Category : PCs (archive 3)

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

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QAId : 2294376
Asker : ab11
Subject : Temp internet files
Private : No

Question : Thanks for reading my request.
I am runnning win 98 I have gone to internet exlpoorer 5.1 ,from there did the following internet options advance and have ckecked empty temp.internet files folder when browser is closed. then clicked ok. After leaveing the browser I have checked but the files are still there and idea why. Thought this would delete the files for me but guess not.
thanks for any help yu can offer
Alan

Need More Information : Where are you still seeing the temporary files at after exiting the browser?

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

FUQuestion : After I leave the browser i go to explorer and look at temp internet files and they are still there they were not deleted. Hope this answeres you question and thanks kor reply
Alan

Answer : Well I wanted the specific directory you were seeing the files in...

the directory I believe it uses is:

C:\WINDOWS\TEMPORARY INTERNET FILES

This is one of Windows' "special" folders (like "My Documents") and as such you can;t trust what you see there (I just discovered myself). If you open your My Computer and open the C: drive and drill down to that directory above you will see loads of cookies and other files (graphics, HTML files, etc). If, however, you view this directory from a DOS prompt there is next to nothing in there! I'm not really sure why this is happening - I see reference to it all over the net - one thing you can do:

While in IE empty the folder from Tools/Internet Options/Delete Files

Also perhaps under the "Settings" button you could set to 0 MB for usage for temp files to prevent their ever being created...

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

Rating : 5

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QAId : 2294502
Asker : subirp
Subject : atm vs ethernet card
Private : No

Question :
I just started working in a hp-ux environment(hp9000). I noticed by doing "lanscan", I see an atm01 card and
a lan01 and both are up. I know atm is suppose to be faster than lan01 card but how do I know
which one is being used to communicate with
other servers in the network ?
Why is the purpose of 2 cards on the network ?
Which one does the network use?
How fast in atm compared to lan01 card ?
Thanks,

Answer : Usually a machine has two NICs to enable it to be on two networks at once. this can be done for a few reasons:

1) A backbone - the ATM may very well be the server's connection to the main backbone of your network, and the other care may connect it to a different network (perhaps the client community at large?)

2) An isolated backup network - keeping servers backup traffic off the main LAN

3) The server may be being used a a router.

I'm not an HP person but you'll need to get the IP addresses being used by each card and then you can tell (from Windows machines with netstat -a) which card is being used by establishing, say, a telnet or ftp session to that server and seeing which IP address is being used. You may be able to get the HP machine's IP addresses with an "ifconfig" command (like "ifconfig dev1" where "dev1" is the device name of the one you want info on - like "eth0").

ATM on LANs is limited to 25 or 155Mbps, comparing well to 10Mb and 100Mb Ethernet. But considering that 1000Mb (Gigabit) Ethernet is available and not terribly expensive (like ATM) it's not fair to say that ATM is faster than the other as you may have Gigabit running there already.

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

Rating : 5

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QAId : 2303480
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : file extensions
Private : No

Question : I'm working with my scanner and understand the following extensions: JPEG, GIF, TIFF. Can you define a PCX file and how it is most useful?

Answer : PCX is just another (compressed) graphics file format like the others. Choose whichever one suits your needs. Small size files needed? JPG. Full color depth and quality? TIFF/PCX. Only need 256 colors and want a smaller file with no lossy compression? GIF.

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

Rating : 4

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QAId : 2314806
Asker : erict
Subject : Weird Novell Server Behavior
Private : No

Question : I am an MCSE but know nothing about Novell servers. I have been successful in the past in setting up NT and Win2k servers alongside Novell without causing any disturbances.

However, recently, I ran into a situation where attempting to plug in a server or workstation would cause the workstations to lose communication with the Novell server -- the users then lose any unsaved data. Sometimes, the server won't be visible to anyone until the new workstation connected into the network is physically disconnected from the network.

Is there something that would cause a Novell server to act such a way that this symptom would sohw up?

Or does it suggest problems with the cabling/hub?

The network has been characterized as stable and reliable until I tried adding workstations, and I am thoroughly puzzled on how to proceed.

Please let me know what you think.

Thanks.

Answer : Without more information of your topology, protocols, or the version of Netware installed, I would suggest that it sounds like a workstation being plugged in either has:

A) A statically-assigned IP adrress that conflicts with the Novell server's IP address.

OR

B) By some snafu you have a NIC that has an identical MAC address to another machine on your network. This shouldn't be possible (unless people on this network have, in the past, taken advantage of the ability of some newer servers to remap this hard-coded address).

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

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QAId : 2318666
Asker : p2mp385
Subject : shutdown
Private : No

Question : everytime i shutdow my computer it restarts, why does it do this? thanks for your help

Answer : Try disabling "Fast Shutdown":

Start/Run/msconfig (hit ENTER)

Under the General tab, select the Advanced button and check the "Disable fast shutdown" box.

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

Rating : 5

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QAId : 2322588
Asker : mk_tran1149
Subject : save image
Private : No

Question : I want to save an image as jpeg but I have only bitmap in box to select , how can I have jpeg ? thanks.

Answer : Grab yourself a program that can convert from one image format to another - then save initially as BMP, open it in this new program and save in whatever format you need it in.

Here's some image converters:

http://winfiles.cnet.com/apps/98/graph-editors.html

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

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QAId : 2336812
Asker : ka8cut
Subject : disconnection
Private : No

Question : Everytime I send or receive with Microsoft Outlook Express, my computer disconnects. My ISP (Triton) hasn't been able to help.

Answer : Only things I can suggest you look at that may cause this:

1) Check in Outlook Express under Tools/Accounts/Mail tab/select your mail account in the list/click Properties at the right/Connection tab

Inside here see if you perhaps have more than one Dial-Up Networking entry in the drop-down box. If so and the one connected is *not* the one you use when dialing in initially (even though they call the same place) this could be why you're disconnecting and reconnecting.

2) Also inside Outlook Express go to Tools/Options and check the General and Connection tabs for similar information.

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

Rating : 5
Rating : 5

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QAId : 2344088
Asker : sw642
Subject : batch files
Private : No

Question : I'm new at this and appreciate any help I can get. I'm sure the solution is simple, I just don't it or where to find it. I created a batch file to start several programs at once. When I click the icon, the dos window opens and starts running the apps. The dos window stays open until I close. I would like it to open, start the programs, and then close the window automatically.

Thanks a Batch, Bill

Answer : Try putting

exit

as the last line of the BAT file...

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

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QAId : 2345791
Asker : darkfire10@...
Subject : cd erasing
Private : No

Question : Here is the problem.. I have a program that turns mp3's into music for audio cd's, then it burns it to the cd, so it can be played from a regular cd. Well I did that with one song to test it, and it work. But now I can't put anything more song's or anything on the cd anymore, when I try to it say's it's not a read/write cd, that it is a audio cd. I even tried the program for eraseing the cd's that came with the computer. My question is can I get a program somewhere that will erase the cd, or format it back so I can write back to the cd. Thanks in advance....

Answer : An audio CD is a "burn-once" affair. For an standard audio player in your car or home to recognize any disk as containing audio the audio "session" must be closed, meaning no further data writing to the disk is possible. When building a data CD more than one session can be made (by selecting "close session but leave CD open") but not with audio - with audio you must choose all the tracks you want on the disk from the beginning and burn them all at once.

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

FUQuestion : Is it possible to erase the cd? Or get something to do it???

Answer : No, it is not possible to erase the CD for the reasons I mentioned above. A CDR can have multiple sessions (meaning you could fill up the rest of the unused space) *if* it was not created as an audio CD. Audio CDs are terminated at the end of the audio data so "dumb" players like your car and home stereo can play them. That CD is shot - go buy some more...

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

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QAId : 2362004
Asker : lotusblossom2@...
Subject : CNA retention programs
Private : No

Question : How do you establish a program for retention of CNAs?

Need More Information : Do you mean a program to help CNAs maintain their certifications, or one that helps you, as an employer, keep CNAs on staff?

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

FUQuestion : I mean retaining them as employees on my staff. Thank You.

Answer : As a (double)CNA/CNE myself I would like for an employer who wants to keep me to provide study materials and testing fees to help me maintain my certification status. Study materials here can be things like CBTs, practice tests, or Novell courses at the training facilities in your area. If needed as an additional incentive you could offer bonuses to those employees who successfully complete their CNA-renewal tests, although this may be overkill. I am, however, a fan of companies recognizing the increased value of an employee in the form of raises upon initial *completion* of certifications (especially the higher-level CNE/MCSE/CCIE certifications) as these require a large investment of time and effort on the part of the certified individual.

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

Answer : One more thing - one thing that is sure to breed loyalty to a company in a certified-individual's eyes:

Not only help them keep the certifications they *have*, but help them attain *new* ones relevant to their work. This growth is key to their survival and success in the marketplace, and in turn you will be fostering loyalty and get a more highly-skilled worker in the process. And keep the challenges at work coming until they cry "Uncle" :-)

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

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QAId : 2367030
Asker : nvandersteen
Subject : system reboot
Private : No

Question : Paul,
I have the problem that every time I play a video media file (mpeg, avi etc) it reboots my system. I am running win 98.
Any suggestions?
Thanking you
Nigel

Answer : First try playing it with an *alternate* utility (other than the registered handler). Download QuickTime from http://www.apple.com or RealPlayer from http://www.real.com.

If it still occurs using different utilities then go get the latest video and audio drivers for your machine.

http://www.winfiles.com/drivers

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

Rating : 4

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QAId : 2368044
Asker : ruben_de_souza@...
Subject : .scn file?
Private : No

Question : what is a *.scn file?

Thanks,
Ruben

Answer : It's apparently a TruSpace2 scene file... this is a 3D modeling application.

http://www.caligari.com/

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

Rating : 5

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QAId : 2368487
Asker : mds918
Subject : Booting problems
Private : No

Question : When I boot my computer i always get a error message that says problem installing protocol # 2 error 254. Could you help me out with this?

Answer : Sounds like some setup issues in the Network control panel. Try (noting the settings first!) removing all protocols *except* TCP/IP and see if the messages go away. (Also ensure you have only adapters in there that truly exist on your machine (i.e. no "double entries" of the same adapter)).

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

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QAId : 2371532
Asker : GrahamChap
Subject : file conversion
Private : No

Question : Paul

Do you know of any programs to do file conversions, TRS80 DOSPLUS format to the IBMPC format?

I have some old files created on a word processor program called NewWord which ran on DosPlus operating system.

Would be grateful for info.

regards

graham
graham@somerleyton-green.co.uk

Answer : You may not find exactly what you need here but you'll certainly find *something* of value for the TRS-80...

http://www.trs-80.com/trs80-e.htm

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

Rating : 4

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QAId : 2375734
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : PGP 6.0.2 for solaris
Private : No

Question : I would like to ask you if you know a place I can download this from.. It looks like I cannot seem to find it anywhere.. Help please :-)

Thanx,
Margo

mtyrgalo@yahoo.com

Answer : I think I've found what you need...

http://web.mit.edu/network/pgp.html

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

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QAId : 2379228
Asker : tobielaws
Subject : "boot sector virus dropper"
Private : Yes

Question : hello paul,
i am trying to find out what this means because my computer has like 13 of them. i also need to find a program i can upload from the web that will disinfect these files, as they are needed.

I am not a computer whiz, but i do know a bit about this and that, and i have no idea where I got these bugs from...can you help?
thanks,
tobie
tobielaws@hotmail.com

Need More Information : Where are you getting the text "boot sector virus dropper"? Does the virus kick up taunting messages?

Try http://www.sarc.com - this is Symantec's Anti-Virus Research Center.

Have you tried running any anti-virus utilities yet?

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

FUQuestion : My boyfriend has 2 years of college regarding computers, and he wasn't even sure what this "boot sector virus dropper" was. Here's what I explained to him. I have a chat program called Pirch (www.pirch.com) and while chatting in a room I recieved a message from one of the "irc bots" (automatic message). Here is the message:

[09:01] services.newnet.net:voy-sub7 adding KLINE for ~*@142.176.111.89 expiring in +12 hours. (Your system is infected with the Sub7 trojan -- For help removing it, please visit www.hackfix.org/subseven)

I went to the website and the only thing I could decipher was that I needed to upload something from the web to disinfect my files. So thats when I freaked out and called my b/f...he brought home the F-prot disc and ran an extensive scan of every single file on this computer. There were four not-needed files correpted, and we deleted those. Then he got the updated F-prot from the web and thats when we found the 12 or 13 files that, "...could be a boot sector virus dropper..." It said that the files could not be disinfected unless there was a diagnosis.
There aren't any taunting messages, and there was no other place where this term was shown, except during the updated F-prot scan.
The only odd things that the computer has been doing is like sometimes it functions as if its wading through mud: goes through very s-l-o-w patches where nothing seems to work without taking much longer than normal. Also (though this happened once or twice before I found this out; and may be something else entirely) it just reboots, by itself.

I hope some of this is more clarifying. Thanks for helping me!
TobieLaws@hotmail.com

FUQuestion : Hallo again Paul,
I forgot to add, I did try the free online scan on www.jrwhipple.com/freev and it revealed nothing, though I do not know how effective that particular program is.
Thanks again.
tobielaws@hotmail.com

Answer : Download this program to another machine and extract it to a floppy, write-protect the floppy and then run it from the floppy on the infected machine (my steps, not theirs - may not work this way but this is to ensure that the cleaner doesn't get infected, too):

http://www.uha1.com/win/trojan/tds-2.zip

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

Rating : 5

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QAId : 2405296
Asker : w_bressler
Subject : system crash
Private : No

Question : I have crashed my system after having loaded two operating systems and then going into ms-dos and mistakenly creating an UNDEFINED Logical Drive on the extended partition. I can't delete the partition because there's a logical drive on it, and I can't delete the drive because it wasn't defined. I can't even get the Quick Restore disks to work. Have I ruined the Master Boot Record or something? Can it be repaired? Can I do the repair myself? Please Help.

Need More Information : What happens? Does the system boot at all? If it does/does not what do you see? Can you boot from a floppy and then do a:

dir c:\

If so, what do you there?

To be able to get rid of an extended partition (if that is your desire) you must first delete any logical drives defined within it. Open fdisk and select the delete option, then the logical drive option. After any and all of those are gone you can select delete again from the main menu and delete the extended partition.

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

FUQuestion : I can boot from a floppy, however, I cannot do a Reinstall of either Windows or Linux. When I did an "fdisk" under a DOS boot floppy I can see that I have two DOS partitions; one a primary and the other an Extended. I cannot delete the extended partition because it has a drive on it which is UNDEFINED, and I cannot Reinstall either of the OS's because when I try to reinstall Windows, it only goes so far and then it hangs. If I try to reinstall Linux, I get an error message saying that there is not enough disk space for the install. My OS's are trapped in there! I even did a "Format" under DOS floppy and when I returned (rebotted with the floppy) I STILL had two DOS partitions. So! I can't erase the data, and I can't reinstall it. God! This is scary!

Answer : Put this utility on the floppy and run it after booting from the floppy to get rid of the partitions.

ftp://ftp.ncd.com/pub/ncd/Archive/WinCenter/Utilities/delpart.exe

Be warned! This utility *will* remove the partitions if you make it do so - afterwards you will have no disk partitions defined and will need to reboot on the floppy and use fdisk to setup your DOS partitions. Be sure your boot floppy is setup to be able to load drivers so you can see your CD-ROM - you can get a driver from my web site - direct download is:

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

To add this functionality to your boot floppy make a CONFIG.SYS (or edit the existing one) and add the lines:

device=\himem.sys
device=\idecd.sys /d:mscd01

(be sure and copy himem.sys and the other files I have in the list below to the disk also)

Now edit (or create) the AUTOEXEC.BAT on the floppy to contain:

\mscdex.exe /d:mscd01 /l:f
\smartdrv.exe /n c+ f 8192 8192

OK now copy the following files to the floppy (these files can be found under \WINDOWS or \WINDOWS\COMMAND on a 95/98 system):

mscdex.exe
himem.sys
smartdrv.exe
idecd.sys (the one from my web page)
xcopy.exe
xcopy32.exe
edit.com
fdisk.exe
format.com
attrib.exe
sys.com

Test the floppy to be sure it loads the CD-ROM drivers correctly. To test put a CD in and do a DIR F: after booting from the floppy disk.

Aslo note that when setting up the partitions only setup the ones you intend to use for DOS - likely just the primary partition only. Do NOT create an extended partition. For example, say you have a 10GB hard drive and you want to use 7GB for Windows and 3GB for Linux. Use fdisk to create a 7GB primary partition (answer Yes when you first load fdisk about whether to enable support for large drives) and make it active. Leave the other 3GB alone - Linux will allow you to create a new partition of that free space during install.

After you make the primary DOS partition exit fdisk, reboot on the floppy again and execute these commands:

a:
format c: /autotest
sys c:
md c:\win98kit
xcopy f:\win98\*.* c:\win98kit\*.* /e

(you'll need the Windows 98 CD in the drive for the last command above)

Now reboot on the hard disk (remove floppy and CD) and do the following to start installing Windows:

cd \win98kit
lock c: /off
(answer Yes)
setup

Have fun!
--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

Question : I have a set of 10 CD ROM medical teaching programs. These require the CDs to run the program once installed on the hard drive. The files are primarily graphic and some text. Since I travel a lot, I've found lugging these around somewhat annoying. Is there any way I could load the software on to the hard drive and leave the actual discs at home?

I have a Fujitsu S-4542 P3600, 256MB, 20GB.

Thanks

Answer : You could try copying the entires CDs to subdirectories on the hard disk like:

C:\CD1
C:\CD2
C:\CD3
etc...

Then you can use a program like FAKECD.EXE to make the directory for the one you want to run appear as a CD-ROM drive to Windows. Get fakecd.exe here:

ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/.3/simtelnet/msdos/cdrom/fakecd.zip

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

Rating : 5

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QAId : 2467053
Asker : mds918
Subject : Error Messages
Private : Yes

Question : If i allow my comp to sit idle for about a minute or so is always has this error message: EXPLORER caused an invalid page fault in
module KERNEL32.DLL at 015f:bff9d709.
Registers:
EAX=c00300ec CS=015f EIP=bff9d709 EFLGS=00010216
EBX=0065ffbc SS=0167 ESP=0061ff18 EBP=006201b4
ECX=00000000 DS=0167 ESI=00000000 FS=6367
EDX=bff76859 ES=0167 EDI=bff79050 GS=0000
Bytes at CS:EIP:
53 8b 15 dc 9c fc bf 56 89 4d e4 57 89 4d dc 89 ....

Can you help me out with This? Thanks. MDS.

Answer : The best thing to do is to start updating either Windows itself (through Start/Windows Update) or the drivers for your video/audio devices. Many times these types of crashes can be attributed to bad video drivers. Check here for the manufacturer of your video card to get the latest drivers:

http://winfiles.cnet.com/drivers/video.html

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

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QAId : 2501675
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : monitor
Private : No

Question : It is a real problem!
After Format c:
I put the start up (after all drivers, boot etc.) and I get the possibility for d:
But when I put the CD, that wasn't the full version Win98 … So I close the computer until I get the full version from my friend or to get the Win 95 and then use this version.
But after I close the computer I took of the screen to connect it to the other computer. After I get the Win 95 I open the old computer (the screen wasn't connected). He make 3 beeps and he work. But I close it like it is and I connect the screen. After that every time I start the computer he make 3 beeps and then work and the start up floppy is accepted and the CD is accepted … But no screen. The computer work, but the screen is black.
I remember before format c: , when it was on Win 98, when I change the screen, (to give it the big screen) I get a message, that the computer detect a new monitor and asking me the " ok ". But know it seems that he lost the connection with each of the screens. The small screen like the big screen are black and the computer is working, and have no program to detect any screen. And I have no communication with the computer without screen.
Can you help me?
A second question.
(My new mouse it start to be … I should try move it again and again until I can get the arrow where I want. Do you thing I can fixe it?)

Answer : You may have either:

1) dislodged the video board when plugging and unplugging the monitor cable - to verify that this is not the problem turn off the machine and UNPLUG it from the poer cable. Then open the machine and take out and reinsert the video card, making sure to screw it down securely. Then try booting again.

2) Video board may have been destroyed by your plugging and unplugging the video cable. I find #1 to be a more likely situation but destroying a card this way is not unheard of.

As for your mouse you likely have some dirt built up on the rollers inside. This happens over time as skin oils are picked up by the mouse ball and transferred to the rollers. then the now-oily rollers pickup any and all dirt and dust from your mousepad and begin to form lines of gunk across each roller. Take your mouseball out and look at each roller - you will likely see a thin line running in the middle of each - that is the gunk I'm referring to - take a flat-head screwdriver or other small instrument and GENTLY scrape sideways against the gunk line and take all of it off. You will find your mouse will roll like new again.

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

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QAId : 2511122
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : building a computer
Private : Yes

Question : I'm making some upgrades to my system but I have to buy a new motherboard because my old one doesn't support some of the things I want. My question is that can I take my hard drive from my old system and use it on the other motherboard so I don't lose all of the saved information?

thanks for your time

Answer : Yes and no... yes the data will be there, but no the OS won;t be happy and may even not boot properly (since you've just uprooted everything it knows about your hardware). Best bet is to archive the things you know you want to keep off to floppies, ZIP disks, CDRs, whatever and plan on doing a clean install of whatever OS you're using once the new motherboard is installed. If you can't do that you can do the next best thing:

1) make a boot floppy (make saure it loads CD-ROM drivers so you can access the CD and put the tools you'll need on it (fdisk,format,deltree, etc))

2) Boot off of it and nuke the installed OS directory

example:

deltree c:\windows

3) Reinstall the OS

All app directories will still exist so no saved data will be lost. However you may find that after you reestablish shortcuts to those apps they don't work anymore and may need a reinstall *to the same dir they are in now*. None of this is for the faint of heart so if this is not clear you may want to hire someone who does this for a living.

Good luck...

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

Rating : 4

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QAId : 2532214
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : monitor
Private : No

Question : It is a real problem!
A small story before and after the problem and you will know everything.
After Format c:
I put the start up (after all drivers, boot etc.) and I get the possibility for d:
But when I put the CD, that wasn't the full version Win98 … So I close the computer until I get the full version from my friend or to get the Win 95 and then use this version.
But after I close the computer I took of the screen to connect it to the other computer. After I get the Win 95 I open the old computer (the screen wasn't connected). The computer tried to find the screen, was no screen so it makes 3 beeps and starts to work without screen. So I close it, I connect the monitor, and when and each time I open the computer it try to find the screen (even its connected) and for him the screen doesn’t exist. It makes its 3 beeps and starts working. (With a black screen. Absolutely noting, like it was no connection at all.
I remember before format c: , when it was on Win 98, when I change the screen, (to give it the big monitor) I get a message, that the computer detect a new monitor and asking me the " ok ". But know it seems that he lost the program for each of the screens. The small screen like the big screen are black but the computer is working, and have no program to detect any screen. And I have no communication with the computer without screen.
Can you help me?
A second question.
(My new mouse it start to be … I should try move it again and again until I can get the arrow where I want. Do you thing I can fixe it?)

Answer : Question #1

You very likely did one of two things when you unplugged, and then replugged, your monitor cable.

A) You dislodged your video card (likely). To test for this open the case with the power off and the power cable disconnected. Reseat the video card and ensure it is screwed firmly in place. Then try the system again.

B) You fried the video card or monitor by plugging and unplugging it. To check move the monitor back to the other system and see if it still works. If it does see #1 above to verify the vide card.

If after this you still get no video then you may have damaged the motherboard.

Question #2

Clean the mouse - open the bottom, take out the ball, and clean the rollers inside the mouse of gunk.

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

Rating : 5

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QAId : 2571900
Asker : h_lebron
Subject : computer file
Private : No

Question : What is a file,how is organize,and how many types of file are?

Answer : A file is simply the smallest unit of organization from the operating system's perspective. A file can be a picture, a binary executable file, or a text document consisting of a single character (with the necessary header information). A file is composed of the data the user (or program) needs, plus a "wrapper" of sorts to identify the file format, length of the data portions, etc. The file format used when storing files differs from program to program - for example Microsoft Word uses it's own ".DOC" format. If you have another word processor that can't handle that file format then you will not be able to get at the data in that file (since this program does not know how to interpret the layout of the file format).

As for how many file types there are, that's an open question as anyone who cares to can generate a new way to store the same information, give it a name (extension) and there's another one to add to the list. Here's a sample of the file formats in existence (doubtful it's totally inclusive):

http://www.elfqrin.com/docs/hakref/file_formats.html

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

Rating : 4

FUQuestion : I need to know more information about how a file is organized.

Need More Information : Well you will have to pick a particular file format you want to know more about, and then search up the details. For example, if I wanted to know about the file format JPG I could get some info by popping:

jpg file format specifications

into http://www.google.com and get this:

http://www.google.com/search?q=jpg+file+format+specifications

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

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QAId : 2610429
Asker : EvilGt58
Subject : help!
Private : No

Question : Hi Paul,
Two questions, first, I seem to be getting errors on my hard drive frequently, as defrag won't run and scandisk is required to fix them- which it does. Why is this? I haven't had this problem until recently. I defrag daily at least, and scandisk every night. I've had OCCASIONAL errors, of course, but this is every time.
Second...I've been told to set my virtual memory settings (both min and max) to about twice my ram. Windows is managing them right now, and when I tried to change the settings windows was so against the very idea that it scared me off. Your opinion?
Apparently this is supposed to minimize fragmentation.
I'm running Win98 on an AMD Athlon 700 with 256 megs of ram. I'm not satisfied with the performance lately...internet-wise. I get crashes (freezes) frequently, and can't figure out why. My connection speed is usually about 48K.
Please help! I'm not computer illiterate, but I'm no programmer either, so keep it moderate or I'll be lost!

Thanks much,

Jamie

Answer : You sound like you have one of two things: bad hardware (as in compatible) or bad drivers at some level.

As for the hard disk, it may very well be developing bad sectors and may need replacement soon. It's OK to scandisk every coupld of days but defragging daily is overkill.

Yes, setting the swap space manually is a good idea, but unless you have less than 128MB of RAM I would only set it equal to your RAM amount (ex 128MB of RAM, 128MB of swap). This indeed does reduce fragmentation *if* you do this:

1) Set swap min and max both to 0 (zero)
2) Reboot the machine and do a full defrag
3) Set swap to final min/max values (128MB)
4) Reboot

Doing this will allow for all data to be organized and made contiguous *before* defining the swap space (which the Windows defragger cannot move once in place, fragmented or not). This guarantees your swap space will be:

1) Fixed in size (does not grow/shrink dynamically)
2) Contiguous

As for your crashes, again I will point to driver issues. My bet is your system has a WinModem of sorts (evil) and you would do best by replacing it with a nice external unit that plugs into your serial port. This has several benefits:

1) Less load on the CPU
2) No drivers to complicater your OS environment and create instability
3) Status lights and power switch so resetting the modem does not require rebooting the computer
4) One more expansion slot available inside - also less heat generated inside the case equals longer life
5) You can sell it to anyone (Mac, PC, UNIX, Amiga, etc) since the serial port is a standard.

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

FUQuestion : Paul,

Need More Information : It looks like you tried to add something as a follow-up question but it's didn't work (got just "Paul," - can you try again?
Rating : 5

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QAId : 2612086
Asker : abusaud51
Subject : p
Private : Yes

Question : Hello, I would like you to give me a list of no-proxy sites so that I can bypass the proxy I'm using.
I need your help!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks.
Abdulazeez

Answer : Here you go - pop in your URL you want right here:

http://www.anonymizer.com/

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

Rating : 5

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QAId : 2624478
Asker : Kaotic1
Subject : NT4 Server upgrade to Win2K Workstation
Private : No

Question : Got NT4 Server on a 8.4GB harddrive, partitioned to 4GB FAT16 (C:), and the rest with NTFS (D:).

We want to upgrade to Win2K Server, retaining all settings, but the C: drive is really outta disk space.

We've got a 20GB drive waiting for surgery (waiting to become the single primary drive).

I tried Norton Ghost Personal Edition, but apparently, it doesn't ghost NT servers. The new drive does not bootup. No error messages, just a single blinking cursor.

Any suggestions on how to resolve this?
Thanks ahead!

FUQuestion : Sorry, my auto-complete "feature" in IE seems to have input the wrong subject for this question. The correct subject is:

"NT4 server upgrade to Win2K server"

Hope to hear from you soon,
Kao

Answer : Ensure that you chose to ghost the whole disk and not just the first (FAT) partition.

Also if the Personal version doesn't support NTFS perhaps the Enterprise one does (almost certainly does):

http://enterprisesecurity.symantec.com/content/productlink.cfm?PID=na&PromoCode=Trialware

Your best bet for this upgrade *is* to duplicate to the new drive and then boot from it and start your install (also gives you a perfect backup (the original disk) if the the install fails to turn out as you desire).

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

Rating : 4

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QAId : 2628455
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : file transfers
Private : No

Question : When I first began downloading files from the net I mistakenly sent them to A drive instead of the Word Document. As I sent them to C from A, I then edit them in good format - deleted unwanted language. After editing I tried to send them back to A for storage. I was able to send most of them to A, however I ran into a problem with some. I received a dialog box with "error copying file" and
the statement in the box:
Cannot create or replace _________: The directory or file cannot be created

Now, what is the sofware problem (or, hardware possibly)that will not permit me to transfer edited files back to A?
FYI, I am basically computer illiterate.
I know practically nothing about the technical workings. Could I have prevented this problem if I had sent net files directly to C drive to Word Document? Thanks in advance!

Answer : If it's not the problem of having a file by the same name (doesn't appear that this is the problem since you are not being asked to overwrite the existing file) I'd say try another floppy. The floppy disk itself may be bad. Take a new blank and format it then copy the same files to it.

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

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QAId : 2629549
Asker : cindy_lens
Subject : access NT from home
Private : No

Question : Hi

I am able to telnet to UNIX machine at work from home. Is it possible to access Windows NT at work from home? If it is possible, how can I do it?

Thanks
Cindy

Answer : That all depends on your network connection. Assuming you have an open internet connection a nice tool for remote-control (telnet is not fully-functional for NT admin) is either of these:

Free:
http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/

Pay:
http://www.remotelyanywhere.com

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

Rating : 5

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QAId : 2636826
Asker : dave4500
Subject : Graphics
Private : Yes

Question : Hi
My computer screen on my desktop and everything else is suddenly very large. My desktop picture can't even show what it is because it is distorted. I have gone into control panel and then to display and then to settings to try to change the pixels but it will not let me. It is at 640 pixel. Don't even remember if that is what it usually is. Is there something else I can do.
Thanks
Dave

Answer : Well first jack the resolution up (this may be the only problem). Right-click an empty area of the desktop and select Properties. Then click the Settings tab and move the slider from 640x480 to 800x600 and then click Apply. If that isn't right try 1024x768 in the same way. It sounds like a game or something set your res down and crashed, not putting you back where you were originally.

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of

Question : Many of my computer games have stopped running altogether because of directx 7.0 problem I am having. I go start> run> dxdiag > DirectX Diagnostic Tool > Music Tab > bottom of windows under notes > Problems were found in the system registry. Details are available in the saved text file. You should reinstall DirectX

First of all how do I access the saved text file the error message refers to? How do I reinstall DirectX? I have downloaded the DirectX 7.0 setup program but when I execute it I get:
DirectX setup has determined that a newer version of DirectX is already installed. No installation was necessary.
It does not overwrite the DirectX that is already installed and my problem thus persists. I have tried control panel> add remove programs but DirectX is not listed, so I can't uninstall it. I understand that Microsoft has DirectX 7.0a but I have heard bad things about it and do not wish to upgrade to it. I want to uninstall DirectX 7.0 from my machine since it is not working and since the DirectX Diagnostic Tool suggests I do, so that I can reinstall a fresh copy of DirectX. I also do not want to format my hard drive or reinstall Windows 98. I have heard about the dxun program but in order for that to work for directX 7.0 one has to have a win98 cd-rom, my pc was preloaded with windows 98 and did not include the windows 98 cd-rom. So the dxun program is not an option for me since I do not have the $150+ to go out and buy a copy of windows 98. So how do I overwrite/uninstall the current copy of directx 7.0 and reinstall a fresh copy of directx 7.0? Any help would really be appreciated.

Answer : I would suggest you run the 7.0a install - I use it with great success and it has no problems whatsoever (and 8 will be out soon which will give you the next upgrade).

If you really want to uninstall DirectX and start again with 7.0 here's a utility to do exactly that:

http://www.utc.fr/~merlier/undx6.exe

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 2665472
Asker : faruq_1997
Subject : computers
Private : No

Question : what is programming lanuage mean in simple words?

Answer : A programming language in simplest terms...

A way for a user who wants to solve a problem with the computer to tell the computer the step-by-step instructions to solve it. Since a computer (at a low level) is such a simple device we need to be able to define the steps to solving a problem exactly and then be able to communicate those steps to the computer. For example if we wanted to write a program that could add two numbers that we get from a user it might look something like this:

number1 = askuser("Please enter the first number: ")
number2 = askuser("Please enter the second number: ")
number1 = number1 + number2
telluser("Your total is: ", number1)

The items "number1" and "number2" are what are called "variables" - they are just places to put values. In this example each is being used to hold a number that we get by prompting the user. What the user would see when we run this program would look something like this:

Please enter the first number: 5
Please enter the second number: 4
Your total is: 9

When you get right down to it a programming language is simply a way to tell the computer what you want done in a way that doesn't require you to completely work at the computer's low level.

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 2669276
Asker : arispub
Subject : Computer memory
Private : No

Question : I have 32 mgs memory, will increasing my mgs to 64 increase my available space on my C drive? If not, how will it help my computer capabilties if I upgrade from 32 to 64 mbs?

Answer : Adding memory will not change your disk space situation. What adding memory will do is give the operating system more room to work and allow you to open larger programs or more programs at once without the operating system needing to "swap" memory out to disk, a process known as virtual memory. Reducing swapping can speed your system, increase your hard disk's life, and stop skips and stutters on your machine while running programs.

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

Rating : 5

FUQuestion : Is there anything I can do to increase my hard drive space on my computer? My computer is a Ibm Aptiva, 91-96 or 97.

Answer : The only way to increase your disk space is to:

1) Delete some files you no lnger need.
2) Compress the disk (bad idea for a novice).
3) Buy another hard disk to add to the one you have, or buy a larger one to replace the one you have.

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

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QAId : 2673957
Asker : nmarkides
Subject : Popkey
Private : No

Question : I have just downloaded Popkey and i find it very useful. However, it has one drawback: it inserts a CR at the end of the copied text which is not really harmful in a text editor but it can cause problems when filling fields in the browser as the CR is interpreted as a "perform action" character. How can i fix this?

Answer : You can send me a personal email (and maybe a box of chocolates) and I think I can make some changes and compile a different version just for you that will do this. My email address is on my webpage.

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 2682390
Asker : leifi55
Subject : error
Private : No

Question :
Sinse my German grade in school started to dropp, I desided to begin playing german adventure games. I was realy happy when I found one of my favourites: Monkey Island 1 in German on an abandonware page, but the joy was not to last. When I had downloaded and installed the game, I got the message: "Run-time error r6003- integer divide by 0" when I opened the .exe file.

Can you help me?

Answer : Depending on whether this is the DOS or a Windows version of that game (being that old it is likely DOS) you may need to ensure you tried it under DOS.

Start/Shutdown/Restart in MS-DOS

If the error continues the executable is likely damaged and will not work.

Try it on another machine (or download again) to verify.

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

Rating : 4

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QAId : 2691272
Asker : morgan62@...
Subject : unisys cd rom
Private : No

Question : Recently my gf obtained an old Unisys computer from her aunt. It had win 95 on it and was running fine. The cd rom was working and such. Well she needed space on it so I compressed the c drive and it got half way finished and said it needed to restart. I click ok. When it attempted to boot back up it gave me an error that said Invalid system disk insert correct disk and press any key. I didnt have a startup disk so I made on on my fathers computer (also running win 95) it kick the computer up into dos where I could see everything on the harddrive but I still couldnt get into windows. So I formatted the C drive and figured I'd just reinstall win 95. Well after I did that now the cd drive doesnt work. How can I fix this problem?

Answer : You probably don't have your floppy setup to boot with CD-ROM support. Here's how to add it:

1) Download this file to the floppy:

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

2) Copy the files (from the working 95 machine) to the floppy - these files are either under \WINDOWS or \WINDOWS\COMMAND :

mscdex.exe
himem.sys
smartdrv.exe
xcopy.exe
xcopy32.exe
sys.com
edit.com
format.com
fdisk.exe

3) Edit (or create) the following two files on the floppy (you can use Start/run/notepad.exe):

CONFIG.SYS (contents appear below)

device=\himem.sys
device=\idecd.sys /d:mscd01

AUTOEXEC.BAT

@echo off
\mscdex.exe /d:mscd01 /l:f
\smartdrv.exe /n c+ f 8192 4096
path=a:\

4) Boot with this floppy and the CD-ROM should come up.

5) Format the hard disk (if needed) and then do this at the command prompt:

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

6) Take the floppy out and reboot on the hard disk - then do this:

echo y | lock c: /off
(if the above command fails that's OK)
cd \win95kit
setup

Away you go...

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

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QAId : 2700653
Asker : yk122123152
Subject : a name of cable?
Private : Yes

Question : hi,
I have a laptop and a desktop computer (IBM)). I'd like to copy things from one to the other. Could you give me the name of cable that connects 2 computers that enables copying directly from one another?

Thank you

yk

Answer : Sure the cable you want is called a "null modem" cable. You can get one here:

http://www.connectworld.net/cgi-bin/aries/scan/sf=cat1/se=STANDARD/se=CABLES/sf=cat2/se=MODEM/

Once the machines are connected you can use Windows to connect the machines and shares files and folders - here's some resources for that:

http://kime.net/directcc/index.html

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

Rating : 5

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QAId : 2786176
Asker : lucas1002
Subject : what is that Turbo key for
Private : No

Question : Hi,

on my computer keyboard (Memorex TS1000) there's a key just right-hand of the right SHIFT key and it's labelled TURBO. Could you explain me what it is for, as I have never used it until know and so I'm a bit perplex?

Thank you!

Answer : It is likely a menu shortcut key - press it while in IE to see if it pulls up a menu. Why yours is labeled "Turbo" I can't say - maybe they're implying it's a "turbo menu" key? The corresponding key at the left side (just left of the ALT key) is the uselessly-named "Windows" key. It is used for shortcuts to functions like Start/Run (key-R), and Find (key-F).

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 2789602
Asker : spanksdomain67
Subject : finding data in pc
Private : Yes

Question : I am wondering if there is a way to find deleted history items on the computer, also advice on finding hidden or deleted folders would be appreciated. Much thanks, hope you can help

Answer : If the history items are deleted they should be gone from the computer - you may check the recycle bin for them. If not there they should be gone.

You can find anything on your system as follows (assume we're looking for a hidden file named myfile.exe):

open a DOS prompt (Start/Programs/MS-DOS Prompt usually will do it based on your OS)

C:
dir \myfile.exe /s /a

This will find it no matter how well hidden.

If you just want to see all the hidden files on your system:

dir \ /ah /s /p

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

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QAId : 2797915
Asker : gdossey@...
Subject : windows 98
Private : No

Question : After being on the internet for extended times, I try to open or run anything else and I get the message similar to the following:
"there is not enough free memory to open or run this application, please close some of the other programs".
Nothing will open, not even Microsoft Help! I have to to the computer off and restart it before I can do anything.
Can you tell me what is making this happen?
thank you

Answer : I am going to suggest that you have a buggy application or driver that is slowly leaking resources over time. First make sure you have the latest:

video drivers (http://www.winfiles.com/drivers)
audio drivers (ditto)
directx (http://www.microsoft.com/directx)

Next see this prior answer I gave on cleaning up unneeded apps that load at startup time. There are several places these apps can reside and you want as few of them as you actually need, but almost every app tries to put itself into your startup in some way or another.

http://www1.askme.com/ViewAnswer.asp?vid=2231608

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

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QAId : 2872453
Asker : amethyst
Subject : Windows 98 boot file
Private : No

Question : Hi there,

I was booting between Windows 2000 professional, NT Server with SQL server loaded on an NTFS partition and Windows 98 which is my primary active partition. I was having a load of GPFs and cleaned out my startup folder, disabled a few programs in the autoexec.bat that I don't use regularly. I also kept on getting page fault errors and low system resource errors especially when using MS Word and Outlook Express. Anyway, what I did then was to reformat the partition that contained NT Server and W2000. Now when I boot, I still get the option of which system to boot to and I want to take that off. I cannot find a MSDOS.SYS file in the Windows directory - can this be? Since I work primarily with NT, I forgot that Windows 98 does not have a boot.ini file. What do you suggest I do?

Regards,
Dianne

Answer : Make a Startup Disk (Add/Remove control panel, Startup disk tab) under Windows 98.

Boot off this disk and then type in the following two commands:

sys c:
fdisk /mbr

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

Rating : 5

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QAId : 2898221
Asker : dion75
Subject : computers
Private : No

Question : what are five hardware components of a personal computer

Answer : Sounds like a homework question... hmmm

OK, I'll make an exception...

How about:

Monitor
CPU
Temporary storage (RAM)
Permanent storage (hard disk or floppy)
Output device (printer)
Input device (mouse)

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

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QAId : 2944001
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : vvinesd.386
Private : No

Question : how do i replace this file

Answer : Here you go:

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q194/8/45.asp

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 3009551
Asker : KarynWISE
Subject : icon change
Private : No

Question : Hi:

Could u tell me why this happened & how to fix the following:

I turned on my computer today to edit a web page when I noticed that all of my .htm files now have an aol icon.

Thanks!!!!!

Answer : Files that have an extension (like .HTM or .EXE) take on the appearance of the program that is associated with that file type. In the case of HTM/HTML files the default association is with Internet Explorer (IE). However this association can be changed by the user *or*, more commonly, by a program being installed that also works with that file type which registers itself as the default handler for that type of file. In this case an AOL app of some sort (probably their main program for accessing their service) has taken that association.

To put it to the program you actually want to handle HTM/HTML files do the following:

1) Single left-click one of the file types you want to change (HTM/HTML file).

2) While holding the SHIFT key right-click the selected item and choose "Open With".

3) Choose the program you want, either in the list, or by browsing to the EXE. Be sure to check the always use box at the bottom so Windows will make this association permanent.

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

Rating : 4

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QAId : 3026160
Asker : pete_estrellado
Subject : nwadmn95 not working on windows2000
Private : Yes

Question : hi, i wonder if you can help me

i have a windows2000 operating pc and trying to execute nwadmn95, it's telling me that it's not a client32 application. is there such a thing as nwadmnnt that i need to laod on nw4.11. i looked up the public directory on the server and i dont see any nwadmnnt and/or how do i install the nt version of the netadmin on the server?

thanks and i'll appreciate your help.

another question, are you form houston? because i am.

thanks again, pete

Answer : I'm in the Dallas area, Pete...

Check here - you may need to install the latest client and a custom version of Netware Administrator for 2000.

http://www.novell.com/download/

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

P.S.
Please do not ask questions in private if they are not of a private nature. This is a general question, and not of an embarrassing nature. Marking it as private detracts from the value of our interaction to others as they cannot read it under any circumstance.

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QAId : 3048941
Asker : duca607@...
Subject : networking a win95 to netware 3.12
Private : No

Question : Hello,
I need a detailed list of steps for connecting a windows 95 machine to a netware 3.12 server. The 95 machine has just had the motherboard and a ram chip replaced, but cannot connect to the network. I can only see myself from
the 95 machine, but no one else. I tried pinging myself and I get a reply. I
have installed the client for netware networks and the ipx protocol, but nothing.Any info would be most appreciated.

I am installing the protocols to match all the other workstations on the network.
It seems like there are too many, but like I said I am trying to set it up as the others. This is how I found this network and I would like to do everything I can possible to set it up correctly so my problems at the least will be mine and not someone elses that I am dealing with.
Here's what I am dealing with:

Client for MS networks
Client for Netware networks
AOL Adapter
AOL dial up adapter
NE2000 Compatable
IPX/SPX compatable protocol ---> NE 2000 compatable
NetBeui
TCP/IP AOL Adapter
TCP/IP AOL Dial up
TCP/IP NE 2000 compatable>
File and print sharing for microsoft networks

Primary logon
Client for Netware Networks

IPX properties
Frame type Auto (on all workstations)

I also noticed that some of the machines on the network use share level and some use user level security.

I have gone into Client for Netware properties and entered the name of the
server and specified "F" as the drive.

Like I said I can see my computer and I when I open Entire Network I see
the workgroup, when I open that I see my computer again, open that and it's empty.

The only thing that I see that is unusual is a yellow question mark in device manager for a PCI component. It states unknown PCI device, but the NIC is in a ISA slot and is set up correctly without any conflicts.
I even physically took out the NIC, re-seated it and re-installed the drivers and still nothing. I can't move it to another slot because there isn't another one.

I also took out all the AOL garbage and still no luck.

Thank you for all your time.

Sincerley,
A grown man who is swelling up as we speak from banging his head up against the wall named Michael :>

Answer : I would begin... at the beginning. Simplify your setup. First remove ALL network components from the network control panel and reboot. Ensure the network card is installed correctly and is not in conflict (system control panel/device manager/network cards/double click your card). Now add the card back into the network panel and add TCP/IP ONLY - if you are using DHCP say so, otherwise put in your static IP, subnet mask, default gateway, and DNS server info. Then reboot and try pinging other machines - if your IP/subnetmask is 220.110.110.23/255.255.255.0 try:

ping 220.110.110.1 (should be your gateway)
ping mail (where "mail" is the IP of your mail server)
ping www.cnet.com (test for DNS resolution)

If these tests work then DNS is good and so is your NIC and drivers. Only now should you add in the MS Networking client and enable file and print sharing (if on a domain you should always use USER level password, not SHARE level as USER will force any machien to be authenticated for any access to your machine's resources by the PDC).

Let me know where you get from these steps...

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

Rating : 5

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QAId : 3050547
Asker : nor_anis
Subject : text file
Private : Yes

Question : I'm programmer.I'm want to know how can i convert text file to database and vice versa.Can you help me?

Answer : Simply read either of the items, paying attention to their formatting (fields/records, or words/lines), and write the data back out in the proper (other) format. Look up the specifics for the database format so you will know how the data should be written as each DB format is different.

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

Rating : 1

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QAId : 3053428
Asker : otellod
Subject : amipro by lotus
Private : No

Question : i need a convertitor for file .sam.
can you help me in this research? i search free down load .

Answer : Try this one:

ftp://www.webconvert.com/WcvtShare.exe

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

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QAId : 3059188
Asker : SBarkernmn
Subject : How do I change the file assosiation back?
Private : No

Question : I have a friend who has contracted a virus on his conputer from downloading a file, he has scince deleated the virus with a virus check program, but the effect is still there. we don't know the name of the virus, but it has changed windows so that when he tries to run a .exe file he can't. The virus has changed the assosiations so that when he tries to open .exe files, instead of {executable] the computer tries to load them using a file named 'thectdc.exe' which, of course doesn't exist. We've tried changing it back using the 'file types' tab on windows but 'edit' is disabled for .exe files. Please, how do we return the assosiation to normal without re-formatting the drive, re-installing windows or something similar.
Thanks in advance

Answer : You haven't given me enough details but I'd suggest one thing for sure:

Open a DOS prompt (or better yet boot into DOS mode by holding the SHIFT key as the system boots and select "safe mode command prompt only") and verify that the EXEs you're attempting to run are *actually* named "*.EXE". Some viruses (Life Stages for one) rename some files with a hidden (even when show all extensions is *on*) SHS extension. This, or a variation of it, may be occuring here.

For more details particular to this virus check here and search for the virus name:

http://www.sarc.com/avcenter/vinfodb.html

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

Rating : 2

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QAId : 3074458
Asker : allanonxi
Subject : Solaris 2.6
Private : No

Question : Hello Paul

I am in need of some help. I am setting up an old sparc 5 and I was trying to change the root password. Well I didnt do it properly and now i cannot log in as root. I know there is a way to circumvent this but am not sure how to do it. Could you please tell me how to accomplish setting the root password back to default or nothing at at.

Thanks in advance,

Brian J. Hill

Answer : Put the Solaris CD in the drive and then press the keys STOP-A to get to EPROM mode.

Then type:

boot cdrom -s

Once you get to maintenance mode then mount your root partition like this:

mount -F ufs /dev/dsk/c0t0d0s0 /mnt

(where c0t0 is the actual path to yours - likely the same as I used here).

Now do this:

cd /mnt/etc
vi shadow

In each entry you will see a line broken up by ":" characters - one of the first is an encrypted form of the user's password. Delet the characters between the colons where that password resides for the root line and then save with

(ESC) :wq!

Now you can do an init 6 or otherwise reboot and then either su to root or login as root with a blank password and reset it.

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

Rating : 5

FUQuestion : Thank you that worked, now so i dont mess it up for a 3rd time how do I change the root password after I have it set to nothing.

Thanks again

Brian J. Hill

Answer : Just login as root and issue

passwd

and enter a new password twice.

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

End :

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QAId : 3086242
Asker : rmjcapecod@...
Subject : NetWare connectivity
Private : No

Question : Paul,

You would think that being this far along in the MCSE path I would already know the answer to this, but I've re-read every book Ihave on the subject and am still confused.

NWLink and GSNW. First question. In order for a client on an NT network (running workstation or '95' for instance) to access files or applications on a Netware Server (lets say it's on the local network), is it necessary to install NWLink on the client machine? I'm reasonably sure that if you install NWLink on an NT server AND install GSNW on that same NT server, then clients can access the Netware server via the NT server. Is there EVER a reason to install NWLink on a client machine? Is there any way for a client machine (NT)to access a Netware server without going through an NT server with GSNW installed? All the books say that NWLink was created in order for NT clients to be able to access Netware resources. Then later thay say that "by itself NWWLink does not provide access to NetWare resourses". It's very confusing, and I'm sure the answer is probably pretty simple.

Question 2.

Since the NT 4.0 MCSE certification is not going to be offered after the end of this year, and from what I understand if you don't finish all the exams by Dec 31, 2000, you've wasted your time, I'm getting nervous about the remaining time Ihave to complete all the exams. Have done: Essentials, Workstation, Server, and will take Enterprise as soon as I feel ready (probably the end of the month I hope...), but that doesn't leave a lot of time to study for and take the other two (which are, I believe, "electives"...yes?)..so my question is: Can you suggest a couple of electives that will present...less of a challenge...than, let's say Enterprise is currently presenting so I can at least get the certification before it's too late! I do intend to persue both TCP/IP and IIS in time (I think they're important...), but with my work schedule such that it is, I just don't have the time to devote to the books that I'd like to have. I'd hate like hell to have done all this and end up one exam short of the MCSE...ya know?

thanks,
rmjcapecod@aol.com

Answer : As for #1 I'm assuming that by NWLINK you mean the IPX/SPX protocol. If you install the NWLINK (IPX/SPX) protocol on your client machines then gateway services are unneeded as the client machines can directly access the Netware server. You use gateway services on the server when you want clients who speak say only IP to get to Netware on IPX/SPX without adding protocols/clients to your clients.

On #2 I believe you are correct on your timeline. As for tests to take I would suggest you stick with the two you've chosen as they are the ones I took and will get you the MCP+I as well as the MCSE. See the info I sent to your email address regarding this...

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

Rating : 5

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QAId : 3093104
Asker : snkscore
Subject : Novell Cert
Private : No

Question : I am studying for MCSE right now and I would also like to learn about Novell because where I work we use a novell network. As I understand it you can get a novell cert with one test, CNA.

Can you tell me where I can find info about this, for example microsoft.com/mcp has the kind of info I need but for MCSE stuff, does novell have a similar listing?

How hard are the tests compared to MCSE test?

Is there anyway to get hands on exp with novell netware. I have a network in my apt where I practice my MCSE stuff, is there any way to do this sort of thing with novell?

Answer : The CNA is comparable to the MCP with one difference. You get an MCP for taking *any* core test. A CNA is granted *only* for taking the first CNE exam - System Administration.

I believe the CNE tests are more difficult and a better gauge of skill than the MCSE tests. Following are a few reasons:

Novell servers are foreign to most normal users, using non_MS technologies. Different disk partitioning, file systems, command-line environment, terms, etc. This tends to keep non-focused users out of the networking arena. Contrasted with an MCSE where anyone who uses Windows thinks they can (easily) become a systems administrator.

The only way to get hands-on is to build yourself a Netware server and get at it (perhaps you should partition your hard disk and set up to dual boot between Netware and NT on your server?). Your Windows box can be your administration point, allowing use of both Netware Administrator and rconsole (remote control of the server console).

And if I'm not mistaken Novell still has the largest installed base of any NOS out there so it's good to know both it and MS technologies.

Good luck in your endeavors...

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

FUQuestion : What would I need to build a netware server?

I have a 2 desktops and a laptop, and Im looking to get a 4th desktop, they are all networked. The one machine that I mess around with a lot is an IBM Aptiva, is there a way that I could set that up as my server? What else would I need to buy or configure?

Answer : Yes it can be your server, if it meets/exceeds the minimums for the version of Netware you want to put on it.

All the system needs beyond those minimum specs is disk space and a network card.
Rating : 5

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QAId : 3098756
Asker : alfredo2
Subject : Netware 5.1
Private : No

Question : Can you tell me what software applications can I use to connect a LAN to the Web besides using win2ncs?

Thanks

Alfredo

Answer : I haven't used a Netware server for internet access for clients, but NAT is also available on Netware (unless win2ncs *is* the NAT implementation of Netware). More info on NAT and win2ncs is here:

http://support.novell.com/cgi-bin/search/search.pl?search_term=win2ncs+nat&quick=1

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

Rating : 2
End :

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QAId : 3126307
Asker : dwinson
Subject : Broken a:\
Private : No

Question : Hi

I have a computer with a broken a:\ it has no USB ports and I need to get data off it onto another computer, how can I do this ???

Thanks

Dan

Answer : Take the hard disk out of the machine and plug it in as a secondary disk (either on the same cable as the main disk jumpering this transplanted disk as "slave", OR on a separate cable jumpered as "master"). Then boot the good machine and copy what data you need from the old hard disk.

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

Rating : 3

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QAId : 3151704
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : CD
Private : No

Question : I have just purchased a Sony PC with 40x CD-ROM, 16x DVD, and 8x4x32 CD-RW drive. What are the general procedures of burning musics onto the CD-R? What software are common on the Sony's that are used to write musics onto the CD-R? Are there precautions for error free burning?

I am also confused with which CD to buy. There are several types of CD out there, including names like 50-Pack 12x 80-minute CD-R, 50-Pack 12x CD-R Media, 25-Pack Music CD-R, and 25-Pack CD-RW Media. What brand is ideal for my CD-RW drive from above?

Answer : I would suggest you get Adaptec Easy CD Creator 4.0 (you may have gotten it with your CD burner already).

As for the disks you get you want to pay attention to two things - the speed rating (8X, 12X, etc) and the type of disk (CDR, CDRW). Since you have an 8X CDR and a 4X CDRW drive buying any disks faster (or slower) than these ratings for each type either wastes money (buying media rated faster than you can write) or wastes performance (buying media slower than your drive can write). So buy 8X or 12X CDRs, and 4X CDRWs...

As for burning audio CDs you can copy a full audio CD to a new blank, you can extract tracks from several different CDs to your hard disk for making a compilation CD, or you can burn WAV or MP3 files just by selecting File/New Audio Layout (or something along those lines) and then dragging the tracks you want into the lower window.

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 3179980
Asker : snkscore
Subject : Certification
Private : No

Question : Hello,

To make a long story short I am a Sr in College graduating with a deg in Civil Engieering, because I really started to like my summer job (Tech support, networking, IT help desk MIS stuff) I decided to try a career in IT after graduation. Im part of the way done with MCSE, but I have job interviews coming up over the next months and I want to show that I am doing more so I want another cert.
I plan on finishing MCSE by december, and later doing the MCDBA but I was thinking of adding a Novell or Cisco cert. Where I worked over the summer they used Novell, and Cisco sounds interesting to me.

My question to you is:
1) Knowing my experience (Worked with Novell 5 a bit) (Set up LANs, passed Net Ess MCSE test) in each field how long do you think each cert would take me to learn. It has been taking me about 20 days of serous studying reading and computer using to pass each MCSE test, where do you think that falls compared to each of the other 2 certs.

2) How hard are they respectivly. I see that you need a real high score on the CCNA, 822 compared to the Novell 602, but the novell is adaptive.

What do you think. I want to do both eventually but right now I need something more that "Working on my ________" on my resume ya know??

Basically which cert would be my best bet to complete first?

Thanks...

Answer : Since you are already on the MCSE track I would say to finish it first. then you can pursue the CNA/CNE or CCNA/CCNP when convenient. The MCSE should get you in the door to a decent job but you should try to gain as much experience as possible in the meantime while finishing it.

Most people take between 6-12 months from beginning to end for an MCSE or CNE.

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 3197105
Asker : kath94
Subject : opening file with extension cgi
Private : No

Question : I have downloaded three games which all have extension cgi. It shows as an exe file whilst downloading and then when trying to open it the extension cgi was showing.Which application should I use to open it?

Answer : It sounds like your download is not right. CGI is Common Gateway Interface - a scripting language for web sites only and is not exectable. Are you doing a right-click/Save Target As...? If you are try just left-clicking the download link.

--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 3207504
Asker : hula8833
Subject : file type
Private : Yes

Question : I am opening a tutorial file for teaching MS excel
and find a few file extension I can't figure out
What is the type of file with extension .tbr
.tut, .itf, and .ibf? (I have a lot of .tbr
the others are not as many.)

Answer : These are extensions that the tutorial's executable understands the format to... here is a site with information on some of these (and lots more) extensions:

http://www.cknow.com/ckinfo/acronyms/fileextensions.htm

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

Rating : 5

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QAId : 3226490
Asker : eval16
Subject : producing beat frequency
Private : No

Question : Paul:
Can you tell me how to obtain a simple to use program capable of generating two controlable tones close enough to each other to produce a beat frequency suitable for use in meditation and/or biofeedback?
Thanks,
Edgar Valderrama

Answer : Try this one...

http://www.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/win95/sound/bwgen310.zip

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

Rating : 5

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QAId : 3227627
Asker : vani@...
Subject : Networking
Private : No

Question : I am having Solaris 7 (Intel) server and Windows 98 Client machines. These Windows 98 Machines are able to connect with telnet and ftp. I would like to see the Server and server dirctories in network neighborhood, so that I can make use of the GUI of windows to copy and delete the file from the server. How to get the server in my network neighborhood?

Thanks
prem

Answer : To see the Solaris directories and files from Network Neighborhood implies that the Solaris box be speaking SMB, the native Windows networking language.

This means you must install and configure Samba (http://www.samba.org) which will allow your Solaris machine to mimic an NT Server - you can then use it to authenticate logins and share it's file systems with any Windows boxes that login to it.

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

Rating : 4

FUQuestion : I really appriciate your answer it worked well, Now I can able to see the computer icon in network neighborhood. But still I am having problem, if I click the icon 'No permission to access the resource' error is comming, Some time it ask for password to access this network.

Where to give the share access in smb.conf file. I have added the username and password into smbpasswd. still it is having problem, How to getout of it.
thanks
prem

Answer : You will need to do some study to setup samba for your machines. Here is a tutorial:

http://www.linux.ie/tutorials/samba.html

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

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QAId : 3237776
Asker : polisema
Subject : Unix Shell Program for FTP
Private : No

Question : Hi, Can you please give me the code of a Unix Shell Program for doing FTP of files between two diffirent servers.

Answer : #!/bin/sh
ftp -v -n HOST << EOF
user LOGIN PASSWORD
prompt
cd DIR
put FILE
bye
EOF

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

Rating : 5

FUQuestion : Hi,
Thankyou verymuch for sending me the code. I have one small doubt in this. What is the significance of the word "promt" here? Am I supposed to replace that word with any other variable? Please get back to me. Thanks in advance for your kind cooperation.

Answer : "prompt" is a toggle command which tells the FTP program to (or not to) prompt you in the event of overwriting or sending multiple files. by issuing the prompt command you are turning off this default behavior to make your session unattended.

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 3239645
Asker : wceagles
Subject : Nissan Pintara wallpaper for computer
Private : No

Question : Where can I get Nissan Pintara wallpaper for my computer?

Answer : Try some of these:

http://members.iinet.net.au/~mpot/Pintara/links.html

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QAId : 3239865
Asker : wceagles
Subject : Nissan Pintara wallpaper for computer
Private : No

Question : Where can I find Nissan Pintara wallpaper for my computer?

Answer : Try some of these:

http://members.iinet.net.au/~mpot/Pintara/links.html

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

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QAId : 3247444
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : computer output device
Private : No

Question : What type of monitor do you consider to be the wave of the future?

Thank You

Answer : I think LCDs will rule the roost once the problem of displaying resolutions that are less than the actual number of pixels present on the LCD is resolved. The current method is an interpolation that, for instance, allows an 800x600 display to be shown full-screen on a 1024x768 LCD screen. The result is a fuzzy 1024x768 version of an 800x600 screen. If you use an LCD at the resolution it is intended for, and only that resolution, they are great. Less (or no?) emissions, perfect convergence (since there isn't any), and perfect geometry (the pixels are fixed in place so geometry is not controlled by an electron gun like in a CRT) as well as taking up less space and weighing less than a CRT make the LCD an attractive option.

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

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QAId : 3274958
Asker : not20@...
Subject : computer programming requirements
Private : No

Question : hello, i am doing some research on computer programming, and i was wondering if you could please answer me what are the requirements to become a computer programmer? If you need some type of license? salary? and if you need training? thank you

Answer : Logical mindset - ability to break a problem down into manageable pieces. The best training is to practice... it's like riding a bicycle - you can't learn it by book - that's why programming courses have so much outside class homework.

The pay is fair but not as good as for networking (may have a lot to do with too many H-1B visas being issued that allow non-English speakers to take some of those jobs - programming is more at threat here due to the lack of a need for as much verbal communications).

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

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QAId : 3282067
Asker : hendrayana_2000
Subject : Memory Card
Private : No

Question : Can I use My 32MB SDRam Memory and 64MB SDRam in one computer? I've try, but it doesn't work well.

Answer : If it doesn't work well I'd say not to mess with trying to make it work. Some RAM is incompatible speed-wise and it's usually better to put what you need in with the exact same type (i.e. buy all you need at once) or buy it all in one stick (256MB DIMM for instance). I'd sell both sticks on EBay.com and buy one 128MB to replace them with.

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

Rating : 3

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QAId : 3292087
Asker : digger75
Subject : ibm desktop computer
Private : No

Question : I'm a beginning computer user looking to buy. Someone told me ibm was the best. what do you suggest for an ibm desktop. Or do you think something else is better?

Answer : I would shop either in your local stores (Best Buy, CompUSA, etc) or order one online from Dell or Gateway.

An IBM PC-compatible is the best bet in my opinion - there's more software and inexpensive hardware available for this platform than any other.

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

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QAId : 3373622
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : Notebook recommendation
Private : Yes

Question : Hello Paul,

I am looking into buying a godd economy notebook for writing, keeping basic records and surfing the web.

There are so many choices out there, what would you recommend I buy and why?

Thank you so much for your insight concerning this matter. I appreceate your help.

Answer : If you really must have a notebook for this (they cost more than an equivalent desktop, are close to non-upgradeable, have more expensive add-ons (disk/RAM/etc) I would suggest getting the least powerful notebook that can do what you need. Something like a P2-333 or better, with 64MB of RAM or more, and a 2GB disk or larger. Try looking at Dell's offerings...

http://www.dell.com/us/en/dhs/products/series_inspn_notebooks.htm

Also please refrain from asking normal questions as private - it keeps others from reading our conversation and limits the number of people who can benefit from our discussion.

--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue

Rating : 5

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QAId : 3383309
Asker : VeganSuperstar
Subject : hard disk partitioning
Private : No

Question : I have a question regarding hard disk partitions. One hard disk may contain up to four primary partitions, or three primary partitions and one extended partition. As a rule of thumb, you should hide every primary partition that is recognized by the active primary partition's operating system on the same drive. The reason for this is to prevent data loss in DOS, Windows 3.x, Windows 95/98 and OS/2.

My question is: how can multiple visible primary partitions cause data loss in some operating systems?

Answer : The only way I know of is that silly users who don't remember which OS they booted in erase or otherwise maul their data. :-)

No seriously if the data is visible in an OS that should not see it data could be modified inadvertantly by the OS or the user. The OS can't mangle what it can't see...
other than this I see no threat.

--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue

Rating : 3

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QAId : 3431371
Asker : darkfire10@...
Subject : computer
Private : No

Question : Do you know if there is way of assigning an ip number to a computer, that dosen't change everytime I log on to the isp? (other than a dsl connection)

Answer : It's not controlled at your end - it's at the ISP's end. And they have configured their dial-up pools to make best use of their available addresses. And when you're talking about modems the best way to do that is to dole them out as people dial in. And since they have no way of knowing that it's you calling back after only being disconnected for 30 seconds you are given a different almost always. If you need for people to get to you by some name that doesn't change try one of the services that will host a dynamic domain for you. When you go online you activate it and people can then get to you by name.

--
Paul Doherty, CNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, A.A.Sc., B.A.
http://members.home.net/iqueue
Home of PC DiskMaster and other Windows utilities

FUQuestion : do you have a favorite that you could suggest to me???

Answer : I don't have a favorite as I've never used one - I just know of their existence. Here's a free one to try:

http://www.dhs.org/

--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue

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QAId : 3455046
Asker : iiaihh@...
Subject : file maker software
Private : No

Question : Mr Expert,
I'm looking for a windows based program to track attendance, records, address, names, allergies... you get the idea. What I need it for is a child care center. I need to be able to sort by all fields, print address lables, print lists for attendance, print lists for calling parents, birthday rosters. I track my kids from birth to five years. (Aproximately 600 children. Next year we are looking at another 750 additional children. = 1350) I have heard about a program called shelby (sp?), but I couldn't find it. I worked with Microsoft Access be for and believe that I could make it work, but I have to examine every option. Any ideas would be welcome.
M

Answer : Here are some:

http://www.askrecy.com/dexter.htm

Demo and basic version handles up to 99 kids - I don't know if there is an "advanced" version that handles more.

Here's a good place to find more info:

http://www.earlychildhood.com/

--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue

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QAId : 3477756
Asker : hanoooy
Subject : Hi
Private : No

Question : I want to know the definition of Computer science in general. And what is the definition of real-time software system and difference between a hard-real-time and a soft-real-time system?

Answer : http://www.csab.org/comp_sci_profession.html

"Computer science is a discipline that involves the understanding and design of computers and computational processes. In its most general form it is concerned with the understanding of information transfer and transformation. Particular interest is placed on making processes efficient and endowing them with some form of intelligence. The discipline ranges from theoretical studies of algorithms to practical problems of implementation in terms of computational hardware and software. A central focus is on processes for handling and manipulating information. Thus, the discipline spans both advancing the fundamental understanding of algorithms and information processes in general as well as the practical design of efficient reliable software and hardware to meet given specifications. Computer science is a young discipline that is evolving rapidly from its beginnings in the 1940's. As such it includes theoretical studies, experimental methods, and engineering design all in one discipline. This differs radically from most physical sciences that separate the understanding and advancement of the science from the applications of the science in fields of engineering design and implementation. In computer science there is an inherent intermingling of the theoretical concepts of computability and algorithmic efficiency with the modern practical advancements in electronics that continue to stimulate advances in the discipline. It is this close interaction of the theoretical and design aspects of the field that binds them together into a single discipline."

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?URL=/library/techart/realtime21.htm

"A real-time system is one in which the correctness of the computations not only depends on the logical correctness of the computation, but also on the time at which the result is produced. If the timing constraints of the system are not met, system failure is said to have occurred."

--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue

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QAId : 3478536
Asker : sparky119@...
Subject : replacing my processor
Private : No

Question : Hi. I have an AST Bravo MS/P100. I have 72mb memory with an internal 56K modem. It is a Pentium I and it is VERY sluggish. How can I improve the speed of this thing? I can buy an AMD 600MhZ processor from Circuit City. Will this fix the problem or will I have to do other things also. I would appreciate your help.
Yhanks,
Nancy

Answer : Upgrading your CPU by a factor of 6 can't do anything but help. You have a decent amount of RAM (128 would be better) so you're OK there.

The CPU is your weak link so if your storage is OK then I would say to go for the CPU upgrade.

--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue

FUQuestion : Hi. Thanks for the reply. Will I need to do anything further like replacing the motherboard or installing a fan....I've had a few different versions from as many different sources. Will it be able to just plug in or what. I am a novice here and don't want to run into a "repair" that will cost me as much as or more than a new cpu. Thanks again.
-Nancy

Answer : hehe I thought you knew what you were getting yourself into... You will likely have to upgrade motherboards and RAM along with the CPU. I'm not sure which 600Mhz AMD you've found but unless it works on a 66Mhz memory bus and is plug compatible with the Pentium, and your motherboard supports the multiplier needed to produce the 600Mhz speed (unlikely) you won't just be able to switch CPUs.

--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue

FUQuestion : nope...no clue at all....This sounds like it could really wind up snowballing on me. Should I take something out of the computer with me when I check out the new processor? Thanks for your help.
-Nancy

Answer : I would just keep that machine intact and use it as a secondary (or give it your kids) and buy a new one - Dell has a new Pentium3 machine for 899.00

If you're determined to do it the upgrade way take the motherboard manual with you to the store...

--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue

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QAId : 3481763
Asker : Anonymous
Subject : pc troubleshooting
Private : No

Question : whenever i boot my pc the 'system32' file props
up.I don't know how to rectify this error.
my pc specs are :
processor - AMDK6-2 400
RAM-64 MB
OS-WIN NT
HARD DISK-8.4GB

Need More Information : Details... when does this error occur? How does it appear - what else is on the screen? How far into the boot are you when it occurs?

--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue

FUQuestion : The error occurs after full bootup ie. at the
desktop itself.Nothing else is on the screen
except for the Icons and the mcaffe antivir
acknowledgement.The system 32 file opens showing all it's contents ie. all the files
in it.

Need More Information : Sounds like you are saying you just get an explorer window opened to a directory on your drive. That isn't an error in itself. It is being loaded from your startup menu, the registry or an INI file. Can't you just close that window and go on about your tasks? If you can then all we need to do is find where it is coming from...

--
Paul Doherty
http://members.home.net/iqueue

FUQuestion : yes i can close the window and work properly
and actually iam doing so .But it does'nt look great when u have an unnessessary file opening .

Answer : OK like I said this is not an error, per se, but just something that is being loaded unnecessarily. Check your Startup folder (Start/Programs/Startup) for any items that may be doing it. You can also open C:\WINDOWS\WIN.INI and look near the top for the lines:

run=
load=

and see if they have anything to the right of the "="

Also can check (Start/Run/regedit)

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Services/Run

With "Run" selected examine the items in the right pane to see if any are