Computer help?

If Iano wants to access your computer using Remote Desktop, then it is a program he would run, not you. What you have to do is provide him an IP address (in place of the computer name) and an account name and password. You could give him the account name and password that you yourself use for your computer, or you could create an account for him on your computer.But this remote access stuff may not work well for you since you're an AOL user. You don't have a fixed IP address. You could tell Iano your IP address and it will work for that session, but the next time you log in to AOL the IP address will be different and you'll have to tell it to Iano again.The next time we're both on at the same time let's spend 15 or 20 minutes and see if we can get either VNC or Remote Desktop going between my computer and your computer. If we can get one of them going then we can provide the details to Iano. I'm suggesting you try it with me first because I'm familiar with these tools.--Pecy

How do I find out my IP address -- or for that matter, account name and password if I have one?I now have AT&T DSL, but it's in a transition period from AOL somehow or other -- both are on the computer at the moment (a problem I have is that I can't get graphics with the AT&T for some reason -- such as the avatars here, though I can with AOL.)

If at any point you feel you'd like to understand something better, just ask, but otherwise I'll just tell you what you should do.Click on this URL and it will tell you your IP address: Send the IP address to percy@.Now download and install VNC. These are the steps:

1. Go to RealVNC - Remote access software for desktop and mobile | RealVNC
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2. In the left hand column is the navigation bar. Click on "download it now".
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3. Under the "Free Edition" column at the bottom, click on "Download & use".
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4. If you want, fill in the form on the page that appears next, but it is perfectly okay to leave it blank. When you're done, click on "Proceed to download".
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5. You'll see a bunch of Download buttons down the right hand side. The top one is the one you want. It will be on the line for "VNC Free Edition for Windows, and it will say "Executable" next to it. Click on this top Download button.
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6. Click the box for "I accept these terms and conditions". Caution: actually reading anyone's terms and conditions can induce somnolent symptoms and is a known cure for insomnia. After clicking the box, click on Download.
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7. You will see a box that asks, "Do you want to run or save this file?" Click on "Run".
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8. When it completes downloading, a window will pop up that asks, "Do you want to run this software?" Click on "Run".
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   Sometimes this window will pop up behind other windows that are already open, and when that happens it can't be seen. If you don't see this window, minimize the already open windows on your desktop until you see it.
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9. A window will pop up that says Welcome to the VNC Setup Wizard. Click on Next.
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10. Click on "I accept the agreement", then click on Next.
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11. The next page is called "Select Destination Location". The one it selects by default (probably C:\Program Files\RealVNC\VNC4) is fine, so just click on Next.
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12. The next page is called "Select Components". The boxes for both "VNC Server" and "VNC Viewer" should be selected. If they aren't click on the boxes so that both are selected. Then click on Next.
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13. The next page is called "Select Start Menu Folder". It uses the name RealVNC, and there's no reason to change this. Click on Next.
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14. The next page is "Select Additional Tasks". The selections that have already been made for you are fine, but make sure the box for "Start the VNC Server in Service-Mode" is selected. Then click Next.
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15. The next page is "Ready to Install". Verify the information. If everything looks okay then click Install.
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16. It will bring up the "VNC Server Properties (Service Mode)" window with a number of tabs, but you don't have to worry about them at this time. Just click on the Configure button next to VNC Password Authentication, which brings up the VNC Server Password box. Enter your password - they make you type it twice. This is the password you'll be telling to me and Iano. You can change the password at any time. Click on OK in this box, then click on OK again in the server properties box.
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17. There should still be a window on your desktop called "Setup - VNC". It says to read the following. You can if you want, but it's just more boring, unnecessary info. Click on Next.
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18. This should bring you to the "Completing the VNC Setup Wizard" window. Click on Finish.

You should now see a tiny VNC icon in the little tray of icons on the right hand end of your taskbar. It will have the letters VNC in it. The V is green and large, while the n and c are small with the blue n above the red c. If this isn't present then I'm mystified and we'll have to try Remote Desktop.But assuming the VNC icon is present in the service tray, then all is well and you can send me the password you selected to percy@. I'll see if I can get things to work from my end. If they work, great. If they don't I'll let you know and will request information about your DSL modem.--Percy

Percy, also remember that windows firewall will be on by default on her machine.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

Question: will that actually work, if she happens to be using a web proxy (as she would if using AOL)?If she is connecting to the net via DSL, then we need to also take the modem into account. If she is using a Speedstream 4100, then there won't be a problem, though (depending on modem settings settings) Windows might see her IP as 192.168.1.64. If she went with the 2Wire modem, then that will be acting as a NAT router with the firewall protections of NAT. She would need to configure the modem to port-forward the port used by VNC or Remote Desktop. Those are the standard SBC/ATT modems at present.Then, as jar mentioned, there is the windows firewall.Welcome to geekdom, Faith

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Compassionate conservatism - bringing you a kinder, gentler torture chamber

Well, I clicked on the link from AOL and got one IP number, then decided to try it from Internet Explorer, closed AOL, and got a different number.Trying each twice, however, at least I get the same number for the same source both times. Edited by Faith, : No reason given.

Using admin privileges, I can check the IP you are using to post to evcforum. Your Message 241 was posted using an AOL proxy (IP address began with 207.). Your Message 245, the one to which I am responding, was posted using an SBC dsl ip address (begins 75.). You might have seen a still different IP. As far as I know, connections to AOL make use of a VPN (Virtual Private Net), and AOL assigns an IP address typically beginning with 172. for those connections. Maybe VPN is not quite correct - the technology of VPN is used, but a public IP address is assigned.

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Compassionate conservatism - bringing you a kinder, gentler torture chamber

Thanks for the walk-through Percy. I've downloaded the program and installed it and sent on my password and IP to Iano to check out first. I also thank you for being willing to check it out for me yourself, but although you are probably better at understanding it I'm just a little reluctant to give you access to my computer. I will, however, if Iano can't deal with it, which could happen. Also, I checked the IP number for the SBC connection again and it's a different number than I got earlier. I'd thought that would only be a problem for AOL.Wish I'd done this with the other computer before it got so bad.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.

If you leave your modem powered on, you should keep your IP for a long time (weeks, sometimes months) unless you have line problems. I have had the same IP since Oct 12th. Yes, I use an SBC dsl connection.

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Compassionate conservatism - bringing you a kinder, gentler torture chamber

Curses! Foiled again! If you can access the Internet without using AOL, that would be a really good idea. Keep posting questions here, and good luck!--Percy

Not sure what leaving the modem powered on means, but I haven't shut down the computer itself, just closed the internet, yet I got a different number. But it's always open, isn't it? No? I still use the AOL connection, and will for as long as I have it, to the end of the month I think. I can see the avatars with that though not with the SBC connection for some reason.

The message title actually has little to do with the topic, though I do feel like I just got screwed. I just wanted to share my recent experiences adding a brand new disk drive to a brand new computer so that this page will come up when people Google "idiotic stupid computer companies".I just bought a brand new computer from Dell. I was going to use an existing IDE drive as a backup drive in the new computer, but it turned out the new computer isn't IDE friendly, so I went out and bought a 500 GB SATA drive from Maxtor. I installed the disk successfully, but every time I tried to copy large amounts of data to it (i.e., perform a backup) my new computer would hang.It didn't take long to discover that the problem wasn't the backup program. Copying large amounts of any data to the new drive would hang the system.I called Dell technical support. He tried to be helpful, but all he could suggest was to swap controllers, which produced no improvement. He felt this argued against the computer being the problem, and I agreed that it seemed to make the disk drive the more likely culprit. What surprised me is that Dell has no diagnostics for you to run to verify the disk controllers are okay.So I called Maxtor. Twice. The first time they explained how to run diagnostics on a system that has no floppy drive. If you don't know that a .iso program is for creating a bootable CD-ROM then you are apparently an idiot, and since I didn't know this I was treated like an idiot.The diagnostic program could not find the disk drive, so I called Maxtor again and was again treated like an idiot. I made all kinds of stupid "mistakes" while the tech was on the phone. When the program I'd just run from CD-ROM asked if it was being run from CD-ROM or from floppy, I answered "CD-ROM". The correct answer was "floppy", of course. So I was an idiot and we had to start over. And later when the computer failed to respond to ctl-alt-delete (it was again hung), the tech explained to me in excruciating detail how to hit ctl-alt-delete, as I was obviously an idiot.He gave me an alternative approach to diagnosing the drive by writing a zero to every single byte. It took 20 hours to run, and it completed successfully. Having no other ideas, I returned the Maxtor drive to CompUSA and bought a Seagate instead, but I felt terrible about it because I had no evidence it was drive that was actually bad and not the computer. It was just a lot easier to exchange the drive than return the computer, so I exchanged the drive.I installed the Seagate drive fully expecting to have the identical problem with the computer hanging when moving large amounts of data, but the Seagate drive worked perfectly. I've already performed a full backup and an incremental with no problem.So how do I feel after having lost nearly 2 days of work while being made to feel like an idiot? Pretty angry, I must admit. I wonder what tech support people do to those who don't know anything about computers? Maybe they're much easier on these people. Maybe I brought on my own problems because I would push back against suggestions that seemed like questionable courses of action, of which there were a number.Anyway, the bottom line is that the Dell tech support guy was nice but not very helpful or knowledgeable. The Maxtor tech support guys were knowledgeable, but also gruff, arrogant, unhelpful and, ultimately, wrong. In my book, when one behaves like an arrogant ass one had better be right. If they'd been right I could have forgiven the rest, but they were wrong.By the way, the only guy who provided helpful and accurate information? Jar! I've already thanked him, but it doesn't hurt to do it again, so thanks again! Thanks should also go out to Crash who, although I didn't take him up on his offer to configure a computer for me, did suggest the configuration I ultimately ordered from Dell. I gave the flat screen that came with it to my daughter (I already had one), and along with a new graphics card that allows her to play WoW on her own computer instead of borrowing her brother's she is in seventh heaven, so I'm a hero this week and the story does have a happy ending! --Percy

What modem are you using (manufacture and model, such as "Speedstream 4100)?

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Compassionate conservatism - bringing you a kinder, gentler torture chamber

Don't have a clue what modem I'm using. I guess it's part of the new computer package. I'll have to look it up.

Sorry about that subtitle. I started to write something different, then changed my mind and forgot to correct the subtitle.If the modem is a separate small box, it presumably has a label.I'm looking at a modem right now (not the one I am actually using). On the front it says "SpeedStream", and there are 5 labeled LEDs. There is a red label at the back. If I turn it over, another label says "SPEEDSTREAM 5100" and a bunch of geek stuff. There is also a yellow label with a modem access code.Open a command prompt window. Type in the command:

ipconfig /all

If you can post the output of that, it will tell us a lot. Or email it (to AdminNWR), if you don't want to post that in a public place.