Weird computer problem

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Ned emailed me this morning and he can't find anything wrong with the file so I guess I did not lose my virus virginity. I will probably unzip the file one more time to see if it happens again.
 
Tom, I have not yet gone over to the dark side.  I do have some Mac products, but still sticking to the PC sie.  Just thought I would be the first to toss that Mac thing in. 

I know what you mean about that attitude thing. 

I have never looked at the Adobe Audition.  Maybe I need to.

 
seilerbird said:
The second time I unzipped the file I never opened a photo. I tried to but it gave me an error message. I did not shut the computer down right after that.
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What was the error message?  That would be a clue.  Just unzipping a zip file shouldn't cause any problem as the only program running is the unzip program.  Did you use Windows zip extractor or another program like Winzip?
 
I knew you were just messing with me Bill, that's why I didn't bring out the heavy artillery.

I am an audio engineer (amongst other things). I got my first tape deck in 1961, a 3 inch reel to  reel. I have a large collection of mp3s. Every one that I add to the collection I run through Audition to remove things I don't like. Such as every millisecond of silence at the beginning and the end. I remove any pops, clicks, surface noise, a/c hum, 60 cycle hum and anything else that distracts from the song. I normalize, center the bass and center the vocal if necessary and then save the file. I have used most all of the audio editors around and I cannot find anything that even remotely works as well as Audition. I have been using it since it was Cool Edit Pro about 12 years ago. I keep trying the new ones but they never stack up.

Audition also has an amazing 128 channel recording studio built it. It also is my CD ripper of choice. It is the Swiss Army Knife of audio editors and can't be beat in my book. I wish someone would beat it because I would love move to something better. There are many things I don't like about the interface that I also don't like about Photoshop, Lightroom and Premier. But since it is the best I am stuck with a lousy interface.

Adobe has a 30 trial for download on their website. It is fully functional.
 
Ned said:
What was the error message?  That would be a clue.  Just unzipping a zip file shouldn't cause any problem as the only program running is the unzip program.  Did you use Windows zip extractor or another program like Winzip?
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I don't remember the exact wording, just something like it wasn't a valid file. I used the Windows zip extractor. I stopped using Winzip about ten years ago, but thanks for the memory. That was a cute little program.
 
seilerbird said:
I got an Acer Aspire One D257-13608. I did a search on Amazon for Netbooks and ranked them by average customer review score. The top three are all Acer.
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Tom, I bought my ACER D250 off of eBay about a year or so ago and have zero problems with it. I also noted the reviews on ACER plus the tech guys at Fry's Roseville and Sacto assured me the ACER company is big on quality and also the backing of their machines. This was during a purchase of my ACER low profile desktop last summer. It's a quad core machine with 1TB HD and 6gb of RAM - for under $600. It has performed perfectly for me as my main machine. The low profile makes it easy to move around -- plus as a desktop, I can work on it myself if need be.

I went the eBay route because I wanted Win7 Home Premium, 2gb RAM, and the larger battery - and paid $250. It is perfect to take to breakfast or wherever, does all that I need, and the battery lasts 6 to 7 hours. As I read a Kindle book, do email, or whatever,  I ponder the tablets around me - and still can't figure the benefit over the netbook. The ones I watch seem to buy accessories to make it more like a net book. A case to have the screen set up, portable keyboards and such. As a touch typist will always lean toward a real vs. virtual keyboard. Also, while in my rig I can connect my Samsung Smart phone via HDMI to my TV for HD views.

As to Apple not having viruses. If I were a virus writer, why would I spend time writing for machines that only 6 to 10 percent of world uses vs. the other 90. It has little to do with Apple being more resistant to attacks.

My only thought is that the combo of only 1gb or RAM and Win7 Starter may occasionally cause your black screen. Win7 in any form is a lot of SW for 1gb, it would seem if any multi tasking is going on - or will Win7 Starter allow multi tasking?

Oh, BTW, the limited screen res on my ACER "is" the only drawback as it will not display the SW I develop and market properly - and that is why I will probably sell my ACER and get one a bit larger (11" screen).
 
When I purchased my new HP with Windows 7, I got the black screen when I tried to download Outlook Express. after a couple of tries, I got a message, something like, loading a 32 bit program could cause problems on a 64 bit machine (or vise-versa), and would cause a crash every time.

Don't know much about that warning so I just gave up and loaded Thunderbird.

If you have 7, maybe that's whats wrong.

 
seilerbird said:
I don't remember the exact wording, just something like it wasn't a valid file. I used the Windows zip extractor.
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Have you unzipped any other zip files of similar size and number of files inside?  52 files and 23MB shouldn't cause any problems, even on a 1GB netbook.  Did you unzip to a folder or to the desktop?  I could see a problem if you put all those on the desktop.
 
Wizard46 said:
When I purchased my new HP with Windows 7, I got the black screen when I tried to download Outlook Express. after a couple of tries, I got a message, something like, loading a 32 bit program could cause problems on a 64 bit machine (or vise-versa), and would cause a crash every time.
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There is no problem running 32 bit programs on Windows 7 64 bit, but Outlook Express was replaced with Windows Live Mail and OE isn't supported on Windows 7.
 
Ned said:
There is no problem running 32 bit programs on Windows 7 64 bit, but Outlook Express was replaced with Windows Live Mail and OE isn't supported on Windows 7.
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I have several 32-bit programs that won't run on 64-bit (Win7 Home Premium in my case), Ned. The first one I ran into that hurt a lot was the Install Shield loader I used with my own application. IS wanted a ton of money to upgrade so I switched to another loader. Also, Outlook 2003 choked on Send and Receive after it loaded OK. I read article after article on fixes, but finally bought 2010. The good news there was that I was able to get the Teacher's version for $59, plus I really like the upgrade. In both of these cases the SW ran fine on Win7 or Vista 32-bit machines.
 
Bob Buchanan said:
My only thought is that the combo of only 1gb or RAM and Win7 Starter may occasionally cause your black screen. Win7 in any form is a lot of SW for 1gb, it would seem if any multi tasking is going on - or will Win7 Starter allow multi tasking?
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It is not a problem that could have anything to do with it being Win7 with just a gig of RAM. The problem occurs when I hit the power on button. I get the ACER spash screen and then it goes dead. Pure black.

Win 7 does allow multi tasking, but there is no multi tasking going on when a machine first starts.

I agree with you about the 11 inch screen. Verizon offers an HP with an 11 inch screen, built in 4g, 2 gig of ram, and Win7 Premium and a big battery for $600. It requires a two year contract with a $350 buyout. The only problem with it is that it is an HP. I have had two HP laptops and one Compaq. I had problems with all three. HP's customer service is even worse than Apple's if that is possible. I am waiting and hoping that more netbooks with built in 4G will be offered by Verizon soon.
 
Ned said:
Have you unzipped any other zip files of similar size and number of files inside?  52 files and 23MB shouldn't cause any problems, even on a 1GB netbook.  Did you unzip to a folder or to the desktop?  I could see a problem if you put all those on the desktop.
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No, I have only had this computer a week and I am not really don't much in the way of adding programs or files yet. The only reason I tried to look at those files is because I am going to be buying a newer RV soon and I am shopping.

I absolutely never put anything on the desktop except an occasional temporary shortcut. Files on the desktop tend to slow down a computer and they get in the way of looking at the pretty picture I have on my desktop. Of course with Win7 Starter there is no pretty picture on the desktop.
 
May I humbly suggest looking at the BIOS date on the new unit.  If ACER has a newer version listed on their website, replace your BIOS with the newer version.  Sometimes, the manufacture releases without full testing against the operating system that is installed for delivery.  This problem has been reported with ACER and others in the recent past.
 
seilerbird said:
I got an Acer Aspire One D257-13608. I did a search on Amazon for Netbooks and ranked them by average customer review score. The top three are all Acer. The one I got gets great reviews everywhere I look and never did I read once about a black screen problem. I got it at Walmart a week ago so I still have a week left to decide if I want to keep it. If not Walmart will refund every penny. I really don't think it is a the fault of the netbook. Ned has the file and he is going to dissect tomorrow.
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Check here for links to people having problems with black screens on Aspire Ones.

Check here for Apire one problems.

I've had two of the stupid things. The first one got the black screen problem two months out of warranty. I didn't know about reflashing the bios at the time so, since my desktop (also a POS Acer) was in the shop at the time, I binned the Aspire One and got another. It locked up two months later w2hen I was on the road while booting up and would never get past a certainb screen. It was still under warranty but I was so disgusted with Acer by then, I replaced it with my current netbook, an Asus Eee. I've had it about a year and a half now and it has had far more usage than the two Acers combined.
 
If a program uses any 16 bit components, it won't work on a 64 bit OS.  That's the situation with my Clarion 6.  The compiler and linker are 32 bit and it creates 32 bit programs but the IDE is 16 bit, so I have to run it in a 32 bit XP VM.  Other than that, I have yet to find any all-32 bit program that won't run in 64 bit Windows.

The best installer, bar none, is SetupBuilder from Linder Software.
 
Ned said:
If a program uses any 16 bit components, it won't work on a 64 bit OS.  That's the situation with my Clarion 6.  The compiler and linker are 32 bit and it creates 32 bit programs but the IDE is 16 bit, so I have to run it in a 32 bit XP VM.  Other than that, I have yet to find any all-32 bit program that won't run in 64 bit Windows.

The best installer, bar none, is SetupBuilder from Linder Software.
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Running 32 bit apps and DLL's is definitely a problem... On 64-bit Windows, 32-bit processes cannot load 64-bit DLLs, and 64-bit processes cannot load 32-bit DLLs. If you plan to run 32-bit applications on 64-bit Windows, you must configure some apps to create 32-bit worker processes. Once you have configured them to create 32-bit worker processes, you can run some applications on 64-bit Windows.  Always the challenge in the fast moving environment of technology!  :'(
 
Lady Fitzgerald said:
Check here for links to people having problems with black screens on Aspire Ones.

Check here for Apire one problems.

I've had two of the stupid things. The first one got the black screen problem two months out of warranty. I didn't know about reflashing the bios at the time so, since my desktop (also a POS Acer) was in the shop at the time, I binned the Aspire One and got another. It locked up two months later w2hen I was on the road while booting up and would never get past a certainb screen. It was still under warranty but I was so disgusted with Acer by then, I replaced it with my current netbook, an Asus Eee. I've had it about a year and a half now and it has had far more usage than the two Acers combined.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the links Lady L. The black screen problem appears to be a two to three year old problem that has disappeared from current models. I checked the BIOS and it is version 1.14. The latest BIOS update on Acer's web site is 1.10, so there is no updating the BIOS for me.
 
seilerbird said:
...This thing is basically worthless for editing photos so after I get my new motorhome up and running I will be investing is a regular 17" laptop for photo and music editing...
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You are absolutely correct about netbooks being worthless for serious photo and audio editing. The little Atom processors are just too slow and the machines do not have enough free RAM for that. Even serious music notation programs will gag netbooks if you try to do too much with a file without saving and reloading frequently. While they are useful little things, netbooks aren't met for everyone, especially serious computer users. For me, even a laptop is too small. Some of my work processes need six windows open while allowing access to the trash can (dragging is faster) with two or more temporary windows popping up. Trying to work with sheet music or other professional documents on a tiny screen is a royal pain, especially when working on page layout. All that requires a large monitor (photo editing is also easier with a large monitor) and plenty of RAM.

I got my netbooks to use when traveling, mostly for web surfing, banking, and emails (they are called NETbooks for a reason). I don't really care for tablets and can't afford the data plans for smart phones. Touch screens and I do not play well together (the misbegotten things hate me, especially the older resistive ones). The same for touch pads (I've turned the stupid thing off on mine and have a little wireless mouse I use with it). The smaller screens are harder to use, especially with my old eyes, and not having a real keyboard is just too inconvenient. Tye also have too little drive space. For me, netbooks are a perfect solution. They are easy to use yet take up little room and add little weight in my luggage. When I had a vocal band that performed at Ren Fests in CA, I could make changes to our music while on the road if I needed to then take a PDF of the file on a USB stick to a copy shop and have them printed up. I also back up my camera cards on the netbook while on the road. Tablets and touch phones have their advantages but they just don't meet my needs.
 
Tablets and touch phones have their advantages but they just don't meet my needs.
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My sentiments exactly. But isn't it wonderful that we now have so many choices?

I like the Netbook and Laptop approach. Laptops are redundant for me to do email and surfing, and Netbooks choke on audio and photo editing.
 
Lady Fitzgerald said:
You are absolutely correct about netbooks being worthless for serious photo and audio editing. The little Atom processors are just too slow and the machines do not have enough free RAM for that. Even serious music notation programs will gag netbooks if you try to do too much with a file without saving and reloading frequently. While they are useful little things, netbooks aren't met for everyone, especially serious computer users. For me, even a laptop is too small. Some of my work processes need six windows open while allowing access to the trash can (dragging is faster) with two or more temporary windows popping up. Trying to work with sheet music or other professional documents on a tiny screen is a royal pain, especially when working on page layout. All that requires a large monitor (photo editing is also easier with a large monitor) and plenty of RAM.

I got my netbooks to use when traveling, mostly for web surfing, banking, and emails (they are called NETbooks for a reason). I don't really care for tablets and can't afford the data plans for smart phones. Touch screens and I do not play well together (the misbegotten things hate me, especially the older resistive ones). The same for touch pads (I've turned the stupid thing off on mine and have a little wireless mouse I use with it). The smaller screens are harder to use, especially with my old eyes, and not having a real keyboard is just too inconvenient. Tye also have too little drive space. For me, netbooks are a perfect solution. They are easy to use yet take up little room and add little weight in my luggage. When I had a vocal band that performed at Ren Fests in CA, I could make changes to our music while on the road if I needed to then take a PDF of the file on a USB stick to a copy shop and have them printed up. I also back up my camera cards on the netbook while on the road. Tablets and touch phones have their advantages but they just don't meet my needs.
Click to expand...
So true... I've had a netbook for a few years, Dell Mini 10.  Hopelessly under powered, however serves it's purpose well.  Extremely small, very long battery life, just enough to blue tooth to a gps with Streets and Maps, browse the web for email keeping in touch, music, picture downloading from the camera and reading the news... with reading glasses though!
 
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