the birds. After all the Vikings left, it also started to RAIN. Not my best day ever.

I have my new hardware There are some settings that aren't staying across reboots, but overall I am happy with it.

[WalterB]

Wow! I searched for "problems" in the titles only. Came up with 21 topics. I guess we gots a lotta problems, huh? (or is that just me? )

Here's my issue. I'm using Windows and Google. I've got pretty good security. But things get through.

Right now, I've got 3 "Pop-ups" that pop up randomly and constantly. One is possibly every 15 minutes or so, one is maybe 2-3 times a day and the 3rd is a "Windows Power window" (I think it's named. It looks like a system usage window. Next time they pop up I'll get screen caps.)

Anyway, I seem to remember some place where I could find random things running. One place was possibly in my modem, but I can't find that either (I'll look harder for this one.)

It's hard to define. I know how to find programs running and all that. It's just these random pop-ups that I can't find. the main list is not only simply too many little programs running, but the manes are all in code, lol. So even if one is there, I won't see it because it's in code.

So, any ideas, anyone?

[WalterB]

I also wonder if it means that there are internal issues. The pop-ups aren't ads. One of them is telling me to start Direct Play. None of the buttons in the window work except the "Skip" button, which apparently just closes the window for 5 minutes, lol. I've looked and I do have Direct Play installed, so I don't know what this message is for.

[ErikB]

I also wonder if it means that there are internal issues. The pop-ups aren't ads. One of them is telling me to start Direct Play. None of the buttons in the window work except the "Skip" button, which apparently just closes the window for 5 minutes, lol. I've looked and I do have Direct Play installed, so I don't know what this message is for.

I would try exploring the AI over at the Brave search engine. I typed "user is getting "start Direct Play" pop-ups or notifications but the only button enabled is "skip". I am not a windows user. What is this?" and got the following very helpful-looking response:

The pop-ups asking you to install DirectPlay are typically triggered by older software or games that rely on legacy Windows components for compatibility.
DirectPlay is a deprecated Microsoft feature originally designed for game networking and was commonly used in games from the early 2000s.
Even though it's no longer actively developed, some older applications still attempt to use it, causing Windows to prompt you to install it.

You can safely skip these pop-ups if you're not running any legacy software that requires it. The feature is optional and not needed for modern applications or games.
If you're not using any old games or software, you can disable DirectPlay entirely through the "Turn Windows features on or off" menu by unchecking the "DirectPlay" option under "Legacy components".
This will stop the notifications from appearing.

However, if the pop-ups continue even after skipping and you're not running any legacy software, it may indicate a system issue or a misbehaving application. In such cases, checking for outdated drivers—especially graphics drivers—can help, as outdated drivers can sometimes trigger these false prompts.
Using tools like DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller) to completely remove and reinstall your GPU drivers may resolve the issue.

In summary, these pop-ups are not a security threat and can be ignored if you're not using old software. Disabling DirectPlay via Windows features is a safe way to stop them permanently.

This only addresses the Direct Play pop-up, but with more info we can take the same approach with the others. I found the AI to be very helpful in finding instructions for fixing things while working with my new hardware and virus-laden operating system (more on that in a bit).

Assuming that the AI is correct. I had asked it a question about where Mr. Spock's heart is, and it told me that it is in the same place as it is for humans, and nothing in the documents it found indicated otherwise. Then I reminded the AI that in "The Omega Glory" it was revealed that his heart is on his lower-left side, despite it being "scanned" up in his chest in the episode where one of the crew stages his own death to get revenge on Kirk. The AI then said something like "Oh, you are right, in (blah blah)". So, if I knew better and contradicted the AI on this Windows advice, it would probably apologize. But I am completely Windows ignorant, so I have to trust the AI. Still, as I said, the help it has provided on how to do something in Linux has been pretty accurate.

phpBB [media]

The Brave search engine can be found at https://search.brave.com

[ErikB]

In further news, I realized that the program that allows me to make my own bootable thumb drives did not come with the OS I asked the company to install. It turns out the early versions of the OS were making use of the program from one of the derived or customized versions of the entire operating system. I guess they wanted that functionality early on, but the customized version makers are now fully separated, much like Linux Mint is a derived or customized version of Ubuntu Linux. Since I really wanted all my own customizations to be built into a version that would be retained across shutdowns (no hard disk in the system - live memory all the time), I needed to download an image of Refracta Linux. Refracta Linux is now fully a derivative of Devuan. So I went to a nearby university mirror and downloaded one. I ignored the little feeling in my gut that the version on offer looked suspiciously old, and downloaded it anyway. Then I started getting Linux viruses. The one I managed to catch and identify was a crypto miner and I don't think they were interested in snooping. I killed another one and it was respawned in a couple of minutes. I don't know what it did. But, I changed all the passwords for my various accounts and wrote the new ones down on paper only, just to be safe. I downloaded a more up-to-date copy of Refracta from the official Refracta website, which was updated just a couple of weeks ago. So far, so good. Nice low CPU usage and normal-looking program names running.


I found a vignette on YouTube illustrating the lesson learned here. In this short scene, the role of the experienced, system-admin version of me is played by Mr. Ren. The role of the impatient, just-wanna-get-things-working version of me is played by Mr. Stimpy. Enjoy.

phpBB [media]