TP

Thanks for the suggestion. PDF Creator is an excellent program for converting other files, such as Word files into PDF files. I had forgotten I had it. Anyhow, in the meantime I had upgraded to IE8 and my version of PDF Creator was apparently incompatible with IE8 so I had to upgrade it to the latest version.

Unfortunately, it does not appear to be much use for scanning. I would have to scan a document with other software to immediately save it as a PDF file. I could scan a Word document with what I have already and then convert it to a PDF file with PDF Creator but I need to be able to scan Mixed Documents - documents with mixed text and pictures (even a logo headed letter) and to do that it is definitely best to scan and immediately save as a PDF File.

Anyhow, Thank You TP, for your suggestion.

MM

Fancy a straight swap? Your OfficeJet 7600 for my superior 7130? You could always throw in a pair of your better shotguns to make up the difference, I suppose. Say, Purdeys or whatever. Oh, and a box of cartridges too. ;-)

Well, I was looking at a very nice Holloway and Naughton shotgun (Birmingham gunmakers) on Saturday. I gave it back when I noticed it was a mere 67,000. Nice gun -- as you might expect.

Doc,

I've no idea about PDF Creator, but Adobe Acrobat works in the same way as a printer does and installs a print driver. In your case you would need to print from the scanner to a PDF file rather than to a conventional printer.

I guess there are other PDF creation programs that work in the same way. Have you searched Google?

Otherwise, I might have something of interest in my little green shed.

Update: Managed to get the hard disk out of the faulty PC. Fitted this drive temporarily on a spare machine and am running Spinrite on it. As of now, Spinrite has found no errors on it! So, it looks the problem probably is with the IDE cable or the motherboard or perhaps the powersupply itself as suggested by MM. Next, I'm going to try a new IDE cable on the old PC. If that sorts the problem out, good. If not, it's time for a new desktop. Thanks to all that helped.

Klal

I'm glad that you have it sorted, but whatever you do make sure that you copy all of the disk to backup before you go any further with it.

Thanks Optimist. I will absolutely take a complete backup before proceeding any further.

Hi
a couple of weeks ago I posted some stuf about installing a TV card with which I could receive terrestrial stations but not freeview. I challenged Virgin about the feed through their cable and received a load of drivel in return. Needless to say I told them this and strangley have not had a reply.

Now to my latest adventure. I'm trying to use same card on my linux system but have come up against a brick wall. If there is someone who can explain how to configure stuff in linux in the SIMPLEST language I will post some details. I've had some stuff from the card manufacture and searched the web extensively but can't find anything I can make sense of.

The words Linux and Simplest are a contradiction in terms.

Assuming that you can get a Linux driver for the card, you will then have to carry on searching the web for clues as to how to install it.

If you have the Linux driver for the card, try searching by the name of the driver or if you can identify it, by the name of the main chi on the card. It may also be worth searching the software manager for your distro to see if there are any utilities that asist with the identification of additional hardware.

Best of luck, please post your progress.

opti
thanks for your reply. Glad you feel the same about linux.

The system appears to have recognised the card correctly but there isn't a tuner attached so it can't find any channels.

Kworld (card manufacturers) sent me a "howto" which starts with:
if your kernel version is 2.6.23 or at last, you can load the module :
# rmmod saa7134
# modprobe saa7134 card=114 oss=1
# modprobe saa7134-alsa

I don't really understand how to load a module (even if I could find one and I have tried) but the middle one seems to be installed anyway. Unfortunately the system won't let me look into it as "you are not the owner". Don't know why this is as I installed the system and thought I was giving myself full admin rights. Can't find anywhere (in Yast for example) to change this.

There are then a load of card/system settings in the Howto but I can't find anything in my system which resembles them. On various forums people seem to find this info in file ispci but that doesn't exist in my file system.

edit: just went back to it and now there is a fatal error and the card isn't accepted by the system. I think my relationship with linux is fast coming to an end:)

Have you tried this?

http://linuxtv.org/

http://linuxtv.org/pipermail/linux-dvb/

http://hftom.free.fr/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=329&sid=70fdd6fefee89e7b86b1caca55f006f4

You need to be logged in as root to make the changes, which is not recommended. The alternative is to use Super User mode which has the same effect - type SU at a comand prompt, you will be asked for the root password, and type exit to finish the SU mode. Single commands can normally be excecuted in SU by preceeding the command with 'sudo '

thanks gents, that stuff looks useful. I'll get back to it when my brain's had a rest

Opti
morning
thought Im ready for another crack. Typed su in terminal, got asked for password but the keyboard is now disabled!! cant not type nuffink.
Ive got a feeling that this points the the whole problem Im having. Its possible that Ive been doing the right things but because I dont have the correct privileges theyre not taking effect.
So I need to find out how to get owner (root) priviliges first.

Username and Password Management

For some time now I have been using a small program called Password Keychain.

Once opened with a Master Password (Letters and Numbers and case sensitive), it lists all your web sites downwards in columns by Description (Nickname) and then by Site Info (URL) and Date Accessed (last time you went there)

I find it extremely convenient to use because, having selected a target site from the column, it can be brought up on the browser with a Double Click. After putting the cursor into the appropriate place on the web site, then a 'CTRL + ALT + U' pops in the Username concerned and then, moving the cursor to the password box, a 'CTRL + ALT + P' pops in the Password.

If you select 'Edit' from the program's Tool bar, you gain access to a useful 'Notes' section. This is where you can put stuff like 'What was your second Pet's name?' and such things as special dates.

I have been very pleased with this program and have greatly enjoyed using it. It also has a Password Generator and BackUp Data and Restore Data facilities. Thus you can backup the data onto portable memory cards or a secondary partition or hard drive.

But I have a problem with the program! I cannot backup or restore the Notes data. It just seems to miss this stuff out of the backup and restore procedures.

Hopefully, one of you might also be using this great little program. Online support for it finished ages ago and my problem may be that it just does not work as well on WinXP as it did on W98. Whatever.

Can anyone help? Or are you absolutely chuffed with a semi-robotic program you use? And if so, would you recommend it to me as an alternative?

I use Roboform for filling in Forms with Name and Address and Credit Card stuff but I think Roboform just it isn't as good as Password Keychain for Usernames and Passwords. If I could solve how to backup and restore PK's Notes section, then I'd be thrilled.

iiwarm

I have never come across the keyboard freezing when using a terminal window so you could have another problem. Does the keyboard still work if you switch to a different application?

You should be able to log in as root when you boot the machine, but this is not secure as everything you do will have root privileges.

Depending on which distro you are using, there may be a menu shortcut to a root terminal.

I find that another good way to access Linux is to install WinSCP (for file management) and Putty (for a remote) terminal on my Windows machine and use these programs to log onto the Linux system over my network. You have to enable SSH remote control on your Linux machine for this.

Another useful program, install NX Server on your Linux machine and NX Client on your Windows machine. Setup can be interesting and the client uses significant resources, but it will bring your Linux desktop to the Windows box.

Exec
thanks will have a look at that.

Opti
keyboard works fine everywhere else and even allows me to enter the "su" but as soon as I press enter the password request comes up with blinking cursor but the keyboard doesn't respond. If I shut down the terminal window keyboard returns to normal.
I've tried to give myself password free super user priviligies under sudo but it still asks for password. Ho hum, I'm a persistent bugger so will keep at it.

I have 4 options at boot up (sorry can't remember them all). The first is default, the second gives something like "safe mode" equivalent. Is this the same as root?. If not which one would give root?

System is opensuse 11.1 with gnome.

Will have a look at your other suggestions in due course but doubt I will go down that root. I prefer to keep each system on a separate HD and only have 1 connected at any given time. Have had problems in the past with viruses jumping from disc to disc, although this is not supposed to happen. This way I know that whatever happens I have fully working backup systems.

By the way you don't have to be as persistant as me, I'm just doing the whole linux thing out of curiosity. Any time you get fed up with it just say so.

Execline

Not sure if this will help, and it's certainly not the answer you're looking for, but I tend to keep all my notes, dates in Yahoo Notepad and Calendar. It will sync with outlook, should you want to, but more importantly, it's available to me wherever I'm working, and I use it extensively. Certainly don't store passwords on it though, and that program you describe sounds quite brilliant.

iiwarm

The options that you mention sound like boot options so you would still be asked to login although it sounds as though you have set it to auto login. you should be able to change that in Yast.

You would have been asked to enter a root password during installation but if you don't know it then there are ways to reset it but you'll have to search for them.

BTW The Putty and WinSCP programs that I mentioned are perfectly safe, they are just a remote secure link to the computer and no data or virus can be exchanged (except a manual file copy with WinSCP). The NX server works in a similar way but is far more complex so there must be a theoretical risk although I believe it to be safe. If you plug two computers into the same network, the biggest risk is from a virus or trojan on one machine detecting and trying to use one of the many services on the other, but SSH is among the safest.

Edit

I'm not fed up with your questions ... yet! :-)

Opti

Might I ask what you use for your Username and Password management? Have you got anything good?

I realy do think there's a massive market for this kind of thing. But there is a fair bit of competition out there, so such a program does have to be really convenient and easy to use. And of course, it does have to be very secure.

I've just opened an account with Citibank. To access your account the Password facility on Password Keychain won't work. Only the Username facility works.

Citibank make you click/select type your Password digits by selecting them one by one from a pop-up keyboard window. And then, having got past that, they hit you with a requirement to type in the answer to one of five peculiar questions. These latter can be originally chosen from a list of about ten such questions. They can be deleted and re-chosen by the user later and quite regularly.

All of this is very secure, of course, but it is awkward, prone to the user making errors with the digit selecting, and I bet it will have a 'three strikes and you're out' thingy as well.

And so, Citibank apart, there is a strong requirement for a user to store usernames and passwords securely and in such a way that they can be used quickly and securely. There needs to be a nil requirement too, for the user not to have to write anything whatsoever of his/her stuff down on bits of paper.

I don't trust any password management software as in order to insert the passwords, the system has to have access to the program.

Choose your favourite plain text editor, encrypt the file using at least 256 bit encryption and then copy and paste the passwords. If you want to be really secure then copy and paste half the password at a time.