Welcome to Jonathan Young's Computer Site!
Welcome to Jonathan Young's Computer Site. I created this site as a means for me to reinforce what I have learned about computers. By using a hands-on approach and then recording the results, I can learn things better than just reading about them in a book. At the same time, I wanted to be able to help others, and possibly receive feedback, which is why this site is posted online and not just on my own computer. Feel free to browse through my articles and guides, and contact me if you have any comments, questions, or suggestions. This is not a professional site nor is it meant to be one. However, I do hope that you can find whatever you are looking for on this site. Thank you for visiting, and have fun!
Updates:
February 15, 2006 - I finally finished my build and sell computer project article. It's basically a little guide I wrote about a computer I built for the strict purpose of selling to someone. Now, I can finally try to sell it. ;)
January 20, 2006 - ActiveX controls can be removed from C:\Windows\Downloaded Program Files
December 22, 2005 - To run Windows XP in memory, if you have 1 gigabyte or more of RAM:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE -> SYSTEM -> CurrentControlSet -> Control -> Session Manager -> Memory Management
Set DisablePagingExecutive to 1 and reboot.
December 19, 2005 - Some console commands for Doom 3:
- set com_showFPS "1" - show an FPS counter in the upper right corner of the screen.
- set com_videoRam "256" - set the amount of VRAM your video card has (Doom doesn't always get this right).
- timedemo demo1 - start the built-in timedemo.
October 24, 2005 - I received my Cingular bill today, and the bill was 20 dollars more than it usually is. MMODE was somehow added to my account without my knowledge. I call Cingular, and they tell me that someone must have called in to add the feature. I know I didn't call in, so I asked them if it was possible that they had a computer error. They were adamant about their computers not malfunctioning. Curiously, while attempting to remove the charge, they kept apologizing to me for the delay due to their having computer problems. Frickin' hilarious. They wouldn't even acknowledge the possibility of a computer glitch, even though they seem to have computer glitches every time you call them. Even more hilarious is the Cingular lady repeating "I'd be more than happy to help you" even though she sounded like she was in labor with all that heavy breathing. I just love these peons and I'm glad I'm not working there.
October 9, 2005 - Someone recently sent me an email regarding a problem they were having. It was a really, really long email and I was saving it for later to read, but alas, Yahoo deleted it for me. I remember the sender being from England and having a problem with his Pentium 4 computer. So, dear reader, if you happen to chance upon this update and still have your original email, please send it again (if you haven't solved the problem already, of course). Thank you for taking the time to write and please accept my apologies.
-Jonathan
July 2, 2005 - To show nonpresent devices in Device Manager, do the following:
- Open a command prompt by typing cmd in a run box.
- At the command line, type the following: set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1
- Hit enter, then type: devmgmt.msc
- Once Device Manager opens, click on View, then Show hidden devices
This is a great way to delete a corrupt driver that keeps re-installing itself. Just be careful not to delete something you need!
June 27, 2005 - If you're thinking about upgrading your CPU, I've got just the thing for you!
February 1, 2005 - AT&T Customer Care told me to go to the store to buy a new SIM card. I went to two different stores, and both were out of the SIM cards due to lowered demand for them as a result of the AT&T/Cingular merger. The stores told me to call Customer Care. So finally, I have a SIM card on the way. If the first person I spoke with told me to order it on the phone, I wouldn't have wasted an hour and a half waiting in line, walking, driving, and wasting gas. Obviously, the person was too lazy to continue his call with me. Thanks AT&T. When my contracts run out, I will discontinue using wireless phones. I will no longer be a part of this craze that has swept humanity.
December 2, 2004 - Need help troubleshooting a computer problem? Read about how I did it!
November 28, 2004 - How to make Adobe Acrobat 6 load faster:
- Navigate to C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 6.0\Acrobat
- Create a folder called plug_ins_disabled
- Enter the plug_ins folder and select all files and folders except Paper Capture, Preflight, EWH32.api, Search5.api, and Search.api
- Cut selected files and paste them into the plug_ins_disabled folder you just created
- Load Acrobat 6 and enjoy the loading time decrease
Note that some of the files I left in the plug_ins folder can be removed to the disabled folder, but since I require scanner function, I left some of them in. To get a clue as to what each plug-in does before you disable them, click on Help, then About Adobe Plug-Ins while inside Adobe Acrobat.
November 16, 2004 - Another article on cell phones.
Cingular - Raising the bar. Bar? What bar?!
AT&T Wireless - How many bars do you have? Zero.
T-Mobile - Get more from life. Get more from life? I can't even get reception!
June 22, 2004 - This main page is now using CSS and HTML 4.01 Transitional compliant, as indicated by the logo on the left. I will be converting the rest of the pages in the future. Right now, the page looks a little different, but on the most part the functionality is the same. The width, however, is no longer fixed, so if you have a larger monitor, the boxes will expand with you. Nice feature but I would ultimately like the page to go back to looking the way it was, with rounded corners and the left menu going all the way down. We'll see how far I can get with this.
April 15, 2004 - I read a whole bunch of stuff on CSS only to find out that CSS isn't what you use to keep the same menu for all your pages... but I did find out that there are a number of ways to do it, and I've decided to use something called Server Side Includes, or SSI. Now, I can maintain one menu page and have it propagate to my entire site, instead of handcoding every page one by one. Excellent! I'm not stopping here though, I hope to make my page HTML4.01 compliant as well as convert it to CSS. It's actually kinda fun. We'll see what happens. For now, enjoy having a full working menu on every page!!!
April 14, 2004 - I got my wireless contract cancelled and converted to a month to month!!! Yeehaw!!!!
April 12, 2004 - Updated Wireless phone problems essay again. CSS work is coming along slowly. So far, I've only learned about changing font sizes, colors, etc. Having to learn CSS has also made me become aware of learning the latest HTML. If I'm not mistaken, the latest version is 4.01, and I plan to make my pages HTML 4.01 transitional compliant, if that makes any sense at all. Finally, moved past updates to their own page.
March 29, 2004 - Updated the wireless phone problems essay.
March 22, 2004 - Added a little essay on my current problems with my mobile phone service. It's not really computer related, but I wanted to get the word out, so please read it! Also, still working on CSS and newer ways of coding. Obviously, if you know HTML and you've read my code, you'll know that I don't know jack about HTML coding, and that all my knowledge dates back to 1996. Please forgive me, and please remember that it will take awhile for me to learn it, if at all. Thanks!
March 14, 2004 - I've finished my first article in two years, My Experiments with Case Modding. From now on, I will no longer update old articles to include new ones in the "Site Navigation" panel on the left. It's just too much work having to update each individual file, which is why I am going to try and learn cascading style sheets so that I can "separate my style from my content." Once I figure it out, then I will resume having a site navigation bar that works. Wish me luck!
March 9, 2004 - It has been almost two years since I last updated this site. To those of you who sent me emails with comments and suggestions, I want to say "thank you". I didn't really expect anyone to view my site, let alone find it useful. Anyhow, to kick things off again, I'm starting with something simple: My computer hardware wishlist!. =)
Last Updated February 15, 2006