My old dad's old computer!

The 2500 miles would be of no consequence with XP's remote access........you
could help him from home!!
Heirloom, old and if my 84 yr old
mum can do it, so can your dad!
(....and she still hasn't
figured out the tv remote!)


"Heather" wrote in message
...
LOL......sorry about the mild lecture. It was a bit tongue in cheek, but
you don't know me, so wouldn't know that.

I am married to one with even LESS patience than your dad. He won't even
turn this on. He is totally hopeless re computers. So your Dad is doing
pretty good.

My daughter (who is here at the moment) also lives some 3,000 miles away
but luckily she uses a Mac, so I don't have to help. But now she sorts me
out on stuff cuz she uses an amazing XP at work. (graphic artist).

Cheers.....Heather

"Dean" wrote in message
...
Sorry, I didn't mean it to sound harsh - I love my dad - he just has no
patience to learn something new. Believe me he has money for a computer,
but doesn't think it's worth it, and would be insulted if I tried to buy
him one. Plus he might become more confused with something new. If I
didn't live 2500 miles away, I'd still do it, because I could help him
but I don't think it works long distance.


"Heather" wrote in message
...
Hey Dean......don't be so hard on your parents!! They are probably MY
age and I make out just fine. Even taught my daughter how to use a
computer. Of course, she now uses a Mac so that all went out the window,
lol.

Be a good son.....go out and buy him a decent computer, and get him a
decent ISP (NOT AOL) that has an antivirus and a spam filter (like mine)
and he will do just fine. I don't happen to use my ISP's cr*p coz it is
Norton and therefore "bloatware", but I use EZ Trust and your dad could
certainly manage that one.

Remember....one day you will be "old" too. So treat him the way you
would like to be treated. Your kids will be picking out YOUR retirement
home, so keep that in mind, lol.

Grandma Moses


"Dean" wrote in message
...
I use AVG myself and like it very much. It's just that my dad is so
lame when it comes to computers, I'm starting to think I should just
leave him the way he's been for a couple of years - unprotected.
Coincidentally, this AM, I got a frantic call from him, circling,
outside the airport to pick me up, wondering why I hadn't landed yet.
The reason was that my plane takes off tonight and lands tomorrow AM!
Actually, that was probably my mom's fault, not his, but you get the
idea!

D

"Mart" wrote in message
...
Will AVG-free take up much of his RAM?

Normally, probably very little as AVG only 'runs' at specified periods
which can be disabled anyway and set to run manually at a time
suitable to the user. When in use though (scanning the system), it
does tend to slow other applications down - the price of peace of
mind? g However, his SwapFile should help alleviate any issues here
anyway, unless it is already heavily overactive.

AVG can also be set to 'monitor' internet activity (web and mail) and
as far as I know uses very little RAM during this process and if your
Dad doesn't go on-line too often it's unlikely to cause him any
problems. But he should be made aware that it will remind (nag) him to
update his virus definitions (usually daily), which he can ignore -
but that does defeat the object a little.

Must be worth a try - you can always uninstall it, if it's not
suitable! (Set an SR point first, of course!) I find that AVG pretty
much looks after itself - as well as my PC. Good luck.

Mart


"Dean" wrote in message
...
Hopefully none of you recall the ugly saga last time with my elderly
Dad's
computer (which I recapped on 12/31/05, in the ME systems tools
newsgroup, if you're a glutton for punishment).
He has an old ME computer, with minimum RAM, that I almost killed
last time
around, by trying to download an 'update' to his machine with low
resources,
apparently therein installing something incomplete/corrupt.

A week later, he was up and running, fortunately. I don't know what
to expect this trip, but am now
armed with the IE 5.5 SP2 upgrade, which I plan to install on my
dad's
computer. As you may not recall, last yr I left him with no
AVsystem. But
I am still really worried about installing anything for my elderly
dad,
though I know AVG-free is pretty simple. He maybe goes to three
websites a year,
and plays with a few excel files, so he seems to have no need for AV
protection that he could do more harm than good with. Still everyone
wants
me to give him some AV protection, presumably something more than
what AOL runs in the
background; actually AOL 5.0 may not even have that limited AV
thingee. As
older threads revealed, his machine could not even handle the later
versions
of AOL - when I left, we managed to get AOL 5.0 back on, as I recall.

Will AVG-free take up much of his RAM?

He really goes almost nowhere on line.

Any advice - again?

Dean

Well that would be a major incentive. Does he need some special software,
too. There is a tech at a company I do work for, who accesses my computer
from time to time, but it's via their VPN plus pcanywhere. Are you saying
that none of that is really necessary?

Also, if my dad still has dial up access, is it too slow to be effective?

On to one's last subject, I can't remember if it was from this last august
of last decmeber, but I was also advised to upgrade his IE 5.5 to SP2. Well,
I downlaoded that exe file (from the link they sent me) and brought the file
out here and tried to install it from a CDR, but it did not take. A dos
screen came up and it seemed like it repeated the same message about 50
times, whihc was that it could not fully load SP2, and when i go to about IE,
there is no mention of SP2 being even partially installed. I don't know if
there is a way to interrupt DOS so I can view the exact message - is there?
Regardless, any ideas why it won' take? Please dont suggest a hihger IE
verison is that is what sent his computer into a near death spiral last time.
The experts here thought it would be Ok to just upgrade 5.5 to SP2.

Thanks!
Dean


"Heirloom" wrote:

The 2500 miles would be of no consequence with XP's remote access........you
could help him from home!!
Heirloom, old and if my 84 yr old
mum can do it, so can your dad!
(....and she still hasn't
figured out the tv remote!)


"Heather" wrote in message
...
LOL......sorry about the mild lecture. It was a bit tongue in cheek, but
you don't know me, so wouldn't know that.

I am married to one with even LESS patience than your dad. He won't even
turn this on. He is totally hopeless re computers. So your Dad is doing
pretty good.

My daughter (who is here at the moment) also lives some 3,000 miles away
but luckily she uses a Mac, so I don't have to help. But now she sorts me
out on stuff cuz she uses an amazing XP at work. (graphic artist).

Cheers.....Heather

"Dean" wrote in message
...
Sorry, I didn't mean it to sound harsh - I love my dad - he just has no
patience to learn something new. Believe me he has money for a computer,
but doesn't think it's worth it, and would be insulted if I tried to buy
him one. Plus he might become more confused with something new. If I
didn't live 2500 miles away, I'd still do it, because I could help him
but I don't think it works long distance.


"Heather" wrote in message
...
Hey Dean......don't be so hard on your parents!! They are probably MY
age and I make out just fine. Even taught my daughter how to use a
computer. Of course, she now uses a Mac so that all went out the window,
lol.

Be a good son.....go out and buy him a decent computer, and get him a
decent ISP (NOT AOL) that has an antivirus and a spam filter (like mine)
and he will do just fine. I don't happen to use my ISP's cr*p coz it is
Norton and therefore "bloatware", but I use EZ Trust and your dad could
certainly manage that one.

Remember....one day you will be "old" too. So treat him the way you
would like to be treated. Your kids will be picking out YOUR retirement
home, so keep that in mind, lol.

Grandma Moses


"Dean" wrote in message
...
I use AVG myself and like it very much. It's just that my dad is so
lame when it comes to computers, I'm starting to think I should just
leave him the way he's been for a couple of years - unprotected.
Coincidentally, this AM, I got a frantic call from him, circling,
outside the airport to pick me up, wondering why I hadn't landed yet.
The reason was that my plane takes off tonight and lands tomorrow AM!
Actually, that was probably my mom's fault, not his, but you get the
idea!

D

"Mart" wrote in message
...
Will AVG-free take up much of his RAM?

Normally, probably very little as AVG only 'runs' at specified periods
which can be disabled anyway and set to run manually at a time
suitable to the user. When in use though (scanning the system), it
does tend to slow other applications down - the price of peace of
mind? g However, his SwapFile should help alleviate any issues here
anyway, unless it is already heavily overactive.

AVG can also be set to 'monitor' internet activity (web and mail) and
as far as I know uses very little RAM during this process and if your
Dad doesn't go on-line too often it's unlikely to cause him any
problems. But he should be made aware that it will remind (nag) him to
update his virus definitions (usually daily), which he can ignore -
but that does defeat the object a little.

Must be worth a try - you can always uninstall it, if it's not
suitable! (Set an SR point first, of course!) I find that AVG pretty
much looks after itself - as well as my PC. Good luck.

Mart


"Dean" wrote in message
...
Hopefully none of you recall the ugly saga last time with my elderly
Dad's
computer (which I recapped on 12/31/05, in the ME systems tools
newsgroup, if you're a glutton for punishment).
He has an old ME computer, with minimum RAM, that I almost killed
last time
around, by trying to download an 'update' to his machine with low
resources,
apparently therein installing something incomplete/corrupt.

A week later, he was up and running, fortunately. I don't know what
to expect this trip, but am now
armed with the IE 5.5 SP2 upgrade, which I plan to install on my
dad's
computer. As you may not recall, last yr I left him with no
AVsystem. But
I am still really worried about installing anything for my elderly
dad,
though I know AVG-free is pretty simple. He maybe goes to three
websites a year,
and plays with a few excel files, so he seems to have no need for AV
protection that he could do more harm than good with. Still everyone
wants
me to give him some AV protection, presumably something more than
what AOL runs in the
background; actually AOL 5.0 may not even have that limited AV
thingee. As
older threads revealed, his machine could not even handle the later
versions
of AOL - when I left, we managed to get AOL 5.0 back on, as I recall.

Will AVG-free take up much of his RAM?

He really goes almost nowhere on line.

Any advice - again?

Dean

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/d...dclientdl.mspx
Well, according to this, Remote Desktop can be had for Me, as well. For
some reason, I thought it was an XP feature.
Check it out, it may be of use to you.
Heirloom, old and don't know about your
other questions

"Dean" wrote in message
...
Well that would be a major incentive. Does he need some special software,
too. There is a tech at a company I do work for, who accesses my computer
from time to time, but it's via their VPN plus pcanywhere. Are you saying
that none of that is really necessary?

Also, if my dad still has dial up access, is it too slow to be effective?

On to one's last subject, I can't remember if it was from this last
august
of last decmeber, but I was also advised to upgrade his IE 5.5 to SP2.
Well,
I downlaoded that exe file (from the link they sent me) and brought the
file
out here and tried to install it from a CDR, but it did not take. A dos
screen came up and it seemed like it repeated the same message about 50
times, whihc was that it could not fully load SP2, and when i go to about
IE,
there is no mention of SP2 being even partially installed. I don't know if
there is a way to interrupt DOS so I can view the exact message - is
there?
Regardless, any ideas why it won' take? Please dont suggest a hihger IE
verison is that is what sent his computer into a near death spiral last
time.
The experts here thought it would be Ok to just upgrade 5.5 to SP2.

Thanks!
Dean


"Heirloom" wrote:

The 2500 miles would be of no consequence with XP's remote
access........you
could help him from home!!
Heirloom, old and if my 84 yr old
mum can do it, so can your dad!
(....and she still
hasn't
figured out the tv remote!)


"Heather" wrote in message
...
LOL......sorry about the mild lecture. It was a bit tongue in cheek,
but
you don't know me, so wouldn't know that.

I am married to one with even LESS patience than your dad. He won't
even
turn this on. He is totally hopeless re computers. So your Dad is
doing
pretty good.

My daughter (who is here at the moment) also lives some 3,000 miles
away
but luckily she uses a Mac, so I don't have to help. But now she sorts
me
out on stuff cuz she uses an amazing XP at work. (graphic artist).

Cheers.....Heather

"Dean" wrote in message
...
Sorry, I didn't mean it to sound harsh - I love my dad - he just has
no
patience to learn something new. Believe me he has money for a
computer,
but doesn't think it's worth it, and would be insulted if I tried to
buy
him one. Plus he might become more confused with something new. If I
didn't live 2500 miles away, I'd still do it, because I could help him
but I don't think it works long distance.


"Heather" wrote in message
...
Hey Dean......don't be so hard on your parents!! They are probably
MY
age and I make out just fine. Even taught my daughter how to use a
computer. Of course, she now uses a Mac so that all went out the
window,
lol.

Be a good son.....go out and buy him a decent computer, and get him a
decent ISP (NOT AOL) that has an antivirus and a spam filter (like
mine)
and he will do just fine. I don't happen to use my ISP's cr*p coz it
is
Norton and therefore "bloatware", but I use EZ Trust and your dad
could
certainly manage that one.

Remember....one day you will be "old" too. So treat him the way you
would like to be treated. Your kids will be picking out YOUR
retirement
home, so keep that in mind, lol.

Grandma Moses


"Dean" wrote in message
...
I use AVG myself and like it very much. It's just that my dad is so
lame when it comes to computers, I'm starting to think I should just
leave him the way he's been for a couple of years - unprotected.
Coincidentally, this AM, I got a frantic call from him, circling,
outside the airport to pick me up, wondering why I hadn't landed yet.
The reason was that my plane takes off tonight and lands tomorrow AM!
Actually, that was probably my mom's fault, not his, but you get the
idea!

D

"Mart" wrote in message
...
Will AVG-free take up much of his RAM?

Normally, probably very little as AVG only 'runs' at specified
periods
which can be disabled anyway and set to run manually at a time
suitable to the user. When in use though (scanning the system), it
does tend to slow other applications down - the price of peace of
mind? g However, his SwapFile should help alleviate any issues
here
anyway, unless it is already heavily overactive.

AVG can also be set to 'monitor' internet activity (web and mail)
and
as far as I know uses very little RAM during this process and if
your
Dad doesn't go on-line too often it's unlikely to cause him any
problems. But he should be made aware that it will remind (nag) him
to
update his virus definitions (usually daily), which he can ignore -
but that does defeat the object a little.

Must be worth a try - you can always uninstall it, if it's not
suitable! (Set an SR point first, of course!) I find that AVG
pretty
much looks after itself - as well as my PC. Good luck.

Mart


"Dean" wrote in message
...
Hopefully none of you recall the ugly saga last time with my
elderly
Dad's
computer (which I recapped on 12/31/05, in the ME systems tools
newsgroup, if you're a glutton for punishment).
He has an old ME computer, with minimum RAM, that I almost killed
last time
around, by trying to download an 'update' to his machine with low
resources,
apparently therein installing something incomplete/corrupt.

A week later, he was up and running, fortunately. I don't know
what
to expect this trip, but am now
armed with the IE 5.5 SP2 upgrade, which I plan to install on my
dad's
computer. As you may not recall, last yr I left him with no
AVsystem. But
I am still really worried about installing anything for my elderly
dad,
though I know AVG-free is pretty simple. He maybe goes to three
websites a year,
and plays with a few excel files, so he seems to have no need for
AV
protection that he could do more harm than good with. Still
everyone
wants
me to give him some AV protection, presumably something more than
what AOL runs in the
background; actually AOL 5.0 may not even have that limited AV
thingee. As
older threads revealed, his machine could not even handle the
later
versions
of AOL - when I left, we managed to get AOL 5.0 back on, as I
recall.

Will AVG-free take up much of his RAM?

He really goes almost nowhere on line.

Any advice - again?

Dean

Remote desktop as the client, not the host so OK if you are running Win Me
and want to help someone running XP Pro but not much help if you want to
help someone running Win Me in which case you would have to use a third
party product.
--
Mike Maltby



Heirloom wrote:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/d...dclientdl.mspx
Well, according to this, Remote Desktop can be had for Me, as well. For
some reason, I thought it was an XP feature.
Check it out, it may be of use to you.
Heirloom, old and don't know about your
other questions

Ahh, thanks for the clarification, Mike. It looks as if my first thoughts
were correct being an XP feature......sure is nice to have you gurus
around.
Heirloom, old and think it's going to rain


"Mike M" wrote in message
...
Remote desktop as the client, not the host so OK if you are running Win Me
and want to help someone running XP Pro but not much help if you want to
help someone running Win Me in which case you would have to use a third
party product.
--
Mike Maltby



Heirloom wrote:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/d...dclientdl.mspx
Well, according to this, Remote Desktop can be had for Me, as well. For
some reason, I thought it was an XP feature.
Check it out, it may be of use to you.
Heirloom, old and don't know about your
other questions

H,
Remote Desktop is only part of XP Pro, it isn't included with XP Home
although you can user the lesser Remote Assistance to help those running
XP Home.
--
Mike Maltby



Heirloom wrote:

Ahh, thanks for the clarification, Mike. It looks as if my first
thoughts were correct being an XP feature......sure is nice to
have you gurus around.
Heirloom, old and think it's going to
rain

OK, i will check that link out - can anyone shed some light on the 5.5 SP2
upgrade attempts?

Thanks all!
D

"Heirloom" wrote:

Ahh, thanks for the clarification, Mike. It looks as if my first thoughts
were correct being an XP feature......sure is nice to have you gurus
around.
Heirloom, old and think it's going to rain


"Mike M" wrote in message
...
Remote desktop as the client, not the host so OK if you are running Win Me
and want to help someone running XP Pro but not much help if you want to
help someone running Win Me in which case you would have to use a third
party product.
--
Mike Maltby



Heirloom wrote:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/d...dclientdl.mspx
Well, according to this, Remote Desktop can be had for Me, as well. For
some reason, I thought it was an XP feature.
Check it out, it may be of use to you.
Heirloom, old and don't know about your
other questions

The link is only useful if you want your Dad, running Win Me, to be able
to access your PC, running XP Pro, using Remote Desktop.

As for installing IE6 SP1 (IE5.5 SP2 is long since unsupported) it would
help those who might be able to help you if you were to post details of
all error messages as otherwise they won't know what they say even if you
yourself have seen them 50 or more times. My advice would be to forget
about installing IE5.5 SP2, the file you have is probably only the stub
installer, and instead concentrate on getting IE6 SP1 up and running.
--
Mike Maltby



Dean wrote:

OK, i will check that link out - can anyone shed some light on the
5.5 SP2 upgrade attempts?

Hello, Mike!
You wrote in conference microsoft.public.windowsme.general on Fri, 29 Dec
2006 11:58:54 -0000:

MM Remote desktop as the client, not the host so OK if you are running
MM Win Me and want to help someone running XP Pro but not much help if
MM you want to help someone running Win Me in which case you would
MM have to use a third party product.

I use NetMeeting from my WinME for crossOS-version compatibility to other
people's XP/W98 systems. Works rather nicely. NetMeeting overcomes the
problem some people have when their DSL routers are configured to block
incoming requests for remote assistance and they don't know how to adjust
that. All works well with NetMeeting when they initiate the request and
call my system to connect.

MS's desktop client for ME/W98/W2K computers to connect and control remote
XP Pro computers is a good solution too, but it's limited to helping those
who operate XP Pro only. Most people I help just have XP Home or W98.

And of course, XP's Remote Assistance is only good between XP computers.
VNC works well with other people that don't have complex router or firewall
settings.

But NetMeeting just works for everyone.

Thanks all for your help. I left AVG installed, though I may regret it. I
could not get IE 5.5 upgraded to SP2 but, as little as he surfs, he's
probably OK. It sounds like remote desktop assistance may be do-able if I
give him explicit instructions, and if he agrees to consider a new computer.

A belated Happy New year to all.

"Mike M" wrote in message
...
The link is only useful if you want your Dad, running Win Me, to be able
to access your PC, running XP Pro, using Remote Desktop.

As for installing IE6 SP1 (IE5.5 SP2 is long since unsupported) it would
help those who might be able to help you if you were to post details of
all error messages as otherwise they won't know what they say even if you
yourself have seen them 50 or more times. My advice would be to forget
about installing IE5.5 SP2, the file you have is probably only the stub
installer, and instead concentrate on getting IE6 SP1 up and running.
--
Mike Maltby



Dean wrote:

OK, i will check that link out - can anyone shed some light on the
5.5 SP2 upgrade attempts?