Windows Vista Issues

[stargazer]

try public_html/forumfolder/ instead of /public_html/forumfolder/ (remove the leading slash) and see if that helps.

When I tried that, I got the following error message:

"Sorry, the path must exist and point to the same place this installer was uploaded to."

 

[Into The Light]

in that case, i'm out of ideas. it's probably best to contact the people who've set this system up.

 

[stargazer]

I have sent messages to the web hosting service (which is my ISP) and also to Dr. Baxter, who did the original design. I'm opting out of the process because I've been obsessing on it, and it's cutting into other things. Right now, for example, I have to at least LOOK at the list of hymns for my substitute church organ gig that happens in a couple hours. I don't want to pull up lame.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Installed.

 

[stargazer]

Thanks, David. I know you're busy, and I appreciate the assistance.

 

[stargazer]

I just posted a new thread on the anger management forum, but if you (David) want to move it over here, that's fine. I am so frustrated at this moment, I really need help. I just cancelled my workshop in frustration, sending a lengthy email that was unprofesssional and probably offending all seven people involved. Then I forwarded the email to my boss (impulsively) to let him know I was going to be in a bad mood on arrival at work today, and hour and a half from now.

I have not exercised in days, nor eaten all day today.

WHERE CAN THIS FILE POSSIBLY BE??? I know I saved it. Vista search says "no such file exists" (searching all locations) and yet the file by the same name exists under RAC/DOCS (where I put it!) yet it is not the most recent version of the file by the same name.

I know I should have re-named it, I know I should have copied it to disk, but it was late at night and I was inspired and in the creative stupour. I just didn't think to save it.

I honestly think that God does not want me to follow through with this project. I feel like quitting -- everything, now. Completely, without reserve.

LATER:

the earlier entry didn't post, so these will appear in short succession after a 16-minute phone call

i talked to a friend and feel better now
i've just been over-worked -- i've been trying to make up for lost time
and we all know where that leads....

anyways, off to grab a sandwich and will be at work till 10pm tonight straight with no dinner break

g2g ttyl
a.

 

[Daniel E.]

WHERE CAN THIS FILE POSSIBLY BE??? I know I saved it. Vista search says "no such file exists" (searching all locations) and yet the file by the same name exists under RAC/DOCS (where I put it!) yet it is not the most recent version of the file by the same name.

I have had similar search problems before with Windows (not just Vista) relating to Word files (not just 2007) and other file types. What I do:

- Open MS Word and try to see if the file is in the most recent documents
- If that doesn't work, Windows Search
- If that doesn't work, I install Google Desktop Search, let it index for a while, then search that

If nothing comes up, I just try to move on.

Personally, I haven't lost anything yet in Vista or Word 2007, and I haven't needed to install Google Desktop Search onto Vista. However, I may install Google Destkop Search anyway, especially since it sometimes keeps a cache of different file versions.

 

[stargazer]

I have had similar search problems before with Windows (not just Vista) relating to Word files (not just 2007) and other file types. What I do:

- Open MS Word and try to see if the file is in the most recent documents
- If that doesn't work, Windows Search
- If that doesn't work, I install Google Desktop Search, let it index for a while, then search that

If nothing comes up, I just try to move on.

I'm not sure how much of my problem is technical and how much is psychological/emotional. My frustration today reached an unhealthy peak, and I don't need it. My musical is of great importance to me. It's a lifelong project. However, it's still not *that* important. I prefer not to kill myself working on it.

I'll open Word tonight when I get home & see if it's in the most recent documents. But I already emailed the seven people involved, and "moving on" would be a lot easier if I hadn't have wrapped a bunch of innocent victims into my whole self-destructive trip.

I have a basic problem with Computers and the Internet that weaves itself like a toxic thread about every good thing I try to do. I've lost jobs, not because I've lost my temper in person, but because I've sent out angry and unprofessional emails while feeling locked into Computer Land.

It's gotta stop.

LATER:

I found the file when I got home tonight, and thanks, Daniel. Like you suggested, it was on the recent items on the menu in Word. My first mistake was not changing the name of the file after I'd revised it. So there were two files by the same name, and Vista had "hidden" one of them.

I re-named it, and then got ready to send it to the seven members of the team, in hopes that they were still on board after my most recent expression of total computer frustration. As I did so, I once again could not locate the file to attach it.

I found it under what Vista calls "Recently Changed" although it was not under "Recent Items," not under "Documents," and so forth. So, now I have sent it to "Documents," and I've checked, and I'm positive it's there. Hopefully it will stay there, and I will not lose it in the future.

Also, I have emailed it to everyone on the team, and to my Yahoo address. So that particular fire's been put out. I just think I probably concerned or offended a lot of people in the process, and that's what depresses me about all this.

 

[Daniel E.]

BTW, a potentially helpful option to select in Word 2007/2003:

If the Always create backup copy setting is selected, there may be a backup copy of the file.

To locate the Always create backup copy setting, perform one of the following actions:
• In Microsoft Office Word 2007, click the Microsoft Office Button, click Word Options [at the bottom right], and then click Advanced [not Save]. The Always create backup copy setting is in the Save section.
• In Microsoft Office Word 2003, click Options on the Tools menu. The Always create backup copy setting is on the Save tab.

How to recover a lost file in Word 2007 or in Word 2003

By default, this backup copy option is not selected. (This option is different from the AutoRecover option, which is enabled by default with a 10-minute interval.)

It seems the limitations of this option are:

1. It doesn't start saving a backup copy until the file has been saved more than once.
2. There is only one backup copy, not multiple versions of backups.

 

[stargazer]

That will be very useful information, Daniel. Thank you.

 

[stargazer]

Here's an example of the kind of long-winded humor that comes from Microsoft dot Com when I'm hurriedly trying to seek answers to questions while under time pressure:

"Whether you've been frustrated by section breaks, or never heard of them, you've come to the right place! This article will give you simple, stress-free solutions for changing Section formatting within a document, and will also provide solace for those who have suffered the slings and arrows of Section formatting in the past. Working with Section formatting can be a cinch. But there is a catch: You have to understand a bit about how these little devils think.

Have you ever felt misunderstood? Well, that's how section breaks feel all the time! Contrary to popular belief, there is a logical reason for everything they do. Take a moment to understand where they're coming from and they'll repay your kindness by saving you time and tension in every document. If you've never used section breaks, learn what they are and how to insert them where appropriate. Need help getting in touch with your inner section break (or solving a Section formatting problem fast, before you throw your computer out the window)?"

Source: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/HA011876021033.aspx

Yes, of course I can identify with all of this. I'm trying to re-paginate a document on Word 2007 that it seemed to take forever to paginate properly on Word 2003 with the help of about ten puzzled librarians. Why the pagination even changed on me in the first place in infuriating enough, without Microsoft making light of it.

Anyway, I think I also have a basic time-management issue. I get so frustrated with the technical stuff that I take really long breaks, leaving my computer for long periods of time, for the sake of my health. By the time I return, I feel pressured again. Both feelings -- the inordinate sense of time pressure, and the idea that I can realistically take a long break, are illusory. If I get all this stuff done by next Saturday (the deadline is the 22nd) it will be an absolute miracle.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

It is sort of amusing... unless you're reading it because you're having a crisis with their software or OS, which is the most likely scenario.

 

[stargazer]

After Vista apparently "swallowed" a 17-page music notation file yesterday, I was strongly tempted to return the computer to the Rent-a-Center from whence it came, and have done with my weekly payments. However, a voice inside me told me to sleep on it, and when I got up this morning I was painfully aware of how difficult life would be without a computer.

I do have two questions, as I believe someone is online now who is comfortable with Vista.

(1) How do I customize my controls to remove the little circling thing that hovers around the mouse when the computer is "thinking"? For some reason, it tends to grate on my nerves, sort of like fingernails across a chalkboard.

(2) When I went to open an .html file last night, it told me I had to create a set of file associations first, and it told me to go to my file associations control panel. Where's that, and what do I do when I get there?

 

[Daniel E.]

(1) How do I customize my controls to remove the little circling thing that hovers around the mouse when the computer is "thinking"? For some reason, it tends to grate on my nerves, sort of like fingernails across a chalkboard.

The most specific way to do this is to change the mouse pointer setting for the "Busy" pointer. To do this:

- Go to the Control Panel.
- In the search box at the top right, type "pointer."
- Select "Change how the mouse pointer looks." (The Mouse Properties control panel will now open with the Pointers tab selected.)
- Select the "Busy" pointer and then press "Browse" to select a replacement.

 

[Daniel E.]

(2) When I went to open an .html file last night, it told me I had to create a set of file associations first, and it told me to go to my file associations control panel. Where's that, and what do I do when I get there?

Start button -- > Default programs -- > Associate a file type...

Then select ".html" from the list of file types. Then, assuming Internet Explorer or your favorite browser is not the default, click on "Change Program."

(You may also want to do this for the ".htm" file type.)

 

[stargazer]

The most specific way to do this is to change the mouse pointer setting for the "Busy" pointer. To do this:

- Go to the Control Panel.
- In the search box at the top right, type "pointer."
- Select "Change how the mouse pointer looks." (The Mouse Properties control panel will now open with the Pointers tab selected.)
- Select the "Busy" pointer and then press "Browse" to select a replacement.

Great! This gave me the opportunity to remove the circle on "working in background" too, as well as to remove some of the other pointers that were doing things such as preventing me from closing windows easily. Thanks, Daniel.

Regarding the file associations, I remember now that I had been directed there before, for the same reason. Anyway, I adjusted it so that both .htm and .html files will open with Word.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Regarding the file associations, I remember now that I had been directed there before, for the same reason. Anyway, I adjusted it so that both .htm and .html files will open with Word.

That's probably not a good idea, generally. You want them to open in your browser. And if you want to edit them, it's best to avoid doing that in word because Word will add a lot of "bad" formatting tags that are a pain to clean up.

 

[Daniel E.]

BTW, for blogging, Word 2007 does have a blog editing feature that supposedly avoids the HTML nightmares of Word 2003 and earlier editions:

word 2007 blog editor - Google Search

 

[stargazer]

That's probably not a good idea, generally. You want them to open in your browser. And if you want to edit them, it's best to avoid doing that in word because Word will add a lot of "bad" formatting tags that are a pain to clean up.

I realized that after seeing that Word opened them in code. So I adjusted it to open these kinds of files with Internet Explorer, where they are clearly legible.

BTW, for blogging, Word 2007 does have a blog editing feature that supposedly avoids the HTML nightmares of Word 2003 and earlier editions:

word 2007 blog editor - Google Search

I saw that after purchasing Word 2007, but I haven't explored it yet. Still unclear on the difference between an online diary (such as I keep on DiaryLand) and a true blog.

 

[stargazer]

I recently learned two other annoying things about Vista:

(1) It will save two different files under the exact same name in two different locations, thereby making it difficult to know which one you want.

(2) It does not *seem* to actually delete files I want to delete, to avoid the above confusion.

For example, I don't know how many times I've tried to remove a certain file entitled 1B_Eden.MUS because I had replaced it with another file by the same name after editing it -- something I do routinely.

I shouldn't have to change the name of a file every time I edit it. In clicking on "save changes," Vista ought to respect the fact that in saving the changes, I wish to completely over-rule anything on the previous file. I'm basically replacing the older file.

But it won't honor that -- it keeps offending me.

Right now I'm trying to back up all my music notation files, and I'm finding to my dismay that sometimes there are two or three files by the exact same name stored in different locations, and I have to check all the properties to find out which one is most recent.

Why didn't it just delete these files when I asked it to?

Now, I know what you're thinking. I should have saved every file as soon as I was finished with it, and this wouldn't be happening. You're right, and I won't argue with you. But still -- it shouldn't be this difficult, and with XP nothing like this ever came close to even happening at all.

I am so glad that when my daughter gives me her computer, it has XP and I won't have to deal with Vista any more. Don't anybody get it. I would ride it out until Windows 7. My two cents. (Or five cents??)

Anyway, I'm not entirely sure I want to spend a good part of today trying to track down files that are hidden somewhere on my computer before I turn it back to the Rent-a-Center. I just finished sending about 1/3 of my own compositions to my Yahoo address, and I can probably get the other 2/3 done. I'll leave the rest to be trashed, it's just not worth it.

And if my own pieces are not their very latest versions, thanks to the multiple versions under the same file name, it will probably take me less time and effort to re-compose them than it will to locate them. I'd rather just save what I can, trust that it's probably half-way all right though not perfect, and avoid the possibility of my hurling the rental computer through the window shortly before I'm due to return it, thereby owing money for property damages both to the computer and to my landlady.