Yet Another Blog for Tech Newbie

Install Windows XP From Dos

2007-07-27T00:01:00.000-07:00

If Windows XP will not install from the CD or if you have a new drive with no operating system on it yet try these:

Install Windows XP from the hard drive with Windows 98 already installed:

Boot Windows 98
Insert the XP CD into your CD reader
Explore Windows XP through My Computer
Copy i386 folder to C:\
Go into C:\i386 folder and double click on winnt32.exe to launch the setup from the hard drive

Install Windows XP from DOS (ie. no OS on a new hard drive):

Boot with a Windows 98 Start Up disk
Insert the Windows 98 CD into the CD reader
Run smartdrv.exe from the Win98 directory on the windows 98 CD (file caching)
Type cd.. to back up to the root directory
Insert Windows XP CD into the CD reader
Copy the i386 folder to C:\
Go into C:\i386 folder on C: and type winnt.exe to launch the setup from the hard drive.

Set Windows Explorer to Open the Folder/ Drive You Want

2007-07-26T23:58:00.000-07:00

Are you tired of "Windows Explorer" always opening up with My Documents?
Me too...

You can customize it by changing the properties for the "Windows Explorer" icon and replacing the Target field with:

%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /n, /e, c:\yourfolder

you can change the text c:\yourfolder to anything you want, to a folder or drive...

Go Go Technorati

2007-07-25T01:58:00.001-07:00

Technorati Profile

No Text on Your Desktop Icons

2007-07-25T01:31:00.000-07:00

If you would like your desktop Icons to have no text underneath then try this tweak:

Right click the icon and select "Rename"

Now hold the "Alt" key and type "255" and hit Enter

NOTE : It may only work with the keypad numbers and not the number keys on top of the keyboard.

Have fun...

How To Remove The Default Admin$ Shares

2007-07-25T01:20:00.000-07:00

By default Windows 2000, Windows XP and WinNT automatically setup hidden admin shares (admin$, c$ and d$), this registry key will disable these hidden shares.

System Key: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ System\ CurrentControlSet\ Services\ LanmanServer\ Parameters]
Value Name: AutoShareWks
Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value)
Value Data: (0 = disable shares, 1 = enable)

This registry key actually stops the recreation of the shares, therefore it may be necessary to delete the shares through the drive properties also or you can also remove the shares through the Computer Management Console.

1. In Control Panel, double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Computer Management.

2. Click to expand Shared Folders, and then click Shares.

3. In the Shared Folder column, right-click the share you want to delete, click Stop sharing, and then click OK.

Note : To remove the admin share for only the current session use the second method (Computer Management console), if you want a permanent removal, add the AutoShareWks registry.

How to Recover MOST of Scratched CD Data Discs

2007-07-25T01:16:00.000-07:00

I learn an old thecnique to how to recover damaged or scratched disks with some lost of data. In this case i have one borrowed game - MAX PAYNE 2 with a chunck of 4 mb lost with a scratch in CD1 Install. Here we cover some special thecniques of how to create a full working CD from the scratched one.

First some tools will be needed:

1. Alcohol 120%
2. UltraISO
3. Windows XP/2000 (not tested on 95/98/me)
3. Small piece of cotton
4. Dry cleaner paper
5. Finally, oil for cooking.

First step - preparing the CD

Get the cotton and drop some water, start cleaning vertically the surface of CD. Do it 3 times and dry the water with a piece of dry cleaner paper. With a new piece of cotton, drop some oil for cooking and start to wet the surface like you are washing the CD with the oil. Dry carefully now. Some particles of oil will stay on the microsurface of the scrath. It's okay. Seems the oil helps the laser of the CD/DVD driver to read the surface again. Sure this will work with small unreadable scratchs - some hard scratchs loose parts of the surface of the CD where we have data and it's lost forever. But if it is loosed try anyway. Whith this tip 80% of the small scratched CD's coud be recovered.

Second Step - testing the CD

With Alcohol 120% make an ISO - image making wizard - and lets see if the app can read the loosed surface. In my case Alcohol 120% had recovered 60% of the data. This is not enough. Have tryed other appz, they do not recover all the data. But the CD/DVD driver laser CAN recover all data in this case. the data is still there, what we do?

third step - making the new CD

With the main copy system of windows explorer you can do it. Just create one folder with the same name of the CD label for future burn reference, and copy the CD content to the folder. When the CD copy process find the scratch, in majority of the cases, it's slow down the reading and will recover ALL loosed data.If not, it just tell you there's an unreadable sector. In this case your CD is lost. But it's not my case, finally windows explorer got all the data from the scratch and made a copy in the folder. with the ultraISO, wrote the original CD label, drop the content of the folder and save as Iso. You can Test the new CD just mounting the iso in the Alcohol 120%. In my case i did ISO of the two discs from MAX PAYNE 2 and tested installing from the mounted ISO. Works like a charm. I got the 4 mb lost again. So, I have burned the CD and now i
have a working copy from the scratched one.

Sounds too bizzarre, but works. Course you can jump the cleaning process and try to copy
the content with Windows explorer. But in my case did not work without oil...

Remote Shutdown on Windows XP

2007-07-23T22:42:00.000-07:00

Windows XP Pro has a lot of fun utilities.
One of the most useful ones I have found to date is the ability to remotely reboot a PC. There are 2 ways of doing this. You will need to have admin access to the PC to preform these actions. That being said, here is the first way to do it:

Right click my computer, choose manage.
Highlight the Computer Management (Local) then click on Action, choose connect to another computer. In the window that opens fill in the machine name of the PC you want to connect to and click ok.

Once connected right click on Computer Management (Remote machine name)
and choose properties. Go to the "Advanced" tab and click the Settings button under Start up and recovery.
Click on the Shutdown button.

Under action choose what you want to do (you can log off current user, shut down, restart, or power down. you can also choose if you want to force all applications to close, close hung apps, or wait for all apps to close by themselves).

The second way... Remember dos... that good old thing. Open up a command prompt and enter in the following:

%windir%\System32\shutdown.exe -r -m \\Machinename.
The command prompt has more switches and options.
I highly suggest using shutdown.exe /? to see all the posibilities.

Turn Off Unneeded Services on WIndows XP to Speed Up PC

2007-07-23T22:27:00.000-07:00

Here is a list of services that can be turned off.
This will speed up your pc a bit

Right click my computer >> manage >> services and applications >> services

Set these to disabled you will need to reboot for them to take effect if you have a problem with any just re-enable them again ie if you have a smart card and you disable it wont work.

alerter
application layer gateway service
application management
ati hotkey poller
automatic updates
background intelligent transfer service
clipbook
com+ event system
com+ system application
distributed transaction coordinator
error reporting service
fast user switching compatibility
help and support
human interface device access
imapi cd burning com service
indexing service
internet connection firewall(icf)/internet connecton sharing(ics)
ipsec services
logical disk manager
logical disk manager administrative service
messenger
ms software shadow copy provider
net logon
netmeeting remote desktop sharing
network dde
network dde dsdm
nt lm securtiy support provider
performance logs and alerts
portable media serial number service
qos rsvp
remote desktop help sesson manager
remote registry
removable storage
secondary logon
security accounts manager
server
smart card
smart card helper
ssdp discovery service
system restore service
task scheduler
tcp/ip netbios helper
telnet
terminal services
uninterruptible power supply
universal plug and play device host
upload manager
video proes
volume shadow copy
webclient
windows time
wireless zone configuration
wmi performance adapter
workstation

Random Access Memory: RAM

2006-12-01T21:10:00.000-08:00

Random access memory (usually known by its acronym, RAM) is a type of data store used in computers that allows the stored data to be accessed in any order Â that is, at random, not just in sequence. In contrast, other types of memory devices (such as magnetic tapes, disks, and drums) can access data on the storage medium only in a predetermined order due to constraints in their mechanical design.

Generally, RAM in a computer is considered main memory or primary storage:
the working area used for loading, displaying and manipulating applications and data. This type of RAM is usually in the form of integrated circuits (ICs). These are commonly called memory sticks or RAM sticks because they are manufactured as small circuit boards with plastic packaging and are about the size of a few sticks of chewing gum. Most personal computers have slots for adding and replacing memory sticks.

Most RAM can be both written to and read from, so "RAM" is often used interchangeably with "read-write memory." In this sense, RAM is the "opposite" of ROM, but in a more true sense, of sequential access memory.

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

2006-12-01T16:56:00.000-08:00

A central processing unit (CPU), or sometimes simply processor, is the component in a digital computer that interprets instructions and processes data contained in computer programs. CPUs provide the fundamental digital computer trait of programmability, and are one of the necessary components found in computers of any era, along with primary storage and input/output facilities. A CPU that is manufactured using integrated circuits is known as a microprocessor. Since the mid-1970s, single-chip microprocessors have almost totally replaced all other types of CPUs, and today the term "CPU" is usually applied to some type of microprocessor.

The phrase "central processing unit" is a description of a certain class of logic machines that can execute complex computer programs. This broad definition can easily be applied to many early computers that existed long before the term "CPU" ever came into widespread usage. However, the term itself and its initialism have been in use in the computer industry at least since the early 1960s (Weik 1961). The form, design and implementation of CPUs have changed dramatically since the earliest examples, but their fundamental operation has remained much the same.

Early CPUs were custom-designed as a part of a larger, usually one-of-a-kind, computer. However, this costly method of designing custom CPUs for a particular application has largely given way to the development of inexpensive and standardized classes of processors that are suited for one or many purposes. This standardization trend generally began in the era of discrete transistor mainframes and minicomputers and has rapidly accelerated with the popularization of the integrated circuit (IC). The IC has allowed increasingly complex CPUs to be designed and manufactured in very small spaces (on the order of millimeters). Both the miniaturization and standardization of CPUs have increased the presence of these digital devices in modern life far beyond the limited application of dedicated computing machines. Modern microprocessors appear in everything from automobiles to cell phones to children's toys.

DRAM packaging

2006-12-01T08:52:00.000-08:00

For economical reasons, the large (main) memories found in personal computers, workstations, and non-handheld game-consoles (such as playstation and xbox) normally consists of dynamic RAM (DRAM). Other parts of the computer, such as cache memories and data buffers in hard disks, normally use static RAM (SRAM).

General DRAM packaging formats

Dynamic random access memory (DRAM) is produced as integrated circuits (ICs) bonded and mounted into plastic packages with metal pins for connection to control signals and buses. Today, these DRAM packages are in turn often assembled into plug-in modules for easier handling. Some standard module types are:

* DRAM chip (Integrated Circuit or IC)
o Dual in-line Package (DIP)
* DRAM (memory) modules
o Single In-line Pin Package (SIPP)
o Single in-line memory module (SIMM)
o Dual in-line memory module (DIMM)
o Rambus modules are technically DIMMs, but are usually referred
to as RIMMs due to their proprietary slot.
o Small outline DIMM (SO-DIMM). Smaller version of the DIMM, used in laptops. Comes in versions with:
+ 72 pins (32-bit)
+ 144 pins (64-bit)
+ 200 pins (72-bit)
o Small outline RIMM (SO-RIMM). Smaller version of the RIMM, used in laptops.
* Stacked v. non-stacked RAM modules
o Stacked RAM chips use two RAM wafers that are stacked on top of each other. This allows large module (like a 512mb or 1Gig SO-DIMM) to be manufactured using cheaper low density wafers. Stacked chip modules draw more power.

Computer hardware

2006-12-01T08:48:00.000-08:00

Computer hardware is the physical part of a computer, including the digital circuitry, as distinguished from the computer software that executes within the hardware. The hardware of a computer is infrequently changed, in comparison with software and data, which are "soft" in the
sense that they are readily created, modified or erased on the computer. Firmware is a special type of software that rarely, if ever, needs to be changed and so is stored on hardware devices such as read-only memory (ROM) where it is not readily changed (and is therefore "firm" rather than just "soft").

Most computer hardware is not seen by normal users. It is in embedded systems in automobiles, microwave ovens, electrocardiograph machines, compact disc players, and other devices. Personal computers, the computer hardware familiar to most people, form only a small minority of computers (about 0.2% of all new computers produced in 2003) Market statistics.

Ciphers

2006-07-06T21:19:00.000-07:00

Sebuah cipher adalah sebuah algoritma untuk menampilkan enkripsi dan kebalikannya dekripsi, serangkaian langkah yang terdefinisi yang diikuti sebagai prosedur. Alternatif lain ialah encipherment. Informasi yang asli disebuh sebagai plaintext, dan bentuk yang sudah dienkripsi disebut sebagai chiphertext. Pesan chipertext berisi seluruh informasi dari pesan plaintext, tetapi tidak dalam format yang didapat dibaca manusia ataupun komputer tanpa menggunakan mekasnisme yang tepat untuk melakukan dekripsi.

Cipher pada biasanya memiliki parameter dari sebagian dari informasi utama, disebut sebagai kunci. Prosedur enkripsi sangat bervariasi tergantung pada kunci yang akan mengubah rincian dari operasi algoritma. Tanpa menggunakan kunci, chiper tidak dapat digunakan untuk dienkirpsi
ataupun didekripsi.

Who Am I

2006-06-14T10:40:00.000-07:00

Everybody call me Chandra, coz its my real name.
When i was in highschool, i've got myself a nickname: lele
which is in english mean catfish.

So now, almost everytime i met my highschool friends, they called me by
that name. Which is different with i am now, in college, i ain't got any
nickname.

But, for short, my college friends sometimes call me Cha-cha or Uchan. And
my girlfriend called me dear or honey (ofcourse...)

Bon Echo Alpha 2 Milestone

2006-06-14T09:05:00.000-07:00

Bon Echo Alpha 2 is the second developer milestone on the path to Firefox 2. This milestone is focused on testing the core functionality provided by many new features and changes to the platform scheduled for Firefox 2. Ongoing planning for Firefox 2 can be followed at the Bon Echo Planning Center, as well as in mozilla.dev.planning and on irc.mozilla.org in #bonecho.

Changes in this milestone that require feedback include:

Links default to opening in new tabs, not new windows
Close buttons now appear on every tab, and the close behaviour is slightly different
Inline spell checking in text boxes
Automatic restoration of your browsing session if there is a crash
Search suggestions now appear in the search box auto-complete for Google and Yahoo!
New search plugin manager for removing and re-ordering search engines
Improved support for previewing and subscribing to web feeds
New microsummaries feature for bookmarks
New Add-Ons manager improves the user interface for managing extensions and themes
Updates to the extension system to provide enhanced security and to allow for easier localization of extensions
New search service that supports Sherlock and OpenSearch engines
Support for SVG text using svg:textPath

Firefox 1.5

2006-06-14T09:02:00.000-07:00

Firefox 1.5 arrived just 1½ month ago. The perhaps biggest news with version 1.5 was the new engine which was a lot faster than the old one. Mozilla has stated that since the focus was on the new engine som other things, more shallow things, had to wait, which will now be fixed. With FireFox 2.0 it will improve the History, bookmarks, RSS, tabbed browsing, etc. In other words practical and userfriendly features which should strengthen its position with the regular users that chose Internet Explorer just because it is right there when you start the computer.