Technology, Computers and Smartphones

[Deleted]

This is a dumb question: I have a bunch of blank CDs. Will they only work with audio, or can I put data (Word documents) on them as well?

[Peggy Lane]

You can put anything on them.

[Deleted]

I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this question, but it's a reasonable place to start.

I have a favorite DVD that has started to skip and stop at a particular point in the story.

Now I am very careful with my DVDs, never touch them with my fingers, hold them by the edge or center, etc.

Has anyone had any experience, either successful or not successful in cleaning or stopping a DVD from skipping.

I've done some web searching and there are products out there, but some people claim that those products actually damage the DVDs more. These products range from motorized cleaners to cheaper, "do it by hand" products.

I did find a set of instructions on cleaning & polishing a DVD on a site about burning DVDs. They describe 3 possible solutions - the first being a simple washing, followed by a more complicated cleaning and ending with a polishing. The polishing suggested using non-wax furniture polish like Pledge or Endust! There was also a link to another online article about CD repairs which described tests done with various "goops" ranging from commerical CD cleaners to household cleaners. Their tests showed that a household metal polish was both the cheapest and the best.

I did learn one thing, though I admit to feeling pretty dumb. The data on the DVD is stored on the bottom non-labeled side. Am I the only one who didn't know this?

[sleepy]

The data on the DVD is stored on the bottom non-labeled side. Am I the only one who didn't know this?

Yes. Tee hee -- just teasing you, Miss Marple.

When I clean a CD, I just use a very soft cloth and wipe outwards from the center. Also, it may be that your DVD player itself has accumulated dust in it, so you might want to look into cleaning that out. I've had luck just using those air-blower things for computer keyboards.

[proper stranger]

Does anyone know of a good site for hosting large files? I have a lot of video files (figure skating videos) saved to my computer at work, but I probably shouldn't be storing them here. I don't have a computer at home and don't have a DVD burner on my work computer, so I was thinking of storing the files somewhere online. When I finally get a computer at home (hopefully sometime in the not-too-distant future), I could then download the files to my own computer.

There are a lot of sites (yousendit, etc.) that will store the files for a short period of time, which doesn't work for me, since I don't know how long I'll need to store them. Total size of all the files is about 2.5 GB, individual files vary from about 10-50 MB (with one or two odd files at 100MB each).

Other considerations: doesn't cost an arm and a leg, don't have to download any special software (since our IT dept. blocks me from downloading any software).

I am a computer moron, so any help will be greatly appreciated!!!

[mrpancake]

Well, external hard drives are worth a look. They are very cheap, and they frequently go on sale, so just keep looking in the Sunday Ads at places like BestBuy and CircuitCity for a time when they have mail in rebates going. I got a 120GB one for about 60 bucks, and if you don't need one that big, they'll be much cheaper. It's kind of a lot, considering you just want to get those videos from one computer to another, but it's worth it for the precaution of backing your stuff up. Take it from someone who has been burned...back your stuff up, folks! The only reason I didn't have a total meltdown when my computer kaboomed the other week is because all my stuff was saved to another hard drive as well.

[laconicchick]

I have a question about backing stuff up, now that you mention it. I have an external hard drive, but I'm not sure what I should be backing up. I guess everything that matters to me... but do I have to go through and find it? Is it just the C drive? Or...? This might be a tough question to answer since you don't know what's on my computer, but what do most people do?

[mrpancake]

Well, I don't know. I guess it would depend for everyone. For me, the things I don't want to lose include my word documents (99 percent school related), my address book, my music and my photos. I don't save programs or other things, just the things I would be super-disappointed if I lost. And by super disappointed I mean I'd probably kill myself. At any rate, some external hard drives have software/buttons that will do an automatic backup. I know mine has one, and it's probably useful, but I've never used it. As far as what to save, what is it you can't live without. If you aren't sure, you may do a search of all your word documents by doing a search in the Windows finder dealie in the C:/ drive (if your hard drive is partioned into a D:/ as well, search that too for all *.doc or whatever files you might want). That's also the beauty of being anal retentive with your naming/storing system of your files. I'm really nerdy about that, but it's helpful because I always know where to find my stuff. Of course, I'm not the best person to listen to because I'm a total digital packrat and tremendous dork.

[india7]

Hey gang -

This is partly help question, partly letting you know that I may not be online at all this holiday weekend, depending...

I'm posting from work, and I don't know how soon I'll have internet service at home, 'cos it's out right now. Last night, we had a hell of a storm, and now my DSL won't connect. The computer itself is fine - iTunes works, Word, Excel, etc. all work. I get my log in screen, etc., everything acts as normal. But after I type in my password, it just attempts to connect and then I get an error message that it doesn't recognize my ISP number, or something like that. The tech support woman at Verizon was NO help. In fact, she was a dimwit! She said that I probably need a new external modem, even though the one I have is working fine (all the lights in question were lit, so even according to her, that's good to hear - but then she says I need a new one!) She also then said that I need to contact Dell and get some kind of new recognition card so that my ISP number can be recognized again, even though the only thing wrong is the internet - not the computer. She sounded like she was absolutely out of her flippin' mind. I'm not very tech saavy, but even *I* know that this has nothing to do with the computer itself or the modem. So I'm going to try them again tonight or tomorrow to see if I can get a different person. So I don't know that I'll be online over the next few days at all if they can't help me.

Has this ever happened to anyone here? What was it? What did you do?

If I'm not online from 5 PM tonight till Wednesday morning when I'm back at work, don't worry, I'm fine. Just bump the Tommy Lee Jones thread for me!

[proper stranger]

Thanks, mrpancake! I'll check into external hard drives. Is it something that's fairly easy (for a techno-dufus like me) to connect to the computer?

Good luck with your computer, India--that sounds so frustrating.