Number6

Win XP Pro workstations (1 x PC + 1 x laptop), fully patched on a 2007 network. If MS Office 2003 Word or Excel files are double-clicked from within explorer or My Computer both the app and the document take almost a minute to open. If, however, the app is opened from the start menu and then the same doc is opened from file > open then both open instantly. I have tried several things to try and alleviate this problem such as: 1) editing the file > open settings from the tools > file options of My Computer. I've removed the DDE linkage which in some cases sloves the problem but in other cases just gives rise to other errors such as file permissin errors. 2) I've edited out the data and options registry keys for word, this results in the first attempt to open a document working instantly but on all subsequent attempts the problem re-occurs. 3) I cleared out all temp files, etc. 4) I did a system restore back to a point before the first occurrence of the problem. Nothing works The problem only occurs on these two PC's (out of several hundred) and there's no common ground that might lead me to an explanation. Has anyone had any experience of this? Anyone found a resolution?

Yes, come on! Where's the St George banner????? Very disappointed!!

Thanks for the replies, it's about what I thought.

We're going to be implementing moodle live at my school (independent) as of September so obviously we need to start planning and building it next term. With that in mind I'm going to be calling a staff meeting soon after Easter so that I can get some input as to what content will be needed. It would make my job a lot easier if I could demo a real-life moodle site at the meeting. Are there any moodle sites that allow guest login? Or are there any users on here who would grant me a guest login for a limited time. Any assistance will be gratefully received.

I want to get a Firewire drive to complement my iMac, for backup and for holding a bootable copy of the OS. In order of importance I'm looking for the following qualities: 1. Reliability 2. Looks (I know, shallow aren't I ) 3. Quietness of operation (i.e. no industrial vacuum cleaner sounding fan) 4. Cost Any recommendations?

Yep, apparently. I emailed them and they got straight back to me.

Thanks ranj

Thanks for the quick reply. Problem is that I don't (yet) know what we want. As I said in my OP we're currently 100% PC / Windows / Windows Server here; I'm convinced that I'd like to start introducing Macs, especially in the art and music departments to get a foot in the door but I need to start putting a case together ready for the new budget spend period in the summer. It's advice and budget info that I need right now.

Why is it turning out to be so difficult to buy from Apple? We're currently PC only here but I'm looking to introduce Macs. Problem is I can't find anywhere to buy and get advice. I rang Apple Education who told me they can't open any new accounts, I have no idea why and the scandinavian sounding lady I spoke to couldn't tell me. All that she could apparently tell was to find a local reseller! She wouldn't even give me any details of local resellers, just left me to my own devices. I have to say I'm not impressed so far!!! Does anyone have a sensible contact at Apple? Someone that I stand a better than 50-50 chance of getting some common sense out of before I decompose? Alternatively does anyone know of a decent education-savvy reseller in or near Worcester? I'll be grateful for any help. Apple seem hell-bent on stopping me actually buying anything from them!

Thank you for all of the replies. We're now looking at the BenQ MP 522 @ £370 + VAT. Does anyone have any experience of these?

It's sorted now. Turns out it was an OpenDNS configuraton issue.

No content filtering is enabled on the Sonicwall box.

Hang on, I'll check.

Our Sonicwall PRO 2040 appears to be blocking streaming video content. I say appears only because I've eliminated all other possibilities so as Mr Holmes would say - once you have eliminated every other possibility then whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the reason. We can't get any streaming video content to display on any workstation. The streams in question are rendered by Flash Player. The hosting site itself will load (e.g. howstuffworks.com) but when a video is selcted the spinny thing that indicates that the content is being downloaded displays permanantly. The teacher who brought this to my attention tells me that the video she needs plays perfectly OK on her home PC. I've updated everything, OS is fully patched and the latest Java and Flash Player is installed. Browser is IE7. The questions I have are these: 1) If this is a firewall issue how can I unblock it. I have no idea what ports are required and hence can't set up a tunnel through the Sonicwall device. Any suggestions? 2) Is there something I've missed? Could it be something other than a firewall issue? If so what else could it be?

The definitive answer to the Office question. I obtained admin access to our MS volume licensing account, went to the licensed downloads section and there was Office 2008 and 2004 for the mac. I burned the 2008 iso to dvd, popped it into the mac and installed a squeaky clean, licensed and effectively free Office:mac 2008 suite Excellent!

We have a bit of a crisis here, our projectors seem to be falling over left right and centre! In the short term I need to replace four or five projectors and I have ~£2500 to spend. What could I get for £400 - £600 each that is a worthwhile buy? They're all for use on Promethean whiteboards.

If I find that our site license doesn't cover office:mac then I'll try openoffice. I'd prefer to stick with office but as our IT budget is blown and this is an 'unofficial' mac I won't be able to increase our site license spend until the summer

Thanks for the tip. Our supplier assures me that our site license covers mac as well as PC but I'll ask them to confirm. Can't say I really like openoffice much although I've only used the PC version. I've never been very impressed with it and it always looks clunky and outdated IMHO. Is the mac version any better?

Thanks for the very useful replies. I'm not concerned too much about Office, we have a site license for Office 2003 and 2008 so I'm assuming I can use this to install the mac version as well, assuming I can get hold of a media DVD. Carbon copy looks interesting. Thanks again everyone.

Thank you guys.

I've found out it's only £70 or so to get OS X 10.5 from Apple so that seems the route to go. Does the OS DVD contain all of the bundled apps? Mail, Safari, iPhoto, etc? If I get 10.5 will it install as an upgrade the the existing 10.4? I also have Office:Mac installed but don't have the install disks for that either; will a 10.5 upgrade install preserve the Office installation?

I've just acquired a secondhand imac 5 running on OS X 10.4.11 My first mac! It works fine but it has no system software or restore CD. What's the most cost effective route to getting the software disk? Do I have to buy a new OS X retail disk? Alternatively can I create some sort of boot / restore disk myself? Sorry to ask basic questions but I will learn quickly!

I'm running Spiceworks, formerly on an XP laptop but I'm now using a Vista laptop. It will not start up, the tray icon is there but when I click to 'launch' Spiceworks I get the "Spiceworks is Starting" splash screen, the progress bar progresses until an apparent 100% and then it just hangs there. The laptop remains fully usable but Spiceworks hangs and the only way out is via TM. UAC is on, Spiceworks was set up initially to run as Administrator and now uses a username / password combo. Remote Admin is excepted in Windows Firewall and Spiceworks is using port 9675. All this is as per Spiceworks recommended setup. Does anyone know anything else I can do to get it running?

I've now tried disconnecting everything including the CPU fan and the behaviour remains the same. System powers up and within 5 seconds it turns off again, screen doesn't even so much as light up so no info there. Puzzling.

All fans are working and clean. I forgot to add in my original post that when it shuts down it immediately tries to restart and keeps cycling for 10 or so times then shuts down altogether. Hit the power buton and the cycle starts all over again.