Is it ever a good idea for me to try and reinstall my own system? Cause my computer still isn't quite all right since I had the virus removed, but I'm not sure I can ever pay for three hours of tech time.

re: pay-as-you-go cell phones. We siblings got one for Mom. I got her Cingular (well, now AT&T) since I have it, and it's free calls between us. If you purchase $100 worth, it holds the number for a year. I think everything lower than that is 3 months.

Is it ever a good idea for me to try and reinstall my own system? Cause my computer still isn't quite all right since I had the virus removed, but I'm not sure I can ever pay for three hours of tech time.

You can do a repair install, but it's a matter of "be careful" and read this: [link]

If you aren't comfortable, do more research before you do it.

ETA: and you will have to download Service pack 2 if you do not have it on your install disks.

Read the fine print, if you have an OEM restore disk, make sure it does not wipe the HDD completely, especially if you do not have an adequate back up.

I have T-Mobile pay-as-you-go and I'm much happier with it than I was with AT&T. I don't know if it's still like this but when I got my phone, after I'd spent $100 on minutes my minutes stopped expiring.

ok, I'm starting to look at the possibility of upgrading my home stereo system. I have an old (like 1989ish) Dolby Pro Logic receiver. It works fine. But. I dunno. Is it worth trying to upgrade it? It seems the all in ones that come with the speakers are DVD only, not Blu-Ray. I already have a DVD player, so it seems that's kind of a waste. Is it something I could get for a few hundred bucks? Or maybe wait a bit for the next round of Blu-Ray stuff to come out? I don't **need** to upgrade, just thinking about it.

I don't suppose anyone has access to MS SQL Server 2000, and could run a big-ass script for me that creates a bunch of stuff and then tell me why it's erroring (It runs fine on SQL Server 2005.)

Sorry, tommy, I only have 2005 here.

Well, I managed to get our client to determine what line was producing the error... some constraint had

WITH (PAD_INDEX = OFF, IGNORE_DUP_KEY = OFF)

in the middle of its declaration. Removing that stuff made it work.

Is it something I could get for a few hundred bucks? Or maybe wait a bit for the next round of Blu-Ray stuff to come out? I don't **need** to upgrade, just thinking about it.

Omnis, it's been a while since I researched, but the general rule from when I did is that you don't want a Home Theater in a Box system that includes the DVD/Blu-Ray player: you're better off with a separate receiver.

In terms of upgrading your old receiver, Onkyo makes some great systems that include the receiver and all the speakers you need. I've got their lowest-end system from a couple of years ago, and have been very impressed with it; it works quite nicely. For a couple hundred more, you can get two more speakers (7.1 instead of 5.1 - nice if you have a very large room) and HDMI pass-through, which is really neat. But if your needs are simple, their cheapest kit is almost certainly good enough.

[link]

Of course, if you already have several speakers of good quality, you may simply need to add a center channel (try to match brand, at least, with your current set) and get a new receiver to have full-fledged Dolby Digital.

thanks Gris. I was leaning towards not getting towards the all in one with DVD. Just didn't make sense. Always good to be affirmed. Thanks for the reminder on the Onkyo. It's been awhile since I've looked around for a receiver.