 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: ron b
Date: 2005-05-11 04:03
We've had posts about eBay spoofs and scams and this question may be a bit off track, apology if so. The problem I've been having over the past hour or so is that my e-mail wants me to re-type my address to get in, then I get a 'page can't be displayed' (something like that, meaning it's not working). My wife tried earlier and a window came up asking for her birthdate. This doesn't seem right. Besides, if someone here wishes to contact me (has happened , I can't even get in to read messages. Something smells 'funny' to me, changing "policy" like that without prior notice.
- r![[cool]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/cool.gif) n b -
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2005-05-11 04:58
I've given up on my hotmail account because it frequently errs (and its system engineering is awful).
Your current experience sounds like mine/ours
Bob Phillips
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Author: Contra
Date: 2005-05-11 05:01
It's been a bit wacky with me lately, but nothing asked for my birthdate or anything. They're probably reworking it or something.
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Author: ron b
Date: 2005-05-11 05:58
Hmmm... I finally got into my mailbox. I had to 'agree to terms' by entering my e-mail address again to 'comfirm' it. No personal information required. Now it's working as it's supposed to. My wife, however, continues to get a window with boxes to enter her birthdate. No way. This strikes me as unusual because of the 'personal' question and because Hotmail didn't notify either of us beforehand that anything like this was going to happen.
I have gotten several 'can't connect, try again later' message page. I took that to mean traffic was heavy or they were doing maintenance or something. Maybe there's more to it, maybe not. I dunno :\
- ron b -
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Author: VermontJM
Date: 2005-05-11 11:58
I wonder if its asking because it is verifying age?
Put in a completely incorrect date- I have NEVER had hotmail ask me this... I use fake bdays on ALL of my email accounts because I don't want that info out there...
Good luck.
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Author: music_is_life
Date: 2005-05-11 12:25
never give any info to the internet when it asks. i guess birthdate doesn't matter much, but...well, I am sure you know this already. just reitterating.
my aol has been horrible lately, and I don't even use it for e-mail. just internet access and IM. I could not log on last night, much to my frustration. to bad we live in a world that is so dependant on computers/internet!
-Lindsie
Post Edited (2005-05-12 15:36)
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Author: hans
Date: 2005-05-11 21:02
ron b,
You're not the only one...
Sympatico (my ISP) is now providing its email service through Hotmail and it is a pain in the YKW. I have happily used Eudora as my email program for many years, but the new system won't allow it to receive my mail, so that I have to go to the web site to get it. Last week it suddenly wanted a new registration (with birthdate, etc.) and would not complete the registration process and give me access because I had not filled in "occupation". When I went back and checked "Other", it was happy. I guess "Other" is somehow much more useful to MSN than a blank....?
Anyway, I think the problem is incompetence on the part of MSN/Sympatico and nothing nefarious.
Regards,
Hans
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Author: 3dogmom
Date: 2005-05-11 21:11
I would immediately do a virus scan. I think it is very likely that someone unsavory is doing something they should not do. Use a utility like Norton to clean up your machine.
Sue Tansey
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Author: Gandalfe
Date: 2005-05-12 01:30
Geesh, I wish I could understand why you are having problems with Hotmail. Disclaimer, I work for the company that created that software. I have been using Hotmail since it's inception. Periodically they have done things that I haven't liked (I work in a different division) but for the most part Hotmail has worked very well for me. And as you might imagine, I was very happy when Hotmail upped the sizes of the mailbox and attachment limits.
Periodically I get asked to help relatives and here are the most common problems that I routine discover:
1. The user (my brother this time) doesn't use a virus detector and had a serious virus.
2. The user doesn't use a spyware remover program. This can create noise like, "What is your birthday?" messages.
3. The user hasn't done maintenance on their computer every. No really, ever. No defrag, no disk cleanup being run regularly. Because of performance problems, user get obscure error messages.
4. The user has an antique version of Windows. "What Win95 doesn't use 2005 programs very well? Go figure."
5. ISP or Internet connection problems create wierd support messages. Doesn't make sense in any context and happens to everyone, savvy or not.
6. Computer is more than five years old and because of performance problems software doesn't work well. Buy a new one; they can be had for $300 now-a-days.
7. The registry is corrupted by the use of non-standard and usually free software or the adding and removing of many programs. Back up your data and reinstall the operating system.
So the problems could be Hotmail or it could be an indication of a related software or hardware problem. I wish I could peek in and help more people, but I can't. So the next best thing might be to open a bug message to Microsoft (start at support.microsoft.com) so that we can take a look at your problem.
If only you are having the problem, we probably won't get around to looking at it. But if a lot of people are having the problem, the problem tends to get escalated really fast. No one the Geek Squad (Minneapolis) is such a booming business.
Jim and Suzy
Pacifica Big Band
Seattle, Washington
Post Edited (2005-05-12 18:22)
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Author: MSK
Date: 2005-05-12 01:32
An acquaintance of mine had a similar problem, which turned out to be a virus.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2005-05-12 01:40
Gandalfe wrote:
> 6. Computer is more than five years old and because of
> performance problems software doesn't work well. Buy a new one;
> they can be had for $300 now-a-days.
A five year old computer with a reasonable amount of memory and a good browser works just peachy keen for web browsing, mail, and 95% of anything. I know. My wife uses a computer with a 500 MHz Pentium IV, 512 Mb of memory, Japanese character set installed, and Windows XP. She does just fine, writing docs and email in Japanese, storing her pictures, burning CDs, and more. Spending money to upgrade would (at this point) be a complete waste of money.
Web-based mail systems use very little resource on the client computer; who'd want to overspend just for simple email & browsing? 99% of the people are limited by connection speed, anyway.
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Author: ron b
Date: 2005-05-12 04:27
Thank you All for the responses:
I believe all's well that ends well. Spy Catcher found no spyware of any concern and Norton says everything's as healthy as can be expected on this three year old device. My wife gave her birthdate (she doesn't tell lies, so she gave her real one) and some other innocuous info of no consequence and happily connected this evening only to delete all the junk mail that had accumulated. (A reminder that she should correspond with her sister more often). No apparent harm done.
Again, thank you one and all... there is so much valuable information from this thread I feel I should print it for future reference, thanks everyone and especially to Gandalfe for instruction on care and feeding of our second-favorite instrument...
- r b -
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Author: Gandalfe
Date: 2005-05-12 14:36
Mark, I have a computer with a ~450 mHz processor and it is so old I can't tell you it's age. Yes, that can work perfectly for a portal station just using an internet browser. But, the days are numbered for that machine as a reliable computer.
That is like the fellow telling you that his 65 Chevy is just fine for him. It's true, but not for everyone. In the 70's I owned a '56 Ford. I luved the car but wouldn't think of driving my family cross the US in it.
If this old computer is the only computer you have then you could very well end up with no computer access all of a sudden. But then, there's always the library computers as a back up until you get back online. And in the Seattle area, that service is free. :o)
Jim and Suzy
Pacifica Big Band
Seattle, Washington
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2005-05-12 15:20
Gandalfe wrote:
> If this old computer is the only computer you have then you
> could very well end up with no computer access all of a sudden.
Who do you think has the array of servers in his basement that runs this whole thing (and a number of other sites?)
Anyhow - I work on computers for a living (for the past 25 years - before that 10 years in hydraulic/electrical/acoustical engineering) and would differ with you on the longevity of well-crafted digital equipment.
I have more trouble with fans, power supplies and disks (in that order) than anything else ...
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Author: Gandalfe
Date: 2005-05-12 18:27
I totally understand. In my analogy of the old Ford, when the drive shaft fell off, and it did, I was able to fix the problem temporarily with bolts, wire, and tools I had in the car. But I wouldn't lend the car to my wife, even if she was willing to borrow it, which she wasn't. :o)
I too have spare harddrives, keyboards, RAM, etc and can fix many problems. My Mom, sister, wife, and some of my brothers can not fix any computer hardware problem. That's why I worried about geeks like us recommending that a less experienced user can 'make do' with older machines. This has come back to haunt me in the recent past. :o~
Jim and Suzy
Pacifica Big Band
Seattle, Washington
Post Edited (2005-05-12 18:28)
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Author: Avie
Date: 2005-05-12 21:25
Ive also had various problems with hotmail. I had to inform my e mail friends to send any large attachments or with more than one attachment to my other e mail address. Either I cant open them or if I could I certainly cant forward them on. When I e mail hotmail for assistance if and when they get back to me for some reason or another they dont answer the problem directly and I may find that when they start to fix one problem others seem to arise. Its pretty agitating . Ive had many other problems but not like the one ronb is having. Good luck with hotmail everyone.
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Author: Gandalfe
Date: 2005-05-13 17:31
I luv forums. So I researched what forum might help us with Windows software and hardware. I've found http://www.neowin.net/forum which looks very promising. My Dad and I will test this forum to see if it will make a good resource for finding solutions to gnarly computer problems.
Jim and Suzy
Pacifica Big Band
Seattle, Washington
Post Edited (2005-05-13 23:57)
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