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I used to do tech support, so I know what I can expect when I call someone’s tech support. Most of it is reading from a script. The best support you’ll get is when you actually get a real technician on the line, because then they aren’t reading from a script, and they usually know what’s really going on.

Definitely don’t mess with a DHCP server. No moving equates to a DHCP server with little use. (I have one setup at home, but that is because it is as easy as plugging in the network cable to get a machine to see my network….same with at work).

I hear ya on the diversity. I’m half of the IT department here. We used to be around 900+ employees, so that was a BUSY BUSY time, but now we are back to roughly 200+. We had a growth spurt because of the (at the time) booming Telecom industry. I get to wear a lot of hats, and it is definitely a learning experience, but our IS department works under Accounting, which is so much of a pain, I can’t begin to describe it!

Well if you ever need network advice, feel free to post to my Woody’s postbox, or even directly to my email (I’ll send it to you through the postbox if you want). I usually hang around the Access, FrontPage and VB/VBA boards, and I only peruse the other ones once in a while….

Did you download the Service Pack from Microsoft.com, or did you install it from Windows Update?

Thanks for the story on SBC….makes me a little leary, cause I was going to go with them, since I am moving this weekend….and I am tired of Internet America’s run around!

Well, glad you’re all fixed up. Windows 98 does have internet connection sharing though…just an FYI, if I remember right, you have to turn it on through Add/Remove programs.

Do you have a DHCP server on your network? If you do, you can set those settings into the DHCP server, so that you don’t have everything hard coded. I know, I know, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

Pool cleaning eh? Did enough of that for my folks when we lived in Florida. Our pool was enclosed in a screened area, but I think the leaves knew how to open the screen door, I swear! I am employed full time…but frankly I am a bit tired of my current job (Programmer/Developer/IT Tech)…..well more like tired of certain people . Always looking….

Ya, just replied to your post about WinProxy too.

I’m bored, and not energetic enough to be working on my current ‘project’! , so I just did a search on the list for fellow texans.

My Dad has had similar issues with an XP laptop and a 98 Desktop. Personally, it’s an issue of not having a domain running (with WINS and/or DNS). But, to fix his situation, I had to make sure all his machines were using the same ‘workgroup’ name. Then he could see everything.

Okay, a first things first. Why can’t you get DSL? Your profile lists you in Allen, Texas, I live in Mckinney (your Northern neighbor) and I have DSL. Try Internet America, or SBC (Southwestern Bell), IA really sub leases through SBC for DSL, and SBC just opened up to the Mckinney area.

Next, to your actual problem. When you use a Proxy (any proxy), you set settings up in Internet Explorer to send web requests through the proxy. The proxy can be anywhere on your network. IE can even detect a proxy, regardless of settings. (I am pretty sure WinProxy is ‘detectable’, even though I haven’t used it…we us IAS (internet accellaration server). When you get your email (from a POP3 server) or send email (through an SMTP server), you have to connect to it. To connect to a machine not on your subnet, you need a router. If WinProxy ‘allows’ you to setup a POP3 Server and SMTP server, it probably is allowing you to use it as a ‘router’ for email.

However, that does not mean you’re good to go. You need to tell your client machines where to look for a router. That is the Gateway property in your TCP/IP settings. The Gateway setting is the IP address of the router on your subnet. Try setting your client machine’s Gateway to the IP address of your WinProxy server. That may do the trick.

Another option would be to not use a proxy at all. Proxies are really only helpful when you have a lot of clients trying to access the web, or you don’t want your clients to have direct web access (by direct, I mean allowing Instant messages, chat rooms, remote access, etc.). If you don’t mind all of those, then use Internet Connection Sharing. My home network is setup with DSL going into my ‘server’ (running Windows 2000 Server…I have Active directory running at home). It has a second NIC which is plugged into my switch where I have a ‘print server’, my desktop, and my laptop plugged in. I have Internet Connection Sharing turned on for the DSL NIC, and I have DHCP running on my server, so all of my machines get their IP Addresses (and settings) from the server. The server is setup as the Gateway setting 192.168.0.1 (Actually I think I changed my subnet to 192.168.3.x).

Finally, just out of curiousity, are ya’ll hiring! I live in Mckinney, but work in Dallas, I wouldn’t mind a shorter commute at all!

I wonder if you can use System File Checker to replace corrupted Font files….(I’ve only ever used SFC for .dll’s……but it was probably the only redeeming feature of Windows 98).

Not really. Though I wouldn’t recommend going straight into your OS. Instead, put the new(er) RAM into your older machine, but when you turn it on, go straight into the BIOS, to see if it shows up right in the BIOS. If it doesn’t, you can’t use it. If it does, then you should be able to let your OS boot. The reason I recommend this, is because sometimes an OS gets picky when you start putting in and taking out RAM. It’s a good idea to only have the OS do the process once.

Nope, just a mistake from a deluded mind!

Sorry about that…just editted the post. I’ve had someone hounding me for an ‘RGA’ project that is so back burner it isn’t funny. (Returned Goods Accounting). Ooops. Those darn TLA’s.

I have an ATI All In Wonder, that I bought a few years ago (I think in 99). It’s a wonderful card, and I think back then it was $150 bucks (I may be off a little on that).

It allows you to watch TV on your computer, has an internal DVD chip, and more importantly (in regards to your question), is it has TV out capabilities. You can run output from your ATI card with either S-Video or RCA cables (I don’t think there is a TV sold today that doesn’t accept RCA input). The only trick is splitting your sound out, because the RCA output doesn’t have sound, only video, so I have a splitter plugged into my sound card to go to my PC speakers, and to a phono to RCA splitter to plug into my TV’s Audio Input.

I can see things on the TV, no where near as crisp as my 17″ monitor, but it’s better for watching DVD’s at a distance. (DVD’s on a computer screen kick…..but a 17″ is a rather ‘small’ display from a distance.

You may also need to look at your TCP/IP files. The best way to check them is really just replace them. What I would do is uninstall DUN (DialUp Networking). You can do this through the control panels Add/Remove programs.

Check to see if you connection improves. If not, the next step is to replace the Winsock .dll’s. There is a nifty utility on 98 called System File Checker. To run it, click Start, then Run, and type sfc and Click Okay.

When it loads, you will want to replace 2 files on your system. (I may be wrong on these names, but they should be close enough for you to find the files (I don’t have a 98 machine around right now to check). One is ws_32.dll, and the other is wsock32.dll. SFC will need the location of the files (they are in your system32 directory), and the location of your CAB files. (Either CD, or many people have their cabs on their hard drive.). It will also prompt if you want a backup of the ones you are replacing…that’s always a good idea. Also, after you replace the first file, tell it to NOT restart. Then replace the second file, and after that finishes, let it restart your machine.

In 98, replacing your winsock files once in a while can help with dialup and network connections quite a bit.

Here ya go. The attached database has three tables. tblAccounts, tblDepartments, and tblData. tblAccounts has an AccountID and an Account Name. tblDepartments has a DepartmentID, Department Name, and AccountID. Then there are two querries. qryData is the ‘results’ query, which is run from the form frmExample. qryDepartmentsByAccounts is used in the second combo box.

The form has two comboboxes. The first lets you select an Account. (When it is changed, it requerries the Department combobox, and sets it to 0). The second combobox shows the departments under the account in the first combo box. When you first select an Account, if you run the query (click Show Data), the query will display data for ALL departments under that account. If you select a department, then the Show Data query will only show data for that department.

Give me a holler if you have a problem with this sample db.

Ack, my bad, why I missed that part, I don’t know. Would you mind sending me a copy, so I can take a look?

Off the cuff, changed the Multiple Selection property to Extended. When it is simple, the ‘selected’ items are maintained when you requery, but when it’s extended, they disappear when requerried. Just an FYI, in Simple mode, you click each item you want. In Extended, clicking one item, and then another will select only the last item. You have to hold the Ctrl button down to select multiples, or the shift key to select from one point to another.