I'm somewhat competent with this stuff, but pretty baffled. I got one of the Compaq HP 110 Mini netbooks at the Bestbuy weekend sale for 178 USD. When I got home, my Navibe USB antenna was in my mailbox. What fun!

I got the netbook online and downloaded the Microsoft Streets and Trips 2010 60 day trial. Connected the Navibe and away we go. Everything good. Took everything out to the car and plugged it all in and fired it up. Now the S&T welcome window greyed out the option to use the trial and announced that my trial period was over. What? Did they mean 60 minutes? That was almost exactly how long I was able to use it.

Not wanting to screw with that anymore, and a bit worried that it was going to grey out on me at some point on the road, I just went out and purchased the software. Now how do I get it on my netbook? I installed it on my HP laptop and then connected the two computers using a crossover cable. I went through a couple of tutorials for file sharing and was able to finally put S&T in "my documents" and then open "my documents" on the netbook and drag the S&T folder onto the desktop. Seemed to go well. Got file transfer bar indicating that the files were loading. Took about three minutes. But when I open the folder there is no install.exe anywhere to click on. The only .exe file is StreetsOlkShim.exe which seems to do nothing.

What's the easiiest way to do this? Can I just get a 4gb usb memory stick and put S&T on it and then plug it into my netbook? Does it have to be a bootable format in order to install? Are there any programs ready made to enable sharing files using a crossover cable (there is such an extraordinary number of hoops to jump through in order to enable this that it seems error prone. I must have gotten the"you don't have permission" "see your network administrator" prompt a dozen times. I AM the network administrator. Why does this have to be so difficult?

Typically, spend all night on this and most of the morning. Post the question and then ten minutes after posting the question I succeed. I don't know why it worked, but I simply put the S&T in the HP and instead of installing, I opened it in explore, created a new folder on my desktop, and then copied all the contents to that folder. On the netbook I opened the desktop on the HP via the ethernet connection and dragged that folder onto my netbook desktop. Took four minutes and, holding my breath, opened that folder and there was the install.exe. looks like i'm good to go but I'll leave the post since I'm still curious about how to use a usb stick for xferring/storing programs such as S&T. Anyone know? I'd like to have a copy on hand while on the road with the netbook in case anything goes awry.

Hi zation cosign, and welcome to the forum. I'm glad it works for you now. USB memory stick would have worked, too. I'm not sure what went wrong with the first installation, but even if it told you the 60-day trial expired, you should still have been able to simply enter the activation code without the need to install it all over again.

Put the DVD into the DVD drive.

Insert the USB memory stick.

Once they are both visible in Windows Explorer (My Computer, whatever), highlight everything in the DVD and drag it into the USB memory stick.

Nothing fancy. You just want to make sure you get everything copied into the memory stick that's on the DVD. Pretty much the same procedure you used to drag the contents of the DVD into the folder on the Desktop except drag it into the USB memory stick instead.

Check the size of the folder you used for the installation. It's probably much smaller than 4GB so you might be able to get away with using a 2GB memory stick if that's cheaper.

...ken...

Thank you all.

I got everything set up in my car finally. This little netbook worked out wonderfully. I had my eye on Samsung after a few days of web research. Best price was 299. Then I happened upon this Compaq with identical specs for 178 at bestbuy's black friday sales. It was gone from all of the outlets within half an hour of friday's opening, but I managed to grab one online and picked it up at the store the next day.

I had wanted the Samsung based on brand reliability, but then again I suspect that these netbooks may be rebadges coming out of the same factories at this point anyway since they have suspiciously identical specs and packaging. My choices were limited quite a bit by the requirement of a non glare screen, but I lucked out on the Compaq since it had this feature.

I had a bit of a panic when the map wouldn't auto center but I finally discovered the option for that. A 10.1 screen with a 93% keyboard is almost ideal for an automotive gps. I had been using a 12.1 inch toshiba, which always seemed perfect, but this is a better compromise I think. The Navibe mouse gps is spot on! The Targus universal 12vdc (lighter plug) to 3-24vdc adapter that I found at Goodwill last year finally came in handy. After checking online I discovered a chart that describes which resistor to apply to the plug end (133k) in order to signal the SMPS to output to 19vdc. I put a plug on it to fit the Compaq and it worked beautifully.

So now I have a navigation tool with a 10.1 inch led backlit ultra bright screen, b/g/n wireless web access, word processing, and a querty keyboard for about the same price as a dedicated dashboard gps. I can load whatever updated software I choose on it. If I break down at roadside I can play tetris until the wrecker arrives. What's not to love?

Well, I'm a little pissed that Compaq put the left and right click on the sides of the trackpad instead of below it like every other laptop in the world. I'll get used to it, but I'd rather have something familiar at hand while driving with the other. What the hell do they do things like this for? It's awkward, and there's actually plenty of room for the conventional layout. They didn't to it to save space. Very strange.

Thanks again for the great forum. I'll post again if I have any updates.

And if you get tired of one mapping software, you may try another software, and another, and another... ... rather than buying a new car

The screen resolution is 1024 x 600 which is standard for current netbooks. It's a tad below the spec requirements for S&T, so I'm probably missing just a little map off the bottom of the screen, but it's not noticeable. At least I think that's what's happening. I might be wrong.

160G harddrive. Astonishing how the standard just keeps creeping up. The latest, just this month, netbooks are shipping with win 7 starter and 250G harddrives. There's no way I'll run out of 160G on this thing for the use I"m throwing at it.

I still can't wrap my mind around solid state hard drives and terabytes on a flash drive. I remember debating with friends in college back in the early '90s about the possiblity of storing a cd's worth of music content on any solid state memory. We doubted it would be in our lifetimes.

I've been a computer professional since the early 70's and one thing I learned really early is that forecasting the technology more than a few months out is a mug's game.

...ken...

This copying seems a bit of a chore, in the S&T 2010 booklet it says on page 3 how to download a copy for "PC users with no DVD drive" via www.microsoft.com/streets/activate - has anyone done that succesfully?

My question is related - I have S&T 2010 on my desktop, but want to put it on my laptop and netbook also. How many activations can you do with one key?

I know that my McAfee only allows 3, but don't know what Microsoft's policy is...

Hi hazcaddy,

:welcome: to Laptop GPS World.

Hmm, the user name does seem familiar from very likely another online community!

1. Yes, just download it if you have fast enough connection, and if you don't have to pay extra money to your ISP for using up too much bandwidth (the file is I think around 2GB).

2. Your desktop & laptop will be OK. Go to Help > About > License... to read the details, but from what I remember you can install it on a licensed device (one computer), and one additional portable device (for example your laptop), as long as you are the primary user of both.

Were you running Windows 7 Starter on your netbook when you loaded Streets & Trips?

YES, TRIED ON TWO LAPTOPS

Is there anybody out there can help me fine Options on a Acer

What kind of "options" are you looking for?

Have you tried using your search engine to find them, e.g. Google or Bing or Yahoo?

...ken...

The options is for Streets and Trips GPS.

Bottom of the Tools menu.

Terry

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Ken in Regina, I have one question regarding your directions given above. When I put my DVD into my drive on my PC, it begins to load. Should I interrupt this (not sure how to do this), and then perform the "drag and drop" procedure. That reminds me of a more general question. Is the "drag and drop" a "cut and paste" or a "copy and paste"?

Yes, stop the installation. Right click on your DVD in File Explorer and choose Open. Select all files (CTRL a) and copy (CTRL c). Select your USB key and paste (CTRL v).

Terry

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Got it. I am still not sure about stopping the loading of the CD, but I will play with the process and am sure I will get it done. I know I could use the same process, only using cut and paste, to move routes saved on my laptop to my netbook, but is there a way of networking my two computers to eliminate the use of the flash drive?

I assume you already have something such as a wireless router to allow your computers to both connect to the internet. If so, they can certainly talk to each other. If you are interested and can let us know what Windows operating systems each is running, we can probably get you through it.

Terry

I run Vista, my wife's machine is XP and the netbook I will be purchasing to use for traveling will be XP. I have been researching this, but obviously not computer enough to understand what I am reading. Sorry!

Do you have a router - usually a box that the telco or cable (or whoever supplies your internet) equipment connects to and has connections for your wife's and your computer (via network cables or wirelessly)?

Terry

Yes.

Sorry, didn't finish the answer. Also have a wireless router.

Why do you have 2 routers with only 2 computers?

Terry

I am such an idiot. One modem connected to one router.

Sounds good so far. I am sure I could explain how to share a drive or folder. However, it might be simpler to just use the built in share folders on each computer . That procedure I have never done.

Do your computers require a password?


My internet is behaving very badly this evening. Maybe someone else can help you right now.

Terry

No

Here is a site that might help. It appears to be what you want to start. I am sure there are lots of other sites that discuss this procedure if you look.

Windows Vista Annoyance #3: File / folder sharing between computers on a network « Proud Geek

If that is not helpful let us know. I share all my computers and have a selection of XP and Windows 7 machines. I even have a Vista laptop. However my way of doing things is generally not the same as others.

Terry

I won't get in the middle of the networking description unless clarification is needed. Terry's doing a good job and I dont want to confuse by explaining the same thing differently.

Don't stop the DVD from starting up. Wait until it's splash screen displays with the various options and then either cancel or close.

@Terry, the Shared Documents or ..\Users\Public will work. The easiest way is to create a new folder in the shared folder and drag (or copy/paste) the entire DVD contents into the new folder.

...ken...

Thanks Ken, I would have tried to intervene sooner.
Terry, I have completed the steps outlined in the link you provided, and I think all is in order on my computer. Now, if I can get my wife's XP out of her hands I guess I need to do the same thing with hers, and then with my netbook. Right? Since I don't have access to either of these machines I assume the steps are different, but something I can do?

Ron

Practicallynetworked has a good description of that. I always thought it was easier but it could be I've just done it so many times.

Windows XP Simple File Sharing

You might want to wait until you get your netbook so you don't accidentally screw up your wife's computer though. That can cause a lot of friction; and I speak from experience!

Terry

Yes, I think I will stop here. I just now asked my wife to click on "my computer" while I was looking over her shoulder. We saw "Shared Documents" and "Yvonne's Documents". When I was setting up my Vista machine, I right clicked on only "My Documents" and clicked "share". None of those documents showed on her machine under either Shared Documents or Yvonne's Documents. Obviously I did something wrong, so when I get the netbook I guess I will try again. Until then I think I am becoming frustrated and will return to the novel I am reading.

Ron

Try having her click on Network Neighborhood (or maybe it is Network - right hand list on the Start menu) and see if your computer appears in the list.

Terry

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There is a difference between sharing folders and the share folder. As I have never been able to make share folders accessible on any computer, maybe Ken could explain it!!

Terry

I lied! My XP laptop can access a folder on the Vista tablet called Public. That is the Vista share folder but you need to go through Network and choose the computer to get there.

Terry

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Ron,

You didn't do something wrong. You were just trying to do something else. And you didn't do enough to make the "something else" work. As Terry said, you were trying to make a non-shared folder into a shared folder. You might eventually want to learn how to do that but you don't have to. In all flavours of Windows there are folders that are already shared and just sitting there waiting for you to set up the network stuff on the computer. Once you do that, they'll work automatically.

If you went through the first link that Terry posted and have a network set up on your Vista machine, you can find the shared folder Terry first mentioned by doing this (I apologize if this is a little off because I don't have a Vista computer but I seem to recall that it is pretty much the same as Windows 7):

- Open "Computer" (or My Computer, whatever it's called on your Vista computer).

- click to open your hard drive (C: ).

- click to open the Users folder.

You will see a Public folder inside the Users folder. Any files and folders in the Public folder are automatically shared. Any time you want to make something on the Vista computer available to other computers on your personal network you can just drop it (copy it) into the Public folder, or any folder inside the Public folder, and it will be shared.

The other computers on your network also need to be taken through a similar procedure to set up a network on them. So there will be a similar procedure to do on your wife's XP computer as you did on your Vista computer. Not identical, of course, but very similar.

Once that has been done, you next need to find your Vista computer from the XP computer.

On the XP computer:

Don't try to use My Network Places or My Computer to do this. You'll just confuse yourself. Open the Windows Explorer by holding the Windows key and tapping the "E" key. The Windows key is the one between the Alt and Ctrl keys on the left side of the keyboard with the Windows logo on it. On some keyboards it's also labeled the Start key. "Windows + E" or "Start + E" will launch the Windows Explorer. It's sort of like using My Computer but for this sort of thing it's much easier to work. (Remember, we're on the XP computer.)

- In Windows Explorer you will see a list of stuff in the lefthand pane. Look down until you see My Network Places. (Do the next instructions all in the lefthand pane unless I specify otherwise.)

- Click the little plus sign in front of My Network Places and you'll see Entire Network.

- Click the plus sign in front of Entire Network to expand it.

- Click the plus sign in front of Microsoft Windows Network and you should see the name of your workgroup show up.

- Click the plus sign in front of the name of your work group and you should see the names of two computers. One will be your Vista computer and the other will be your wife's XP computer.

- Click the plus sign in front of the name of your Vista computer and you should see some folders listed. One of them will be named Users.

- Click the plus sign in front of the Users folder and you should see a Public folder.

- Click the plus sign in front of the Public folder and you should see a bunch of folders listed, like Documents, Music, Pictures, etc. There will probably be sample folders in some of them, like Sample Pictures inside the Pictures folder and Sample Music inside the Music folder. Each of these sample folders will have something in them for you to practice with.

You should be able to copy anything from any of these "public" folders on your Vista computer onto the XP computer. (You did remember that you were doing all this on your wife's XP computer so you could get stuff from your Vista computer to the XP computer, didn't you?)

That's enough for tonite. My carpel tunnel is pleading for mercy and I actually have to get up to be somewhere in the morning.

...ken...

I don't think the default workgroup name is the same for XP and Vista/Win 7. I've already changed mine so I can't check but I think XP is WORKGROUP and Vista/ Win7 is something else.

To check, go to the Computer Name tab of System properties (right click Computer or My Computer and choose Properties. To change it (both/ all computers must have the same Workgroup name) click the Change button.

Terry

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Wow, thank God I downloaded Bulzip! I will "print" all of these replies to my documents folder and then wait until the netbook is in my hands so that I can practice "tossing" documents back and forth between my laptop and the netbook. Only after the procedure is internalized will I dare touching Yvonne's computer. I really appreciate all of the time each of you spent with me. I taught mathematics for 30 years and after retirement spent two years teaching math on-line, so I know the effort it takes to "teach" without face-to-face contact. I assume this sharing applies to installed programs as well as documents?

Not as such. Most programs require modifications to the registry and access to other files. They can not be run without being installed on the comuter you wish to use them on.

Terry