Computer Technology Tips and Tricks for Devlopment

DSL and Cable Broadband Speed Tweaks

2009-12-08T10:53:00.000-08:00

Increase the performance of your broadband connection So-called broadband speed tweaks are techniques to improve performance of DSL and cable Internet broadband Internet services first became popular connections. Home networking enthusiasts started experimenting with cable and DSL tweaks many years ago, when

Performance tweaks for low-speed (dialup) Internet often do not work for broadband links. Additionally, while broadband speed tweaks originally focused on increasing the performance of general Web surfing, speed tweaks are now more commonly made to tune specific applications like P2P file sharing systems and games.

First, broadband tweaks should be made only after your network is tested and running reliably. Speed tweaks are performance optimizations only, not designed to fix installation errors or basic network configuration issues.

You should expect broadband tweaks might yield only small speed increases, and then only in certain situations. For example, a tweak to improve the performance of one online game may only benefit that title and then only initially when it is loading. Broadband tweaks may help certain applications like games but at the same time slow down others like Web browsing. In general, assume any performance benefits you obtain may be on the order of 10-20% gain rather than 100-200%.

Finally, speed tweaks also can create instability on some networks. Depending on the type of equipment and Internet service you use, some tweaks will be technically incompatible and need

Types of Broadband Speed Tweaks

The most common broadband tweaks involve adjusting various parameters of the TCP/IP network protocol, typically:

TCP receive window size
Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU)
Maximum Segment Size (MSS)
Time-To-Live (TTL)

The Microsoft Windows Registry contains default values for TCP/IP parameters. You can apply these speed tweaks to your computers by using a Registry editor or the TCP Optimizer utility (see below) to change some of the default values on each, rebooting the computers each time. Other operating systems like Linux and Mac OS X provide alternative mechanisms to tune TCP/IP parameters.

Another common broadband tweak entails manipulating Web browser settings. For example, suppressing the download of large images saves network bandwidth that can be used instead to download other data faster.

Finally, though less common, a few speed tweaks modify settings on routers and modems. For example, TCP/IP MTU settings can be changed on a broadband router separate from individual computers on the network.

About Web Accelerators for Broadband Tweaks

Speed tweaks have been traditionally applied to the network by an administrator manually, one device at a time, but in recent years software applications have been developed to help automate and maintain tweaks.

So-called Internet download accelerators are pre-packaged software programs that automatically apply speed tweaks to a computer. Installing and running an accelerator program will automatically make the Registry, Web browser and other configuration changes. The more sophisticated applications collect information about your computers and network and apply tweaks intelligently to ensure maximum benefit.

Turning Off the Recycle Bin

2009-12-07T12:00:00.000-08:00

If you want to stop sending deleted files to the Recycle Bin

Figure a: The Properties dialog box of the Recycle Bin

1. Right-click the Recycle Bin icon on the desktop, and choose Properties from the shortcut menu. You see the Properties dialog box of the Recycle Bin (Figure a).
2. On the Global tab of the Properties dialog box (or on the tab corresponding to the particular drive whose Recycle Bin you are turning off, if the Configure Drives Independently option is chosen on the Global tab), check the box labeled Do Not Move Files To The Recycle Bin. Remove Files Immediately When Deleted.
3. Click OK.

After you complete this procedure, files you delete from your hard drive are gone, just as are files deleted from floppy drives. Files that were already in the Recycle Bin, however, remain there until you empty the Recycle Bin, delete them, restore them, or move them to another folder.

University Admission Test Notice, Information, Result

2009-12-07T11:35:00.000-08:00

1. Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET)

Web:- www.buet.ac.bd

2. Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology (RUET)

Web:- www.ruet.ac.bd

3. Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET)

Web:- www.kuet.ac.bd

4. Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET)

Web:- www.cuet.ac.bd

5. Dhaka University of Engineering and Technology (DUET)

Web:- www.duet.ac.bd

6.Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University

Web:- www.bsmmu.org

7. Dhaka University

Web:- www.univdhaka.edu

8. Islamic University

Web:- www.iu.ac.bd

9. Jahangirnagar University

Web:- www.juniv.edu

10. Rajshahi University

Web:- www.ru.ac.bd

11. Khulna University

Web:- www.ku.ac.bd

12. University of Chittagong

Web:- www.cu.ac.bd

13. Jagannath University

Web:- www.jnuni.net

14. Shahjalal University of Science and Technology

Web:- www.sust.edu

15. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University

Web:- www.bsmrau.com

16. Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University

Web:- www.hstu.ac.bd

17. Bangladesh Agricultural University

Web:- www.bau.edu.bd

18. Bangladesh Open University (BOU)

Web:- www.bou.edu.bd

19. Bangladesh University of Professionals

20. Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur

Web:- www.rangpuruniv.edu.bd

21. Chittagong Veterinary & Animal Science University

Web:- N/A

22. Comilla University

Web:- N/A

23. College of Textile Technology, Dhaka

24. Islamic University of Technology (IUT)

Web:- www.iutoic-dhaka.edu

25. Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University

Web:- www.jkkniu.edu.bd

26. Jessore Science & Technology University

Web:- www.jstu.edu.bd

27. (A) Mawlana Bhasani Science and Technology University

Web:- www.mbstu.ac.bd

28. (B) Medical College

Web:- http://dghs.gov.bd

29. (C) Armed Forces Medical College

30. (D)Government Dental College of Bangladesh

31. National University

Web:- www.nu.edu.bd

32. Noakhali Science and Technology University

Web:- www.nstu.edu.bd

33. Pabna University of Science & Technology

Web:- www.pust.ac.bd

34. Patuakhali Science and Technology University

Web:- www.pstu.ac.bd

35. Sher-E-Bangla Agricultural University

Web:- www.sau.ac.bd

36. Sylhet Agricultural University

Web:- N/A

Resizing the Recycle Bin As Your Wish.

2009-12-07T10:32:00.001-08:00

By default, the maximum size of the Recycle Bin on any hard drive is 10 percent of the size of the drive itself. For example, a 10GB hard drive has a maximum Recycle Bin size of 1GB--a lot of space to use up for files you've decided to delete. If you delete an object that would cause the Recycle Bin to exceed that size, Windows warns you with an error message.

Figure 1: The Properties dialog box of the Recycle Bin

Having a maximum size for the Recycle Bin forces you not to clutter your hard drive with useless, deleted files, and 10 percent is as good a maximum size as any. But you may decide either to raise this limit (because you don't want to lose any of the files currently in the Recycle Bin) or lower it (because disk space is getting tight), either of which you can do by following this procedure:

Right-click the Recycle Bin icon on the desktop, and choose Properties from the shortcut menu. You see the Properties dialog box of the Recycle Bin (Figure 1).
The Properties dialog box contains a Global tab, plus a tab for each hard drive on your system. If you want to change the maximum size setting for all the hard drives at once, set the new maximum size of the Recycle Bin (as a percentage of total drive space) by moving the slider on the Global tab. Then click OK. Skip the remaining steps.
If you want to reset the maximum Recycle Bin size for only a single drive, leaving the others the same, select the Configure Drives Independently radio button on the Global tab.
Click the tab for the drive you want to change.
Set the slider on that tab.
Click OK

Customizing a Folder behavior

2009-12-07T10:30:00.000-08:00

Windows gives you considerable power over the appearance of a folder in an Explorer window. You can select a new folder template for the folder, choose a picture to display on the folder's icon in Thumbnails view, or select a new icon entirely to represent the folder in any view.

These changes are made from the Customize tab of the folder's Properties dialog box, shown in Figure 1. To display this tab, do either of the following:

Right-click the folder's icon and choose Properties from the shortcut menu, then click the Customize tab in the Properties dialog box.
Open the folder and then choose View | Customize This Folder.

Figure 1: Customize a folder from the Customize tab of the folder's Properties dialog box.

History Of Oracle Database

2009-12-07T10:26:00.000-08:00

The following are the important events and years in which these events took place.

Network and Hierarchical Models

Charles Bachman of General Electric proposed a network model with data records linked together, forming intersecting sets of data in 1964.

The North American Aviation's Space Division and IBM developed a second approach based on a hierarchical model in 1965. In this model, data is represented as tree structures in a hierarchy of records.

IBM's product based on this model was brought to market in 1969 as the Information Management System (IMS).

Birth Of Relational Model - early 1970

The concept of the relational database was first described around 1970 by Dr. Edgar F. Codd in an IBM research publication entitled "System R4 Relational."

Relational Software, Incorporated (RSI) was founded in 1979 and released Oracle V.2 as the world's first relational database.

By 1985, Oracle could claim more than 1,000 relational database customer sites. IBM itself would not embrace relational technology in a commercial product until the Query Management Facility in 1983.

Birth of Oracle Corporation - 1983

RSI (Relational Software, Incorporation) was renamed to Oracle Corporation.

Beginning of Portability

Oracle Corporation created a portable version of Oracle (Version 3) that ran not only on Digital VAX/VMS systems, but also on Unix and other platforms.

By 1985 , Oracle claimed the ability to run on more than 30 platforms.

Client/Server database - 1986

Since networks became available in mid 80s, Oracle started supporting Client/Server model.

Oracle Financials - 1988

Oracle entered into products market and developed its EPR product- Oracle Financials based on Oracle Relational Database.

Oracle6 - 1989

Oracle version 6.0 was released in 1989. First time PL/SQL entered into scene. Integrity constraints are only declared but not defined.

Oracle7 - 1993

Oracle release version 7.0 in 1993. It provided complete support for Integrity constraints.

Oracle8 - 1997

Oracle for the first started supporting objects in Database. As Oracle started supporting object, it is also called as ORBDMS ( Object Relational Database Management System) from Oracle8 onwards.

Also introduced features related to VLDB(Very Large Database) features such as partitioning tables.

Oracle8i - 1999

Oracle corporation started saying moving towards Internet model, where everything is stored in Internet.

One of the biggest new features is support for Java in Oracle database. You can use either PL/SQL or Java. Oracle database contains Java Virtual Machine.

To read more about what is new in Oracle8i, read What's new in Oracle8i article.

Oracle9iAS - 2000

Oracle corporation is no longer a company providing only database management system and instead started providing all that it takes to develop and deploy a complete application.

AS(Application Server) runs on middle tier in 3-tier Client/Server architecture boosting the performance.

Oracle9iDB - 2001

Oracle9i Database was released. It is said that it has 400 new features all together.

You can get information about new features that were introduced in Oracle9iDB through New features of Oracle9i Database

Now, Oracle Corporation is second largest software first only next to Microsoft. It's head Larry Ellison believes that application are to be run on Internet and not on Client/Server. He says this is Information Age. He also says the order of the day is Suite ( a collection of products that are designed to be used together). That is the reason Oracle9i comes with three modules - Database, Developer Suite and Application Server, which are used together to developer an Internet application.

If you have any other interesting statistics about Oracle Corporation’s present or past, please send a mail to kamrul.aece@yahoo.com.

SQL and RDBMS

2009-12-07T10:07:00.000-08:00

SQL:
SQL is an acronym for Structured Query Language and is a standard relational query language (SQL has been standardized by both ANSI and ISO) used for interaction with databases.

SQL was developed by IBM in 1970s and has its roots in the relational algebra defined by Codd in 1972. SQL functionality goes beyond the relational algebra, allowing to retrieve data, insert data, modify existing data and delete data from/to a RDBMS. SQL features arithmetic operators like division, multiplication, subtraction and addition, and comparison operators (=, >=, <=). SQL also defines several aggregate functions like MAX, MIN, AVG, COUNT, and SUM. SQL defines many keywords, which can be divided into several categories. The first SQL keyword category is for keywords used for data retrieval like the SELECT keyword. The second category is for the SQL keywords used for data manipulation like the INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE SQL keywords. The third category is the transactional SQL keywords category, featuring keywords like COMMIT and ROLLBACK. Another SQL keyword category is the SQL Data Definition Language category featuring words like CREATE and DROP. Yet another category of SQL keywords controls the authorization and permission aspects of RDBMS (GRANT and REVOKE keywords). SQL is pronounced as “S-Q-L” or “see-quill”. SQL uses -- character sequence as a single line comment identifier. SQL commands are not case sensitive and the following SQL queries are equivalent:

SELECT * FROM Users

select * from Users

There are many SQL implementations also called SQL dialects and SQL extensions. For example MS SQL Server specific version of the SQL is called Transact-SQL, Oracle version of SQL is called PL/SQL, MS Access version of SQL is called JET SQL.

This SQL Tutorial will show you how to use SQL and its commands. You will be able to apply most of the knowledge gathered from this SQL tutorial to any Relational Database Management System.

RDBMS:

RDBMS is an acronym for Relational Database Management System. The data in RDBMS is stored in database objects called tables. The database tables are the primary data storage for every RDBMS and essentially they are collections of related data entries. For example a table called Users might store information about many persons, and each entry in this table will represent one unique user. Even though all user entries in the Users table are unique, they are related in the sense that they describe similar objects.

Table Users

FirstName	LastName	DateOfBirth
John	Smith	12/12/1969
David	Stonewall	01/03/1954
Susan	Grant	03/03/1970

Each database table consists of columns and rows. Each table column defines the type of data stored in it, and this data type is valid for all rows in this table. A table row is a collection of data having 1 entry for each column in this particular table.

RDBMS store the data into group of tables, which might or might not be related by common fields (database table columns). RDBMS also provide relational operators to insert/update/delete information stored into the database tables.

MS SQL Server, DB2, Oracle and MySQL are all Relational Database Management Systems.

I’ll be using the RDBMS and database words interchangeably throughout this SQL Tutorial, so whenever I use the word database I mean RDBMS and the other way around.

Database

2009-12-07T10:05:00.001-08:00

A database is a collection of data. That may sound overly simplistic but it pretty much sums up what any database is.

A database could be as simple as a text file with a list of names. Or it could be as complex as a large, relational database management system, complete with in-built tools to help you maintain the data.

Before we get into dedicated database management systems, let's start with the basics - let's look at a simple text file example.

Text File

Imagine we have a text file called "Individual.txt", and that the contents look like this:

We could use this information to do things such as send an email to everyone on our list. We could do this because, due to the way we designed the list, we know that each row contains a different individual, and the information on that row is related to that individual. Also, the items in each row are separated by commas. Therefore, we know that the email address next to "Homer" is his email address. We could also call each row a record. Therefore, we currently have 4 records in our database.

With a small list like this, a text file may serve our purposes perfectly.

Spreadsheet

Another option would be to store it in a spreadsheet using spreadsheet software (for example, Microsoft Excel). That way, we could do some extra things with our list (such as format it, or sort by first name/surname etc).

A spreadsheet program like Excel makes these tasks relatively easy to do. Also, programs like Excel organize the data into rows and columns, making your data easier to comprehend. Something like this:

Database Software

A better option would be to store the data in a database table using specialized database software, such as Microsoft Access. Something like this:

So What's the Difference?

You may be wondering what the difference is between the last two examples (Excel vs Access). After all, both examples have the data organized into rows and columns.

There are many differences between spreadsheet software and database software. The rest of this tutorial will show you why database software is a much better option for creating databases.

Database Management Systems

2009-12-07T09:49:00.000-08:00

A Database Management System (DBMS), is a software program that enables the creation and management of databases. Generally, these databases will be more complex than the text file/spreadsheet example in the previous lesson. In fact, most of today's database systems are referred to as a Relational Database Management System (RDBMS), because of their ability to store related data across multiple tables.

Some of the more popular relational database management systems include:

Microsoft Access
Filemaker
Microsoft SQL Server
MySQL
Oracle

Throughout this tutorial, you will become familiar with some of the key concepts of database management systems. These include:

Database creation
Tables
Adding data to your database
Querying a database
Relational database design

What Does a Database Management System Look Like?

Different database management systems look different, but generally, there are a number of common features that you'll usually see across most of them.

Microsoft Access

This is the main screen you'll see when opening up Access to view an existing database. The outer part is the database management system and it's menu, the middle part is the actual database. In this example, the database is called "dateSite" and has 20 tables. If you were to open a different database, the name of the database would be different and you would see different tables, but the available options would be the same (i.e. Tables, Queries, Forms, Reports, Macros, Modules, Open, Design, New).

Some of these options are common across all database management systems. All database systems allow you to create tables, build queries, design a new database, and open an existing database.

Microsoft SQL Server

Microsoft SQL Server is a more robust database management system than Access. While Access is better suited to home and small office use, SQL Server is more suited to enterprise applications such as corporate CRMs and websites etc.

The above screen is what you see when you open SQL Server through Enterprise Manager. Enterprise Manager is a built-in tool for managing SQL Server and its databases. In this example, there are 6 databases. Each database is represented down the left pane, and also in the main pane (with a "database" icon).

Which Database System to Use?

If you are using a database for home or small office use, Microsoft Access or Filemaker should be fine. If you need to create a database driven website, then you're better off using a more robust system such as SQL Server, Oracle, or MySQL.

The examples in this tutorial use Microsoft Access. If you don't have Microsoft Access, you should still be able to follow the examples. The tasks we perform are the same tasks you would need to perform regardless of which database management system you use. The key goal with this tutorial is to provide you with an overview of what is involved in creating and maintaining a database.

Configure the Standard Buttons Toolbar

2009-12-06T11:37:00.000-08:00

The six Standard Buttons are not the only ones you could have on your toolbar. In fact, you can choose from a total of 21 buttons, and you can display any collection of them in any order you want. This rearranging takes place in the Customize Toolbar dialog box, shown in Figure 1. To open this dialog box, select View | Toolbars | Customize, or right-click the toolbar itself and choose Customize from the shortcut menu.

Figure 1: Clicking Add puts a Stop button between Forward and Up.

The Customize Toolbar dialog box is well designed. The buttons you are currently displaying are listed in the Current Toolbar Buttons (right-hand) window, and the ones you are not displaying are in the Available Toolbar Buttons (left-hand) window. To add a button, select it in the left-hand window and click the Add button. To remove a button, select it in the right-hand window and click the Remove button.

You can change the order of the buttons you display as follows: select a button in the right-hand window, and then click the Move Up or Move Down buttons. The top-to-bottom order of the buttons in the Current Toolbar Buttons window is the left-to-right order of the buttons on the Standard Buttons toolbar. Group buttons together by inserting a separator. You can have as many separators on your toolbar as you like; the separator is the only item in the left-hand window that doesn't vanish when you move it to the right-hand window.

The amount of space the buttons take up on the toolbar is determined by the size of the button's icon and the text label. You can change either of these with the two drop-down lists at the bottom of the Customize Toolbar dialog box. The combination No Text Labels and Small Icons enables you to put a lot of small buttons on the toolbar, while Show Text Labels/Large Icons gives you a few big buttons.

Changing the Behavior of Explorer Windows

2009-12-06T11:15:00.000-08:00

The Explorer windows of Windows XP are descended from two parents: the folder windows of Windows 95 and the browser windows of Internet Explorer. The default settings of the Explorer windows borrow a little from each parent. If you don't like this compromise, you can change your settings from the Folder Options dialog box, shown in Figure k. To open this dialog box, choose Tools | Folder Options from the menu of Windows Explorer, or open the Control Panel and choose Folder Options from the Appearances and Themes category.

If, after experimenting with new settings, you decide the designers of Windows XP had it right after all, you can return to the Folder Options dialog box and click the Restore Defaults button.

Figure k: The General tab of the Folder Options dialog box, with the default settings.

How to Help Displaying Screens

2009-12-06T11:04:00.000-08:00

To see the Help And Support Center window (shown in Figure a), choose Start | Help And Support. The toolbar shows many of the same icons you see in any Explorer window, including Back, Forward, Home, Favorites, and History. You also see Index, Support, and Options commands. The Task pane (left side of the window) shows a list of topics from which to choose. The rest of the window displays the help information you request from the Task pane.

Figure a.: The Home page of the Help And Support Center

When the Help And Support Center window first appears, you see lists of help topics and tasks (click Home on the toolbar to return to it). Click a topic to see a detailed list of subtopics in the left pane. When you see a plus box to the left of a topic, click the plus box to see its subtopics. When you see a topic with a question-mark icon to its left, clicking the topic displays an explanation, and steps to follow, in the right pane. If a word or phrase becomes underlined when you move your mouse pointer over it, click it to see information about that topic.

If your computer is connected to the Internet, Windows automatically updates the home page of the Help And Support Center with news and updates, which appear in the lower-right corner of the window

How to Installing Programs Using the Add Or Remove Programs Window

2009-12-03T10:36:00.000-08:00

Follow these steps to use the Add Or Remove Programs window to help you install a program:

Choose Start | Control Panel. You see the Control Panel window.
Click the Add Or Remove Programs category. Or, in Classic view of the Control Panel, run the Add Or Remove Programs program--if the icon is underlined, click it once; if not, double-click it. You can control whether you need to single-click or double-click icons to run programs.
You see the Add Or Remove Programs window. This window has three buttons down the left side. Click the Add New Programs button so the window looks like Figure 1.

Figure 1: Add or Removes Programs window, when the Add New Programs button is selected.

If you are installing a program from a floppy disk or CD-ROM, insert the disk or CD-ROM into its drive and click the CD Or Floppy button. If you are installing a program from a file on your hard disk or on a network drive, click the CD Or Floppy button anyway--you'll have a chance to tell it where to look for the program in a minute. Windows looks on any floppy disk or CD-ROM in your drives for an installation program (that is, a program named Setup.exe or Install.exe). If Windows finds an installation program, skip to step 7.
If Windows doesn't find an installation program, you see the Run Installation Program dialog box, which asks for the full pathname of the installation program.
Click the Browse button and specify the installation program you want to run in the Browse window. You can browse to any disk on your computer, or any disk accessible over your LAN, if you are connected to one. Click Open when you find the installation program.
When the pathname of the installation program appears in the Run Installation Program box, click the Finish button. The installation program runs. Follow the instructions on the screen to install the program.

Once you install a program, the program name usually (but not always) appears in the list that the Add Or Remove Programs window displays when you click the Change Or Remove Programs button.

Shutting Down and Restarting Windows

2009-12-03T10:33:00.000-08:00

When you need to turn off the computer, you must shut down Windows first to allow Windows to close all its files and do other housekeeping tasks before terminating. To shut down Windows, choose Start | Turn Off Computer, click anywhere on the desktop and press ALT-F4, or press CTRL-ESC and choose Shut Down. You see the Turn Off Computer dialog box:

Your options are

Stand By Stores the programs and data that are currently open, and then shuts down Windows so you can turn the computer off. The next time you turn your computer on, you can pick up just where you left off.
Turn Off Shuts down Windows. Windows displays a message when you can safely turn off the computer. Don't turn off the computer until you see this message. Computers with advanced power management shut off automatically.
Restart Shuts down Windows, and then reloads it (useful if your computer starts acting funny).

If programs are running, Windows closes them before shutting down, switching to standby, or restarting. If a program has unsaved files open, the program should ask you whether you want to save your work before the program exits.

Various Type of New Networking Features

2009-12-03T10:20:00.000-08:00

Windows XP also adds many new network features especially designed to make corporate networking easier and more reliable, including

Networking has been integrated into the Task Manager to display real-time network usage and connection-speed information.
An enhanced Netdiag.exe command-line diagnostics tool is provided on the Windows XP CD-ROM.
An enhanced version of Network Driver Interface Specification (NDIS), version 5.1, with support for PnP and Power Event Notification, send cancellation, better statistics capability, and better performance.
A new version of the Windows Telephony API (TAPI), version 3.1, with support for H.323-compatible IP telephony and IP multicast A/V conferencing, recording of streaming A/V data for playback, USB phones, automatic discovery of telephony servers, and support for H.323 services such as call hold, call transfer, call diversion, call pack, and call pickup.
Support for newer network devices, including HomePNA phoneline networks, USB-connected network devices, software-based (also called controllerless or "Winmodem") modems, and infrared-enabled cell phones (as modems).
Support for Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) devices on a network, and use of UPnP to detect Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) hosts on a network.
Network bridgingOne computer can run two different types of networks (such as Fast Ethernet and IEEE 802.11b [Wi-Fi] wireless Ethernet) and act as a connection between them. You need a network card for each network type you're bridging.
Auto-configuration of IEEE 802.11b Wi-Fi networksWi-Fi (wireless Ethernet) networks are harder to configure than wired networks such as Fast Ethernet, because you must synchronize the card to the wireless access point that allows your PC to talk to others. Windows XP Professional detects the correct settings automatically.
Ability to store and recall settings of various wireless networks the user has connected to in the past for automatic configuration when the same network is encountered again. This feature simplifies moving between multiple wireless networks, such as home and office or different offices. Post SP2, the UI for wireless is more graphical and intuitive, and XP remembers which networks you have previously authorized an insecure connection for, and automatically connects when that network is available in the future. Available networks are arranged in order of signal strength, as show in Figure 1.1

Figure 1.1. Friendlier wireless networking interface reports available networks and remembers last session's settings.

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An enhanced Connection Manager with new management options, split tunneling (secure VPN and public Internet access at the same time), Favorites feature for storing connection settings for different locations (useful for business travelers), client-side logging for troubleshooting, and support for ICS.
The enhanced Network Troubleshooter feature, available from the left-hand menu of the Network Connections menu, provides one-stop access to network-related tools in the Help and Support center. You can start Ping and Net View commands to diagnose and check Internet and LAN connections, as well as run troubleshooters for Internet Connection Sharing, Modems, and other home and corporate network configurations. A new Network Diagnostics tool scans the network and tests your network card. As shown in Figure 1.2 at the end of the testing process, it displays the results of its tests for Internet service settings, computer information, and network adapters (including modems).

Figure 1.2 The Network Diagnostics tool displays the configuration of both hardware and software components on your network.

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Support for encrypted folders with multiple users.
Remote desktop support via Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), enabling users to access their computers remotely from anywhere with network access, including other offices, at home, or airport kiosks.
Improved Group Policy feature with hundreds of new policies provided, making it easier to choose a predefined policy instead of needing to modify one.
Remote Assistance to allow network or Internet-based help desk personnel to view a user's display and provide training or technical assistance. This feature can be centrally enabled or disabled as desired.

Difference Between Windows XP Versus Linux

2009-12-03T10:18:00.000-08:00

Trying to compare Windows XP versus Linux is difficult for several reasons, including
• Windows XP requires a relatively recent computer with at least 128MB of RAM to function, while Linux can run successfully on even 486-based systems long obsolete for use with Windows
• Windows XP is available in just two versions (Home Edition and Professional), while Linux is available in numerous distributions
• Windows XP is primarily a GUI-based operating system, while Linux is primarily command-line driven (although KDE and Gnome, the two most common GUIs, are increasingly popular)
Although Linux has made great strides in so-called "back end" uses such as Web servers, network servers, and embedded devices, Windows XP is a better choice for desktops for several reasons, including
• Journaling file system for higher reliability and crash recovery.
• Compatibility testing and guarantees for operating system and applications.
• Wide availability of commercial applications at retail and online stores.
• Clustering and base-load balancing.
• Long-term roadmap of operating system deployment plans.
• Larger hard disks and maximum file sizes. Linux's maximum file size is 2 Gigabytes; Windows XP's limit is 18.4 quintillion bytes (Petabytes).
• "Synchronous I/O," which allows smoother running in Windows XP when multiple threads are being processed and waiting for input or output. It improves SMP scalability as well.
• Consistent GUI across all toolsLinux has no single standard GUI at present.
• A single version which can be installed for most major languages and countries.
• Dedicated support network, with close to one-half million Microsoft-certified trained professionals and engineers.
We believe that the entire Linux/Windows controversy comes down to this: Microsoft offers lots and lots of powerful stuff (which you can use to build very sophisticated software) from the C++ compiler, to the component-nature of Excel and other apps, to the ASP scripting language, COM, and so on. These tools let you leverage everything Microsoft offers to make very powerful applications. As people used to say in the '60s and '70s, nobody ever lost his job buying IBM. Now it's safe to say nobody ever lost his job buying Microsoft. True, you're locked into Windows because the stuff you build on Windows systems can't be ported to UNIX variants, but that's the price you pay for the tools, the user base, and the support and training. Although increasing support options are available for Linux (see www.linuxcare.com), enterprise-level support for Linux is still not as widespread as for Windows.

Windows XP Professional Compare to UNIX and Linux

2009-11-23T09:38:00.000-08:00

Windows XP's kernel, like Windows 2000's, has its roots in UNIX. UNIX is a very popular multitasking operating system developed at Bell Labs in the early 1970s. It was designed by programmers for programmers. In fact, the language C was developed just to write UNIX. Even though UNIX has become a friendlier operating system with the addition of Windows-like interfaces such as MOTIF, it's still relatively user-unfriendly, requiring cryptic commands much like DOS.

UNIX

Because it is written in C, UNIX can run on any computer that has a C compiler, making it quite portable. AT&T gave away the UNIX source code to universities and licensed it to several companies during its early years. AT&T no longer owns UNIX; the UNIX trademark is now owned by OpenGroup, though the source code is claimed to be owned by the Santa Cruz Operation (SCO), though this is now in debate.

Unfortunately, to avoid even the licensing fees to AT&T, UNIX lookalikes sprung up over the years. Without the proper license, these versions could not call themselves UNIX, only UNIX-like. And as these clones proliferated, cross-compatibility became an issue. More than a handful of versions (dialects) of UNIX have appeared, the primary contenders being AT&T's own, known as System V, and another developed at the University of California at Berkeley, known as BSD4.x, x being a number from 1 to 3. Other popular brands of UNIX these days are HP-UX from HP, AIX from IBM, Solaris from Sun, and SCO's version, UnixWare.

In 1984, industry experts were brought together to create guidelines and standards for UNIX clones, in hopes of creating a more coherent market. The result was a single UNIX specification, which includes a requirement for POSIX (Portable Operating System Interface for UNIX) compliance. Accepted by the IEEE and ISO, POSIX is a standard that makes porting applications and other code between variants of UNIX as simple as recompiling the source code.

NOTE

Another popular version of UNIX that runs on the PC platform is called FreeBSD. Briefly, FreeBSD 4.x is a UNIX-like operating system based on U.C. Berkeley's 4.4BSD-lite release for the Intel 386 platform. It is also based indirectly on William Jolitz's port of U.C. Berkeley's Net/2 to the Intel 386, known as 386BSD, though very little of the 386BSD code remains. You can find a fuller description of what FreeBSD is and how it can work for you at www.freebsd.com.

UNIX has been the predominant operating system for workstations connected to servers, mostly because of its multiuser capabilities and its rock-solid performance. Windows NT and its successors, Windows 2000 and Windows XP, have been making inroads due to the extensive number of development tools and applications for the Windows platform. However, the low-cost UNIX variant called Linux is revitalizing UNIX across all platforms.

Linux

Linux is a UNIX lookalike. Linux isn't a port of a preexisting operating system, but rather it was written from the ground up by Linus Torvalds, a Finnish-born computer scientist who wanted to develop a UNIX-like operating system for computer students to run on low-cost Intel computers. Torvalds wrote the kernel with the help of a handful of computer programmers. Like all variants of UNIX, Linux has many of the features of NT/Windows 2000/Windows XP, such as true multitasking, virtual memory, shared libraries, intelligent memory management, and TCP/IP networking.

Linux is an open system, and programmers worldwide are invited to participate in its building and refinement. Unlike other flavors of UNIX that were based on licensed source code, Linux is based on Minix, which mimics UNIX in a way that does not infringe on the UNIX license. That's why Linux distributions are practically free.

NOTE

Actually, the term Linux pertains only to the kernel. What people have come to refer to as Linux is actually a collection of separate pieces of code, the majority of which are GNU. It was not until Linux came together with GNU that the full power of the Linux OS (what GNU enthusiasts would called GNU Linux) crystallized.

The several popularly distributed Linux versions are differentiated mostly by the selection of tools and utilities bundled with them. The most popular package at this point is Red Hat Linux. If you want to go it alone, you can acquire Linux for free, but buying some commercially bundled packages makes the job of installation and support easier because you get support. Technically, the distribution of the software must be free, in accordance with the GNU General Public License (GPL) agreement governing the distribution of Linux and the collected modules that accompany it.

Linux is now running on a wide variety of systems, including Sun JavaStations, the IBM RS/6000, and the Alpha chip originally developed by DEC and later sold by Compaq, MIPS, SPARC, Open VMS, Digital UNIX, and other platforms.

Differences Between Windows XP Home Edition, Windows XP Professional, 64-Bit, and Server Versions of Windows XP

2009-11-23T09:34:00.000-08:00

Windows XP comes in two distinct varieties for 32-bit processors:
• Home Edition
• Professional
Although both versions contain the same integrated applications and multimedia features, Windows XP Professional also includes corporate network support, backup, and security features similar to those found in Windows 2000 Professional.
The now-available 64-bit CPUs such as Intel Itanium and AMD's Athlon 64 and Opteron can run advanced versions of XP designed to take advantage of their speed and other enhancements. Windows XP 64-bit Edition is the Intel-based workstation version. It supports up to 16GB of physical RAM and up to 16 terabytes (16TB) of virtual memory, and takes full advantage of the superior floating-point performance of the Itanium processor. One or two Itanium processors can be used. Windows XP 64-bit Edition runs 32-bit Windows programs in a subsystem. The user interface is very similar to Windows XP Professional but the features will vary. Another 64-bit version has been developed for the AMD Athlon 64 and Opteron chips, dubbed "Windows XP 64-Bit Edition for 64-Bit Extended Systems."
Both 64-bit versions use an emulation layer called WOW64 to run Win32-based applications. When running on the Intel 64-bit processor, complaints are that the 32-bit programs run a bit too slowly. Early testing indicates that the AMDs run 32-bit applications considerably faster than the Itaniums do. 64-bit versions are supplied preinstalled on computer hardware.
Both 64-bit versions use an emulation layer called WOW64 to run Win32-based applications, although for best performance, Microsoft recommends using 32-bit software on 32-bit Windows systems. The emulation feature allows organizations to use their Itanium-based systems with existing Windows applications until 64-bit versions are created internally or purchased from software vendors.
What about 32-bit server versions of Windows XP? Microsoft has multiple server editions of Windows XP, generally dubbed Microsoft Windows 2003 Server. The editions differ based on variations in the total amount of memory used by each version, the number of processors supported, and the number of domains that can be controlled. As of this writing, I counted 16 specialized servers for areas such as storage servers, SQL servers, speech servers, commerce servers, and so on.
Table 1 Compares Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Professional to other versions of Windows.
Table 1 Various Capabilities of Windows XP Home Edition as Compared to Earlier Versions of Windows

Fig. 1: Differences between windows XP

Security-relevant Standards Organizations

2009-11-23T09:33:00.001-08:00

Organization Description

ABA

The American Bankers Association develops computer standards for financial and banking areas. The ABA is the Secretariat for X9, ANSI's Accredited Standards Committee for Financial Services. Standards developed by this committee focus on encryption and message authentication for financial institutions. The ABA also develops standards for personal identification numbers (PINs) and key management.

ANSI

The American National Standards Institute is the officially designated national standards organization in the United States and is the formal U.S. representative to ISO. ANSI does not develop its own standards, but is the clearinghouse for U.S. and international standards-for example, ASCII code, languages (e.g., C and FORTRAN), and communications protocols. ANSI committee are working on such security concerns as encryption and message authentication.

CBEMA

The Computer and Business Equipment Manufacturers Association develops standards in a variety of areas, including languages, graphics, and database technologies, and submits these standards to ANSI for approval as ANSI standards. CBEMA is the Secretariat for X3, ANSI's Accredited Standards Committee for Information Processing.

CCITT

The Comité Consultatif Internationale Telegraphique et Telephonique (International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee) was established under the United Nations. It is responsible for the X.25 (packet-switched networks) and X.400 (electronic mail) standards and for other international communications standards. CCITT works with ISO on international standards for security.

ECMA

The European Computer Manufacturers Association is an association of approximately 50 European computer manufacturers. Its security groups are involved in developing standards for security in such areas as distributed interactive processing, distributed office applications, and open systems.

EIA

The Electronic Industries Association is a trade organization that has developed standards such as the RS-232 standard for terminals and computer connections.

IEEE

The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers is a professional organization that develops standards and submits them for ANSI approval.
The IEEE 1003.1 standard, announced in 1988, is the official POSIX (Portable Operating System Interface for Computer Environments) standard for application portability in open systems. Along with many other POSIX standards efforts, it was developed in cooperation with the ISO (described below). Although the POSIX interface standard (also known as POSIX-1) is based on the UNIX system model, POSIX specifies how an interface must perform, not how it is implemented, so UNIX need not be the base operating system. POSIX.1 evolved in 1981 from /usr/group, the forerunner of UniForum, the Association of UNIX System Users. The /usr/group standard was an early attempt to specify a standard for a portable mechanism.
The IEEE 1003.1 standard has also been published by NIST (described below) as FIPS PUB 151 and by ISO (also described below) as ISO/IEC 9945-1.

IEEE has a number of committees, some of them security-related. The IEEE 1003.6 Security Extensions Committee grew out of UniForum's Technical Committee's Security Subcommittee. This committee is dedicated to developing standards for making a POSIX-compliant system a trusted system. Security subgroups are at work on security issues such as discretionary access control, mandatory access control, privileges, and audit trails, and standards are expected within the next few years.

IFIP The International Federation of Information Processing is a multinational federation of professional and technical organizations involved with computer and information processing. It was originally established under the auspices of UNESCO. IFIP has a number of committees. The Technical Committee 11 (TC-11) on Security and Protection in Information Systems does extensive work in proliferating security information internationally and in developing standards.

ISO The International Standards Organization (Organisation Internationale de Normalisation) founded in 1946, is an international organization composed of a number of national standards organizations. ISO's Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) basic reference model is a standard conceptual model for discussing data communications. ISO and other organizations are working on extending the OSI model to define security-related architectural elements.
Several groups within ISO are developing standards using cryptography as a mechanism for network security. Such standards will provide for data confidentiality, data integrity, peer entity authentication, access control, key distribution, and digital signatures.

MAP/TOP

The Manufacturing Automation Protocol/Technical Office Protocol is a consortium of factory automation users. Sponsored by General Motors (MAP) and Boeing (TOP), MAP/TOP has worked on pieces of ISO standards.

NCSC

The National Computer Security Center publishes the Rainbow Series of computer security standards for trusted systems, chief among them the Orange Book.
The NCSC sponsors the Trusted UNIX Organization, which consists of a group of vendors, including AT&T, involved in developing trusted UNIX systems. Security standards developed by TRUSIX will be POSIX-compliant.

NIST

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (formerly the National Bureau of Standards) specifies standards for many government-related products and procedures.
FIPS PUBs (Federation of Information Processing Standards publications) are written by NIST's National Computer Systems Laboratory (NCSL). FIPS PUBs are required standards for the acquisition of equipment and the processing of information by government agencies and contractors.

GOSIP (the Government Open Systems Interconnect Profile program) is sponsored by NIST with participation by a number of other government agencies. GOSIP specifies a set of data communications protocols based on the OSI model. All government agencies that buy networks must now comply with the GOSIP/OSI standard. In 1988, Version 1 of the GOSIP standard for networks and services was published as FIPS PUB 146. The standard is being revised to address security concerns and other issues.

Computer Security

2009-11-23T09:31:00.000-08:00

With computer systems increasingly under attack, it's no wonder that people are starting to take computer security more seriously. But despite this increased interest, many computer users still don't really understand what computer security is-and why it should be important to them. The headlines about the Internet worm, KGB agents, and million-dollar funds transfer frauds tell only part of the story, and it's a part most of us can't identify with as a day-to-day concern.

Computer security protects your computer and everything associated with it-your building, your terminals and printers, your cabling, and your disks and tapes. Most importantly, computer security protects the information you've stored in your system. That's why computer security is often called information security.

There's a longstanding view of computer security that its purpose is to protect against one particular danger-outside intruders who break into systems to steal money or secrets, or simply to prove they can do it. And although such intruders do exist, they aren't the only, or even the primary, danger to computer systems. There are many more immediate dangers, ranging from sharing your password with a friend, to failing to back up a disk, to spilling a soda on a terminal keyboard. These dangers aren't as newsworthy as flamboyantly named viruses, but
they're more likely to cause you problems on a daily basis. The following sections define computer security and outline the wide range of dangers to computer systems

Increase your RAM and so system speed

2009-11-23T09:25:00.000-08:00

1). Start any application, say Word. Open some large documents.

2). Press CTRL+SHIFT+ESC to open Windows Task Manager and click Processes tab and sort the list in descending order on Mem Usage. You will notice that WINWORD.EXE will be somewhere at the top, using multiple MBs of memory.

3). Now go back to the Windows Task Manager and see where WINWORD.EXE is listed. Most probably you will not find it at the top. You will typically have to scroll to the bottom of the list to find Word. Now check out the amount of RAM it is using. Surprised? The memory utilization has reduced by a huge amount.

4). Minimize each application that you are currently not working on by clicking on the Minimize button & you can increase the amount of available RAM by a substantial margin. Depending upon the number and type of applications you use together, the difference can be as much as 50 percent of extra RAM.

In any multitasking system, minimizing an application means that it won't be utilized by the user right now. Therefore, the OS automatically makes the application use virtual memory & keeps bar.

Change the windows default identity

2009-11-20T22:53:00.000-08:00

In windows XP, you can change the windows default identity (Computer Manufacturer Logo and other information's) and share your own private identity there. First you right click on My Computer then click on Properties, here may be you will see computer manufacture logo or empty area. So add your own logo there to make your computer more private.

Follow the given steps to change the system default Properties identity:

First click on Start button and type notepad in Run option then press Enter.

Now type the following text in notepad.

[General]
Manufacturer="www.ComputerFreeTips.com"
Model=" Computer Free Tips and Tricks!"
[Support Information]
Line1="We offer various help topics including A to Z Computer Free Tips and Help."
Line2="Visit daily for new tips www.ComputerFreeTips.com"

There are some standard keywords, for example Manufacturer, Model, Line 1, Line 2; you can not change these keywords. Now save this notepad file in c:/windows/system32 folder with file name, OEMINFO.INI.

Now choose your favorite picture to set as logo, using any picture editor resize the picture size approx. 150X150 pixels then save it in c:/windows/system32 folder with file name OEMLOGO.BMP.

Now close the all files and restart your computer after any changes to go into effect. To verify these changes, right click on My Computer and open Properties

Under General tab, verify the system properties with new settings.

How to log off, restart and shutdown, connected computer from one location?

2009-11-20T22:45:00.000-08:00

Windows XP has a built-in feature (shutdown tools) that is used to shutdown any connected computers from any one computer. Using this feature, you can log off, restart and shutdown any computer in your network. This tip is very useful for you, if you are a Network Administrator at your company, because if you have experience to shutdown all connected computers daily in your local area network one by one, definitely that job is annoying responsibility for you.

Follow the given steps to configure shutdown tool on your computer:

To use this feature, you will need to be logged into your computer with administrative rights.

To perform this task, first make sure your both computers are directly connected or connected to network.

Click Start button then type shutdown -i in Run option then press Enter for next.

Fax/Modem Troubleshooting Tips

2009-11-20T22:44:00.000-08:00

My modem is a 56K, but I can connect to the Internet only at slower speed.
The current copper wired telephone lines are limited only to about 53K. If you are connected only to 33.6 or 28.8K, check the following first:

Is your modem compatible with the modem used at your ISP?

Is your modem set up to run at full speed?

What's the maximum speed your ISP allows?

How far away are you from your ISP?

Some modems need special initiation strings to get full speed.

Some conditions are out of your control, such as weather and conditions of the telephone lines in your community.

Problems may occur when you are dialing through a phone system such as one in a hotel.

Modem answers incoming calls and then returns to the on-hook condition, disconnecting the caller:
This occurs most often when connecting to a UNIX system. In most case, the host does not prefer to see any result or command echo codes. If this is the case, the codes can be disabled by adding E0 Q1 to the modem configuration string.

The modem dials and appears to complete the connection, but the communications software does not enter the correct mode. (The screen remains blank)
This is normally caused by an I/O address or IRQ conflict. Verify that the COM port is not in use by any other serial device and if necessary use another COM port or I/O address settting. Refer to your computer manual on how to determine what serial ports are installed.

The modem dials and appears to complete the connection, but the communications software does not enter the correct mode. (The screen remains blank)

There may be an I/O conflict (see the solution for the previous problem).

The Result Codes may have been disabled by the software configuration set up. Check if Q1 is in the configuration or initialization string. If so, change it to Q0.

Your software may require numeric result codes rather than verbal result codes. Use either V0 for numeric result codes or V1 for verbal result codes in your initiazation or configuration string.

Some software require full extended result codes (i.e., CONNECT 33600 instead of CONNECT). This can be controlled by the Xn command. X0 sends a summarized code (CONNECT) and X4 sends a full extended code (CONNECT 33600)

The modem does not auto answer
The auto answer mode is determined by the S0 register. If S0 has been set to 0, the modem will not answer. Asign another value to S0 by entering the following command: S0=n, where n = the number of rings to occur before the call is answered (ATS0=2, the modem answers after two rings)

The modem always answers the phone.
Set the S0 register to 0. ATS0=0.

The communications software displays, "No Dialtone."
Make sure that your phone cable is working properly and that it is firmly seated to the phone socket at your phone jack and in the real panel of the modem.

A high pitched squeal is emitted from the external speakers
This phenomenon is "feedback" and occurs when the microphone is pointed at the external speaker or is close enough to pick up the speaker output. This may be remedied by using a unidirectional microphone, making sure that it is pointed away and as far from the speaker as functionally possible. Another option is to use a headset with an attached microphone.

Troubleshooting Tips for a New Motherboard

2009-11-20T22:42:00.000-08:00

Choose Motherboard | Motherboard Installation Guide |

More than 70% of all computer problems are related to cabling and connections. Ensure all cables are connected and connected firmly. IDE and floppy ribbon cables and power cables can often go loose. Ensure microprocessor, memory modules, and adapters such as video card are inserted correctly and didn't "pop-up" due to vibration.

System has no power at all. Power light does not illuminate, fan inside the power supply does not turn on, and indicator light on keyboard does not turn on.

PROBABLE CAUSE	DIAGNOSIS	SOLUTION
Power cable is unplugged.	Visually inspect power cable.	Make sure power cable is securely plugged in.
Defective power cable.	Visual inspection, try another cable.	Replace cable.
Power supply failure.	Power cable and wall socket are OK, but system is still dead.	Contact technical support
Faulty wall outlet;circuit breaker or fuse blown.	Plug device into socket know to work and test.	Use different socket, repair outlet, reset circuit breaker or replace fuse.

System inoperative. Keyboard lights are on, power indicator lights are lit, and hard drive is spinning.

PROBABLE CAUSE	DIAGNOSIS	SOLUTION
Expansion card is partially dislodged from expansion slot on the motherboard.	Turn off computer. Take cover off system unit. Check all expansion cards to ensure they are securely seated in slots.	Using even pressure on both ends of the expansion card, press down firmly on expansion card.
Defective floppy disk drive or tape drive.	Turn system off. Disconnect the cables from one of the floppy drives. Turn on the system, check to see if the keyboard operates normally. Repeat until you have located defective unit.	Contact Technical Support.
Defective expansion card.	Turn computer off. Remove an expansion card.	Make sure expansion card is secure in expansion socket.

System does not boot from hard disk drive, can be booted from floppy disk drive.

PROBABLE CAUSE	DIAGNOSIS	SOLUTION
Connector between hard drive and system board unplugged.	When attempting to run the FDISK utility described in the HARD DISK section of the manual you get a message, INVALID DRIVE SPECIFICATION.	Check cable running form disk to disk controller on the board. Make sure both ends are securely plugged in; check the drive type in the Standard CMOS Setup (in your motherboard manual).
Damaged Hard Disk or Disk Controller.	Format hard disk; if unable to do so, the hard disk may be defective.	Contact Technical Support.
Hard Disk directory or FAT is scrambled.	Run the FDISK program, format the hard drive(See HARD DRIVE section of manual). Copy your backup data back onto hard drive.	Backing up the hard drive is extremely important. All Hard Disks are capable of breaking down at any time.

System only boots from Floppy Disk. Hard Disk can be read and applications can be used, but booting from Hard Disk is impossible.

PROBABLE CAUSE	DIAGNOSIS	SOLUTION
Hard Disk boot program has been destroyed.	A number of causes could be behind this.	Back up data and applications files. Reformat the Hard Drive as described in the Hard Drive section of the manual. Re-install applications and data using backup disks.

Error message reading "SECTOR NOT FOUND" or other error messages indication certain data is not allowed to be retrieved.

PROBABLE CAUSE	DIAGNOSIS	SOLUTION
A number of causes could be behind this.	Use a file by file backup instead of an image backup to backup the Hard Disk.	Back up any salvageable data. Then do a low level format, partition, and high level format of the hard drive( see Hard Disk section of your manual for instructions). Re-install all saved data when completed.

Disk formatted on IBM PS/2 will not operate with this system.

PROBABLE CAUSE	DIAGNOSIS	SOLUTION
The IBM PS/2 uses a different format than other computers.	IBM PS/2 disk format will not work in an AT type computer.	Format disk in the AT type computer insert disk into the IBM PS/2 and copy the files you wish.

After install an expansion card (network card, tape drive card, etc.) the system no longer works properly.

PROBABLE CAUSE	DIAGNOSIS	SOLUTION
No power to monitor.	All or part of the system may be inoperable. The new card may work but a mouse or COM port may not work.	Change the interrupt or RAM address on the new expansion card. See the documentation that came with the new card in order to change pin settings. many expansion devices come with proprietary software that will assist you in doing this.

Screen message says "Invalid Configuration" or "CMOS Failure."

PROBABLE CAUSE	DIAGNOSIS	SOLUTION
Incorrect information entered into the configuration (setup) program.	Check the configuration program. Replace any incorrect information.	Review system's equipment. Make sure correct information is in setup.

Screen is blank.

PROBABLE CAUSE	DIAGNOSIS	SOLUTION
No power to monitor.	Power connectors may be loose or not plugged in.	Check the power connectors to monitor and to system. Make sure monitor is connected to display card, change I/O address on network card if applicable.
Monitor not connected to computer.		See instructions above.
Network card I/O address conflict.		See instructions above.

System does not boot from hard disk drive, can be booted from floppy disk drive.

PROBABLE CAUSE	DIAGNOSIS	SOLUTION
Connector between hard drive and system board unplugged.	When attempting to run the FDISK utility described in the HARD DISK section of the manual you get a message, INVALID DRIVE SPECIFICATION.	Check cable running form disk to disk controller on the board. Make sure both ends are securely plugged in; check the drive type in the Standard CMOS Setup (in your

Problem

PROBABLE CAUSE	DIAGNOSIS	SOLUTION
Memory problem, display card jumpers not set correctly.		Reboot computer. Re-install memory, make sure that all memory modules are installed in correct sockets. Check jumper and switch settings on display card. See display card section for information of settings.
Computer virus.		Use anti-virus programs (McAfee/PC-cillin, E-port, etc) to detect and clean viruses.

Screen goes blank periodically.

PROBABLE CAUSE	DIAGNOSIS	SOLUTION
Screen saver is enabled.		Disable screen saver.

Keyboard failure.

PROBABLE CAUSE	DIAGNOSIS	SOLUTION
Keyboard is disconnected.		Reconnect keyboard. Check keys again, if no improvement, replace keyboard.

No color on screen.

PROBABLE CAUSE	DIAGNOSIS	SOLUTION
Faulty Monitor.		If possible, connect monitor to another system. If no color, replace monitor.
CMOS incorrectly set up.		Call technical support.

Floppy drive lights stays on.

PROBABLE CAUSE	DIAGNOSIS	SOLUTION
Floppy Drive cable not connected correctly.		Reconnect floppy cable making sure PIN1 on the Floppy Drive corresponds with PIN1 on floppy cable connector.

Error reading drive A:

PROBABLE CAUSE	DIAGNOSIS	SOLUTION
Bad floppy disk.		Try new floppy disk.
Floppy disk not formatted		Format floppy disk(type ENTER)

C: drive failure.

PROBABLE CAUSE	DIAGNOSIS	SOLUTION
SETUP program does not have correct information.		Boot from drive A: using DOS system disk. Input correct information to SETUP program.
Hard Drive cable not connected properly.		Check Hard drive cable.

Cannot boot system after installing second hard drive.

PROBABLE CAUSE	DIAGNOSIS	SOLUTION
Master/Slave jumpers not set correctly.		Set master /Slave jumpers correctly.
Hard Drives not compatible / different manufacturers.		Run SETUP program and select correct drive types. Call drive manufactures for compatibility with other drives.

Missing operating system on hard drive.

PROBABLE CAUSE	DIAGNOSIS	SOLUTION
CMOS setup has been changed.		Run setup and select correct drive type.

Certain keys do not function.

PROBABLE CAUSE	DIAGNOSIS	SOLUTION
Keys jammed or defective.		Replace keyboard.

Keyboard is locked, no keys function.

PROBABLE CAUSE	DIAGNOSIS	SOLUTION
Keyboard is locked.		Unlock keyboard

Troubleshooting Tips for New Monitors

2009-11-20T22:38:00.000-08:00

Here are some basic trouble shooting tips for new monitors:

The picture does not appear

Check to make sure the signal cable is firmly connected in the socket.

Check to see if the computer system's power is ON.

Check that the Brightness Control is at the appropriate position, not at the minimum.

The Screen is not synchronized

Check to make sure the signal cable is firmly connected in the socket.

Check that the output level matches the input level of your computer.

Make sure the signal timing of the computer system is within the specification of the monitor.

The position of the screen is not in the center

Adjust the H-Size, H-Phase or V-Size, V-Center controls.

Check if the signal timing of the computer system is within the specification of the monitor.

The screen is too bright or too dark

Check if the Brightness or contrast control is at the appropriate position, not at the maximum or minimum.

Check if the specified voltage is applied

Check if the signal timing of the computer system is within the specification of the monitor.

Especially, check the horizontal frequency.

The screen is shaking

Move all objects that emit a magnetic field, such as a motor or transformer, away from the monitor.

Check if the specified voltage is applied.

Check if the signal timing of the computer system is within the specification of the monitor.

Free Anti-Virus Software Trials

2009-11-20T08:30:00.001-08:00

Kaspersky Internet Security 2010
Kaspersky Lab is a computer security company offering anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-spam, and anti-intrusion products. We use Kaspersky Internet Security for our computers and it works well for us. It does its work in the background in a discrete and non-intrusive way and does not disturb you with a lot of unnecessary messages. Kaspersky offers a free 30 day trial period.

Norton Internet Security 2010
Norton Anti-Virus, developed and distributed by Symantec Corporation, provides malware prevention and removal during a subscription period. It uses signatures and heuristics to identify viruses. Other features include e-mail spam filtering and phishing protection. Symantec offers a free 30 day trial period.

Panda Global Protection 2010
Panda Security SL is a computer security company founded in 1990. Initially centered on the production of anti-virus software, the company has expanded its line of applications to include firewall applications, spam and spyware detection applications, cybercrime prevention technology, and other system security tools for businesses and home users. Panda offers a free 30 day trial period.

Note: The expression Malware is a general term used by computer professionals to mean a variety of forms of hostile, intrusive, or annoying software or program code.

Norman Security Suite
Norman ASA founded in 1984, is active within the field of data security, with products for anti-virus (virus control), personal firewall, anti-spam, encryption, anti-spyware, and parental control. Norman’s head office is based in Norway, but the company has several offices in other countries. Norman offers a free 30 day trial period.

McAfee Total Protection
McAfee Inc is an anti-virus software and computer security company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It markets McAfee VirusScan and related security products and services, including the IntruShield, Entercept, and Foundstone brands. McAfee offers a free 30 day trial period.

F-Secure Internet Security 2010
F-Secure plc is an anti-virus and computer security software company based in Helsinki, Finland. The company has large branch offices in the USA and Japan, where some anti-virus analysis and software development work are also being undertaken. F-Secure offers a free 30 day trial period.

There are more security softwares on Internet that you can try free, but be careful - some of them are well disguised malicious softwares (Malware). Download only software from companies you know well (or recommended by someone you trust) and with a good Internet reputation.

Short Notes on Software, Hardware, Peripheral and Pasteurization

2009-11-20T08:26:00.000-08:00

Software:

Are the set of instructions or more generally a collection of computer programs which tell the hardware how to work and perform different tasks on a computer system. At the lowest level software is in a form of an assembly language, a set of instructions in a machine-understandable form. At the highest level, software is in a form of high-level languages, which are compiled or interpreted into machine language code. They can be further enumerated by the type of work done by programs. The three basic types are:

Operating system (System Software): It controls the working of a computer system and performs essential tasks like Disk maintenance and managing screen etc.

Programming Software: These are basically tools use to create, debug, maintain, or otherwise support other programs and applications.

Application Software: It performs productive tasks for user such as word processing and database management etc.
Apart from these three basic types of software, there are some other well-known forms of computer software are

Inventory Management Software: This type of software helps an organization in tracking its goods and materials on the basis of quality as well as quantity.

Utility Software: Also known as service routine, utility software helps in the management of computer hardware and application software. It performs a small range of tasks. Disk defragmenters, systems utilities and virus scanners are some of the typical examples of utility software.

Data Backup and Recovery Software: Ideal data backup and recovery software provides functionalities beyond simple copying of data files. This software often supports user needs of specifying what is to be backed up and when. Backup and recovery software preserve the original organization of files and allow an easy retrieval of the backed up data.

Generally, most of the software on computer comes in the form of programs. A program consists of instructions that tell the computer what to do, how to behave.

Hardware:

Hardware is the equipments involved in the function of a computer. Computer hardware consists of the components that can physically handle. The function s in these categories of these components is typically divided into three main categories; input, output and storage. Components in these categories connect to central processing unit (CPU), the electronic circuitry that provides the computational ability and control of the computer, via wires or circuitry called a bus. The main difference between software and hardware can be assumed of their physical appearance as hardware are tangible whereas software are intangible.

Input and Output Devices:

Input devices are the hardware that are used for providing information to the computer like mouse and keyboard and output devices are the hardware that are used for receiving information from computer like monitor, printer or the sound system.

Storage Devices:

Storage capacity is the total amount of information a computer's memory or disk can hold at any one time. A personal computer system has three basic types of memory storage devices: RAM (random access memory), disks, and magnetic tape. Capacity can be upgraded, or increased, as the user's needs grow.

CPU:

is an electronic circuit that executes computer programs. It is responsible for carrying out arithmetic and logic functions as well as executing instructions to other components. The components of a CPU work together, and depending on how they are made, determine exactly how fast these operations can be carried out along with how complex the operations can be.

Computer Peripherals:

Any device that is attached to the computer is considered a peripheral. Examples include the printer, monitor, and mouse. Information and commands are transferred from the computer to the peripheral device through controllers, which are often single chips. Controllers for items like the keyboard and disk drives are standard, while additional devices such as a modem usually require the insertion of new controllers from the expansion board. Furthermore, the bus (series of connected wires that connects peripherals with the computer) must be compatible with the controller. There are three basic types of bus architectures.
The AT bus, PCI and SCSI.

Pasteurization:

is a process which slows microbial growth in foods. The process was named after the french scientist Louis Pasteur. The process was originally conceived as a way of preventing wine and beer from souring. Pasteurization aims to reduce the number of viable pathogens so they are unlikely to cause disease.

The original method of pasteurization was vat pasteurization, which heat milk or other liquid ingredients in a large tank for at least 30 minutes. It is now used primarily in the dairy industry for preparing milk for making starter cultures in the processing of cheese, yogurt, and buttermilk and for pasteurizing some ice cream mixes.

The History of Computers

2009-11-20T08:24:00.001-08:00

"Who invented the computer?" is not a question with a simple answer. The real answer is that many inventors contributed to the history of computers and that a computer is a complex piece of machinery made up of many parts, each of which can be considered a separate invention.

This series covers many of the major milestones in computer history (but not all of them) with a concentration on the history of personal home computers.

Computer History Year/ Enter	Computer Inventors/Inventions	Computer History Description Event
1936	Konrad Zuse - Z1 Computer	First freely programmable computer.
1942	John Atanasoff & Clifford Berry ABC Computer	Who was first in the computing biz is not always as easy as ABC.
1944	Howard Aiken & Grace Hopper Harvard Mark I Computer	The Harvard Mark 1 computer.
1946	John Presper Eckert & John W. Mauchly ENIAC 1 Computer	20,000 vacuum tubes later...
1948	Frederic Williams & Tom Kilburn Manchester Baby Computer & The Williams Tube	Baby and the Williams Tube turn on the memories.
1947/48	John Bardeen, Walter Brattain & Wiliam Shockley The Transistor	No, a transistor is not a computer, but this invention greatly affected the history of computers.
1951	John Presper Eckert & John W. Mauchly UNIVAC Computer	First commercial computer & able to pick presidential winners.
1953	International Business Machines IBM 701 EDPM Computer	IBM enters into 'The History of Computers'.
1954	John Backus & IBM FORTRAN Computer Programming Language	The first successful high level programming language.
1955 (In Use 1959)	Stanford Research Institute, Bank of America, and General Electric ERMA and MICR	The first bank industry computer - also MICR (magnetic ink character recognition) for reading checks.
1958	Jack Kilby & Robert Noyce The Integrated Circuit	Otherwise known as 'The Chip'
1962	Steve Russell & MIT Spacewar Computer Game	The first computer game invented.
1964	Douglas Engelbart Computer Mouse & Windows	Nicknamed the mouse because the tail came out the end.
1969	ARPAnet	The original Internet.
1970	Intel 1103 Computer Memory	The world's first available dynamic RAM chip.
1971	Faggin, Hoff & Mazor Intel 4004 Computer Microprocessor	The first microprocessor.
1971	Alan Shugart &IBM The "Floppy" Disk	Nicknamed the "Floppy" for its flexibility.
1973	Robert Metcalfe & Xerox The Ethernet Computer Networking	Networking.
1974/75	Scelbi & Mark-8 Altair & IBM 5100 Computers	The first consumer computers.
1976/77	Apple I, II & TRS-80 & Commodore Pet Computers	More first consumer computers.
1978	Dan Bricklin & Bob Frankston VisiCalc Spreadsheet Software	Any product that pays for itself in two weeks is a surefire winner.
1979	Seymour Rubenstein & Rob Barnaby WordStar Software	Word Processors.
1981	IBM The IBM PC - Home Computer	From an "Acorn" grows a personal computer revolution
1981	Microsoft MS-DOS Computer Operating System	From "Quick And Dirty" comes the operating system of the century.
1983	Apple Lisa Computer	The first home computer with a GUI, graphical user interface.
1984	Apple Macintosh Computer	The more affordable home computer with a GUI.
1985	Microsoft Windows	Microsoft begins the friendly war with Apple.
SERIES	TO BE	CONTINU

Restart in Safe Mode and Find a Recent Snapshot Backup

2009-11-20T08:20:00.000-08:00

Restart your computer in Safe Mode by pressing F8 during the initial boot up and choosing Safe Mode. Once in Safe Mode, you need to make sure the files and folders are visible so you can access them. Follow these instructions to accomplish this.

1. Open My Computer
2. Click on the Tools menu, then click Folder Options.
3. Click the View tab.
4. Under Hidden files and folders, click to select Show hidden files and folders, and then click to clear the Hide protected operating system files (Recommended) check box.
5. Click Yes when the dialog box that confirms that you want to display these files appears.

In My Computer, Double-click the drive where you installed Windows XP (usually Drive C) to display a list of the folders. then double-click on the "System Volume Information" folder. This folder contains the system restore points stored on your computer. The folders will look similar to

_restore{EE42BEB8-700A-495F-8004-53D26C2E12C5}

You might receive an access denied error message similar to the following when trying to access the System Volume Information folder.

Microsoft Develops New Operating System From Scratch

2009-11-19T07:54:00.000-08:00

Microsoft showed off a new operating system on Tuesday, but don't get too excited.

Think of Singularity as "a concept-car OS," said Rick Rashid, general director of Microsoft Research. Microsoft is making the prototype OS available free to the academic and research communities in the hope that they'll use it to develop new kinds of computer architectures.

It's difficult for the academic community to experiment with computer architectures, he said. Singularity is designed to make it easier for researchers to test how operating systems and applications interact with each other, he said.

"It's a new system built from the ground up, with the specific goal of being more reliable," Rashid said. Microsoft hopes that Singularity will help improve software reliability and boost research in programming languages and tools.Singularity is available on Microsoft's CodePlex Web site. It was unveiled on Tuesday at TechFest, Microsoft's annual showcase of projects from its research division.

Rashid also showed off BEE3, a hardware project that Microsoft designed with researchers at the University of California, Berkeley to let researchers experiment with computer architectures. "The idea behind it is to build a computer system that is configurable," Rashid said. "You can program this computer to be another computer or do another kind of architecture or experiment with new kinds of algorithms," he said.

Rashid and his colleagues are demonstrating technologies that Microsoft's research group is working on. Some of the projects ultimately contribute to Microsoft products but others, like vaccine design and quantum computing, often seem irrelevant to the software giant's core business.
irrelevant to the software giant's core business.

Still, Rashid said that the best return on any investment that Microsoft makes consistently comes from its investment in Microsoft Research. The group generates about a quarter of the company's patents, he said.

Windows - Diagnostic tools

2009-11-19T07:48:00.001-08:00

Accessing diagnostic tools:

On the Desktop, when you right-click on a drive and go to Properties, the "Tools" tab gives you access to three tools:

* Defragmenter (c:\windows\defrag.exe)
* Scandisk (c:\windows\command\scandisk.exe)
* Backup (c:\program files\accessoires\backup.exe)

Restart Windows without rebooting

2009-11-19T07:46:00.000-08:00

Restart Windows 9x without rebooting:

When you go to restart Windows, you click on Start, Shut Down, and then Restart. To restart Windows wthout having to restart the computer, simply hold while clicking on OK.
A shortcut for shutting down the computer:

In order to shut down Windows quickly just by double-clicking, create a shortcut to
C:\WINDOWS\RUNDLL32.EXE C:\Windows\system\User.exe,ExitWindows

Show a folder's contents in a new window:

When you have the option "Open each folder in the same window" selected but you want to open a particular folder in a new window, simply hold as you double click on the folder.

Return to the parent directory:

To return to the parent directory, simply press the key.

Viruses, Malware, and Spyware

2009-11-19T07:44:00.000-08:00

Malware, or mal icious software, is a class of software specifically designed to wreak havoc on a computer. Malware includes such nasty entities as viruses, Trojan horses, worms, and spyware.

Viruses:: A virus is a program or piece of code that "infects" other software by embedding a copy of itself in one or more executable files. When the software runs, so does the embedded virus, thus propagating the "infection." Viruses can replicate themselves, and some (known as polymorphic viruses) can even change their virus signatures each time to avoid detection by antivirus software.
Worms:: A worm is a special type of virus that can infect a computer without any help from its user, typically through a network or Internet connection. A common example is the W32.Blaster.Worm, which exploited a bug in Windows (eventually fixed as part of update #824146), causing it to restart repeatedly or simply seize up.
Spyware and adware:: Spyware is a little different than the aforementioned viruses and worms, in that its intent is not necessarily to hobble a computer or destroy data, but rather something much more insidious. Spyware is designed to install itself transparently on your system, spy on you, and then send the data it collects back to an Internet server. This is sometimes done to collect information about you, but most often to serve as a conduit for pop-up advertisements (known as adware).

How to Remove Internet Viruses or Worms

2009-11-19T04:16:00.000-08:00

Internet viruses and worms can wreck havoc on a computer system. The effects of an Internet virus can range from small (e.g. some viruses simply monitor Web usage) to devastating (e.g. erasing or corrupting critical system software components). More often than not, an Internet virus or worm will cripple a computer and make it unusable to the owner. Learn how to remove an Internet virus or worm to safeguard your computer and protect your important data. Also, learn how to avoid viruses and worms in the first place. When it comes to such computer problems, prevention is crucial.

Instructions

Step 1

Avoid downloading or opening files from strangers or untrusted, third-party websites. When it comes to Internet viruses or worms, prevention is key. Most viruses and worms infect a computer when the user unknowingly opens a program or file downloaded from an untrusted website. If a friend emails you a file that looks suspicious, ask him about its contents before opening the file.
Step 2

Backup your important data regularly. Use an external hard drive or blank CDs or DVDs to make copies of important files, documents, photos and emails. Having a backup of your computer data is important when a virus infects your computer system and corrupts or deletes your files.
Step 3

Download and install an antivirus program to remove any viruses or worms currently infecting your computer. If you do not have an antivirus program on your computer, download a free program such as AVG Free antivirus scanning software (link in the Resources section).
Step 4

Scan your entire computer system for viruses and worms using the antivirus program installed in Step 3. Depending on the size of your hard drive this process may take several hours. Select a complete, thorough scan of all system data. Some viruses or worms hide in system files.
Step 5

Remove and delete any viruses or worms found by the antivirus program. This process is automated once you give the program permission to delete the file. The antivirus program will give you an option to attempt to clean the file before deleting it. Always try to clean the infected file before erasing it. Deleting an infected or corrupted file should always be the last resort.
Step 6

Scan your computer regularly after the initial virus scan and removal process. Regular antivirus scans will help protect your computer from future infections.

First Computer Invented

2009-10-31T10:48:00.000-07:00

Computer inventions according to abacus, calculators, tablet machines, difference machine, etc. are not accounted for in this document.

First programmable computer

The Z1 originally created by Germany's Konrad Zuse in his parents living room in 1936 to 1938 is considered to be the first electrical binary programmable computer.

The first digital computer

Short for Atanasoff-Berry Computer, the ABC started being developed by Professor John Vincent Atanasoff and graduate student Cliff Berry in 1937 and continued to be developed until 1942 at the Iowa State College (now Iowa State University). On October 19, 1973, US Federal Judge Earl R. Larson signed his decision that the ENIAC patent by Eckert and Mauchly was invalid and named Atanasoff the inventor of the electronic digital computer.

Because of the Judge ruling and because the case was never appealed like most we consider the ABC to be the first digital computer. However, because the ABC was never fully functional we consider the first functional digital computer to be the ENIAC.

The first stored program computer

The early British computer known as the EDSAC is considered to be the first stored program electronic computer. The computer performed its first calculation on May 6, 1949and was the computer that ran the first graphical computer game.

The first personal computer

In 1975 Ed Roberts coined the term personal computer when he introduced the Altair 8800. Although the first personal computer is considered to be the Kenback-1, which was first introduced for $750 in 1971. The computer relied on a series of switches for inputting data and output data by turning on and off a series of lights.

The Micral is considered the be the first commercial non-assembly computer. The computer used the Intel 8008 processor and sold for $1,750 in 1973.

The first workstation

Although never sold the first workstation is considered to be the Xerox Alto, introduced in 1974. The computer was revolutionary for its time and included a fully functional computer, display, and mouse. The computer operated like many computers today utilizing windows, menus, and icons as an interface to its operating system.

The first laptop or portable computer

The first portable computer or labtop is considered to be the Osborne I, a portable computer developed by Adam Osborne that weighed 24 pounds, a 5-inch display, 64 KB of memory, two 5 1/4" floppy drives, and a modem.

IBM PCD later released the IBM portable in 1984, it's first portable computer that weighed in at 30 pounds. IBM PCD later announced in 1986 it's first laptop computer, the PC Convertible, weighing 12 pounds. And in 1994 introduces the IBM ThinkPad 775CD, the first notebook with an integrated CD-ROM.

The first PC (IBM compatible) computer

In shipped its first electric computer, the 701. Later IBM introduced its first personal computer called the "IBM PC" in 1981. The computer was code named and still sometimes referred to as the "Acorn" and had a 8088 processor, 16 KB of memory, which was expandable to 256 and utilizing MS-DOS.

The first PC clone

The first PC clone was developed by Compaq, the "Compaq Portable" was release in March 1983 and was 100% compatible with IBM computers and software that ran on IBM computers.

The first Apple computer

Steve Woznizk designed the first Apple known as the Apple I computer in 1976.

The first computer company

The first computer company was the Electronic Controls Company and was founded in 1949 by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly, the same individuals who helped create the ENIAC computer. The company was later renamed to EMCC or Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation and released a series of mainframe computers under the UNIVACname.

The first multimedia computer

In 1992 Tandy Radio Shack becomes one of the first companies to release a computer based on the MPC standardwith its introduction of the M2500 XL/2 and M4020 SX computers.

Other major computer company firsts

Below is a listing of some of the major computers companies first computers.

Compaq - March 1983 Compaq released its first computer and the first 100% IBM compatible computer the "Compaq Portable."
Digital - In 1960Digital Equipment Corporation released its first of many PDP computers the "PDP-1."
Dell - In 1985 Dell introduced its first computer, the "Turbo PC."
Hewlett Packard - In 1966 Hewlett Packard released its first general computer, the "HP-2115."
NEC - In 1958 NEC builds its first computer the "NEAC 1101."
Toshiba - In 1954 Toshiba introduces its first computer, the "TAC" digital computer.