[surfinguru]

Ok, I installed the XP SP2 tonight. It choked during the install. Had to soft re-boot to recover. Uninstalled SP2, re-installed. Now everything looks like Win2k. When I go to the Appearance tab on the display properties sheet, I only have Windows Classic Style as an available option in the pull down menu under Windows and buttons. WTF?!?

Can anybody tell me how to fix this? Thanks!

 

[d-sop]

confused. you want the blue taskbar?

 

[surfinguru]

confused. you want the blue taskbar?

Yea, that's what I'm after. The option is now showing upin the pull down option, but when I click apply, my machine just hangs. Any suggestions?

 

[d-sop]

step 1: right click my computer and go into properties
step 2: select the advanced tab and click on the first "settings" button you see
step 3: go down the menu to the last option, called "Use Visual Styles On Windows and Buttons"
step 4: select option
step 5: click apply, then ok
step 6: click ok again

 

[surfinguru]

thanks d-sop, I give a try when I get home from work taoday.

 

[Ciaran]

Ok, I installed the XP SP2 tonight. It choked during the install. Had to soft re-boot to recover. Uninstalled SP2, re-installed. Now everything looks like Win2k. When I go to the Appearance tab on the display properties sheet, I only have Windows Classic Style as an available option in the pull down menu under Windows and buttons. WTF?!?

Can anybody tell me how to fix this? Thanks!

And people laugh at me when I tell them that SP2 sucks.

 

[surfinguru]

Well, it's still spanked. Grrr..... I've been thinking it's about time for a complete re-install anyway.

 

[d-sop]

yeaa just live w/ sp2. if u have problems reinstall it. it stil has hella bugs microsoft prolly hasnt found yet. i reinstalled and i guess its fine.

 

[Ciaran]

yeaa just live w/ sp2. if u have problems reinstall it. it stil has hella bugs microsoft prolly hasnt found yet. i reinstalled and i guess its fine.

Why should he have to live with bad software?

 

[d-sop]

not wat i meant. surfingguru: when did u install sp2? cuz i downlaoded it a while ago, when there were glitches, then reinstalled it recently and it works fine.

 

[Ciaran]

not wat i meant. surfingguru: when did u install sp2? cuz i downlaoded it a while ago, when there were glitches, then reinstalled it recently and it works fine.

Ahhhh... that's different. I thought you meant that he should reinstall whatever version of SP2 he already has. Hey, if they have fixed the bugs I might give it a try too. Though if he really is due for a reinstall anyway I think he should do it. While I have PC's that havn't had a rebuild in a couple of years (or more for the W2k PC's) I recommend a reinstall once a year. Especially if you are the typ of person who installs and uninstalls many programs or hardware drivers throughout the year.

You seem pretty knowledgable D-Sop, do you work with computers for a living? Been working with them for many years? Self taught?

I myself do desktop support for a living.. am self taught, and need to learn more about networking.

Surfinguru, check your PM's

 

[surfinguru]

Yo guys, finally got it to work. Can't remember exactly what I did as I forgot to follow up on this post when I fixed it. I'm usually pretty knowledgable with this stuff as I've been building my own rigs for a few years now. (Hell, I'm even water-cooled at the moment... :evil: ) Anyway, thanks for the help!

Ciaran, got yer PM.......I'll let you know.

 

[d-sop]

haha im 16 and ive ****ed up my computer so many times w/ porn that i can fix it. i also spend hours on end ****in around on my comp, so i knowit like 85%. im kinda learnin dos like not religiously just if i feel like it. haha i have like a 4 year old dell, so im not really hardcore. (btw that dell xps looks hella sick.)

 

[Kornphlake]

haha im 16 and ive ****ed up my computer so many times w/ porn that i can fix it. i also spend hours on end ****in around on my comp, so i knowit like 85%. im kinda learnin dos like not religiously just if i feel like it. haha i have like a 4 year old dell, so im not really hardcore. (btw that dell xps looks hella sick.)

You know there are better ways to learn about computer stuff online than porn right? In fact there are forums much like Ridemonkey that are entirely devoted to computer hardware and software. I'm not trying to tell you to stop looking at porn, (okay, I am really) I'm just saying that wanting to learn how to fix computers isn't an excuse for looking at porn.

 

[d-sop]

yo. just so u know your totally stretching what i said. its not an excuse. i said that by trial and error i learned how to fix my computer. dont worry, the porn's looooooooong gone.

 

[Pau11y]

My experiences w/ SP2 is that it's best installed from your local drive. By this I mean down load the IT Pro/re-distro version that's 270+mb and install from your desktop. And, it's best to do this when you have as few services as possible running which means going into your msconfig and stopping everything (w/ the exception of Windows Installer). Once you come back from the reboot, defrag immediately.
d-sop, I actually prefer to run my XP looking like Win98/2K as the prettiness of XP slows a system down. I also kill system restore and any of those remote assistant things. Another thing is editing the services in msconfig to trim the fat (ie. QOS, Indexing Service, Uninterruptible Power Supply, Zero Wirless Config on a non-WiFi system, to name a few). This will get your machine running pretty lean and smooth and cut the vulnerabilities/exploits down.

 

[Ciaran]

You know there are better ways to learn about computer stuff online than porn right? In fact there are forums much like Ridemonkey that are entirely devoted to computer hardware and software. I'm not trying to tell you to stop looking at porn, (okay, I am really) I'm just saying that wanting to learn how to fix computers isn't an excuse for looking at porn.

Since when does anyone need an excuse to look at porn?

I learned computers in much the same way. Trial and error. I wanted a PC so I could "go online". I screwed up things so often I eventually had to learn to fix the darn thing. That lead to research, which led to better websites and training. Eventually some company decided to pay me for this crap.

Pau11y gives good advice. I also turn off everything that's is not needed. My machine runs smoooooooth like buttah. (P4 2.6ghz HT 800FSB, 1gig DDR333, etc. etc.)

 

[d-sop]

My experiences w/ SP2 is that it's best installed from your local drive. By this I mean down load the IT Pro/re-distro version that's 270+mb and install from your desktop. And, it's best to do this when you have as few services as possible running which means going into your msconfig and stopping everything (w/ the exception of Windows Installer). Once you come back from the reboot, defrag immediately.
d-sop, I actually prefer to run my XP looking like Win98/2K as the prettiness of XP slows a system down. I also kill system restore and any of those remote assistant things. Another thing is editing the services in msconfig to trim the fat (ie. QOS, Indexing Service, Uninterruptible Power Supply, Zero Wirless Config on a non-WiFi system, to name a few). This will get your machine running pretty lean and smooth and cut the vulnerabilities/exploits down.

i know. i need system restore cuz....again....its me.