Windows Vista Issues

[stargazer]

Is anyone familiar enough with Windows Vista to let me know how the heck I can locate files when I've converted them from one format to another?

For example, I just downloaded four .MUS files to someone who wants me to email them to her in .pdf format. So I used my pdf converter to convert them from .MUS format to .pdf format -- something I've done a thousand times using Windows XP. But now I can't find them. Where are they? I've been through the procedure three times, and I've looked all over the place.

I don't understand who Microsoft is appealing to when they keep making these confusing changes. I used to have an option to save files wherever I wanted to save them. Either Vista doesn't give me that option, or I don't know where to find it. Does anyone know?

In one way or another, I've been having similar problems locating converted files ever since I got the new computer. It's becoming frustrating.

Another thing that's extremely frustrating (perhaps even more frustrating) is that if you go to "Search" on the start menu, it won't run a search of all files and folders ON THE COMPUTER -- instead, it searches the web. So I can't even run a search to find the missing file. If I wanted to search the web, I'd google. What kind of a luddite do they think I am anyway?

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Not sure if this will automerge or not, but it's a while later. I had to uninstall the PDF Converter I'm accustomed to using and then download one that I didn't know anything about. They're both freeware, so that part's good.

With the new one, I was given the option of naming the files and putting them where I wanted to. It took up less space, too. Without a printer, however, I have no idea what they will look like. I guess the recipient of the files will let me know on Monday.

Anyway, I can probably sleep now -- only I haven't been sleeping well lately, I've noticed. I think the new computer has something to do with that.

 

[Into The Light]

i don't know too much about vista as i do not use it, but i have heard of people having problems with it where everything has been moved around.

maybe this link can be of help?

Investigating Windows Vista's new Search features

 

[stargazer]

Actually, ladybug, that link did help. It showed me that on Vista, a Search bar appears directly above the Windows logo on which you click to view the Start menu. Then you simply type in the item you're searching for, and it runs its search from there -- in all files and folders on your system, if that's what you want. In this case, that's what I wanted. The search for the file I'd lost, which was entitled "Released.pdf" revealed that no such file was found on the system.

By this time, however, I'd already concluded that my previous PDF Converter is not comptaible with Vista. That's why, when I installed a different PDF Converter, it worked easily. I slightly re-named the file, and found it right away.

So, now I know how to run a search on VISTA. I'm still not sure why Microsoft decided to confuse me by placing an option called "Search" on the Start Menu in a similar position to the similar option on XP, and then leading me to a search engine rather than to the familiar search for local files on my system. But at least I know where searching is to be done instead.

 

[stargazer]

I wonder if anybody knows how I can do one or the other other of the following with Windows Vista:

(1) convert .wma files to .mp3's

(2) fix it so that Windows Media Player is no longer the default media player, so I can rip standard audio files from a CD onto mp3's using the Real Player, instead of being forced to rip them onto .wma's (which I can't do anything with).

On XP, whenever I installed Real Player, I was asked if I wanted to make it my default player, and I said "YES!" since I knew that Microsoft had made it impossible to uninstall Windows Media Player.

Now, it seems that Microsoft doesn't even give me the option. Half of the people I know work on Macs, and they can't open a .wma file anyway. Everybody, on the other hand, can open an mp3. So I need a default media player that will rip my standard audio files onto mp3's, not wma's.

I'm sure I'll eventually get used to this O.S., but in general I think it locks people even further into Microsoft than before.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

There should be an option somewhere to "set program options and defaults". In XP, it's one of the choices on the Start menu. If you can't find anything like that, open Control Panel and look for "Install/Remove Programs". In XP, that has 4 tabs, one of which is "Set program options and defaults".

For your other problem, just do a Google Search for "[GOOGLE]free mp3 converters[/GOOGLE]".

 

[stargazer]

I'll check for the "set program options and defaults" after a bit, but was about to post regarding wma to mp3 conversion. I did find some freeware on the Internet that would convert wma's to mp3's, however I became a little paranoid when their advertising insisted repeatedly that they contained no malware (spyware, worms, etc.) It almost got me to thinking they'd had a problem with that in the past, and hadn't quite worked out the bugs yet.

Then, on the (free version of) Real Player, I noticed the familiar "convert format" option, but when I clicked on it, I was immediately prompted to purchase Real Player Plus, which is $15/mo. after (I believe) an initial $30 fee. So Windows Media Player has additional power over Real Player now, according to my suspicions regarding Microsoft.

Then again, I may be thinking along lines that are unnecessary, if not paranoid. The main thing is: find an audio converter, and get set up again. I'll debate whether to upgrade to Real Player Plus, but maybe I ought to chill on the whole thing for a while.

Also, there is no longer a Change/Remove Programs on the Control Panel in Vista. There's an "Uninstall Programs," though it took me a while to find it.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

1. I hate Real Player. It installs all sorts of crap and changes settings and generally insinuates itself into your system that's almost like spyware. Use Real Alternative Player instead.

2. The statements about "no malware" are to reassure people who are (finally) becoming worried about whatv they download. If you want to be sure, download the software but don't let it install automatically. If you have AVG running, have the downloaded file scanned by AVG before you install it.

 

[stargazer]

Regarding Point #2, I didn't know that, but I admit to be in a testy mood last night. Sometimes when I'm impatient I make broad sweeping generalizations on subjects I know next to nothing about, just because I'm in the mood to exercise a little "contempt prior t investigation. I'm not sure why I do that, but I know it's a character defect of some sort.

Anyway, I looked around and found the Free Audio Converter by Renan Broquin -- seems to work pretty well. Here's a relatively small mp3 I just converted from wma -- it's about 1.66mb, and it's a recording of "Think of Me" as sung by one of the better students at the studio, a 17 yr old senior in high school named Katie. I'm at the piano.

Think of Me

I just uninstalled the Real Player, because now, with the audio converter, I don't need it.

 

[Mari]

Dear stargazer, the download plays for me and 'Think of Me' is lovely Mari :heart:

 

[stargazer]

I think she's great, frankly. My sister didn't like her, for some reason. We also recorded two classical songs on that same day, one by Schumann and one by Mozart, and they came out really well, too.

David, I'll check out that Real Alternative Player this morning. I looked at it briefly, and it looks interesting. I know what you mean about the Real Player. It often imposed itself on me & my system in a way which I was intrusive and annoying. I always used it only because it permitted me to convert standard audio files to mp3's, which is the format I need to use to send & receive audio files in my work.

 

[Aggress]

Hey dude, download JETAUDIO, it's the best Video/audio player, and has got a great converter, and can play video files with any extension like odd mobile phone stuff and things like that

Btw i see you're into Nightwish i mean your name or is it just coincidence?

 

[David Baxter PhD]

I hadn't heard of this one before, Aggress.

More information on Jetaudio from []Jetaudio[/[wiki]] and [google]Jetaudio[/google].[/wiki]

 

[stargazer]

Have no idea what "nightwish" is -- (a band, maybe?), so it must be just coincidence. I have to send and receive mp3's because I do music transcription and create piano accompaniment CD's for singers, usually actors and actresses involved in musical theatre. Either they send me sheet music which I record for them on the piano, or they send me recordings from which I create piano-vocal arrangements. It's a small flailing business that was seriously disrupted when my laptop was stolen about three months ago, and with it all my software. So I recently acquired a desktop and am in the process of getting set up again. My goal is to get everything loaded onto the desktop by the 10th of this month, which was the date when I usually advertise (although I haven't advertised for three months now). I did load Full Finale 2007 onto the system, and I also use the Boss Micro-BR to record mp3's of my piano accompamiment at a high bit rate (192kpbs) so that when I email them to my customers, they can burn them onto CD's and be satisfied with the sound quality. Then they put the money into my PayPal account. It's a Brave New World.

I'll look into Jetaudio. I appreciate you guys giving me all these great options!

 

[texasgirl]

Stargazer - I really liked the song very much and she has a lovely voice. Can you send the Mozart and Schumann?

As for the computer issues, I am awful at that stuff. Wish I could help.

Thanks,

TG

 

[gooblax]

On an almost similar note, if anyone needs a converter to change .rmvb and .rm files to something less disgusting, Total Video Converter works, but it's not freeware (which is annoying). I don't know any free ones for .rmvb's.

 

[stargazer]

Stargazer - I really liked the song very much and she has a lovely voice. Can you send the Mozart and Schumann?
TG

Texasgirl, if you have a high-speed connection, I'll send it to your email address. I don't want to post too many of these clips onto the web right now.

On another note, I am EXTREMELY frustrated with Word 2007 and Windows Vista at this moment. I'm trying to get important work done by a job deadline, and I simply don't have TIME to deal with these issues.

Does ANYONE know why Word docs are appearing with a "docx" extension instead of a "doc" extension, and if people with Word 2003 or earlier versions of Word can open them? I made the mistake of guessing not, and choosing the option "Save as Word 2003 or earlier." This caused the document to open in WordPad and once again appear as gobble-di-gook with strange characters.

I don't have TIME to search all over Word 2007 and Vista for the answers to these frustrating problems. I wish I'd gotten a computer with XP only, so I didn't have to shuffle through all these changes under time pressure in the real world.

The quickest solution is probably to do the whole document over, or simply put it in the body of an email, so that at least I'll know the relevant person will get it on time for tomorrow's rehearsal.

I was supposed to do this after work last night, but being an early riser, I fell asleep. It was bad enough thinking everybody is mad at me, without having to deal with uncooperative technology in the process.

AAARGGGH!!!!!

(P.S. I forgot to change my mood indicator to "frustrated" before posting this. Then I saw it read "happy," which I found disgusting. I changed it now, so hopefully it will show my true state at this moment.)

It's about two hours later. Any way to keep this from auto-merging? I guess not. My first post was long enough to begin with. Nobody's going to read this, and my problem will never be solved.

Anyway, I re-wrote the document, saved it as a Word 2007 (.docx) file, then sent it to a friend of mine who uses Word 2003 to see if it would open. He said it came out in jibberish. Then he suggested I use the drop-down menu to save it as a Word 2003 doc.

But when I do that, it comes out as jibberish on my own system. So I can't win.

I've been on message boards and what-not since I first posted this, and after sifting through the first items that come up (all from Microsoft.Com, telling me how many problems have been solved with Office 2007 and Windows Vista), I finally get to some informative stuff saying that Microsoft "promises it will soon" have docx files openable in earlier version of Word.

Not sure how current that info is, but basically I don't have time for any of this. I'm just kicking myself that I didn't buy some earlier version of Word, and didn't wait until I could find a computer with XP. True, I'm change-resistant, but there's a utility issue here. If I had time to mess around with new programs, I would. There just isn't any time in my life anymore, and people are depending on me.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

SG, did you follow my instructions previously to associate .doc files with Wordpad? If so, I think what you need to do is repeat that procedure to associate .doc files with Word. Then when you save them in Word as .doc files, Word shluld be able to read them.

 

[gooblax]

Aparently this can convert .docx to .html files. I don't know how useful that would be, or how well it works, but here's the site:
Docx-Converter.com - Free docx conversion...

 

[stargazer]

I never deliberately followed any such procedure, although for some reason the files are being opened with WordPad instead of Word, and I don't know why, or how to keep this from happening.

The illegible files appear as "Word Conversion" documents under their properties. The legible ones appear as "Word" docs -- but were illegible to my friend who does not have Word 2007.

I could mail you both types of documents, and let me know if that's true on your system.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

How do I... Change file extension associations in Windows Vista?

The Windows Vista tool you use to change file associations in located in the Control Panel under the Default Programs icon.

Once on the Default Programs screen you have two choices for changing file associations:

1. Set your default programs
2. Associate a file type or protocol with a program

http://www.computerhaven.info/forum/tm.aspx?m=41159

If you find that a file is opening with a program other than the one you want it can be hard to find the file associations dialog. I think it's actually in a better place but you may not think to look where it is.

1) Open Windows Explorer
2) Right click on a file with the extension in question
3) Go to 'Open with...'
4) As a selection you will see 'Set default program', select this.
5) You are now in an association dialog where you can pick a program, browse to a program of your choice, along with other options.