Ask a Shiter

[catsinthewelder]

It may have been pure luck but I've copied a couple of scratched CD's on shonky PC's so it might be worth a go

[Cavcraft]

You say that like its a bad thing, Tayne! It hasn't helped I've only really had mingebag CD players and listened to that CD countless times I suppose.

 

Anyhow no Mac bashing from me, whatever they are they can't be as shit as Windows 8. Thankyou for the tips folks.

[RedSparrow]

Depends what program you use, I've definitely used one that corrects 'skips' and one that doesn't. I can't remember the names of either.

Shit answer - soz!

[scaryoldcortina]

OMG WINDOWS IS SHIT>No car content here, move along now....

 

An elderly neighbour asked me to have a "quick" look at her windows 7 PC because it's misbehaving, her daughter had spent all afternoon trying to uninstall some unwanted helper programs and do a system restore before calling for help - it's crippled, slow and there are loads of dubious looking things in the add/remove programs tab. Seems "someone" was trying to watch a live stream from a link on google and "may" have downloaded some extra codecs to make it work just before it all went to tits. Chrome is now a zombie that won't let you search except with the almost google but not quite homepage, there are at least 4 antivirus and one system tuneup program which won't uninstall or turn off. System restore fails because the antivirus won't let it, even safe mode (boot +F8?) is deactivated.

 

Basically, I'm not windows guy and have no intention of becoming him - what I need to know is if it is crippled or not. I'm suspecting that a weed pulling exercise like this one usually needs a format and reinstall to fix. Added bonus, they can't find the system disks either.

 

I did discover that its only ever used for viewing photos/videos, email and internet so I've left her playing with LinuxMint 14 on a live stick, I'll see tomorrow how well she gets on with it but in the first 10 minutes she asked me to just bin windows entirely and install "whatever this lynx thing is"

[myglaren]

^^ There are unlikely to be any discs, instead there will be an hidden partition that you reinstall from.

Try pressing F12 when booting, which should bring up a menu for repair/reinstall.

 

Unfortunately some systems only have this as an option for three months, in which time you are supposed to burn rescue CDs/DVDs.

 

Linux Mint would probably be a far better option for them anyway, if that fails.

[Spiny Norman]

If you have access to another PC you could try downloading a recovery CD, like this AVG one. http://www.avg.com/gb-en/avg-rescue-cd

 

Problem is some viruses boot up with Windows and hide so the regular AV software doesn't get them. Download this, follow the instructions and hopefully it'll at least let you get back onto the thing to do a full AV/anti-malware sweep and get rid of all the crap that's obviously on there.

[scaryoldcortina]

^ gparted says the windows drive is partitioned into 4, (boot, rescue, C and D) but F12 only gave me options to boot from HD, DVD and the USB memory I had the linux live disk on. I think tomorrow might be the time to remove all the photos etc from the drive and linux it. Let's face it, she's 71 and ALL computers are confusing, what could possibly go wrong?

 

 

edit - there are 2 things there already claiming to be AVG... this sort of thing is why I don't "do" windows. I'll suggest it though.

[hhhugues]

Hi, anyone please talk to me about retread Tyres - good idea, or false economy ? Never used them...

 

I need to replace at least the 2 front tyres on the Mondeo and the rear ones will follow sharpish, so im looking at deals on 4, but there's no way i'm shelling out £80 a corner.There's some decent deals for retread on ebay totalling at under £150 for 4, quite tempted. Anyone fits them to their cars ? Any horror stories ?

 

I'm honestly not too fussed whether it affects handling, I use this car as my daily / load lugger / general workhorse and its had a hard life already. What i do care about is that they last until i've paid off the motor in a year's time, after that it will be worth about 10p anyway and i coudn't really care less if it literally falls apart.

[Spiny Norman]

I'd go for decent secondhand ones if there's anywhere local that can be trusted.

 

I know some folk turn their noses up at them but do these people always shell out for 4 new covers every time they buy a £500 snotter? Because you get a full set of secondhand tyres with every used car you buy, only difference is you usually only give them a cursory glance and you certainly don't get to see inside them and feel for sidewall damage.

 

I don't bother with remoulds/retreads these days and I'd deffo go for a good secondhand Pirelli/Conti/Dunlop etc than some cheapo Chinese ditchfinder.

[Albert Ross]

+1 on used Premium rubber. I have run my Focus for 5 years on a selection so far on Michelin, Bridgestone, Goodyear, Dunlop and Firestone. Just looking for a Pirelli P6000 to match a good one I have. These are normally retail rejects that come in. Certainly, some people DO reject a full set of rubber on favour of "new to them" stuff I have never fitted anything with less than 4mm tread. I run a popular size 205/55/16V, so 35-40% ofr the cars through the door have them fitted.

[cobblers]

Right, these universal CV gaitor kits, are they actually worth giving a go?? I know those ones that you glue together are supposed to last approx 200 yards.

 

I'm eyeing this kit up for my nans mk3 fiesta:

 

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FORD-FIESTA-C ... 5c8&_uhb=1

 

Am I likely to just end up wasting my time? Any tips bar soaking the rubber in boiling water for ages first of all?

[Albert Ross]

I use a sawn off coke bottle and lashings of furniture polish. Turn the boot inside out first though.

[skattrd]

For cheap rubber its worth checking ebay for wheels with tyres. I've bought several sets of alloys with decent tyres for less than the tyres were worth. Run them until the tyres have had their use then flog the alloys.

One of my best ebay purchases was a set of VW alloys with tyres for £35, after doing 20k miles on them I sold the alloys on a VW forum for £50.

[whitevanman]

Cheaper options

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from= ... nt&_sop=15

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1x-FORD-OUTER ... 27cbd34c1e

 

or try your paarts dealer for a new CV joint and just sort it properly....

[hhhugues]

thanks for a rubber info ! seems to be a few second hand tyres places around here so i'll defo try that.

[hhhugues]

*all rubber info is what i meant to type

[Wilko220]

Is reconditioning a starter motor a straightforward job (for someone who has never done it before), or am I better off splashing out ten quid or so for a replacement from a scrap yard? It's for my 306.

If it is worth doing, very grateful for any advice as to how to go about it!

[Richard]

I took the Citroen C5's starter to bits with the intention of replacing the brushes but I had two problems- firstly the brush leads had to be spot welded on, which would have meant paying somebody to do it, and secondly the brushes I bought were wrong. Three problems- one of the long through bolts snapped into the casing. I paid £59.99 outright for a new unit off eBay.

 

I did manage to reassemble the old unit and gave it to a friend to use as a stop-gap in his car. It is still working more than two years later with only one through bolt and the original brushes.

[Pillock]

^^ There are unlikely to be any discs, instead there will be an hidden partition that you reinstall from.

Try pressing F12 when booting, which should bring up a menu for repair/reinstall.

 

Unfortunately some systems only have this as an option for three months, in which time you are supposed to burn rescue CDs/DVDs.

 

Linux Mint would probably be a far better option for them anyway, if that fails.

 

In all my years, I've never seen a system where the recovery partition stops working after X months!

Sometimes F12 will invoke recovery but more often F10 (Sony), F11 (HP/Compaq), F4 (Samsung) etc - try all the buggers. Acer is an odd one, Alt-F10 just to keep you guessing. Other own-brand style PCs (and Toshiba) use the generic F8, go into System Rescue, and it'll let you do it from there.

 

Scary, what PC is it? I can sometimes get recovery CDs sorted but I'm on hols next week so it won't be fast.

[scaryoldcortina]

 

In all my years, I've never seen a system where the recovery partition stops working after X months!

Sometimes F12 will invoke recovery but more often F10 (Sony), F11 (HP/Compaq), F4 (Samsung) etc - try all the buggers. Acer is an odd one, Alt-F10 just to keep you guessing. Other own-brand style PCs (and Toshiba) use the generic F8, go into System Rescue, and it'll let you do it from there.

 

Scary, what PC is it? I can sometimes get recovery CDs sorted but I'm on hols next week so it won't be fast.

 

It's a packard bell integrated PC/touchscreen thing - I'll get the model number tomorrow. tbh, as long as she can get to the internet she doesn't seem bothered about how it does it - she's still using the live stick.

[M'coli]

There's a Honda Vision for sale locally, it's advertised on the for sale board in a local supermarket for £150 - is buying this at this price to sell on a no-brainer?

[Cavcraft]

Pretty much so, yes. If it's taxed and tested it surely has to be worth £350+, especially if it's tidy.

[warren t claim]

Would this T Cut and polish up ok?

 

[Mr_Bo11ox]

yes

[mk1_4dr]

What are Corolla Verso ('05) rear bumbers (sic) like to change?

 

I got a phonecall last night from my mate who has managed to reverse into one cracking the bumper, Toyota want to charge £700 for a new one fitted, local garage want £400, so he's nominated me to replace it.

 

Am I going to end up with a massive headache when nothing lines up? Its one of those full wrap-around-blend-into-the-wheel-arch jobbies.

 

Does/has anybody on here worked for a Toyota dealership or bodyshop and had one of these off?

[Pillock]

 

It's a packard bell integrated PC/touchscreen thing - I'll get the model number tomorrow. tbh, as long as she can get to the internet she doesn't seem bothered about how it does it - she's still using the live stick.

 

Aaah if she's OK then she's OK - fair play.

PBs of that vintage are usually Acer-built, so try the Alt-F10 to start OS recovery.

Before doing that, you'll need to go into the BIOS with F2 and make sure "D2D Recovery" (Disk to Disk) is turned on.

[Richard]

Pepipoo-style stupid question.

 

According to "man in pub" wisdom a speeding ticket from a camera has to be issued within 14 days or it's invalid. Other men in the pub reckon they get an extra couple of days to allow for postage. Is any of that true and does it apply to bus lane cameras? Two weeks ago today I was trying to find a place in Glasgow when I found myself in a bus lane that had a camera in it and I'm kind of hoping not to get shafted for it.

[cobblers]

Nope, it doesn't apply to bus lane cams. However, being council operated there are usually a number of faults with the bus lane signage, the "ticket" itself and the traffic orders that make the bus lane legal etc that individually are enough to void the penalty.

It's definitely worth banging a scan up on pepipoo and getting one of them lot to sniff over it to save you £40 or whatever.

[Richard]

I haven't heard anything yet, I was just wondering how long I would have to worry about it. If I do get a ticket it'll be a lot more than £40 because I'll be going to court and telling them to go fuck themselves.

[catsinthewelder]

Fresh silly question,

 

I've always fancied the idea of driving a camper van down to Morocco and realistically dumping it there and flying back is the only way that I'll pull it off within my holiday allowance at work. I'm happy to use a normal van/minibus and make a cheap and disposable camping interior.

 

Same as loads of the cheapish chod that would suit this sort of adventure is also GR8 4 export to Africa it's starting to seem like less of a silly idea, particually if I pick the right vehicle and have a contact at the other end.

 

Any suggestions?