Category : PCs (archive 1)

PowerUsers.info - Paul Doherty Askme Archive of Questions and Answers

Return to Main PowerUsers.info Main Page

Category : PCs

QAId : 51732
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : cdrom error
Private : No

Question : When I boot up with Windows98 boot disk, then
fdisk and format c: /s and load my cdrom drive installation. Then type "D:setup" to install Windows 98 Windows 98 I receive a error message CDR101:Not ready reading drive D.
I deleted the the partition that I created with the windows98 boot disk. I did a fdisk with a dos 6.2 format again, load the cdrom driver installation disk still gets the same error.
If I go into smartdrv to view the drives, there is a A,B and C drive there is no D drive. Help I need my cdrom active to load Windows98. Thank you in advance.

Answer : You have partitioned the disk, and formatted it, and made it a system disk (a better way than the "/s" on the format command is the sys command (as in "sys c:" from a bootbale floppy) as I have seen the /s not do it's job. But i digress. You've only overlooked one thing - a CD-ROM driver. You can't see your CD-ROM because you have not arranged to be able to - remember you're in DOS now and get access to nothing without a driver being involved. You will need to either dig up your CD-ROM's *.SYS driver from it's install floppy or grab the one I am providing for you at http://members.home.com/iqueue/idecd.sys

Next after obtaining this driver, copy it to C:\

Now create a config.sys as follows:

edit c:\config.sys (make sure you have edit.com available on C:\ or A:)

(alternative if on floppy):
a:\edit c:\config.sys

The config.sys needs the following in it:
device=\idecd.sys /d:cdrom001

Save the config.sys, copy the file mscdex.exe from C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND on another installation or from your CD-ROM drive to floppy, and the put it in your C:\ directory.

Now edit C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT and put the following in it:

@echo off
\mscdex.exe /d:cdrom001 /l:f

Now you will have a bootable hard disk that will bring up your CD-ROM as drive letter F: - the best thing to do at this point in your reinstall is NOT to launch the install, but rather ensure you have XCOPY.EXE and XCOPY32.EXE on the floppy or in the C:\ directory and do an xcopy of all the files in the "Win98" subdirectory off the CD to your hard disk and perform the installation from *there*. Why? A couple of reasons - one is the installation goes faster from the hard disk, but that's a minor reason. the primary reason is that after installation you will no longer be bothered by that annoying "please insert your Windows 98 CD" when upgrading drivers, installing new versions of DirectX, etc since all the source files for the OS are on your disk. the XCOPY command looks as follows:

xcopy f:\win98\*.* c:\win98kit\*.* /e

Once this copy is done you can delete your c:\config.sys and c:\autoexec.bat (or just put a REM at the front of each line to disable them) since you no longer need DOS to access the CD-ROM and you don't want realmode drivers enabled in Win98 (which will likely disable these lines anyway).

Once you've gotten rid of the DOS CD-ROM configuration by REMing or deleting config.sys and autoexec.bat run the install as follows:

cd \win98kit
setup

Good luck!
Paul Doherty, CNA (3 & 4), CNE (4), MCP+I, MCSE, B.A.Sc.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Rating : 4

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 51748
Asker : jwharton
Subject : CD ROM Drive
Private : No

Question : For a while now, my CD Rom Drive has been not recognizing cd's I have been putting in. It has been very sporatic and most of the time would eventually recognize the cd after a reboot. Now it has been consistently not recognizing any disk giving me the message "no disc in drive" even though it receives the disk and activates upon inserting it. I have been told the drive can be unplugged and have the computer find it as new hardware and then to reinstall the software. Is this the right way to approach it? Please help me fix this probably simple but annoying problem....thx

Answer : The unfortunate answer may be that your CD-ROM is dying. I have one that evidences identical behavior - the drawer opens OK, drivers acknowledge it's existence, but it will not read a disk. After reconnecting the cables (both power and data) try and access the CD-ROM from DOS with a DOS driver - if you still can't get to it it's the hardware. Quick review of how to do this:

Create a config.sys on a floppy with the following:

device=\idecd.sys /d:cdrom001

Create a autoexec.bat on the same floppy with:

\mscdex.exe /d:cdrom001 /l:f

"Sys" the floppy from your Windows 95/98 machine by opeing a DOS prompt and executing:

sys a:

Now copy the file C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\MSCDEX.EXE to a:\ like this:

copy c:\windows\command\mscdex.exe a:\

You can obtain the CD-ROM driver I mentioned from my web site at:
http://members.home.net/iqueue/idecd.sys or use the .sys driver for your CD-ROM install floppy - if you use yours change the config.sys line to be the name of your file (either of which needs to also be copied to A:\)

Now reboot on this floppy disk and ensure that you can read a CD (try more than one) on drive letter F:

dir F:\

Good luck!

Paul Doherty

Rating : 5

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 51760
Asker : sharjeel11011
Subject : About Visual Basic
Private : No

Question : I want to ask an Visual Basic Programmer.

How can I keep a form "Always on the top."

I mean when I run an application then during program execution, if I do any event with any windows program, My application must be on the top.

You may take example of Jet-Audio's specrum analyzer which always keep's it self on the top while running other program. Or windows Winamp Mp3 player which can be always on the top by configuring it.

Answer : Download the following free OCX which you just drop onto your form and toggle "enabled" or "disabled" to have the form stay on top or not:

http://www.softwarewithbrains.com/swbtop.zip

Paul Doherty, CNA (3 & 4), CNE (4), MCP+I, MCSE, B.A.Sc.
Rating : 4.6
Rating : 4.6

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 51778
Asker : mike4
Subject : Tesla coils
Private : No

Question : Is there anyway to aim a tesla coil? And what is the highest powered tesla coil?

Answer : There is no way to control the aim of a Tesla coil in the conventional sense. The sparks given off follow the same rules that normal electricity (and water and light for that matter) follow: shortest/easiest distance is the path it will follow. So in a way you can direct the Tesla coil by ensuring you place a conductor attached to ground (and preferably not through you!) at a distance close enough to be the closest conductor to the sphere you have at the top that it will be the shortest path when the voltage rises high enough the bridge the gap.

As far as the most powerful they cannot truly be measured but I'd guess they can be in the 10's if not 100's of thousands of volts. Do no play around with these unless you absolutely know what you are doing as you can kill yourself!

Paul Doherty
Rating : 5

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 51799
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : older computer upgrade
Private : No

Question : My computer is a 486DX with a 100m hard drive
currently still running on Windows 3.1.
I would like to keep this computer for internet use and wor processing. Would it be a good idea to increase the hard drive size and upgrade to Windows 95 or 98?

Answer : Sure it would... you can add up to a 512MB hard disk easily, and may be able to get away with larger depending on your BIOS (and even if your BIOS doesn't directly support larger drives, most drives come with disk management software that can get around this - ex Maxtor drives come with "MaxBlast" which allows large drives on older hardware). Even with a 512MB drive I would suggest using Windows 95 (OSR2 if you can get it) as it takes up less disk space than Windows 98 and has a bit less eye-candy to eat up your limited resources on an older machine like this.

Good luck!

Paul Doherty, CNA (3 & 4), CNE (4), MCP+I, MCSE, B.A.Sc.
Rating : 5
End :
Rating : 5

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 51822
Asker : naco
Subject : Computer Freezes
Private : No

Question : My computer freeses almost every day..
I want to know why? most of the times it freezes when i'm using the internet or listening to a music (with winamp)
I searched the windows98 knoleged base web site but found nothing that fixed my computer
I've formatted it 2 times , i have windows 98
...i don't know nothing else to do...
please help me
naco@openlink.com

Answer : Sounds like you have a hardware problem. The first thing I woudl suggest is that you ensure that your non-plug and play devices are not contending for any resources. Go to your Control Panels/System (or right-click My Computer and select Properties) and look under the "Device Manager" tab - if any of the items are in expanded form, with an yellow exclamation point or a red stop sign you have some kind of conflict. If you don't then I would first suggest obtaining the very latest drivers for your video and sound from either your manufacturer or the people who develop the chips (often called "reference drivers"). For example if you have an NVidia chipset-based video card like a Viper V550 TNT or Viper V770 TNT2 you can either get drivers from Diamond's web site (http://www.diamondmm.com) or from NVidia's webs site (http://www.nvidia.com/3Dgraphics/resource_center.html). Once you have upgraded the video and audio drivers see how the situation is at that point for a while. If it still persists I would then suggest removing one add-in card at a time (start with the sound card or modem since you said it happened on the net or while playing music mostly). If the problem stops when audio is gone then you may have a problematic audio board OR worse the motherboard may have a problem in which case you could potentially fix it with a different sound card or a replacement motherboard (not as expensive as it sounds - about 100 for most). Continue this removal of add on cards down to the video (without which you cannot do :-) and see if you can isolate the problem.

Good luck!

Paul Doherty
Rating : 4

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 52026
Asker : mpbdfn
Subject : external modems
Private : No

Question : Have heard external modems are better then PCI internal ones. They are expensive however; 3Com usb types cost in the 150$ range.
My problem is PC slows to a crawl after an hour or so on the net and also after that lenght of time my modem drops the connection. Redialing puts me back for a few minutes then it drops out again. This will continue until I reboot. Happens all times of the day and night, so I don't think phone traffic has anything to do with it.
Are external modems that much better to justify the price?
I live in the boon docks, so any kind of high speed connection is a long way off for me, so I will be tied to dial up connections for some time. Thanks for any help offered.

Answer : An external modem IMO is always preferable to an internal. For a couple of reasons:

1) You can see the status of the mode at any time, including send/receive activity

2) It frees up a slot for other devices that can't be externalized

3) You can easily sell the modem to anyone - Mac, PC, UNIX - anyone with a DB-25 or DB-9 RS-232 serial port can use an external - not so with an internal.

I think your culprit here may not be the modem as you suspect. From your description it seems to me that a driver (video or audio) or program is the likely suspect. What you describe sounds an awful lot like a driver or program that is leaking resources (allocates for a purpose but never gives it back).

Be sure you have the latest drivers for your video and audio. Installing these may solve your problem.

One way to test to see if it's applications that are leaking memory is to boot the system and run the Resource Meter (Win98 seems to have dropped this utility from the default install - here's a shareware one you can use to troubleshoot - ftp://members.aol.com/miklk/vbsys/vbsys430.exe)

With the meter open note what percentage of your resources are available (memory, user and GDI stacks/heaps). Then open your net connection and again note where you are at. Then start using it and see if it dwindles over time. If it does try removing as many of the tasks for your systray (at bottom-left of Windows main display) by either quitting them once open or preventing them from opening in the first place. With this process you can discover which app is causing the leak.

Paul Doherty
Rating : 5

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 52047
Asker : carver
Subject : Home computer/microphone
Private : No

Question : Good morning! I need a little help here! I can't understand my Help instructions on operating my microphone. I own a HP Pavilion system mod # 4445 with monitor and built in mic. I have purchased a headset and have pluged it in to the line in jack, is this correct? I have tried to talk to others on line and can hear them but they can't hear me. Any help you can give me would be appreaciated. Thank you. My e-mail add. is carver@shreve.net. Also, Happy New Year!

Answer : The line in jack is for external devices like CD players, etc. There should be a mic in specifically for the microphone. To get the mic to be the functioning input device you will need to double-click the volume icon on your systray (speaker icon at bottom-right of Windows desktop). Once in there go to the Options menu and select Properties, check the box for Recording, ensure in the list below that "Microphone" is selected, then hit OK. Now you will see the device available for input and their levels. Insure that the Mic one is turned up at least halfway and the checkbox below is not checked for mute. Now your listeners should be able to hear you. one other thing you may want to do is to go back to Options/Properties, select PlayBack this time, make sure that Microphone is in the list and hit OK. Then click the mute button (so it is checked) below the Microphone. Doing this in the playback section will ensure you do not attempt to output your own mic input - this would generate unneeded output and can cause feedback.

Happy New Year to you as well!
Paul Doherty

Rating : 5
Rating : 5
Rating : 5

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 52163
Asker : modem-qu40668
Subject : Modem Problems
Private : No

Question : When I look under device manager I only have a com port 1 and LPT Printer port..

Shouldn't I have a com 3 or 4, where a modem could go? This computer came with an HSP Micro Modem, but its crap, and I wanted to put in a USR 56K v.90, but the system wont reconize it. Any suggestions?

Answer : **NOTE

You may need to clarify *when* you saw a COM1 - was it with the old modem installed? With the new? Or with neither? For the purpose of answering the question I'll assume you have a COM1 (either with or without the old one installed and with the new one NOT installed). If this is not the case rephrase the question so I can tell what was where when you examined the machine.

**NOTE

It sounds like you have not yet installed the modem (and by your description it sounds like you are going with an internal). So assuming you have not yet installed the modem, you say you only see a COM1 - that is likely because you have com2 disabled in the BIOS of your system (and that's OK in fact). Unless you are using it for something it can be disabled. The reason you don't see an "available" COM port for your new modem is because *internal modems create their own COM ports*. I would suggest you go ahead with the installation of your new internal modem, but before inserting it into the PC (of course) power down the system and jumper the modem (if it has jumpers - otherwise it may be software-configurable) to be COM2, IRQ 3. After installing it physically and booting up Windows should sniff it out. If it doesn't open the control panels and either run the "Add new hardware" item or double-click on "modems" (if present) to install the modem and you're all set.

Good luck!

Paul Doherty
Rating : 4
Rating : 4

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 52211
Asker : frazika@...
Subject : reformatting harddrive? I think
Private : No

Question : what is the best way to empty my harddrive and restart all over again from scratch. This is new to me so plz be sorta detailed. thnx

Answer : First thing is to make sure you have backed up all the files you may have made - things like word processing documents (resumes, etc), email (may want to copy your inbox file from your favorite mail reader and put it back in place when you restore), your bookmarks.htm file from Netscape or IE, and so on...

Now on to the easy part...

Build yourself a boot disk that can bring up your CD-ROM drive. It will need at a minimum a few things. Open a DOS prompt within Windows and execute each of the following lines (hitting ENTER after each) with a blank floppy in the drive to get a working bootable CD-mounting floppy disk with tools:

format a: /u /autotest
c:
cd \windows (making sure you are on C:)
sys a:
copy c:\windows\command\sys.com a:\
copy c:\windows\command\attrib.exe a:\
copy c:\windows\command\format.com a:\
copy c:\windows\command\fdisk.exe a:\
copy c:\windows\command\xcopy*.exe a:\
copy c:\windows\smartdrv.exe a:\
copy c:\windows\himem.sys a:\

Download idecd.sys from my web site to the floppy dir a:\

http://members.home.com/iqueue/idecd.sys

Now create a new config.sys & autoexec.bat on the floppy with (use ALT-F to get to the file menu when done and select EXIT - it will ask you if you want to save the changes - hit Y for YES):

edit a:\config.sys
(inside this file put the following:)

device=\himem.sys
device=\idecd.sys /d:cdrom001

edit a:\autoexec.bat
(inside this file put the following:)

@echo off
lh \mscdex.exe /d:cdrom001 /l:f
lh \smartdrv.exe /n c+ f 8192 8192
path=a:\
echo y | lock c: /off

Now with both these files saved you are done with the bootable floppy. Reboot your system and test it BEFORE moving further along here. When you boot up on this disk you should be able to do the following commands

dir C:\
dir f:\ (with a CD in the drive please :-)

and get a response from both. If you can then you are ready to continue - if not go back above and start over.

Now we are ready to clean this disk off and start anew... Execute the following with your Windows 95/98 CD in the drive:

(make DANG sure you have everything off the disk you want as this next line is the end of the road for the data on the disk)
format c: /u /autotest
sys c:
(only execute one of the next two lines based on whether you have 95 or 98)
xcopy f:\win95\*.* c:\win95kit\*.* /e (WIN95)
xcopy f:\win98\*.* c:\win98kit\*.* /e (WIN98)

You now have a clean hard drive with only the system files needed to boot and a "kit" for installing Windows 95/98. Pull the floppy out and reboot on the hard disk then do the following:

cd \win95kit (or \win98kit)
setup

You are now launched into your Windows install - hopefully you know what to do from here. Hope that was detailed enough for you!

Paul Doherty, CNA (3 & 4), CNE (4), MCP+I, MCSE, B.A.Sc.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 52212
Asker : frazika@...
Subject : reformatting harddrive? I think
Private : No

Question : what is the best way to empty my harddrive and restart all over again from scratch. This is new to me so plz be sorta detailed. thnx

Answer : Don't forget to rate the answers you receive on AskMe.com

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 52252
Asker : rlappin
Subject : video cards
Private : No

Question : I'm looking at buying a new computer. I've seen great deals on emachines, and would like advice on how to determine how much video and memory I need. My use is very basic: home use, kids' games, etc. Some reviews say you need 8 MG of video to run games well. Also, the same question about system memory: some people say 64 MG SDRAM, but some of the great deals offer 4 Mg video and 32 SDRAM. How do I figure out what I really need? (FOr comparison, I've been chugging along on a P133 with 40 RAM and I think a 1 MG video card.

Answer : For the tasks you've described 32MB of system memory and 1-4MB of video is fine. In fact you should be more concerned with the CPU and video chipsets than with the amount of RAM they come with. (Little) Kid's games are the least intensive on the system, generally employing 2d-only screens and audio so they will not require much in the way of color depth, speed or resolution (and with the 15 inch monitors common with these lower-end machines you will not want the res too high anyway). The amount of memory on the video card is only important if you intend to push the envewlope in terms of color depth (number of colors onscreen being high) *and* doing so at a high resolution (say 1024x768 or above). From your description I would not say this is important to your buying decision. I would say go with 64MB system memory (avoids thrashing the disk during normal use a lot more than 32MB) if you can afford it, and with an NVidia (TNT or TNT2) or 3dfx (Voodoo3) chipset (these both come with 16MB standard for around 100 bucks) if you can.

Have fun!
Paul Doherty

Answer : Don't forget to rate the answers you receive on AskMe.com

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 52269
Asker : username119
Subject : Autorun on diskettes
Private : No

Question : Can anyone tell me if you can put autorun on diskettes?

Answer : Apparently not (I tried it :-)

I copied the autorun.inf and setup.exe off a Windows 2000 Pro install CD, edited the autorun.inf to ensure there was no path-specific information to the setup.exe (there wasn't), and double-clicked the floppy icon to "launch" the app an no go. of course you already knew that a floppy is not polled as a CD-ROM drive is so the standard method of a CD-ROM launching itself would of course not be an option for a floppy anyway, but I did wonder whether it would autorun on double-click-opening the floppy drive. No soap...

Paul Doherty

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 52290
Asker : tcoyle6947
Subject : boot disk
Private : No

Question : I made a boot up disk for win 95. I put in a drive and start computer. It shows a:\, when I enter dir it shows all files on startup disk. Had this been a real emergency, what are steps necessary to boot up?

Answer : If this was a real emergency and you needed to boot from floppy then that likely means you have a registry problem. In that event what you would do is the following (execute each line):
(will need attrib.exe from c:\windows\command on your floppy disk)

c:
cd \windows
a:\attrib -r -h -s *.da?
copy user.dat user.bak
copy system.dat system.bak
copy user.da0 user.dat
copy system.da0 system.dat

OK now for a bit of explanation:

The files user.dat and system.dat are the entirety of the registry files in Windows 95. If you have a problem booting your system it is likely due to you adding a new piece of hardware or changing a setting for something critical which has rendered the system unbootable. In either case (hardware change/registry corruption) the restore is the same. First we copy the current *.dat files to a safe place (in case they end up being good). Once these are saved as .BAK files we then copy the .DA0 files over the current ones. The .DA0 files are the last good versions of system.dat and user.dat and are created on each successful boot (defined as booting all the way to the desktop). If you have trouble starting into Windows that's usually a good thing as it gives you a chance to rescind whatever crazy thing you did with this technique, as opposed to allowing Windows to boot "normally" at which point it updates these .da0 backups with the bad version!

A good idea when you get a system to a good point of configuration, and it's all running like you want, is to go ahead and perform the above steps to keep an archived version of the system.dat and user.dat (maybe name them system.ok and user.ok) so that in the event of a failure you'll have:

the current system version that's giving you headaches (*.DAT)

the last version you "successfully" booted with (*.DA0)

the version you liked enough to back up (*.OK)

Hope that helps,
Paul Doherty, CNA (3 & 4), CNE (4), MCP+I, MCSE, B.A.Sc.

Answer : Don't forget to rate the answers you receive on AskMe.com
Rating : 5
Rating : 5

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 52298
Asker : jeffmitchel
Subject : Problem with PC
Private : No

Question : After replaceing the battery on my PC it is telling me that my CMOS setup is bad, CMOS is bad and I dont know what to do.please help if you can.

Answer : When you replaced the battery all the CMOS data was indeed "lost". The battery is the source of energy for storing the configuration data for your BIOS. But not to worry it isn't as bad as all that. Power up the PC and during boot you will see a message like "hit Del to enter BIOS Setup screen". hit the key indicated pretty quickly to enter the setup screen (if you mis it power off and try again). Once inside the screen there should be an option to "Load Setup Defaults" or something similar. Hit that to load normal settings for your motherboard. next thing is to find an item for "Autodetecting IDE/Hard drives" or something along those lines - this will save you from needing to know how many disks you have or what their configurations are. once that autodetect is finished (accept what it finds with 'y') then select the menu option to "Save Changes and Exit". Once the system reboots you should be golden. However, if you find that the system is not retaining these changes after a power down, this indicates that the battery is not providing juice to the CMOS circuitry and you either need to inspect the install (upside-down?) or check the socket for the battery for corrosion (pencil erasers work well here for removing corrosion).

Hope this helps,
Paul Doherty, CNA (3 & 4), CNE (4), MCP+I, MCSE, B.A.Sc.
Rating : 4

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 52695
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : using cable TV facilities for data communications
Private : No

Question : I am trying to better understand how the cable technology is used to support data transmission.

Iff you have any information on that subject, please let me know.

Thank you.

Virginie

Answer : I am not sure the depth of response you expect from the way you asked the question but here goes. A cable modem servie provides (usually) bi-directional data service to homes or businesses by allocating a single 6 Mhz "piece" of the bandwidth that is normally available on the cable. This 6 Mhz of bandwidth is one "channel" of normal cable TV. IOW - you can get cable download speeds with the equivalent of the bandwidth allocated for the Cartoon Network... :-) That single 6 Mhz of bandwidth can carry up to 36Mbps (3.6 times normal Ethernet speed) of data.

Hope that was what you were after...
Paul Doherty

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 55312
Asker : rosqu
Subject : windows explorer
Private : No

Question : hi there Paul
i've got a win 95a installation that ever
since it was installed windows explorer yields a blank pane when "details" are selected. Viewing disk or file contents with
large/small icons or list works fine, however
details is really ummmm.....anti details
any clues?

Answer : I have no idea why this would happen. Is it consistent in any directory you do it in? If it is then I would suggest it may be due to the whole pile of bugs attributed to Windows 95a and the only thing you can try is to obtain the latest service packs for that rev and apply them - they can all be found from this info page - http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q142/7/94.asp

Good luck!

Paul Doherty

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 58596
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : DOS Printing
Private : No

Question : I have a small program I wrote for a client in Visual Basic for DOS over 5 years ago. The client is happy with the program that they distrubute to their clients to collect information then it is returned. The program prints out a small register of what was entered to LPT1. Over the years these clients have moved on to Windows and networks and many do not have a printer attached to LPT1. Is there a command or easy way to redirect the LPT1 output to a file? Then they could open this text file in a wordprocesser of choice and print out.

Answer : I know of no way other than writing (or finding one) a custom print driver that accepts output destined for LPT1: and send it to a text file. There *is* a driver availbale while setting up a new printer (Manufacturer - Generic, Item Generic/Text-Only) that can be sent to FILE: instead of LPT1: but this would have to be tested to see if it would work, as your DOS app is trying to hit the actualy LPT1: port and may not utilize this driver even if made the default printer. But definitely worth a try.

Paul Doherty

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 58609
Asker : cindy410
Subject : disk boot failure and setup failure
Private : No

Question : pauldoherty I am back with two questions
1. I have a 8.2 western digital harddrive I do not know what I did wrong. When the computer boots up, the error message is boot disk failure. I tried booting with windows startup disk. I copied the system files, and that did not work.
2. I load Msdos 6.2 after when my computer boot up I got a divide overflow error. I was able to bypass the error by hold the left shift key. I set the computer to boot from the cdrom to load the windows 98 setup. The setup ran until it came to windows running for the first time, then it stops on the boot
on the enter choice (1)hard drive (2)cdrom.
When you enter a choice it boots back to the same screen. I can not do a f8, f5 or anything to return to the a or c drive.
Help, Help. Thanks in advance.

Answer : When you say you "copied the system files" do you mean manually copying io.sys, msdos.sys, etc, or do you mean you used "sys c:"? The latter is preferable as you may miss something. You may also wish to boot from a *known clean * floppy and do an "fdisk /mbr" as you may have a boot sector virus. As far as your setup and the divide errors - you either have a serious misconfiguration or a hrdware problem (likely in your RAM with this error). I'd suggest you boot from a floppy, do the fdisk /mbr and see if the system comes up (in safe mode or normal). If it does and it's fixed it may have been a virus (if it was a virus then you are likely infected again as soon as you booted so you are not out of the woods yet). Best bet is to boot from a clean floppy with another blank floppy or two handy. Back up your user-created files (documents, bookmarks.htm, all important stuff you've made) to this extra floppy. Then blow away the installation and start fresh. The alternative to this is to get a very good virus program and search it out. As you just started a new install of Windows 98 I will not suggest the normal troubleshooting methods to bring back your registry (as you wouldn't have any valid backups yet).

Good luck!

Paul Doherty
Rating : 4

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 58647
Asker : octospider0
Subject : help
Private : No

Question : I recently install a new video card to my system (win98) the old one was a agp card on the mother board.
I removed the old adaptor for the system and rebooted but it trys to reinstall the old adaptor on reboot and in doing so locks the system up, I can only get in through safe mode and I have tried disabling the onboard vga through the bios but that didnt work either, is there any way around this. how can i get past the install lock up and then maybe install it but diable it though the system menu in control panel?

thx
bill

Answer : I have seen this type of beahvior before, where an onboard device will not stay undetected by Windows. Quite irritating. Your best bet here is to remove the new video card, let Windows detect the onboard card and configure it. Then go to the System control panel and into Device Manager and diable the onboard device (if that option is available - it may not be; it's not on mine) then shutdown and install the new card, (optionally at this point also jumper the motherboard to disable the onboard video) then reboot in and configure the new card.

Good luck!

Paul Doherty
Rating : 4

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 58656
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : ./configure and gnu-make
Private : No

Question : Hello,

I'm new to linux and have tried to install downloaded software, however when it comes time to compile and MAKE I seem to get several errors with what I presently run..Mandrake 6.1(redhat)...I have had no problem with SuSE 6.2 or AIX 4.1.4 so I have never had to trouble shoot and have rather blindly forged forward not knowing exactly what I am doing other than compilation....Any information regarding this process that I can use to troubleshoot this issue would be greatly appreciated! ...and yes I attempted to read the appropriate man pages to little avail.

Thankyou in advance for your assistance!

Answer : I am not an expert on libraries in Linux but I suspect that the configure and make scripts are failing becsue they expect certain paths to be in use for libraries, or expect different named library files. Your best bet in getting around this is to either edit these scripts by hand cleaning up the mistaken assumptions, or by finding an RPM of the same binary for easy install/removal. The RPM method is far and away the most popular option and all but the most obscure of software for Linux is offered in RPM version.

It would help next time you ask a question like this to include the commands issued and the errors they generated. Also what program you downloaded and are attempting to install would help too...

Good luck!

Paul Doherty

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 61117
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : Getting DOS to recognize external cdrom
Private : No

Question : I accidentally reformatted my Sharp 486 laptop. Now I need to reinstall the external cdrom, so I can reinstall Win95, but can't get communication going. I know I am missing something simple (got talked through this before by someone who is not available now) I started by installing the version of DOS I have on hand (6.21) and then tried installing the NEC software that came with the cdrom (almost antique, but still works) I get halfway through and get an error msg saying that communication can't be established with the cdrom. I know it is connected the same way it was before. Can you help???

Thanks, M

Answer : Here is how to build a bootable disk to load your CD-ROM drive:

Create a config.sys on a floppy with the following line (replace the "YOURCD.SYS" with the .SYS driver that came with your external CD-ROM, and copy that same file to A:\ ):

device=\YOURCD.SYS /d:cdrom001

Create an autoexec.bat on the same floppy with:

\mscdex.exe /d:cdrom001 /l:f

"Sys" the floppy from a DOS/Windows 95/98 machine by opening a DOS prompt and executing:

sys a:

Now copy the file C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\MSCDEX.EXE (or C:\DOS\MSCDEX.EXE) to A:\ like this:

copy c:\windows\command\mscdex.exe a:\

Now reboot on this floppy disk and ensure that you can read a CD from drive letter F:

dir F:\

Good luck!

Paul Doherty

Answer : Don't forget to rate the answers you receive on AskMe.com

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 63590
Asker : rgarr
Subject : "Can't install Norton Antivirus 2000"
Private : Yes

Question : I have tried repeatedly to install my Norton Antivirus 2000 from autorun-it eventually comes up but it is slow responding-and then it goes very slow through the initial set-up phase-then I get the blue screen that says my E drive-which is what I use for my CD ROM drive can't read the disk or recognize the disk. It asks me to clean the disk or drive. I have cleaned the disk and I have put 3 different kinds of cleaning CD's in the drive and nothing works. Does anyone have any suggestions? Please help!!! Thanking you in advance for your help!!! :o

rgarr@earthlink.net

Answer : If you don't get this problem from other CDs I'd suggest that the CD is a marginal one that is difficult for your reader to pick up. A couple of ways around this:

1) Attempt to copy the data for the install from another CD-ROM (if you have one available) to your hard disk and install from there, then delete the source files.

2) Have a friend with a CD burner make a copy of the original for you - you will likely have better luck with the copy (amazingly) than with this original. I've had good luck with TDK and Verbatim blank CDRs and compatibility with most CD-ROM readers.

Paul Doherty
Rating : 5

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 63599
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : sound recorder wont record
Private : No

Question : I have win 98 and want to get the sound recorder to record off mic. Mic plays thru speakers but nothing records or plays back in sound recorder... I've changed between available devices without success. The device manager shows everything working correctly! Any ideas, trouble shooters or utilities to try???
Scott

Answer : Double-click the volume control at the bottom-left (systray). When that pops up ensure that the MUTE checkbox below the microphone IS checked (you don't need to hear yourself, and this can cause feedback). Then from the menu select Options/Properties and choose the Recording option. Ensure that Microphone is checked below before clicking OK. Now check the box below Microphone that is labeled "Select" and crank the slider for Microphone at least halfway up. Now minimize or close the volume control window and run sound recorder and test it out. You should be working at this point.

Paul Doherty
Rating : 5
Rating : 5
Rating : 5

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 71437
Asker : hwan1
Subject : a big step
Private : No

Question : Hi.
My name is Hwan and I am working in NYC as a Financial planner for a big financial institution. I am beginning to feel that I need a career change before it is too late. I have been looking at the compuet field. " it seems like the first step would be taking some course on MCSE or other certifictae exams such as CCNA or etc. I pretty much decided to take MCSE and prepare for that exam soon. I have to determine which other certificate that i need to get so that the company who will be hiring me will give me the job without much hesitation. I have background in finance and /marketing incollege so i woudl like to work for financial institution when i become IT person. The term networking seems very much broad to me. I am not even sure if i am referring to the right term when i am asking this question to you. I would really appreciate the help and advice especially when I am in the middle of major career change. Thank you

I am thinkin\

Answer : To change into the field of computers you really need to love it - don't do it just because the job prospects are better than in most other areas. Still reading? OK. Then I'll assume you're serious enough to try it out. The best recommendation to get familiar with as much as possible is to:

1) Obtain a computer at home (this is a no-brainer)

2) Obtain a *second* computer at home. This one is not so obvious. The reasoning here is that you will learn faster if you can build up and tear down (i.e. make mistakes) on a secondary system as opposed to your primary one. This secondary system doesn't have to be a great machine - in fact if you hop over to http://www.ebay.com and do a search for "486" or "pentium" I'll bet you can find a whole system for less than 300 dollars. Another benefit to this second system is that when you're ready and have the end-user side of things down pat (hardware troubleshooting/installation, OS installation/troubleshooting, applications, configuring of the OS, DOS, etc) then you can turn this machine into a server (Netware, NT, Linux, whatever) and begin your practice of administration skills.

3) Sometime after or during #2 above obtain a position as a phone help desk person at a corporation with the type of networking environment you are trying to learn (i.e. NT or Netware or both). Working at this job for at least 6 months will boost your credibility greatly. Then you can move on to a desktop support or network admin job with the help of your practice and perhaps your certification(s) too.

Good luck!

Paul Doherty
Rating : 5

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 71446
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : Operating System>
Private : No

Question : Greetings:

I recently talked with Compaq tech support and in the process of fixing my problem I called about he had me hold the "Ctrl" key down which brought up this black page with different "Operating Mode" selections..ie> Normal, Prompt, etc. My problem was corrected but now I am stuck with having to make a selection from this "Mode Selection" page each and every time I turn on my computer. How do I stop this page from coming up each time I turn on my computer?

Answer : You likely have a changed MSDOS.SYS file which contains startup settings for Windows 95/98 (it used to be a binary file in the DOS/Win 3.x days).

Open a DOS prompt and type the following:

c:
cd \
attrib -r -h -s msdos.sys
edit msdos.sys
(once you hot enter on the edit command you will be in the editor - look for a section titled [Options] and under that the lines

BootWarn=1
BootMenu=1
BootFailSafe=1

If any of these lines is present just change the "1" to a "0" (zero) and this will disable the menu options and/or boots to safe mode. Then hit ALT-F to get the file menu open and use the cursor keys to select Exit (and it will ask to save changes - select Yes by hitting enter).

Then execute the following:

attrib +r +h +s msdos.sys
Now reboot your system and the menu should be gone (unless you press F8 to get it)

Good luck!

Paul Doherty

Answer : Don't forget to rate the answers you receive on AskMe.com

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 83341
Asker : puffins85938
Subject : home networking
Private : No

Question : Hello- 2 questions please:
1. When home networking, and the file and print sharing is enabled, do both (2) computers have to have the drivers and software installed for any any and all peripherals (scanner, 2 printers, digital camera)?
2. Using client for microsoft networks, is it advisable to enable netbui and IPX as well as TCP/IP........on one or BOTH computers?

Thank you for your assistance. I will be happy to provide you with whatever further info you may need.

Answer : For sharing of peripherals only one will actually perform an installation. Typically the only devices sharable over a network are files and printers. You may be able to share the scanner, but I doubt it, and the digital camera doesn't really apply as either computer can be used to download the pictures once they're take, and either can view the pictures after they're downloaded.

As to the second question - with an internal LAN that will be sharing resources it is unnecessary to have more than ONE of the protocols you listed installed. For ease of use I'd suggest you use IPX on both machines for easy LAN connectivity. But since I also suspect you have internet connections of some sort on at least one of these machines I would suggest TCP/IP as your sole protocol. Assuming you have some kind of hub in place for these ethernet connections to plug into you can set the machines TCP/IP properties as follows (in the Network control panel double click the "TCP/IP" entry that is associated with your network card, like "TCP/IP on 3Com 3C509B":

Machine 1:

Ip address - 10.1.1.1
subnet mask - 255.255.255.0
default gateway - leave blank
DNS - leave blank

Machine 1:

Ip address - 10.1.1.2
subnet mask - 255.255.255.0
default gateway - leave blank
DNS - leave blank

The DNS entries for your ISP account(s) should be put in, but not here as these settings affect the ethernet LAN, not your dial-up account. To add the DNS server addresses (if necessary) for your dial-up accounts go to the My Computer icon, then into Dial-Up Networking folder, then right-click the connection you use to get on the net and select Properties, then add the DNS servers in the appropriate tab.

Paul Doherty

Answer : Don't forget to rate the answers you receive on AskMe.com

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 84000
Asker : puffins85938
Subject : note recent network question....
Private : No

Question : Very good and detailed response, excellent turnaround time. Does the above answer refer to machine 1 and MACHINE 2? There seems to be 2 machine 1's. As well,I should have mentioned that the internet connection is CABLE (not dialup) with dynamic IP. Secondly, I have a 4 port Linksys autosensing hub (cables,not phone or wireless). How do these issues now effect the above answers? Any harm to having TCP/IP and IPX or is that overkill?

Thank you very much.

Answer : That was 10.1.1.1 for machine 1, and 10.1.1.2 for machine 2 - all else was the same for both machines.

That (cable modem) changes everything - at this point with a cable modem you will likely want to do one of two things:

Install Windows 98 SE on one of the desktops along with an extra ethernet card, and enable one of it's new features, ICS (Internet Connection Sharing). One network card will be connected to the cable modem (your "external" connection) and one will be connected to the hub (your "internal" LAN connection). ICS is really a product Microsoft bought out called NAT 1000 that was on the market and incorporated it into Windows 98. NAT allows multiple machines on a local LAN to be routed to the internet across the one valid IP address given to you by a dial-up modem, ADSL or cable modem line. The beauuty is all of your machines can use the connection at once, and you don't pay for more IPs from your cable provider. That's the good side of ICS. The bad side is two-fold. One is that since one machine is effectively acting as a router for the other it's performace may suffer. Secondly if that primary machine running ICS goes down or even is rebooted the other machine can not get out until it's back in place. And finally having any of your Windows 95/98 machines directly connected to the cable modem presents security risks (this is the case whethere running ICS or not - your machine directly connected is directly addressable by anyone on the net). If setup properly these risks can can be mitigated.

My preferred choice for this kind of installation is a program called Sygate (a competitor to the now-defunct NAT 1000 MS bought) running on an NT Server. http://www.sybergen.com The nice thing about Sygate is it runs as a service, which means that it loads when NT loads, not when a user logs in, so it's always running even if you reboot your server and don't log back into it. Second reason is NT is more stable than 98 and less likely to crash while routing for you. Third this makes a nice situation since none of the 95/98 workstations are being pressed into service to perform this routing service none will have CPU cycles stolen for performing this chore (the NT Server is handling this load). And another benefit is that means any or all of the 95/98 machines can be doing whatever they want (playing an online game, being rebooted, etc) without affecting the ability of the other 95/98 machine(s) to get out onto the net. Also NT is faster at networking and makes a better choice for this task. Finally NT has more granularity when it comes to configuring networking so you can isolate the services that exist on the card connected to the cable modem, while leaving full file and print services available to your client machines (another benefit of the server is that it can share it's disk and printers with the 95/98 clients saving them even more work). And one more thing - if you install the NT Server as a PDC (Primary Domain Controller) all accesses to any resources on any machine logged into the domain must be authenticated by this NT Server, meaning that even if someone could figure a way past Sygate into your private LAN (which is using non-routable 10.x.x.x addresses too) then they would *still* have to crack NT's password authentication mechanisms to try to steal files. Basically unless the NSA wants to get at something on your computer it isn't going to happen. :-)

If all that sounds complex, well, it is and you may be better off with the ICS type of connection. In any event the connections will look like this:

CABLE -- Machine doing routing (ICS/Sygate)
(first network card)
|
|
(second network card)
|
|
HUB
|
|
--------------
| | |
PC PC PC

The machine connected to both the cable modem and to the hub (having two network cards - 'NIC's) is said to be "multi-homed" meaning it has two networks it is attached to. All the other machines have a single NIC are attached only to the HUB.

If you decide you do not want to route the connection to the Net but *do* still want to be able to do file sharing with the other machine you will have to call your cable comany and pay for another valid IP address. then your connection will differ from the diagram above in a simple respect. You will now plug the cable modem directly into the hub along with all the machines, and the IP addresses you assign to the PCs will be the two valid IPs given to you by your cable comany. I do not recommend this type of setup as it exposes both your machines at all times!

For file and print sharing as well as Internet access you will ONLY need TCP/IP - you may safely turn off IPX and NetBeui - unless you have a LAN-based game that needs IPX (at which point you can install it). Your LAN will run faster with less protocols (overhead chatter).

For a benign demonstration of what a hacker could do to your exposed machine go here:

http://grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

Good luck in your network pursuit!

Paul Doherty
Rating : 5

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 84074
Asker : puffins85938
Subject : home networking continued.....
Private : No

Question : I currently have installed the BlackIce program (solely for paranoiac reasons). It is truly astonishing what intrusions it catches.
The LinkSys Hub comes with what is called "10BT & 100BT Network capable at half or rull duplex;Full Wake-On-LAN Cabability, full backward compatibility with non-wake-on-lan motherboards, 95/98 PnP compatible, auto-partitioning protects pc's from downed network lines,perfect for sharing cable modems,etc,etc." With this in mind and with each computer having equal/independent capability as my objective, how do I proceed? My new computer will be Win98se PIII 800Mhz (if Intel ever ships), the older is Win 95b P200MMX.

Many thanks.

Answer : As I said in the rather lengthy last answer install ICS that comes with the 98 SE install, hook an additional ethernet card into that machine and hook one of the cards to the cabel mdoem and the other to the hub. The Win95 machine connects to the hub as well. then the 98SE will "route" the net connection for both machines.

Paul Doherty
Rating : 5
Rating : 5

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 84825
Asker : persian_eagle
Subject : multiX
Private : No

Question :
Hello,

I'm student of hardware eng.
Would you please tell me differnce
amoung:
MULTITASKING
MULTIPROCESSING
MULTITHREADING

and if u know any references that
I can find more about it pls tell me.

Thanks a lot
Shahin Gh.

Answer : Multitasking - the ability of an operating system to juggle more than one program at a time - the ability to suspend one task, saving it's state, then reinstating a previously suspended app, allotting it some time, and so on. This creates the illusion of all the applications running at once when in actuality they are being rapidly switched out and getting CPU time as it is doled out by the operating system.

Multiprocessing takes place when more than one CPU is involved. All the tasks needed to manage the computer are then divided equally between the available CPUs. The end result is that the speed of the system is increased.

Multithreading is the ability of an individual application to spawn off subprocesses within it's control that can carry out tasks while the main program continues doing other things. For example when spell-checking one document or performing a find/replace you can also be printing another document from within the same application. The end user result of multithreaded apps is the user is less likely to be left waiting for control of the application.

Paul Doherty
Rating : 5

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 89093
Asker : winkydb
Subject : DOs Logon
Private : No

Question : I'm trying to find a logon that works at the DOS level that will lock up my computer if the logon is incorrect. Do you know of such a program or where I might find one?

Answer : It is very hard to secure a machine at the DOS level, especially against someone who is very knowledgable. Physical security is the best bet, but barring that there are a few programs that can help. Direct Access comes to mind immediately, and also can insulate the user in a menuing system for choosing apps to run (that you have made available).

Here is another -

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/microfox/programs.htm

Paul Doherty

Answer : Don't forget to rate the answers you receive on AskMe.com

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 89144
Asker : yerram
Subject : How do i write a batch file to delete all *.tmp files?
Private : No

Question : Hi,
Thanks for your time. Could you tell me how can i delete all the files with extension .tmp?

I wrote a batch file like below.
------------
del *.tmp
------------

This batch file is deleting only the tmp files in the top directory. how do i do it to delete the .tmp files on my whole hard disk?

Thanks
Hari

Answer : You have discovered one of the failings of DOS - namely how to make the output from one command become the *arguments* for another. Yes you can pipe or redirect output so a program receiving it will get it as it's standard IN, but that is not the same as the piped-to program treating each item sent as an argument.

For example:

type mytext.txt | more

works as expected and more displays a page at a time of the test from mytext.txt. now suppose, however that the format of mytext.txt is as follows:

/delete /s /a test
/nodelete /q /a wolf

and so on...

Now suppose you have a command-line program called "dosprog" that expects these parameters as above. In DOS there is not a way to "type" these characters, sending them to the dosprog utility one per line until the end of the mytext.txt file. In Windows NT you can use it's modified 'for' command to get this type of behavior done, but since we are probably talking about Windows 95/98 this holds true.

So I did what I usually do when confronted with a limitation (actually I was well aware of this before your question, but your need gave me impetus to go ahead and do it) in DOS - I wrote a utility to get around the problem.

I call this program rdelete.exe for "Recursive Delete" and were it not for @HOME's member FTP services being down I would make the .ZIP of RDelete available directly to you on my web page at http://members.home.net/iqueue But since I can not add any files to the web space at the moment if you will send me your email address to iqueue@home.com I will send your RDelete.zip directly. Anyone else that would like a copy can also request one at the same address, or if you're reading this much after it's been written I should have the files on the web site.

http://members.home.net/iqueue

RDelete is runnable from anywhere within Windows and is fully documented for easy use (copy it to \windows\command so it will always be in your PATH and accessible). You can run it from:

Start/Run menu
Directly from a DOS prompt inside Windows
From a shortcut to the EXE
From within a BAT file

Paul Doherty
Rating : 5

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 90461
Asker : uuinin36636
Subject : KBps=Kbps?
Private : No

Question : B = Byte ?
b = bit ?
I am confused!

Answer : You are correct even if you're confused.

KBps would be a reference to kilobytes per second.

kbps would be a reference to kilobits per second.

A bit is a single 0 or 1

A byte is 8 bits (0's or 1's)
like: 10001110 (142 in decimal)

So to compare speeds you have to divide a kbps number by 8 to compare it to a Kbps number.

For example modems are commonly rated at 56kbps these days - let's translate that. 56kbps is a bit per second rating so to get that into bytes (each of which is 8 bits) we simply divide.

56,000 kbps
divided by 8 (bits per byte)
equals 7000 (7K per second)

So in theory a 56k modem at full speed could transfer uncompressed data at roughly 7K per second. However these modems are limited to a max connect of 53kbps anyway, plus line noise and modem error correction overhead reduces their effective full speed to more like 5-6K per second.

For another example a T1 line commonly used by corporations has a line speed of 1.544 Mbps (Megabits per second). Since we are talking "bits" here and not bytes we must divide by 8 if we want to get a number in bytes.

So 1,544,000 (roughly)
divided by 8
equals 193,000 bytes per second, or just under 200K per second (just under a 1/4 of a megabyte a second).

Hope that clears things up a bit...

Paul Doherty

Answer : Don't forget to rate the answers you receive on AskMe.com

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 90667
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : unix c
Private : No

Question : In unix c a infinite loop should be executed and whenever a key is pressed it should exit from the loop. In DOS the function KBHIT() we have tried and it is working. we want to know the equvilant function in Unix C Plesae send with a sample program

Answer : The problem you're having with this loop in UNIX may have to do with the fact that the read function normally needs a RETURN keypress to terminate input and allow a character to be read. If the TERM environment variable is set properly in the shell the program is running in, however, that can be gotten around. See the URL below for an explanation:

http://www.conetic.com/cbautil/cbautil00000187.html

Here is an example snippet I found that covers the topic (it's in C++ but should be easily adaptable):

The example below loops until the user presses the ESC key before exiting. If a 'printable' character is pressed, it is displayed within single quotes; if a control charcater or other keyboard key is pressed, it displays its code.

#include <iostream.h>
#include <iomanip.h>

#include <bios.h>
#include <ctype.h>

#define RIGHT 0x01
#define LEFT 0x02
#define CTRL 0x04
#define ALT 0x08

#define ESC 0x011b

int main(void)
{
int key, modifiers;

// Loop until user presses ESC key
while (key != ESC)
{
// Wait until a key is pressed
while (_bios_keybrd(_KEYBRD_READY) == 0);

// Fetch the key that is waiting
key = _bios_keybrd(_KEYBRD_READ);

// Determine if shift keys are used
modifiers = _bios_keybrd(_KEYBRD_SHIFTSTATUS);
if (modifiers)
{
cout << "[";
if (modifiers & RIGHT) cout << "RIGHT"; if (modifiers & LEFT) cout << "LEFT"; if (modifiers & CTRL) cout << "CTRL"; if (modifiers & ALT) cout << "ALT";
cout << "]";
}

// Print out the character read
if (isalnum(key & 0xFF))
cout << "'" << (char)key << "'" << endl; else
cout << setw(2) << hex << key << endl; }

return 0;
}

Rating : 2

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 92398
Asker : tom12
Subject : DOS - copy command
Private : No

Question : I am sure that this must be easy.
I would like a command that renames a file with the current date. So that I can create a batch file to rename this same file every day. It can't be that hard !
Any help appreciated.

Tom

Answer : Do you need to *rename* a file with the current date, or *create* a new file somewhere that has as it's name the current date? If the latter then I already have a program I wrote to do that - it's called DateIt.exe and when run from DOS or within a BAT file will create a "timestamp" file in the directory in which it is run whose name is the current date. With some subtle bribery of a box of chocolates or something I could be persuaded to change the functionality of DateIt.exe to accept command-line arguments so that if your need was the former you could run it as such:

dateit c:\mystuff\file_to_be_renamed

and it would then rename "file_to_be_renamed" as the current date.

Then the utility could function both ways - in the normal instance when run without parameters it would drop a newly created file with the current date as it's name; when run with a parameter (being a fully-qualified path (unless the file to be renamed is in the current dir)) it would instead *rename* the existing file with the current date.

Let me know which you need, but in the meantime I will modify and recompile for this functionality and make it available on my web page at:

http://members.home.net/iqueue

Paul Doherty

P.S. Send me an email at bitbucket911@home.com for my snail mail address so you'll know where to send the chocolates! (I like caramels and nuts) ;-)
Rating : 5

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 94251
Asker : PScoggins
Subject : secondary ide problem
Private : No

Question : i have a FIC SD11 motherboard and Athlon 500 cpu. I have a hard drive as master on primary ide and CD rom as slave. When i install second CD rom on secondary ide, neither the primary or secondary devices are found at boot up. The Bios is set to Auto for primary and secondary devices. How do I get the secondary ide to work.

Answer : First thing the second CD-ROM that is alone on the second channel needs to be jumpered as "master" (I also like to hang the master on each chain at the end of the cable, but that probably is just me :-).

Secondly what you should be doing here is moving the first CD-ROM off the slave position on the primary IDE connector and put *both* CD-ROMs on the secondary IDE controller, making one master and one slave. Keeping hard disks and CDs on separate IDE controllers makes for better speed on the hard drive.

Paul Doherty
Rating : 5

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 97201
Asker : sserra00879
Subject : Upgrading hard drive
Private : No

Question : Hi Paul,
Im running win98 on a 200 Mhz PC. I Installed a 17GB slave drive "D". I wish to copy all current info from "C" to "D" and make this my new "C" drive. The install software that came with my new Western Digital HD allows me to partition in FAT32 no problem. I receive an error message when I attempt to copy my existing "C" drive to "D". I receive a message about unable to access root directory FAT error. I thought perhaps Norton Antivirus was in the way and uninstalled it. No luck. Can I copy reliably with a DOS command?
Thanks in advance
Steve

Answer : Here is a much faster, cleaner way to do it. Access the URL at the bottom of this message to find a copy of the utility GHOST (Generic Hardware-Oriented System Transfer). What this little baby will do is remove the drudgery from what you are attempting to do - namely, take an installed C: drive and move it's entire contents (including boot-sector) to another, larger hard disk and then jumper the new larger disk as master, remove the original and boot as if nothing has changed if I understand you correctly. This is as smooth as it can get (there are much more tedious methods to the same end but why do it the painful way? :-)

Install the second disk as slave (it appears you have done so) - there is no need to fdisk it, format it or anything else - a bare disk is just fine. Then make a bootable floppy disk under DOS (either pure DOS or a DOS prompt under Windows) by:

c:
cd \windows
format a:
sys a:

--

Now copy the ghost.exe you obtained to this floppy and write-protect the floppy.

Boot on the floppy and when it finishes you will be at an A: prompt

Type ghost and hit ENTER

From the menu Select Local/Disk/To Disk and select the first hard disk (your installed "C:" primary IDE drive) as the source, and the new larger disk as the destination. Start it, and when it's done shut down the machine, take out the primary disk, replace it with the new one (jumpering it for master as you do so) and then turn the system back on. Voila! Back in business with a larger disk!

Paul Doherty

This program was purchased by Symantec, who no longer has an evaluation copy of the program available for download. So it is necessary in this event to do an FTP search on what you know you need to find someone who has a copy that will work long enough for this one operation, so you don't need to purchase a 100 dollar program for a one-shot upgrade. It's probably not totally above-board to do so, but if your conscience allows here's one I found that should do the trick:

ftp://ftp.aracnet.com/users/felix/GHOST.EXE

Rating : 5
Rating : 5
Rating : 5

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 107060
Asker : jim.spri11144
Subject : Home PC
Private : No

Question : In the market to purchase a Home Personal Computer. Am looking for the PC that offers the most options/Value relationship.

Computers in mind are HP 9000 series, Dell and Gateway. Would purchase a Flat screen for the system and was wondering who produces the best Flat screen and recommended size.

The PC will be primarily used to manage finance and explore the internet.

Your advice is appreciated.

Answer : Wow... with the array of options available even within *one* of these manufacturers it's difficult to make a recommendation without knowing:

1) What you want to spend

2) What you intend to do (besides manage finances and web)

if all you intend to do is finances and web browsing the lowest-end PC will do the trick as neither are very intensive tasks. But since you intend to splurge on a LCD screen I sense you are not looking to cheap the PC. :-) A couple of issues to be aware of with an LCD screen:

1) They are expensive (duh - you already knew that :-)

2) They require specialized video cards - i.e. not every video card can output to one so be sure if you do get one that works with your panel.

3) The major problem I have with LCD computer screens (besides the cost :-) is that they are a "fixed" resolution. Fixed in this sense meaning there is a discrete number of pixels across by pixels down (usually newer panels are 1024x768). this is great if all you run is Windows appas and always are at 1024x768. The problem comes in when you play that nice new game that you PC can only just barely qualify to run so you have to run it at 640x480 or 800x600.

Two things can happen at this point (and neither are good):

A) Now your "full screen" 15-inch LCD is showing a 640 or 800 image in center of the screen that only occupies literally 640 or 800 of the 1024 pixels across, and 480 or 600 of the 768 down. In short, your picture will be centered and smaller than the full size of the screen.

B) You have an "interpolative" LCD panel which takes lower resolutions and "upsamples" them to fit on the full space of the LCD panel. This sounds good in practice but the result is a strange one. Text is "globular" and graphics looks "smudged" for lack of a better word. It's a compromise at best.

For the same money as a middle of the road LCD you can buy the best flat screen 19" monitors. It's a better choice IMO.

In the end let your budget be your guide. Decide up front how much you want to spend and then choose the best system you can for the money. If I have to leave you with a recommendation as to minimum acceptable specs for a new machine:

P3-450 or better
128MB PC100 RAM
10GB hard disk (ATA 33 or better)
19" monitor (or LCD) - the Hitachi Superscan Elite series are nice
DVD drive (doubles as a CD-ROM and can play DVD movies)
SB Live audio card
Nice set of speakers - think Altec Lansing or Klipsch - and be sure to get a set that comes with a subwoofer.

Paul Doherty
Rating : 4.9
Rating : 4.9

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 161403
Asker : geordie
Subject : checkpoint firewall
Private : No

Question : I have just had a nokia ip440 with checkpoint firewall1 installed on my network.
I want to introduce a new machine to the network(it will be a BDC with webtrends installed). The server should be able to access the 3 web servers in order to read their log files. The server must also be able to see out onto the internet.
I have given it a 192. ip address which is an internal ip address.
All the other machines also have a 192 address but they also have an external 142 address which gets translated. I was told that because I only wanted to let the BDC see out and not allow anything to see it that I didn't need to perform address translation. Is this so?

I have it set up so that the "source" is the "BDC" and the "Destination" is "ANY"

cAN ANYONE TELL ME WHERE i AM GOING WRONG?

Thanks alot,

Dan

Answer : Well if by saying the BDC has a "192" address you mean the non-routable 192.168.x.x type addresses you will have to perform NAT to let that machine see the internet. Any router on the net that sees a source address of 192.168.x.x or 10.x.x.x will drop it and you will get nowhere.

Paul Doherty
Rating : 4

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 161698
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : windows 98 lockups
Private : Yes

Question : Thanks in advance...Just put a pretty simple PC together and loaded windows 98 on it. Everything works perfect untill the darn thing just LOCKS UP on me. It does not do it on any particular program-it has happened during a windows screen saver, during windows solitare, I had office 2000 on the machine and it would happen anywhere in there also. I can not CONTROL-ALT-DELETE out of it. I even reformatted the hard drive and started over with ONLY WINDOWS LOADED, but it is still happening. Everything we installed inside the machine was brand new except the hard drive...I am so lost!

Answer : Well anytime an OS locks entirely (no blue screen, no GPF) that almost always points to hardware. The hardware itself or the supporting drivers. The first thing to do is to ensure that the latest drivers are installed from the web sites of your hardware manufacturers - this includes your motherboard manufacturer! Especially if you use an AMD processor; the chipsets that support the AMD are sometimes missing features or functionality at the lowest of levels. I just worked through a troubleshooting situation with one PC (that was an AMD 350) and the CD that came with the motherboard had absolutely mandatory patches to Windows 98 to even get the thing to properly detect PCI/AGP cards! Amazing for a two-year old OS and a less than one-year-old motherboard.

So ensure all drivers (and any motherboard patches) have been applied. Then if you still have problems it's time to find the offending component. Remove one card (audio, modem, etc - not video of course) until the problem goes away. If you get all the way down to having nothing but drives and video installed and still have problems then you may have to try another video card. there also may unfortunately be interactions with two or more of your installed devices that can cause this which can make troubleshooting difficult.

Good luck!

Paul Doherty
Rating : 5

FUQuestion : Thanks for your help Paul...I tried doing the updated patches and drivers thing, but after 30 mins, it happened again. So now I am in the pulling cards out mode. As I said before, this was a used HARD DRIVE that my buddy got from a guy he knows. He said it was in perfect shape, but who knows??? Could there be a bug in the HARD DRIVE that could cause this to happen? It's also an EPOX BX-3 MOTHERBOARD, and I am not very familair with them, I went to their web site and got a little confused in there driver section...Again, thanks for your help...Kraig

Answer : I doubt if the hard drive could cause a reboot like this. But there is a way to find out if it's involved (maybe). Create a bootable floppy - open a DOS prompt inside Windows and execute the following commands one at a time:

format a: /u
sys a:

Now you have a disk that will boot independent of the hard disk. Now you can disconnect the hard drive ribbon cable and power so it's effectively not in the system. At this point you can one of two things - wait for it to crash at this pure DOS mode you booted from on the floppy (if it does this after 30 minutes I'd be surprised as DOS by itself uses almost no CPU time unless you are doing something). The other thing to do would be before you reboot with this DOS floppy grab a few benchmarks that will fit on a floppy (and that can run in a continuous loop) and try them in a repeating loop to work the system out. this will help isolate if it's the drive. Here's a good site for some benchmarks:

http://optimize.bhcom1.com/english/benchmarks/benchmarks.htm

Three off here I'd recommend that may very well fit on your same boot floppy are:

ctcm (tests CPU and memory speed)
coretest (beats on your hard disk - if you leave it installed for the first run you can bang on it a bit)
3DBench2 (a repeating 3d performance benchmark - this one will stay running until you quit it)
Burnin Test (just what it says - burn a PC in by running it hard to see if it will fail)

If you experience a crash under DOS anything a all like the one in Windows (with the complete reboot) I'm going to say definitively you are talking about one of two things: faulty hardware (motherboard or add-in cards) or HEAT (more likely since you report no other problems until the thing reboots). How many fans have you got in the case? Is there a heatsink and fan on the CPU itself? (there needs to be if not) Is there plenty of space behind the system for airflow? You might consider adding a fan to the inside of your case. Depending on the type of case you can easily install one. All ATX form factor cases have a space for mounting an extra case fan in the front-bottom of the case. Also you can buy an "add-in" card that takes up the space of an internal slot but actually houses two fans that pull air from inside the case and blow it out the back. I personally have SEVEN fans in my system, but it's a highly overclocked machine and needs it. I am think ing your problem is one of heat - so do check into.

Good luck!

Paul Doherty

FUQuestion : Again, I can't thank you enough for your help...The CPU is a PIII 500 oem with a heat sink and fan mounted to it,(not over clocked at all)and we have 3 fans in the chassis. I was kind of thinking it was acting like a heat problem myself, so let me ask you this...How bout we just got stuck with a bad CPU? I have an older PII 333, you think I should throw that in this machine and see if we still crash?......Kraig

Answer : Yes if you have the spare CPU that's an excellent way to isolate whether the CPU is at fault since everything else will be identical (mobo, chipset, add-in cards, HD).

Let me know what you find...

Paul Doherty

FUQuestion : Just to keep you updated on my NIGHTMARE! Well, popped the PII in the motherboard and we still crashed. I guess the only things left to check is the video card, or the motherboard itself. What brand of motherboard do you like, and what do you think of EPOX(what's in there now)?
Thanks....Kraig

Answer : I've never even heard of EPOX so I guess that means I'd have to guess they're a generic type board (not that I've seen them all mind you).

I like Abit and Asus brand boards myself. I'm currently running this system on an Abit BH6 (with Intel 440BX chipset). For a new system running at 800Mhz you will want to look at the motherboards recommended on the step-thermodynamics.com site I sent you but be aware that to get the needed 133Mhz FSB to overclock those chips you'll need either an Intel i820 chipset (hard to find without RDRAM - Asus has one that appears good) or the Apollo chipset that's out. Normally as I said I'd steer away from any non-Intel chip but the Apollo has been getting good press and right now it's the only other way to get AGP 4X, ATA66 and 133Mhz FSB.

Paul Doherty

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 177670
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : sending e-mail
Private : No

Question : I have send E-mail to germany to friends who are with AOL, i send it in rich text format with nice stationery as background, i also put in some pictures, but they don't seem do be able to open it, is there a way for them to open it?? They get it ok when i send it in plain text but it would be nice if they could also get e-mail that has annimated gifs, etc.etc. any easy way for them to open it?Or is there a special way for me to send it. thaks for your help in that.

Answer : Your problem is due to the very nature of email on the internet. Most email systems (and client programs) do not understand anything but pure text email. This is and has been done mostly for compatibility reasons. Many users on lots of operating systems, some of which use different character sets (for language, or system (ASCII/EBCDIC)) makes for a lot of things to deal with already. Adding "rich text" formatting, HTML, or other added features increases the load on the email systems (and requires that all parts of the email system be compatible with it). Since we can *not* ensure that all transports that may touch or receive our mail can deal with the formats we put on them, we make clients (the email readers we use on the desktop) that are smart enough to allow us to compose an email in whatever way we want (and that the client app allows), attach whatever files we want (binary or ASCII), and format the text, change fonts, bold it, etc. But what happens in the background is a different story. When you hit the SEND button all that formatting, font information, bolding, binary and ASCII file attachments, ALL get encoded into what is known as a UUEncoded format. This is a text-only encoding scheme so it is compatible with any email system in the world. Think of it as a trasnlator - you feed it whatever you want and it finds a way to represent your files and formatting with textual patterns compatible with the ASCII character set. This all used to have to be done by the user, using utilities like UUEncode/UUDecode. To attach a file you would write your note to the person you were sending the file to, UUEncode the thing you wanted to send to them, and then copy and paste that encoded "thing" into the document. It might look like this:

To: Joe Blow
From: Paul Doherty
Subject: That file you wanted...

Hey JB, long time no see! Here's that game demo you've been wanting...

PD

------- begin attachment seesaw.uue ------
as346dg79a78^**&($&ip 98yPG)GLOI*sdhaeYFdh
e45346q3b875(*&65c(*&_(NP*&(*%^G)BBBL&^F$%

many of these lines may be present followed by:
-------- end attachment seesaw.uue -------

Joe at the other end now has to copy and paste the data from the "begin" line to the "end" line and paste it into a UUDecoce utility to get back the original "seesaw.exe" file (assuming that was the original extension). All this conversion is still happening, but it's taking place covertly behind your back by your email client.

Well, after that long tangent, where can the process go wrong now? The email readers themselves. If an email reader cannot handle the encoding format, or more likely, the data resulting from decoding, the result is likely to not be as expected. Many times the email reader will show only the parts it is certain it can display correctly and will save off the rest as appropriate attachments (i.e. *.rtf for rich text format) even if they were originally part of the body of the message itself.

So the short answer (:-) to your question is that it is likely that one of you is generating messages the other's email client can not properly display. AOL being the likely culprit here... ask them what formats their email software can display correctly and use those formats only (you may have to find a new client for the non-AOL machine so it can generate "rich" emails compatible with the AOL email readers needs).

Good luck!

Paul Doherty

Rating : 5
Rating : 5

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 179769
Asker : wmichael
Subject : e-mail and fax solution
Private : Yes

Question : Hello,

My company has about 20 PCs and a NT 4.0 server. There is a telephone specially for fax and sometimes checking e-mail.

Would you please suggest a solution to allow every PC users able to fax out directly from their PCs via the phone line without installing modem in each PC. I would like them to utilize only one modem.

Is there software to check and send mail only? Now, we are using Nestcape and IE, but we do not need our staff to browse in the internet. Just check mail and send is okay. Please suggest. Of course, I would like to use only the same modem, may be installed in the server, to serve all of them.

Best regards,
Michael

Answer : As far as the faxing goes I'd suggest you hook the fax line up to the NT Server (install a good fax/modem if you don't already have one) and then examine this URL for good candidates for the software backend:

http://winfiles.cnet.com/apps/nt/fax.html

You may even be able to setup and share the faxmodem *without* one of these apps - it's been a while since I've tried to share a modem, but I think you can.

Any email client software can be used if you wish to avoid the use of web browsers (sounds like a real sweat shop). Check here for some email-only clients:

http://cws.internet.com/32mail.html

Eudora somes to mind as an old favorite. You can likely find some free ones here too.

If you intend to share the one modem for internet traffic you may want to take a look at Sygate - http://www.sygate.com - it will run as a service on your NT 4 Server and allow all the clients on the network to simultaneously share the internet connection.

Good luck!

Paul Doherty
Rating : 5

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 183978
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : EMS Memory
Private : No

Question : What is EMS Memory and how do can I install
it?Does it also go by the name Expanded Memory Services and how can I install it?

Answer : You are correct - EMS is Expanded Memory (as opposed to Extended Memory (XMS)).

To create EMS (usually only needed for a DOS boot or a Windows 3.1 machine) simply add the following to your C:\CONFIG.SYS file:

DEVICE = C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE
(I'm running Windows 2000 so I can't confirm that it's not in C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND but make sure your path is correct for the location of EMM386.EXE).

By default EMM386.EXE makes EMS memory - with a "NOEMS" at the end it will make XMS.

EMS and XMS are not memory you *install* exactly, they are different schemes for accessing the memory you *already have* under environments that were perhaps not geared to access it. I'm sure you've heard of the infamous 640K limit? Well even in the days that the 640K limit was set the CPUs could address more memory. The first CPU that DOS and it's memory architecture was built around could address 1MB of memory. Most computers had 8K of RAM at the time so no one thought they would need the full 1 Meg... so they divied the 1MB up into 640K for program space and 384K (the upper area) for drivers and such. This 384K "high memory area" was mostly off limits to the user. Programs such as himem.sys and emm386.exe allow you to set your machine up to use that high memory area and memory beyond 1MB (call XMS - Extended Memory).

Paul Doherty

FUQuestion : How would you setup ems memory in windows 95?
That is my current os system and this is for a emulator.

Answer : Windows 95/98 can emulate both types of memory without EMM386.EXE.

If you need EMS or XMS memory inside Windows (say in a DOS box running in Windows) make a shortcut that points to the executable you intend to run (your emulator). Then right-click that new icon and select "Properties". Inside you will find several tabs, one of which is named "Memory". Enter that one to tweak your memory settings for this application.

Paul Doherty
Rating : 4
Rating : 4

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 184514
Asker : lecat_studios
Subject : fdisk/format-win95 won't install
Private : No

Question : History:

homemade 486 with an Award Bios running win95-A that crashed.
1. I fdisked it
2. I have a boot disk with cd drivers, config, autoexec, on it and
mscdex.exe. (I am now almost certian the msdos.sys is not 6.22 )
3. formated c:> with sys /s (I have also tried C:/s/u/c)
4. rebooted with boot disk in A:> & it tells me cd drivers are installed &
names the cd
5> I type D:
6: crying now... I type D: then type cd d:\win95 and the cdrom whirls for
awhile (it is
an MRTP 36x by aopen)

7: crying more. I get this error: CDR101: Not ready reading drive d:>
8. I can either retry, abort, fail. I abort and go back to a:\ & the
cdrom still whirls away.. until I take the cd out. I really need help

Before I redid the fdisk & format
I had tried it another way too. I put my drivers, config, autoexec and
mscdex on c and booted from from a sys disk without the cd related things
on it, the disk being exactly the same as the 1st one (actually I cut and paste to the orginial boot disk for fear of destroying it as nothing seems to be compatible with the computer excet that disk). I then went into
bios and changed the bootup sequence, booting from C instead of A, saved
changes and the rebooted. I was able to get into the D drive and even
read what was on the cd so I do know the windows cd (full version 95A) is working. I tried running D:\win95\setup and it would try to setup then die or prompt me for a command.com. I would answer saying it was in C:\ but it would only accept command.com from the orgiinal boot disk in A:\ drive. Then it will pop me back to the D: prompt while the cdrom spins away.

I tried setup with all the files on c: under a
temp directory where I placed the cab files and that didn't work either. I get alwys end up at the prompt.

I can only get into d:\ when I boot from c:\. With the floopy boot it gives me the cdr101 error.

I have tried other boots. Always receiving an error stating incorrect dos version. I have 6.22 on disk but I can't get it to install due to the same error messsage.

I have also tried attrib -r-h-s *.* on the root oc C:\ and then going into C:\cab\setup which also doesn't work.

My bios is set correctly & the cable is new and properly hooked up - I almsot have my A+ so I thought I knew a little about computers...I have two excedrine left. I hope you can help. Karen

Answer : OK here we go - start fresh with a new blank floppy. If you are not absolutely confident in this CDROM *.SYS driver you are using download the one I'm making available at:

http://members.home.net/iqueue/idecd.sys

It is Universal and will work on ANY IDE CD_ROM drive.

I'll assume you're using the one I've made available for here on - if not then simply exchange the name "idecd.sys" with yours.

OK now since you obviously have access to somebody's working machine (since you posted this question) open a DOS prompt and type the following:

format a: /u
sys a:

Create a config.sys on the floppy with the following:

device=\idecd.sys /d:cdrom001

Create an autoexec.bat on the same floppy with:

\mscdex.exe /d:cdrom001 /l:f

"SYS" the floppy:

sys a:

Now copy the file C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\MSCDEX.EXE to a:\ like this:

copy c:\windows\command\mscdex.exe a:\

Also get the commands "sys.com", "xcopy.exe" & "xcopy32.exe" and put them on the floppy (all these commands are either in \windows or \windows\command)

You may also want to get some other utilities like:

edit
fdisk
format
attrib
deltree

All together this disk *with* utilities from the same rev of the OS makes a handy disk for starting installs like you're doing or general troubleshooting.

Now that the disk is made reboot on your troubled system with it. When it boots it should find the CD-ROM drive and assign it to drive letter F: - access the CD with:

dir F:\

to be sure it works. I'm assuming you have done the fdisk and formatting as you said above so the disk is effectively empty. Now perform the following commands (from the A:> prompt):

sys c:
xcopy f:\win95\*.* c:\win95kit\*.* /e

now take the floppy OUT of the drive and reboot on the hard disk. Then type the following:

echo y | lock c: /off
cd \win95kit
setup

And away you go!

Paul Doherty

FUQuestion : I did all that you said. The directions were wonderful. I couldn't get the disk formated with a:/u so I used a:/s 9i have win98- the paitent is a friends computer)

But when I got to setup I received this message: found a compressed volumne or disk cache utility on your computer. Quit setup and check your compressed drive or remove disk-cache utility.

I have nothing on the drive except the cab files under the directory I made from the instructions. When I fdisked the computer I only had a primary and extended dos partition. In bios I can't see where one might find a disk cache.

I could either quit set-up or continue. I continued and received a few lines of machine language.

I have no more excedriene.

FUQuestion : I went back to setup and also tried the /is & /iq switch but it hung. I also treid the swithches dircetly in the cdrom drive setup and it also hung

Answer : The trouble is your floppy disk has Windows 98's version of DOS on it and you sys'd the hard disk with it, but you're attempting to install Windows 95, an older version, on the same drive. Either find a Windows 95 machine and sys your floppy on *it*, or install Windows 98 and give your friend an upgrade. :-)

Also do not enable the CD-ROM in the C:\CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT - there is no reason to do so if you followed my directions above as the entire kit of files needed for install will be on the hard disk (after booting with the bootable CD-mounting floppy). Leave the config and autoexec empty and boot from the hard disk to start the install.

Paul Doherty

Answer : Don't forget to rate the answers you receive on AskMe.com

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 206123
Asker : cftbox
Subject : Opening files
Private : No

Question : Ther are some files, that when I try to open, a window comes up asking me to select which program to use to open file. This is a drop-down window with several (lots) of programs to choose from. No one I know has the answer, someone suggested I ask the Pros at Xpert.com......so here I am. Is there a program that you can install that would choose the correct program in this situation?
Thanks
Charles

Answer : The problem you are describing comes about because you have no associated handler for the extension file you are double-clicking. Some file associations are made by Windows during installation. Others are made by programs you install. And still others can be made (or changed) by you. For example make a new document as follows:

Right-click your desktop and select New/Text Document from the menu - when the new icon appears type in the name test.ped - a prompt will appear saying that changing a file extension may render it unreadable. Just carry on with the new name (test.ped). Now click the new icon once to select it, then *while holding the SHIFT key* right-click the icon and select the item "Open With", scroll down the list of choices and select Notepad.exe and if you want put a description in the top field like "My text documents with PED extension".

As soon as you click OK and get out of the dialogs you will see the icon change to the Notepad icon. If you double-click the file it will not open in notepad.exe ready for editing.

you can use the same technique to change the association for any file type you want. One thing you may want to make sure of before you start this is:

Open My Computer, select View/Folder Options from the menu, go to the View tab, check the box for "Show all files", and uncheck the one for "Hide file extensions for known file types".

Paul Doherty
Rating : 5
Rating : 5

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 222816
Asker : fabricef67617
Subject : Operating system / Programming
Private : No

Question : I would like to know which tools/language
is most suited to produce scripts/programs which communicate with existing softwares.

Example 1 : I need to update a web site every week , I do it now manually , moving the files via ftp... Should I go for Perl/VB to make an utility transferring the files.
Example 2 : Let say I manually go to an URL,
click on an icon and download a file.
How could I conceive a program which makes this, with which libraries . Is this feasible or difficult ?
More generally, how build a script launching
and communicating with existing binaries?
All this assumed for Operating System=Windows

Answer : One of my favorites for this type of utility is WinBatch, a compilable scripting language that is very full-featured and can do just about anything in Windows that you would ever want to do.

For your example #1 - you can script the transfer of files to or from the FTP server with nothing more than the base FTP utility in Windows 95/98/NT. This utility has the dubious distinction of being the only DOS utility I can find (including others that are installed as part of the TCP/IP protocol suite like telnet.exe and ping.exe) that does *not* honor the normal syntax help switch of "/?" as in "ftp /?" for syntax help. Thus most people are of the (logical) opinion that FTP does not support unattended transfers. But it does. Type "ftp -h" for the syntax help. Here is how it works:

1) Create a text file (I call mine ftp.txt). Make the contents of this file look like the following:

username
password
lcd c:\windows
asc
prompt
hash
mput *.bmp
bye

Then you can either manually run the command (as follows) or you can put the same line in a .BAT file and schedule it to run when you want with Task Scheduler under 95/98 or the 'at' command in Windows NT.

ftp -s:ftp.txt ftp.wherever.com

As for the example #2 - you could use something like WinBatch for this - either to control a web browser and input the proper mouse or keyboard strokes (easier) or to write your own network-ready app that can retrieve items based on a URL (harder).

WinBatch can be had in a trial version (without compiler) at:

http://www.windowware.com

Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Rating : 5

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 228867
Asker : allysonunderland
Subject : Help, fellow Xpert?
Private : No

Question : Knock, knock... can Paul come out and play? Hello! I'm allysonunderland and I, too am an on-site 'Xpert'. I can be found on the 'Jobs & Careers' board under the subject of 'Other'. I'm a C.P.C. (Certified Profes-sional Coder)> I work in the healthcare field, doing diagnostic/procedural coding. I am the #5 'xpert' on my board - regardless of the fact that I'm not 'playing along' - I am in strong oppostion to the competition and I've been DEEPLY hurt by the whole process. Like to know 'why'? I am actually NUMBER 1. I've been a member since 11/20/99. I have a 4.9 rating, 26 asked/25 answered within 10 hours. I lead in EVERY single category. Yet I am only valued by Xpertsite as #5. This is why I will never even try. I came here to be of service. This contest has utterly ruined an experience which I had previously treasured as one of my favorite passtimes. I am anonymous. I will NEVER take any prizes, nor money for this. The best time I ever had here was when I spent 3 LONG DAYS doing research on continuing education for a Prosthodontist in Kuwait. The gratitude and praise I got at the completion were warm and lovely! THE REASON I AM HERE. I will not allow Xpertsite to cheapen that warm moment. I am not judging any others who choose to 'play'. i'm actually here to 'throw you a bone' so-to-speak! Please see my QUESTION #26, which I am forwarding to you! If you satisfy this request I will gladly rate you highly. I took A STAND long ago that I'd attempt to answer any question (hence the inquiry from the Prosthodontist in Kuwait). So far I have received 3 inquiries re: Pentium processors! I found URLs for 2 of them and tried to steer them this way. The third guy was obviously on major hallucinogenics so I fed his fantasy! (check it OUT, it was pretty funny! He wrote my at 5 a.m. and I could smell the booze on his post (which I believe still appears on my site). If it doesn't I told him 'stop, or you'll make the humans suspicious. If you remain calm until the reinforcements arrive, I promise you, the whole east coast will be yours ... chill! Well, this note seems sincere. This time I am escorting my inquisitor directly to you in a stretch limo (edit>copy...edit>paste!)-If the technology will not allow you to repond directly to him, come and see me and I will get the answer to my new friend, a give you a purple heart, to boot!. Offered
in the name of love... ally -^--,+-=<{@

Asked By: ehab_atme
Subject: CD Rewritable
Question (private):
I have a Yamaha Rewritable drive 4416

I'm trying to record data on a Samsung CD-R.
Working on Easy Cd Creator 4.0,it finishes recording and tells me that the cd finished
OK.But when I put the CD-R in my Yamaha
it reads it as an Audio Cd with one track in it. I tried this CD-R on a TEAC 532E -B CD Rom, Gave me the same result. But when I read this CD-R
with a SONY CD ROM,the sony read the CD-R correctly with all the data on it.
I tried more than 10 CD's (Samsung) with different writing speed and 90 % of the CD's are read Audio.

Is this problem from the incopatibility of the samsung CD-R with my Yamaha, or there is something wrong with my SCSI or YAMAHA Rewritble Drive .

NOTE: Other kind of CD-R (TEAC, TDK)are recorded with no problems, Even the first 11
Samsung CD-R are recorded with no problems,
but after this the promlem came on the Samsung CD-R.

Thank You
*********************************************

Answer : I would say stay away from the Samsung CDRs as they appear to be the problem. I had a similar problem long ago with Maxell CDRs - now I won't touch them with a 10-foot pole. There are several colors of dye available on CDRs and not all of them are compatible with all CD-ROM readers. The dyes I'm aware of are blue, green and gold. You may want to note what color dye is on the Samsung's and whether any other CDR of the same dye color can be read in those same drives that have a problem with the Samsungs.

Personally I use TDK and Verbatim only when I can get them.

Paul Doherty

P.S. to allysonunderland
Sorry to hear that you feel badly about the way things are going around here. I too have wondered what is the methodology (algorithm actually) they use to arrive at ratings - is it points? Ranking of answers? Is there some subjective criteria we aren't aware of?
Rating : 5

FUQuestion : A GREAT BIG PURPLE HEART FOR YOU, GOOD EXPERT!!!!! ally --^--,+--=<<@
Declined (Reason) : No question asked - thanks for the Purple Heart... :-)
Rating : 5

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 290130
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : image resolution
Private : No

Question : How close are computer images to a photo? What would be the equivalent resolution in pixels of the following:
a) an original photo
b) a photo reproduced on glossy paper in a magazine
c) a newspaper photo
d) a TV screen image
e) a feature film image
f) a video image ( or would this just be governed by the resolution of your TV screen?
g) how does the resolution of a typical computer monitor compare to a TV screen?

Thanks. I am new to xpertsite, and I don't really know how this works. Do you want me to submit these as separate questions?

Answer : I'm not sure this is really a good question to answer as the whole concept of comparing an analog source with a digitized version of the same is a bit odd (although I must admit I have attempted to deduce the photo-to-PC comparison myself). Well take this with a big grain of salt...

a) Film is hard to define in terms of a computer screen's pixels, but if you forced me to hazard a guess I'd say that normal 35mm cameras and film produce images of about 6000x6000 (depending on ratio) equivalence on a computer screen.

b) Magazines typically print around 1200dpi - so I'd say this is in the neighborhood of 4000x4000

c) A newspaper is necessarily coarser since it's medium (pulp paper) is so limiting. The end result is much lower quality than the plates that are shot in the beginning, which can be rather high res. I would say that the image in the paper (smudging and bleeding aside) would rate about 50dpi or somewhere between 640x480 and 800x600 on a PC.

d) TV signals (in the US) use NTSC formatting and have essentially in the neighborhood of 525 lines of vertical resolution (that is, 525 horizontal lines from top to bottom). The fact that these lines are interlaced tends to weaken this resolution a bit so I'd say TV is at best equivalent to 640x480 on a PC.

e) Feature films are shot on film so we're back to our question a) essentially. If you want to take into account the fact that the image is blown up from so small (the actual film) to so large (the screen the projector uses) it would reduce the effective resolution by a large amount. Large being a relative term since I already estimated film to be 6000x6000 - let's say that projected film would retain effective 1280x1024 resolution.

f) If by "video image" you mean something on a TV then yes. No matter the source (to a degree), if the final result is something a standard TV can display you are limited by that format.

g) A computer monitor favors considerably better than even the best TVs in a few areas:

1) dot pitch - most TVs have .38 or higher effective dot pitch. Almost any monitor made in the last 7 years has a dot pitch of .28 or less.

2) Signal quality - Most TVs use composite inputs (RCA jacks) and the result of mashing all the requisite signals needed to produce a TV picture onto one cable results in interference between parts of the signal. Computer monitors have shielded 15-pin (or BNC) VGA cables to run each signal across on it's own line, maintaining high quality to the computer screen.

3) Monitors are designed to be seen from 6-24 inches away, and to resolve small items like tiny text and graphics. TVs are using a 50-year old broadcast standard and are mean to be seen from multiple feet away. Add to this the fact that this same 50-year old signal that started life on 5" and 9" TV tubes is now being asked to dispay on gargantuan 60" big screen TVs and you can see why it's a good thing that HDTV is on it's way in...

Paul Doherty

Rating : 5

FUQuestion : Thanks - here are a few more questions:

a) If magazines print at 1200 dpi - or approx. 4000x4000, is it fair to say that screen technology is quite a bit behind printer or scanner technology? (After all, isn't it possible to print at 1200 dpi, while a decent screen would be 1024 x768?)

b) If a newspaper photo is 50 dpi, why do you think the photos I print at 300 dpi on my printer look worse? (Source: printing off the internet or making a copy at 300 dpi). I think I'm confused by the comparison between dpi and pixels.

c) What do you think the equivalence in dpi is of a 1024x768 screen?

d) What definition is HDTV supposed to give?

e) What definition do DVD's give - or is that limited by the screen you play them on?

Answer : a) Yes and no. Display on a monitor is more "forgiving" than printing is. Yes since it is much higher resolution than the computer screen. Photographic plates for printing do not have the inherent limit on resolution a computer does, as a computer has to map out every location on-screen in video RAM and then has to display on the limited resolving power of a CRT.

b) It's not been my experience that newspaper color pictures beat those that I print on my color printer (Epson Stylus Photo 700). It could be your source material was less than 300dpi (if you weren't using a flatbed scanner, for instance). Or your printer may not be up to the task. Some of my printouts that I've printed from this 249.00 Epson and framed (and the source images were obtained completely digitally with an Olympus D320 digital camera at 1024x768) have been mistaken for real photographs.

c) A 1024x768 computer screen is probably about 50-60 dpi - I don't know the exact formula so I can't truly know.

d) HDTV's maximum resolution is 1920x1080 (interlaced) though some experts do not believe that most HDTV televisions will truly display this resolution (meaning they'll show it but they lack a quantity of pixels to resolve it completely).

e) DVD is around 720x480 resolution as compared to 240x480 for VHS tape.

Paul Doherty

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 294333
Asker : zz
Subject : changing IP adress
Private : Yes

Question : Can I change IP address on my computer using command prompt?If not can I make a program that will enable me to do that?
Thanks,
zorica@ibis.co.yu

Need More Information : What operating system are you wishing to change the IP from command-line? I'll assume a variant of Windows - in which case the short answer is no, if you want to know what the new address is going to be. If you want to renew a DHCP address you can first release the current one with:

winipcfg /release_all

and then obtain a new one with:

winipcfg /renew_all

Paul Doherty

FUQuestion : winnt4.0
Can I write a program that changes IP address

FUQuestion : Is there any utility or an API that can do that. The reason I want to do this is because I have about 100 computers that need to have different IP addresses. What I would like to do is to change their IP addreses without going from one computer to another.

Need More Information : A couple of questions:

1) Are the computers to be changed all running Windows NT 4 Workstation?

2) Are their addresses being obtained with DHCP or are they static?

FUQuestion : 1)yes
2)both (I have several sites with different networks, somewhere computers have static IP addreses and somewhere they use DHCP)

Answer : OK - for the NT machines that use DHCP you can have them run:

ipconfig /release

ipconfig /renew

to obtain a new address. As for the ones with static addresses I found some info:

Here is source code in Pascal to change the IP address of a Windows NT machine. Pay particular attention to the noted locations in the registry and the rundll32.exe references.

http://x26.deja.com/getdoc.xp?AN=326238034&CONTEXT=952706897.1391788089&hitnum=6

Paul Doherty

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 295450
Asker : dweikle
Subject : New CNE--Where do I start?
Private : Yes

Question : Recently received CNE certification (CNE3 & CNE4). Need experience. Advice from good CNE(s) on how to gain experience would be appreciated. Test scores were excellent; need real world work experience. Haven't started job hunting yet; want to be sure of what I'm looking for.

Where would you start?

Answer : Well it goe