My Tech Fundas: Tips and Techniques

Windows Vista - Disk Defragmenter

2009-08-23T09:44:00.000-07:00

You may not wish to rely on Windows Vista's Disk Defragmenter running on a schedule, preferring to perform this task manually via the command prompt. Or, you may need to create service-oriented batch files that defragment drives as a part of other maintenance tasks.

1. Click the "Start" button and type cmd.

2. When "cmd.exe" appears, right-click the icon and choose "Run As Administrator".

3. Confirm your actions if User Account Control (UAC) prompts you.

Now, for the command:

4. Enter the defrag command at the prompt, passing in the volume name to defragment. Several command line options are available (note the analyze options are described further in the tip Windows Vista - Disk Defragmenter: Analyze Fragmentation Status):

-a: Only performs drive analysis, not a defrag

-c: Instead of defragmenting a particular drive, this will defragment all volumes on the machine

-f: Though this option is not recommended, it will attempt to defragment the drive even if there is a low amount of free hard drive space

-r: Performs the default partial defragmentation, only consolidating fragments smaller than 64MB

-v: Displays extra information when performing the defrag or analysis

-w: Performs full defragmentation, attempting to consolidate all file fragments regardless of size

-?: Displays the help information

For example, the following command will defragment all drives on the system, displaying extra information about the process:

defrag -c -v

This command only defragments drive E:, but it will attempt to defragment all files regardless of size:

defrag -w e:

View File Extensions

2009-08-17T09:09:00.000-07:00

By default, Windows 7 hides the file extensions of known file types in Explorer views. The reasoning - this keeps the display clean, as often a file's icon signifies its type.

However, as in in Windows Vista and earlier, this default setting is a potential security risk. It's possible that you can receive a file via e-mail with an extension of ".txt", or a file with a Notepad icon. Unfortunately, this file could have a hidden second extension, meaning that if you double-click the file, you may actually execute spyware or other malware instead!

Don't just take my word for it - Anti-virus and security software developer F-Secure describes this problem as well in their blog.

Luckily, the "fix" for this is easy:

1. Click the "Start" button, type folder options and click the "Folder Options" link that appears.

Accessing Folder Options from the Windows 7 Start button

2. When the "Folder Options" multi-tabbed dialog box appears, click the "View" tab.

3. Uncheck "Hide extensions for known file types".

4. Click "OK" to close the dialog box.

Internet Explorer in Ubuntu Linux

2009-08-01T23:05:00.000-07:00

IEs4Linux is the simpler way to have Microsoft Internet Explorer running on Linux (or any OS running Wine).

No clicks needed. No boring setup processes. No Wine complications. Just one easy script and you’ll get three IE versions to test your Sites. And it’s free and open source.This may be very helpful for software developers and web developers to test their applications.

IEs4Linux Installation in Ubuntu

You have to enable universe packages first. It is also recommended that you use the official winehq ubuntu package:

Open /etc/apt/sources.list file

sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

Uncomment following lines in your /etc/apt/sources.list and it may be different if you are in different country instead of UK

For Ubuntu Dapper Users

deb http://uk.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu dapper universe
deb-src http://uk.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu dapper universe

For Ubuntu Edgy Eft Users

deb http://uk.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu edgy universe
deb-src http://uk.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu edgy universe

Add WineHQ APT Repository

If you want to add source packages from the repository

Currently, wine only have i386 binary packages available. If you do not use an i386 architecture, or wish to compile the package in a special or optimized way, you can build the wine package using the source repository instead. To do this, add a source repository with one of the following:

For Ubuntu Dapper Users

deb http://wine.budgetdedicated.com/apt dapper main
deb-src http://wine.budgetdedicated.com/apt dapper main

For Ubuntu Edgy Eft Users

deb http://wine.budgetdedicated.com/apt edgy main
deb-src http://wine.budgetdedicated.com/apt edgy main

Close gedit and run an update to take your new Repository

sudo apt-get update

Install wine and cabextract

sudo apt-get install wine cabextract

Now you need to download IEs4Linux script from here

wget http://www.tatanka.com.br/ies4linux/downloads/ies4linux-2.0.5.tar.gz

tar xzvf ies4linux-2.0.5.tar.gz

cd ies4linux-2.0.5

Once you are inside ies4linux-2.0.5 directory you need to run the following script to install internet explorer

./ies4linux

This will install the internet explore in your machine.

To run IE you need to run the following command and it may be different for others this path at the end of installation it will give from where you want to run

/root/bin/ie6

You should see the Internet explorer opening

If try to run /root/bin/ie6 as root user you will get the following error messages so you need to run as user#/root/bin/ie6
fixme:actctx:CreateActCtxW stub!
err:imagelist:ImageList_ReplaceIcon no color!
err:imagelist:ImageList_ReplaceIcon no color!
err:imagelist:ImageList_ReplaceIcon no color!
err:imagelist:ImageList_ReplaceIcon no color!
Application tries to create a window, but no driver could be loaded.
Make sure that your X server is running and that $DISPLAY is set correctly.

Windows XP SP3 Can Corrupt TIFF Images

2009-07-29T19:33:00.000-07:00

Microsoft has warned users of Windows XP Service Pack 3 of an issue that can lead to digital pictures becoming corrupted when handled with the default image viewers available as components of the operating system. According to the Redmond company the problem is limited to XP SP3. Microsoft has explained that when using Windows Picture or Fax Viewer to manage TIFF images, in the eventuality that a specific picture is rotated either clockwise or counterclockwise, that document will become corrupted.

“When a TIFF image is rotated in Windows Picture and Fax Viewer, the image is outputted. Then, the image is recompressed again,” Microsoft revealed. “This problem occurs because Windows Picture and Fax Viewer outputs a TIFF file in CCITT Group 3 format with 1D encoding. Therefore, when Windows Picture and Fax Viewer opens a TIFF file in CCITT Group 3 format with 2D encoding, the file is corrupted.”

CCITT stands for the International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee. As far as TIFF images go, CCITT Group 3, CCITT Group 4 and Lempel-Ziv-Welch (LZW) act as the supported compression options. Essentially, users that have performed rotation actions with their TIFF images in XP SP3 with either Windows Picture or Fax Viewer have turned the files to what Microsoft referred to as “garbage image on the screen,” in relation to the corrupted file on the hard disk.
A hotfix is available for this specific issue, but affected customers will have to contact Microsoft in order to get it. “This problem only occurs to a TIFF document that is compressed in CCITT Group 3 format with 2D encoding. This problem does not occur if the TIFF document is set to read-only. When you use the Copy to feature in Windows Picture and Fax Viewer to save another copy of the TIFF document, the saved copy is also corrupted. However, the original file is not affected,” Microsoft said.

Vista SP2 and XP SP3 Security Release ISO Image

2009-07-28T08:29:00.000-07:00

The July 2009 Security Release ISO Image is now available for download from Microsoft, having been offered concomitantly with the company’s monthly patch cycle releases. In addition to serving each month’s security bulletins through Windows Update, the software giant is also packaging the patches aimed for the supported Windows client and server operating system as an ISO image. In this context, customers can now access Windows-related security updates, including for Windows Vista Service Pack 2 and Windows XP SP3 that went live on July 14, 2009, through the DVD5 ISO image package.

“This month we are releasing six bulletins. Three of those affect Windows and are rated Critical. All three of those also have an Exploitability Index rating of ‘1’ which means that we believe that consistent exploit code in the wild is highly likely within the first 30 days,” revealed Jerry Bryant, Microsoft security program manager. “The remaining three bulletins are all rated Important and affect Microsoft Office Publisher, Microsoft ISA Server, and both Virtual PC and Virtual Server. The first two also have Exploitability Index ratings of ‘1’ so please consider this while doing your risk assessment. In total, we are addressing nine vulnerabilities this month.”

It is important to note that the ISO image contains only patches for vulnerabilities that affect Windows. In this regard, the package brings to the table MS09-028 and MS09-029 patching five Critical vulnerabilities in Microsoft DirectShow and the Embedded OpenType Font Engine that could allow for remote code execution in the eventuality of a successful exploit.

Microsoft enumerated the patched security flaws in MS09-028:

DirectX NULL Byte Overwrite Vulnerability – CVE-2009-1537 – a remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way that Microsoft DirectShow parses QuickTime media files.

DirectX Pointer Validation Vulnerability – CVE-2009-1538 – a remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way that Microsoft DirectShow validates certain values when updating a pointer.

DirectX Size Validation Vulnerability - CVE-2009-1539 – a remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way that Microsoft DirectShow validates specific fields in QuickTime media files.”

MS09-029 is designed to resolve these issues:

Embedded OpenType Font Heap Overflow Vulnerability – CVE-2009-0231 – a remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way that Microsoft Windows Embedded OpenType (EOT) font technology parses data records in specially crafted embedded fonts.

Embedded OpenType Font Integer Overflow Vulnerability - CVE-2009-0232 – a remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way that Microsoft Windows Embedded OpenType (EOT) font technology parses name tables in specially crafted embedded fonts.

Make Application Compatible with Vista and Windows 7

2009-07-26T06:15:00.000-07:00

VistaUACMaker is a free application which can help you make windows xp based applications and programs to run with proper compatibility in vista and windows 7. As vista has introduced a new feature called UAC ( User Account Control ) which controls the way and permissions on different users to execute applications on your computer

In order to make any application as per vista and windows 7 complaint, the manifest file of the application should contain some information which provide the privileges required by the application and UI Interaction of application.

There are 3 types of privileges that can be mentioned in the manifest file.

requireAdministrator : Run as administrator

asInvoker : Run as same privilege as parent process

highestAvailable : Run with highest privilege available for user

Here is how you can use this utility to provide the necessary privileges to the program

Just run the utility and browse the executable of the program of xp which you want to run in vista or windows 7.

In just 3 steps, your application can be made to run on Vista or Windows 7

1. Select the application using Select browse button.

2. Set one of the privilege required for your application from selection box [ mainly Administrator [ requireAdministrator ]

3. Check the “Yes” button if your application interacts with high privilege applications on UI level in vista.

4. Click on “Make It” button, that’s it done. Now you can run this application in vista or windows 7

2009-07-23T08:42:00.000-07:00

program manager. “The remaining three bulletins are all rated Important and affect Microsoft Office Publisher, Microsoft ISA Server, and both Virtual PC and Virtual Server. The first two also have Exploitability Index ratings of ‘1’ so please consider this while doing your risk assessment. In total, we are addressing nine vulnerabilities this month.”

Microsoft enumerated the patched security flaws in MS09-028:

DirectX NULL Byte Overwrite Vulnerability – CVE-2009-1537 – a remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way that Microsoft DirectShow parses QuickTime media files.

DirectX Pointer Validation Vulnerability – CVE-2009-1538 – a remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way that Microsoft DirectShow validates certain values when updating a pointer.

DirectX Size Validation Vulnerability - CVE-2009-1539 – a remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way that Microsoft DirectShow validates specific fields in QuickTime media files.”

MS09-029 is designed to resolve these issues:

2009-07-22T08:25:00.000-07:00

The time it takes for your computer to start up and run has been massively improved under Windows Vista. One of the reasons older versions of Windows, such as Windows 95 and Windows 98, took so long to boot up was because those versions of Windows were running on top of another operating system MSDOS.

With Windows Vista this is no longer the case, so start-up times are a lot faster. If you have a brand new computer or a fresh installation of Windows Vista, it will take no time at all for your PC to start up, so you can begin using your favourite programs at once. Unfortunately, after a while, with the more programs you install and the more files you have on your PC, you may begin to notice that your computer takes longer and longer to start up. Before you know it, you’ll be able to get up, make a cup of tea and drink it while waiting for Windows Vista to load. When things get this bad, you know you have to do something about it.

We recently asked visitors to the pctipsbox.com website how long it took for their PCs to start. The results varied from less than a minute to over ten!

There are plenty of factors that could make your PC startup grind to a halt, so there are plenty of tweaks to try to get your PC starting up in a flash. It’s all very well listing these tweaks, but do they work?

We have a PC at home packed with so much stuff that it takes an age to load Windows Vista, so we decided to test the tweaks to find out how much time we could save.

First things first – Start-up slow-down

We knew that our PC was slow to start, but when we timed it and saw that it took nearly six and a half minutes from the moment we pressed the on button to when the computer had loaded all the start-up programs and was actually usable, we knew that something needed to be done.

Our first port of call was to check out the Startup folder by going to Start > All Programs > Startup. The Startup folder can be a really useful feature of Windows Vista because you can place shortcuts to your favourite programs in there and they will load up when Windows Vista starts.

The problem is, if there are too many programs in there, it will slow down your computer’s startup as your computer loads them all. Deleting the shortcuts from this folder (don’t worry, it won’t delete the actual programs) will certainly help speed things up. Not all programs that load themselves when your computer starts appear in the Startup folder, however.

Take a look at the Notification area of your Taskbar, which is on the bottom right-hand corner of your desktop next to the clock, to see if there are a lot of icons there. Most of these icons are for programs that run in background, and with all of them starting up when you turn on your computer, it will definitely slow it down.

Many of these programs can be safely prevented from starting up automatically, so you only load them as and when you need to. Most of the time you can right-click the icon and either open the program or go straight to the program’s options or preferences, and from there clear a box that says something like ‘Run this program when Windows starts’.

If there are any programs that you don’t need any more at all, go ahead and uninstall them to get an extra speed boost.

Result: After deleting four shortcuts from the Startup folder and cutting down the Notification icons from a massive 19 down to seven, we saw a huge improvement in the computer’s start-up speed.

Going in deeper

Not all programs give the option to prevent them from automatically starting up. To disable more stubborn programs, we went in to the powerful Msconfig utility. Before using this you should create a Restore point so you can revert your PC back to its former settings should anything go wrong.

Click Start and type msconfig. Click the Startup tab and you’ll see a list of programs, the name of the manufacturer of each program, and the program’s path (where it’s kept on your hard drive). Using all this information you can tell whether these programs are essential to making your PC run properly.

As a general rule, don’t disable any programs from Microsoft

because these are usually vital for Windows Vista. Any drivers or programs related to your graphics card and other hardware should be left alone as well. Once you’ve disabled the programs you want, exit Msconfig and restart your PC.

If there are any problems or error messages, make a note and go back into Msconfig and check the boxes of the problem programs. You can also stop some services running on startup. Only stop them if you’re sure that you don’t need them. Again, no Microsoft services should be turned off.

If there are any services you want to stop, it’s a good idea to search for the service on the internet to make sure it’s okay to do so. Once again, if there are any problems, open Msconfig again and restart the services.

Use Msconfig to disable more programs at startup

1. LAUNCH MSCONFIG Msconfig is a powerful application that’s usually only used by advanced computer users. This is why it doesn’t have a snazzy name, and why you won’t find it in the Start Menu. To launch it click Start and type msconfig into the search box.

2. TICK THE BOXES Click the Startup tab and then in the Startup Item column clear the boxes of the programs you wish to prevent from loading on startup. Be careful which programs you deselect, however…

3. RESTART YOUR PC For these changes to take effect you’ll need to restart your PC. Make sure you have saved all your work, and then click Restart. This is a good opportunity to examine the improvements that your changes have made so far.

Result: We found a number of programs that didn’t need to load on startup, so we unchecked them. We also found a couple of services that ran on startup that were used by old programs we had long ago uninstalled, so we safely stopped them.

Windows 7 Networking

2009-07-19T22:51:00.000-07:00

The process of installing Windows 7 involves a stage in which end users need to Set a Network Location. The SNL dialog window can be revisited after deployment, and the settings altered. In this context, location is key. In order to simplify the network configuration, Windows 7, just as Windows Vista

before it, allows users to set up a network connection in accordance to location. The SNL dialog offers three different network locations: Public, Work and Home. What it does is that when the computer detects a network connection, options are provided for the user to help define and apply appropriate network settings automatically.

User interaction is only necessary when choosing among Home, Work or Public locations, as Windows 7 does all the heavy lifting. But you can’t even tell there’s any heavy lifting involved as the configuration process is extremely fast, and I for example, have yet to see it fail even once, after countless installs of the platform in pre-Beta, Beta, RC and pre-RTM stages.

In all fairness, the Windows 7 client comes with an additional option for network location, namely Domain. However, Domain is reserved for enterprise environments and is out of the reach of end users. The option is controlled entirely by a network administrator, users cannot opt to take advantage of Domain by themselves or alter the configuration.

“The first time that you connect to a network, you must choose a network location. This automatically sets the appropriate firewall and security

settings for the type of network that you connect to. If you connect to networks in different locations (for example, a network at your home, at a local coffee shop, or at work), choosing a network location can help ensure that your computer is always set to an appropriate security level,” Microsoft informs.

Network locations

It is important to understand that the location options are in direct correlation with network categories in Windows 7. The next iteration of the Windows client is associated with the following network categories: Public; Private and Domain-authenticated. Work and Home are Private, Domain networks belong to the Domain Authenticated category, and Public networks are intimately connected with the homonymous category.

“The Private category is split into Work and Home locations for internal Windows configuration. Some Windows 7 features behave differently depending on the Work or Home location. For example, HomeGroup – can only create or join while on a Home network; can only access other homegroup members if on a Home network. Remote Media Streaming (RMS): cannot act as content sources (RMS server) a server while on a Public network; can only act as content receivers (RMS client),” Microsoft stated.

In my experience, the difference between Public and Private networks, especially with Windows Vista, managed to confuse some users. I had to deal with people looking to share both folders and devices on their machine with other computers on the network. In attempting to do so, they set their PC to a Public connection, as they thought that Private would have the opposite result and close down access to their computer altogether. Indeed, the two options functioned vice-versa. So, if you want to share as much as your Windows machine as possible with other computers, Home and Private connections are the way to go. Want as much security as possible and no intrusions from the network? Then go with the Public option.

“Network Location and Windows Firewall are independent of each other, but the configuration of Windows Firewall is based on the current network category or categories (Windows Firewall supports multiple active firewall profiles). By default, if connected to a Public network, only Core Networking rules are enabled. By default, if connected to a Private network, Core Networking, Network Discovery, and Remote Assistance rules are enabled. Windows Firewall has no effect on the SNL dialog. The SNL dialog will display whether Windows Firewall is enabled or disabled,” the Redmond-based company revealed.

The labels used for the network locations are pretty much self-explanatory. The Home option doesn’t necessarily need to be used for a home network, but rather when users can trust the computers and devices the machine will connect to. This is also the only option that will allow for the Windows 7 computer to create a HomeGroup, a feature designed to allow users to seamlessly share and access content among computers running the successor of Windows Vista.

A Work network is by definition a tad more limited than a home network. In this regard, although network discovery is enabled by default and computers and devices are visible among all users, a HomeGroup cannot be created.

“Choose Public network for networks in public places (such as coffee shops or airports). This location is designed to keep your computer from being visible to other computers around you and to help protect your computer from any malicious software from the Internet. HomeGroup is not available on public networks, and network discovery is turned off. You should also choose this option if you’re connected directly to the Internet without using a router, or if you have a mobile broadband connection,” Microsoft stated.

Users will also notice that, at the very bottom of the SNL dialog, they have the option to “treat all future networks that I connect to as public, and don’t as me again.” If this option is selected, network location will default to Public.

The Network and Sharing Center

The Network and Sharing Center has undoubtedly evolved in comparison to the feature introduced in Windows Vista. While in Windows XP’s successor the focus was on Sharing and discovery settings, in Windows 7, the Network and Sharing Center brings to the foreground options related to setting up and connecting to a network, defining a HomeGroup and troubleshooting eventual problems.

By default, users will need to do nothing more than select a network location and Windows 7 will take care of the rest. “Client computers running Windows7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP are configured by default as DHCP clients, which obtain IP addresses and DHCP options automatically from the DHCP server,” Microsoft explained.

There is, however, one configuration aspect that I’d like to touch. As do its precursors, Windows 7 allows end users to configure a static IP address. The procedure is rather simple. Here is what users need to do. Click Start, and then navigate to Control Panel, Network and Internet, Network and Sharing Center. Network, and Change adapter settings in the left had side pane. Right click the Network Connection you want to change and select Properties. In Local Area Connection Properties, click Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4), and then Properties. In Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) Properties, the General tab will permit you to enter a specific IP address, Subnet mask and Default gateway. You will also have to specify the IP address of the DNS server (or you can use the IP address of the local computer if it is the machine in use as a DNS server.

Domain join for Windows 7

I have also mentioned that Windows 7 has a fourth location option: Domain. “Connecting to a domain network automatically sets the network category to domain authenticated. Some Windows 7 features behave differently depending on the domain-joined status of the computer. For example, HomeGroup: domain-joined computers cannot create a homegroup; can only join a homegroup; cannot share files or printers with a homegroup (cannot push content); can access other homegroup members’ files and printers (can pull content). Remote Media Streaming (RMS): domain-joined computers cannot act as content sources (RMS server); can only act as content receivers (RMS client),” Microsoft revealed.

As I’ve said before, the Domain location for Windows 7 clients is the responsibility of a network admin. To join a specific domain, users will need appropriate credentials, namely an account and a password. These can only be created by the network administrator and supplied to end users. Still, users can join a Domain with their Windows 7 machine.

Right-click on Computer and select Properties. Under the Computer name, domain, and workgroup settings section, go for Change settings, and again for Change under Computer Name tab, the last option at the bottom. Next, enter the Computer Name, the Domain name supplied by the network admin. In the Windows Security dialog > Computer Name/Domain Changes, enter the User name, and the Password. All you need to do now is restart the computer as indicated for the new settings to come into effect.

Install Windows 7 From Bootable USB Drive

2009-07-18T10:29:00.000-07:00

I was searching for way on how to install windows 7 on a net book which does not have a dvd drive, and I have the windows 7 dvd. After some googling I found out a way on how to install windows 7 from a USB drive but the overall process is quite geeky in the end so my layman friend cannot follow this method.

Then I came across a free tool being developed by one the readers at AskVG this free app is called A Bootable USB It lets you create a bootable USB drive to install windows 7, vista or even windows server 2008 directly from a USB Drive.

Here is how you can create a bootable USB Drive with windows 7 setup on it.

Follow are some requirements in order to use this tool

1. You will need a USB Drive ( Size 4GB or more )

2. You will need Windows 7, Vista or Server 2008 DVD Drive or ISO Image

3. You will need Windows Vista or Server 2008 or Windows 7 to run this tool

Either select the DVD Drive option or ISO Image option depending on your requirement and once the process is complete, you can use the bootable USB Drive t install windows 7 or Vista or Server 2008 but you will need to make sure that the computer or laptop on which you want to install windows 7 should support booting with a USB Drive, you can check the same in BOIS settings.

What is a Cookie? A tutorial on cookies

2009-07-14T05:42:00.000-07:00

Literally, a 'Cookie' is referred to biscuits. But in computers, a Cookie has a different meaning. Even those who know about it, think that cookies cause damage to the computer. In this article let us learn about cookies and their usage.

What is a Cookie?

Cookie is a text file created by the webserver and stored in our computer. Let us see what is the purpose of this text file.

Generally when a client computer connects to a server they both get introduced and start sharing information. The server will identify the computer and this relationship will continue until the connection gets discontinued.

But the connection between the web server and a client computer is 'stateless'. After serving the information that the web client requested, if the same client sends another request, then the web server will not know that it is the same person. Instead it will treat is as a new person and serve the information. Cookie is used to change this 'statelessness' in the web server.

With the use of cookies, when a web client connects to a web server, the web server will create a cookie file and write some information about the web client and store it in the web client computer itself. When the same web client connects to the web server next time, the web server will see the cookie file in that computer and will know about the client.

Why to use a cookie?

Personally there is no use of storing the cookie in our computer. But it helps the web server a lot. Web servers creates cookies for two main reasons.

To identify the visitors

A server will normally write details like when did the visitor visit the website, which are the pages he viewed, what is his name etc in a cookie. When the same person visits the same website again, the server will display his name and welcome him, and show those webpages related to his previous visit and also show the changes since his last visit to the website. In short, cookies are used to personalize the website for the visitors.
To record activities

Cookie is also used to record the activities between the web client and the web server and used to rectify problems that may occur during the session. For example, imagine that you are filling out a form with many fields. After filling the first page and moving to the second page if the computer hangs and you had to restart the computer. Then if you restart and go back to the same webpage, the webserver will know the details that you already entered from the cookie and hence will just show the second page directly. If there was no cookie then you will have to type from the first page again.

Common Myths about cookies.

Cookies spread viruses. This is a false statement. Cookie is a text file, therefore virus cannot spread through viruses.
Cookies get stored in any folder in the computer. This is also false. Cookies are also stored in a specific folder only. For example in c:\windows\profiles\yourname\cookies folder, Internet Explorer creates one text file for each cookie. Netscape navigator will store all cookies in c:\Program files\netscape\users 50\default\cookies.txt file.
Using cookies, the other files in your computer can be read. This also is false. Websites just read their own cookies and do not read other cookies or other files.
From other cookies webserver will know which websites you visit. This is also false. A website will only open its own cookies. It will not read other cookies.
You can't read a cookie. This is also false. Cookie is just a text file. You can read cookies using any text editor like notepad.

How to read a cookie file?

You can use a software like 'Cookies Cruncher' to read cookies. You can download cookies cruncher from www.rbaworld.com

In Netscape navigator all the cookies are stored in a single file. You can read it using Netscape navigator. Select 'Edit->Preferences' and click on 'Privacy & Security' and select 'Cookies'. Now click on 'Manage Stored Cookies'.

Tutorial on MS Paint

2009-07-11T09:15:00.000-07:00

You can become a great artist by using computer. The computer provides paint, brush, and canvas to create an image based on your imagination. It makes not only pictures and also makes map, logo wallpaper, and letterhead as you like. For this, you use Photoshop, Corel draw painting software’s. You will buy these software’s or to use equaling share ware programs like paint shop pro etc. For compare to this the free painting programs have less facilities. You can download these free painting programs from Internet.

If you enter Crayola websites you can draw the pictures and enjoy it. Windows operating system have free painting program. That is MS Paint. You can use this to draw the pictures. To open the MS Paint click Start => Programs => Accessories => Paint. Now we have a paint program. The Canvas placed center in this. You are drawing in this canvas. The Toolbox is left side in this canvas. Toolbox has more tools for drawing. Below in the canvas have more colors part. That is a Color Palette. The Menu Bar is above in the canvas.

To Change Canvas Size:

You decide that can you draw the picture in displaying canvas. If you cannot draw that, change the canvas size for any unit like inches, centimeter, and pixel. To change the canvas size click Image Attribute. Type length and width then click OK.

We can use two colors at a time in MS painting program. One is background color another one color is to use drawing in foreground. These two colors are in color palette starting. To change the foreground colors to left click any color in color palette. Now you can see color changed in color palette starting. To change background color to right clicks any color in color palette. If you draw to pressing left click the drawing have background color. If you draw to pressing right click the drawing have background.

Now the canvas and colors are ready then we start to draw the picture. For using in this, the MS Paint gives more tools. If you place mouse in any tool that give a tool name. The MS Paint gives more tools to use drawing. These are Pencil, Brush, Air Brush, Line Curve, Rectangle, Polygon, Ellipse and Rounded Rectangle. If you click one tool more sub tools display below in that tool. It denotes that tools size. For example if you clock Line tool, we have different lines depends upon width to use drawing. We can change the tool that tool size at any time. If you draw wrongly, you can erase that to use Eraser tool. It’s had some different sizes. If you want to type Text in picture to click Text tool and make a rectangle in canvas. Then you can type letter in that rectangle. You can change letter font, size and style.

If you use Rectangle and Ellipse tools, to press these tools with shift key we get square, rectangle respectively. Same as that to press shift key with Rounded Rectangle tool we get rounded square. We want to fill the color in closed object to use Fill with Color tool.

If you want only one part to maximize for painting, you click Magnifier tool then click that part. Now that part is to maximized. If you want to change part size to normal to click Magnifier tool than click that part. The MS Paint gives Free Form Select and Rectangle Select tools to select one part in picture. The Rectangle Select tool used to select square/Rectangle, the Free Form Select to use select other shapes. Then give Edit Copy command, now that part is copy to clipboard. After that you can paste this in any place. If you want to change foreground color to a particular color then click Pick Color tool and then click particular part. This tool is also called as Eye Dropper.

To save the Picture:

We can save the picture to BMP format in MS Paint. BMP means Bitmap. The windows 98-second edition and other edition released after that have BMP, GIF, and JPEG Formats.

To give special effects:

If you click Image menu you got a more commands. We can rotate the pictures, invert the picture, and enlarge the picture like rubber, to slope the picture. You can use this facility for your drawing and became a great artist.

How to remove drawing canvas from MS Word?

2009-07-10T06:37:00.001-07:00

You would have come across a Drawing canvas while trying to paste a picture in a word file. This will be available even before you ask. On that only your picture will be pasted. After that only you move that picture from these to the destination you desire. Do you feel it so difficult and irritating? Do you feel why this canvas is there unnecessarily? Follow the steps below to fulfill your wish.

First go to Tools menu in that select Options, in the following list of tabs you click the General tab. In the various features tack the tick near ”Automatically create drawing canvas when inserting Auto shapes” then click ok and exit. After this action canvas will not function while you paste a picture in word document? If you feel you need the canvas, follow the same steps and select table from the same option.

Facilities of Clipboard in MS Office

2009-07-04T23:23:00.000-07:00

MS-Office clipboard is used to copy and past the text, pictures and graphics. The copy of the text or picture is getting stored in clipboard. We can past that in any windows application. When coping any text it will overwrite that previous text. What can we do for copy more than on text in MS-Office? Answer this please.

It’s totally different from clipboard in windows operating system.

In MS-Office all the application software contains office clipboard. We will see the facility in this. If work based on cut, copy, paste command. We can store 24 items in this clipboard. While trying to copy the 25th item in the clipboard it will replace the first item from the clipboard.

Due to the following option the menu will automatically open.

1. When you cut or copy more than 2 items in a program
2. In a same program copy one text and past after that copy a text.
3. When you past the same item twice.

When office clipboard started the icon is displayed in the left side of status bar. To show the number of text you can go to edit menu and active it. In that it shows more facilities. To get that facility put tick mark in the facility.

1. To display the clipboard automatically. (No need to go edit menu)
2. When we press the Ctrl + c twice, it shows clipboard.
3. To get the facility even though it does not display.
4. To display the icon in the task bar.
5. To show the copy clipboard it display the status of copied item.

When we active Office clipboard in on office program it does not show other office program. The items are in office clipboard until the entire office programs are closed. Or we can delete it by clicking delete in the menu. We can delete the item selected from text. We can paste or delete the file by left click the item. If we press delete it will delete the item. If we select the past it will paste the item where the cursor is placed. If we paste all, it will paste all the items to the document.

Now a question arises in your mind. What is the difference between both the clipboards? Lets see the answer. While you pasting the items continuously in office clipboard the last item will store in operating system clipboard. When we delete all files in office clipboard the item in OS clipboard also get erased. When you are using (CTRL + V) and paste command it will paste content from operating system clipboard.

Custom Views in MS Excel

2009-07-02T21:31:00.000-07:00

Some times we create and use big files in Excel. It becomes difficult to search for the cell we want to work on. So we cannot use Go To features. Not only this we also get confused for go to new cell, print the new cell, create the print settings and make the builders.

Can we create and go to most used cells list. Yes we can. This depends on how do you see the Excel work sheet. The custom view feature gives the solution for this. First you decide the workbook view or printing view then you can save that. This makes some changes but this is to create your favorite views and settings. If you create the print setting for particular view that also gets saved in view setting. We can save and retrieve as many cells we want in a worksheet and hide others. This saves time and energy. Ways to creating the view setting.

First open your large workbook.
Then go to the place you are using.
Now make the changes you want. For example create print area, hide rows, filters, subtotals. Then create the view settings.
Go to view menu and select the custom view there. Now open the custom view window.
Press the Add button to create new view. The opened window gives the feature of decide the name of the new view. Select the view name that is used to identify easily.

You can also decide the new view print settings. After doing that give the name for view then click ok. This is a method for creating your favorite views and save these views. Now you return to the workbook and drop it there. Then you can retrieve the saved view. For that go to view menu then select custom views there. Select the wanted view in select the name of the view at the window and click show. Now you got a workbook with selected cells and settings. If you want delete the view setting go to custom views then press the delete button.

What is Firefox? A tutorial on Firefox

2009-07-01T20:30:00.000-07:00

Majority of the Internet users use Microsoft's Internet Explorer to browse the web. Internet Explorer (IE) is the entry point to most of the security problems in Windows. There are many security holes in IE, therefore Microsoft releases security patches evey now and then to fix these security holes.

Consider you are entering any website using IE. Even without clicking on any link or image on that webpage it is possible that your computer is infected by a spyware. Hackers can use these security holes to install vspyware in the computer without you doing anything on the webpage.

Not only spyware, Pop up Adware, Home Page Hijacking are some of the other common problems in Internet Explorer. It is true that if you update your windows frequently, you can fix these holes and keep your computer safe.

To escape from all the problems identified above, you can start using the free Firefox browser. Another reason for using Firefox is that Microsoft has announced it will not release any security patches for Internet explorer for Windows 95, 98, 98 SE and ME users. Security patches for Internet explorer will be released only for the Windows XP users.

Firefox is a free internet browser provided by Mozilla, which can be downloaded from here.

How to install Firefox browser?

As mentioned above, download the installation file. Close all the windows applications especially the Internet Explorer windows. Now locate the downloaded firefox executable file and double click. The Firefox installation wizard will run. Just follow the steps and install the Firefox browser.

You can also import all your preferences and favourites from your Internet explorer settings to your Firefox browser. The 'favourites' in IE is called as 'Bookmarks' in Firefox.

Not only favourites, you can also bring History, Passwords etc from your Internet explorer to your firefox. For this, during the installation of Firefox, the 'Import Wizard' will ask you whether you want to import all your IE settings to firefox, if you choose 'Yes' then just follow what the wizard shows.

How to use Firefox?

Just like Internet Explorer, Firfox is a web browser. Hence you can use it very easily. However there are some differences between internet explorer and firefox. To read more about firefox you can access this page www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/index.html .

To download IE View software in Firefox

With firefox you can enter any website in the Internet. However some websites are specifically created for IE and support only Internet Explorer. Especially, Microsoft's 'Windows Update' or 'Encarta' sites support Internet Explorer browser only. You cannot do windows update using Firefox browser unless you download IE View software.

There is a way to cheat websites that need Internet Explorer browser. We can make firefox show itself as IE to these websites and access them successfully. IE View software developed by Paul Roub can do this. You can download IE View freely at https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/35/

Now to use IE View, just view the webpage normally in firefox. Right click on that page and select 'View this page in IE' option for IE targeted sites.

Merging the cells in excel

2009-06-29T20:15:00.000-07:00

Merge cell wizard is used in MS-Excel, used for, merge or join the cell two or three cells in the spreadsheet. Use the merge cell wizard every time you need to place data into several cells or when you need to merge cells retaining their value. With merge cell wizard you can merge data from several Microsoft Excel cells into one cell using spacebar you like. For this the following process at first select the cells which would be want to merge and highlight them, then press Ctrl + Shift + s. Now the cells would be selected then press Shift + _ key. Now you found all borders between the cells would be erased. We can also done it by pressing shift + arrow marks.

Tutorial on MS Paint

2009-06-27T21:38:00.000-07:00

What is Dual Core Processor?

2009-06-26T20:00:00.000-07:00

By the invention of new chip Intel organization makes a milestone in the usage of personal computer. The chip contains two new functional processors. The personal computer containing this kind of chip would able act as double-brained system. Past 12years empire of the Pentium chips comes to an end. This new invention had brought on the silver jubilee of the invention of personal computer.

This chip had been brought 40years after the invention of moor’s law. Moor’s law says that the capacity and speed of the processor will be doubling every 2 years while the cost remains same.

By using this dual pc we get high clarity of video, picture and audio’s. even though we get digitalize pictures in 3D effect.

Uses of dual core processor:

It can handle to entirely different type of processes as fast and easily at same time. For example a dual core chip can do the work of making imagination about the four car’s traveling path and also it can observe the path for it. We don’t want improve the speed of cars. by this dual core chip we do the music file downloading and games downloading on same time. At the same time we can also handle high capacity of data’s also. Before the dual core technology we use Hyper-threading technology, which can manage two different processes at single time. But dual core technology handles four different processing at single time.

What is the meaning of chipset?

We know about the word chipset in production of pc. What is mean by chipset? And what is the work of it? Shall we discuss about it?
Chipset is the most important part of our desktop computer’s motherboard. All works are done around it. Chipset manage the work of how to execute commands which would be executed first how the output is get. Work done by using the memory. This the main work of chipset.

A chipset contain two bridges namely south bridge and North Bridge. North Bridge contains the working parts like CPU, system memory and work between graphical memories. This is called as Intel memory controller hub. Intel organization calls the graphical and video processes as graphical memory controller. South Bridge is called as integrated controller hub. It contains 3GB serial ATA, raid level matrix, high definition audio, USB ports. CPU is the central part of computer. It is called as central processing unit up to now we use the CPU, which contain only one CPU, but dual core chip.

While computer is processing CPU should acting very fast for this huge amount of heat will be produced it won’t cool by the fan, which is fixed on the CPU. Instead of this we use dual core chip means it will reduce the heat. New edition software designed as the facility using dual core. So the execution time must be reduced for example in Internet we can view and copy was ten sites at a single time at the same we can also make work on word processor also.
Lets consider that you are hearing MP3 songs in mp3 player, suddenly u want to edit a picture from the Photoshop and mail it to your friends. Computer speed will be decreases when tasks are increases. In future more number of Technologies important take over in dual core chip.

New Digital Devices

2009-06-25T20:31:00.001-07:00

MP3 Player:

Apple’s IPOD device gets an unique position to enjoy listening to songs and to store it. Recently Sandish Corporate introduces a device namely Sansa player, which is same as IPOD. But its memory capacity is two times greater than IPOD. It’s memory capacity is nearly 8GB here we can load and hear 2000 songs. 4GB IPOD player and 8GB Sandish player are sold for 250 $.
Sandish Organization produces their flash memory chip by own, so that the cost of flash memory chip will get reduced. They got a unique position to give the chips for worldwide.

Three-in-One device:

Index Technology Company introduces a new device, which is the combination of MP3 player, PEN drive and FM Radio. It is very Useful to the Users.

Two models of 3 in 1 devices are introduced based on their memory capacity of 512MB and 1GB. 3 in 1 device have the options of MIKE, VOLUME CONTROLLER, PLAY, FORWARD, REVERSE, SEARCH, REPLY, REPEAT. It also gives EARPHONE, USB combining drive and also one-year guarantee. 512MB 3 in 1 player cost Rs.2999 and 1GB 3 in 1 player cost Rs.3, 800

Lenova’s ThinkPad:

Lenova produce tow notebook computer’s by using the dual core chip of Intel’s. They are respectively named as ThinkPad Z61 and R60.Thinkpad Z61 has 14.1-inch screen and R60 has 15.4-inch screen. Its initial price is 60,000 Rs.

Problems and Tips while using USB ports

2009-06-25T10:55:00.001-07:00

Some readers says that while is inserting flash drive in USB port. The system didn’t recognize it how could we overcome it.

First of all we should know the two types of USB ports.

USB 1.1: This is the first type of USB. It designed as per the speed of transferring 1.5mb/sec data’s. This is designed instead of serial and parallel port for the use of USB port. This is basically used only for connecting mouse and keyboard. System would be struggled for data overloading.

USB 2.0: This kind of USB ports is used for large scale into data transfer. More readers ask that how to identify these two kind of USB ports. To identify the model use the following commands. Start=>My computer=> properties. And click Hardware tab after than select Device Manager. Now you got the list. In that list select the plus symbol that is located after “Universal Serial Bus controllers” if your system have USB 1.1 mean it displays as “Host controller (or) Open Host Controller”. Else USB 2.0 is used mean it displays like.” Enhanced host controller (or) USB 2.0 controller.

Your windows operating system says that the connected USB get speeded. When you are connecting the high speed USB to logo speed USB port of the system, but most of the reader saying that while connecting the USB device to the system. The device was not getting detected. Commonly while inserting an USB device to the system. Window XP will say new hardware found. This message will display in the hard disk. While inserting the USB device it will get auto play, and enquire whether to open the files as file (Or) audio format (Or) video format? It assigns a drive letter for it. If all the details mentioned above had not displayed means the inserted device had not matched with your operating system. You can solve this by doing below.

Go to Start => control panel =>Administrative Tools and click in administrative tool. After that double click on Computer Management.
In that left side select Disk Management, at the right side a drive displays with the name of a removable drive. This is the drive thus containing to same name of already using drive.
To change it right click on the while bar then a got a list.
Now select “change drive letters and paths”.
Now you can select the letter that you want. Click the “change” option.
The letter that you selected it should be already used one.
After finishing this you should get a warning message.
Now click ok to it.
Now close the computer management console while clicking the My computer icon.
You can see the USB drive’s letter.

We face more problems on problem on using USB port. Some part may become in accessible due to the power shortage of computer. These kinds of problems happen on USB 1.1 ports only. These problems happen only on windows 2000 and the before edition while getting these kind of problems. We just disconnect the instruments after that connect one by one.

Now a days the new version computer consists of at-least four USB ports. Two ports are fixed in backside and the remaining two parts are fixed in front side. Windows XP packages will manage these ports without any problems.

How to remove drawing canvas from MS Word?

2009-06-24T19:22:00.001-07:00

How to measure size of computer files?

2009-06-24T05:49:00.000-07:00

We measure size of files created in computer by kilobytes, megabytes. We measure modems speed by bits. Let’s see what they denote and let’s see some difference between them.

BIT: In the computer-associated measures this is the smallest one. No file can be in the measures of bits; its value is 0 or 1.
BYTE: combinations of 8 bits are called one byte. To create a file that containing one byte of data is very hard.
KILOBYTE (KB): proximately it has 1024 bytes of combinations. While downloading a file from net we denote it by the units of kilobytes.
MEGABYTE (MB): combinations of 1,048,576 bytes (or) 1024 kilobytes are called 1 megabyte.
GIGABYTE (GB): combinations of 1024 megabytes are called 1 gigabyte. This unit denotes capacity of hard disk.
Now we can fix this unit to some more devices.

* We can store 1.44 MB of data’s into a 3.25 inch floppy.
* In a compact disk we can store 650 to 700 MB data’s. But we won’t completely utilize the space available in cd.one cd contains the space equals to 450 3.25 inch floppy.
* A 20 gigabyte hard disk contains the space equal to 31 cd’s.(i.e.)14,222 floppy’s data.
* In an ordinary dial up connection .it takes 7 to 10 min’s for download a 1 Mega byte file.
* A normal single text page will be in 4 KB when it is changed as a file.

To find the size of a file, just right click on it .now you got a menu and then select the “PROPERTIES” from it. Now you got the size of that particular file.

How to assign or change a drive letter in your hard disk?

2009-06-22T19:42:00.000-07:00

While assembling a computer, usually drive C attains main role and others become subsidiary, while using pen drives the OS automatically assigns an alphabet and later delete it. Do you know you can assign a name using A to Z alphabets? Disk Management snap in software in windows XP provides this feature. A and B letters are assigned for your floppy drive C is assigned disk containing OS. If you don’t have floppy drive you can use A and B for other drives. But you may install floppy drives some day so we will leave out A and B and see how to assign other alphabets.

To assign all favorite letters to a disk drive (or) part of (or) a volume for the first time do as said below. First start log in as user.

1. Then click start=> control panel option, it will list sum of option then select Performance and Maintenance. (Note: This option will be enable only on control panel. So we should open it.)
2. Now click Administrative tools and then double click on computer management. Now some of option listed on the left side of it then selects Disk management.)
3. Now right click on the drive, as you want to create letters, and then click on change drive letter and paths.
4. From that click Add
5. Now default computer mark the type of letter from “Assign the following drive letter” Now you can make changes only by selecting some other type of letter.

We see how to change the type of letter for a drive on its parts
1. Select start=>control panel a window will be open then select “Performance and Maintenance” from that window.
2. Now click on “Administrative Tools” after that double click on computer management. Now you get sum of option from the left side of window here we select the Disk management.
3. Right click on the drive (or) the part on we want change the letter type after that select “change drive letter and paths” from it.
4. Now click on “change” option carefully
5.Now select the type of letter from “Assign the following drive letter” option and give ok to it
6. Carefully give yes when a dialogue box open with the message of whether change the type of letter. Now you got to selected letter types enabled on the drives.

To change the already existing letter, use following
1. Click start=>control panel. Now you get new window. Select performance and maintenance option from that window.
2. Now click on Administrative tools after that double click on computer management. Now select the disk management option from the left side of the window.
3. Right click on the drive (or) part as you want to change the letter type, then “change drive letter and paths”
4. Now carefully click the “remove” option
5. Now you got a dialogue box, which contains the warning message. Click Yes on it. At this time you got the certain type of letter will be removed.

Like this you would apply this option for your drive.

A warning from Microsoft KB925568 about Hackers

2009-06-16T21:33:00.001-07:00

Recently Microsoft announced a warning about hackers in the name of KB925568. Accessing the files from others computer with out their knowledge are called as Hackers. They will enter into our files through Internet Explorer or OS of Microsoft. After that Microsoft find a decision for this.

Recently KB925568 warning declared that the vector graphics is used to designing the graphical website. By using this weaker position of graphics hackers entered into it. Creating a new website for attracting the computer users. When the users enters these sites, hackers easily enter into users computer through graphical pictures when opened, and install spy ware and mal ware. With these they can harm the system. Microsoft has already warned about this issue, but it has not given any solution for the problem. If you ask whether we have to worry about it or not, I would answer both yes and no, because this mode is used by sexual and porn sites only. Till you don’t visit them you can avoid it. But the hackers will certainly try to use normal websites too. We have to be careful. For that you can follow the ways given.

1.Don’t see the e-mails in html page view it as text, because html page contain attractive direct links to websites. It initiates us to view it.

2. Install anti virus in our computer. We also make continuous updates on it.

3. Also install Personal Firewalls in your computer. There are more firewalls available on it at free of cost.

4. Also update the batch files like windows update which Microsoft gives.

5. Don’t open unknown emails. Delete it from your trash box also.

6. Don’t open the emails and links which is comes form unexpected address

7. Visit only the trustable and already visited websites.

Now days these kind of attacks are done again some circle of people and companies. So Microsoft didn’t release batch files for it. Next security update batch file will be released on October 10.

Such type of attacks increases means Microsoft will produce batch files for it. Shall I give a small note on KB925568? Whatever it happen don’t confused go to Microsoft website and clear your doubts.

How to reformat boot disk and hard disk?

2009-06-15T21:17:00.001-07:00

Whenever an error occurs in an operating system or any important programs or whenever system collapses. The question arising is, is there any boot disk? Some people ask booting disk! What is this all about? Others feel for not creating such things.
To avoid you from facing this problem I am giving this tip.

What is boot disk?

A boot disk & booting disk is all the same. These are not different. Basically the disks that consist of programs, which help a computer to function and startup, are called a boot disk. Mostly the computer boots from their hard disk only. We go for boot disk only when there is the problem in the hard disk. A boot disk can be a floppy disk, ACD, or DVD. For a boot disk to perform its function it should consist of files. Computer should know to understand and accept this files. The disk should consist of all O/S files or at least essential O/S files.

When and how you will use boot disk?

Whenever the operating system or the files of operating system in hard drive does not get loaded properly in to the memory, we use boot disk. How this happens? This happens when the system is not able to read OS files in the hard drive due to data blocks or due to some other error. The data block can be remove using the disk repair or the hard drive can be formatted and the operating system can be reinstalled.
Our friends suggest reformatting the disk whenever small errors are taking place. But before reformatting think carefully and act.

First of all what is formatting?

We can see what happens when it is done. When we start to reformat. Its start from the hard disk of the computer. We here only important information in the computer is saved. Any way it becomes like clean state after you have reformatted. Some people would reformat their disk ones in 6 months or a year. This is the good idea but not essential one as some IT companies will provide boot disk or installation CD this will help us to reformat, because of this computer attains the state when it first came to you whenever you can do a reformat whenever or program crashes without any explanation and the computer collapses and all or measures to repair it fails you can reformat. There are 5 stages in the reformatting. I will explain the basic stages here.

1. First of all you have to take a backup of all the files in the hard drive of or computer. Here the files means not only that data files and also program files, application files, software files, the favorite website addresses and e-mail are to be back up. You have to remove the unwanted files from you are system no need of back up such unwanted files.
2. Next you have to create a boot disk in the case of you don’t have boot disk. You have to select the boot disk as floppy or CD according to your computer and check the boot disk it correct or not because its important for next stage.
3. In the third stage is little more confused don’t work. It’s easy when we understand .In this stage we have to reformat and partition the hard disk partition means dividing the hard disk for our facility. Due to this we can handle the drive partitions. Depends upon our file types. When we reformat the drive the files and in formations are fully deleted, so that only we create the back up. When we partition the hard disk its ready to get the files.
4. The major part of formatting the hard disk is finishes after that we have to installed all the programs first of all we have to install OS for that we should have installation CD feed the CD into the drive and install. It as per the commands
After that you have to install the programs and copy the files from your back up. After finishing this you get a Internet connection to view your favorite website and listen music your hard drive get new look you can use your computer as new.
5. The above all basic hints only it explain the common stages in the process.
Do you want to know briefly you can get it from websites? It contains more explanation and pictures. Down load it to read.

What is Four-in-One computer chip?

2009-06-14T20:08:00.000-07:00

Two months back Intel started a revolution on P.C by releasing DUAL CORE CHIP. After that now it releases the CPUs with 4 chips in November 2007. In dual core chip we get a new experience on 3D games. But four-in-one chips will increase the potential of the server. The chips would be released on 2007.It would increase the usage to the computer in home and in office. Mr.Ottelni chief of Intel says that the four-in-chip is 70% more effective than the dual core chip. Now Intel 65 Nm Tech, by next year it use 45Nm Tech. (1Nm = 1/109 m). In 45 Nm techs we can fix the transistors closely into the chip. If we fix more number of Transistors in a small space, it will increase the efficiency. If we fix four-chip combination it increases the efficiency and also reduce the heat.

In his seminar Ottenli shows a silicon wafer chapathi. It contains 80 Tera flop chips by using the chips we can execute 1 Lakh crores digital actions within one second. Now it is in starting stage, soon it comes to trade oriented if can execute a job of a computer, which contains thousand chips.

He also shows the P.C named community P.C that is designed by specialist in Bangalore Intel. This computer is more compact and air tight batteries. They are also manufacturing computer named schoolmate, which is used by students. It is a small notebook computer for school students. It doesn’t have hard disk, instead of that flash memory is used. It costs around Rs. 13,500. In future its cost must be reduced and will be used by all school students.

How to print all files in a folder in a single command?

2009-06-13T23:24:00.000-07:00

We can print one document in Windows XP. But how to we print all files in the folders? Ok. If one folder has 10 files we can open all files and then give print command. If 100 files are there and you have to take a printout of all of them what can we do? Here only notepad comes to our help here we can write a batch file and command it to print from a right place. Lets see briefly how is this done.

First of all open note pad, through Start, All Programs, Accessories, Notepad then type the following code without fault.

@echo off

dir%1/-p/o: gin>

“%temp%\listing”

Start/wnotepad/p”%temp%\listing”

Del”%temp%%\listing”

exit

Save the file as printdir.bat, then save it in c:\windows folder. A small tip: - you can save this file in any name but you must give the extension as .bat only. Now you have successfully created a file to print. Now, let’s see how to print all files in a folder,

1) First double click the My Computer icon.
2) Select Folder options from the Tools menu
3) Then Click File types tab, it will be in the upper side of the screen.
4) You will find a file type below” Registered file types”
5) Select it and click Advanced Tab
6) This opens Edit File Type. In this you can see a button “New” click it
7) New action dialog box opens
8)Type print directory in action tab
9) Browse for c:\windows\printdir.bat through browse button at application used to perform action
10) Click ok and close all the dialog boxes

If lot of files is to be printed we can create a folder and put them inside it, now right click on the folder and select print directory option in it, if you select this all files in the folder will be printed.

Keys for Special Symbols

2009-06-11T20:01:00.001-07:00

To get † symbol use Alt+0134
To get ‡ symbol use Alt+0135
To create the trade mark (™) symbol use Alt+0153
To get bound sterling (£) symbol use Alt+0163
To get the Japanese currency yen (¥) symbol use Alt+0165
To get copy right symbol (©) use Alt+0169
To get registered trade mark symbol (®) use Alt+0174
To get degree symbol (°) use Alt+0176
To show (±) symbol use Alt+0177
To show super script 2 symbol (²) use Alt+0178
To show super script 3 symbol (³) use Alt+0179
To make a center dot symbol (•) use Alt+0183
To describe ¼ use Alt+0188
To describe ½ use Alt+0189
To describe ¾ use Alt+0190

We can create more symbols as same as above. We mostly use the above symbols. To see more combinations of symbols visit at http://home.earthlink.net/~awinkelried/keyboard_shortcuts.html

Additional information about IE7

2009-06-09T05:33:00.000-07:00

1.Is the Internet Explorer Updates automatically? i.e. if we are online does Internet Explorer lower version downloads files automatically so that it updates to version 7, this has been asked by lot of people, They are a little afraid about it

Internet Explorer version 7.0 is not provided with automatic updated service, it seems it will be provided only from the month of November, but Microsoft feels that version 6 is not safe and it should be replaced by version 7, but without the permission of the end user the new version’s files will not get installed. A window consisting of End User rights will be provided for user in which a Don’t Install button is provided if the user feels updating is not required he could press this button to cancel the installation. If a user feels He doesn’t needs automatic update he could use popup blocker in the address
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/updatemanagement/windowsupdate/ie7blockertoolfaq.mspx

2.If the demo version of the newer version is already installed in your computer, it automatically gets updated.

3.If Windows XP and ServiceBag2 are installed in your computer automatically Internet Explorer 7 gets installed.

4.The Bookmark, History and Favorites of the Internet Explorer 6 does not gets deleted and automatically gets transformed to the newer version.

5.Internet Explorer 7 along with Windows Vista will definitely have additional features.

6.I.E.Ver7 is available through Microsoft Download center website and automatic updating tool.
7. I.E. version & will not work in Windows 98 & 2000 versions it will work only with Windows XP and future Windows operating systems

8.We can install I.E. 7 and I.E.6 can be installed separately and can be used simultaneously.

9.There is no answer from Microsoft for the questions such as Will XP Service Bag 3 will arrive are not with I.E 7 available in it?

10.Is power toys available with I.E. 7? Has been a frequent question; my answer is We have better tools than that with additional features which can be downloaded from http://www.ieaddons.com

11.An Engineering student as enquired Whether I.E 7 developed using c++ or C#? We come to know that it had been developed using C++ only.

12.An I.E in connection with Windows Vista will definitely be provided.

Additional information:

1. IE edition 7 gives a different look. Usually the menus and files are hidden we can use when we want. Because of that we had large space for viewing the page

2. A menu for common uses that has controls that is flexible is attached while viewing websites.

3. It has browsing through tape methodology, so we can view number of websites in a single browser window. This makes browsing easier

4. Websites with similar information can be listed in a same tape using tape groups technology. So in a single click we can browse several sites containing relevant in formations, preventing delay in browsing you doesn’t have to keep clicking address.

5. If you want to search while you are browsing, you can do this with instant search mechanism. So that you can find your favorite search engines and fin what u need while you browsing.

6. Printing mechanism is improved, using this you can compress and print all the information in the website. In many pages print preview mechanism is provided, selected text can also be printed.

7. You can compress and keep favorite sites, tape groups, browsing history and R.S.S using favorites center mechanism provided.

8. Using page zoom feature a certain web page can be zoomed and viewed. This would be very handy for people with eye defects.

Tutorial on ASCII and ANSI standards

2009-06-08T10:16:00.001-07:00

ASCII and ANSI codes are two types of codes used in the computer. American Standard Code for Information Interchange is the expansion for ASCII. American National Standards Institute is the expansion for ANSI.

ANSI and ASCII definitions are very important. We use keyboard to type ‘A’ to ‘Z’ , ‘a’ to ‘z’ , numbers from ‘0’ to ‘9’ and special symbols. These symbols though helpful to us, computer understand only numerical. Each key has a value. Computer takes in account the value of the key you press and produces it in monitor

ASCII CODE: ASCII codes are seven digits numbers. If we multiply 2 for 7 times it gives 128,is’nt it? So the number of ASCII numbers is 128,So each number takes values between 0 to 127.For e.g. The alphabet A takes the value 65,the alphabet a takes the value 97.8 bits are used to represent a single ASCII number.

ANSI CODE: The total number ANSI numbers that uses 16 bits is 65,536. (If 2 is multiplied for 16 times we get 65536. ANSI is called as the superset of ASCII, so lot special symbols can be typed using it.

To type ANSI and ASCII numbers: To display letter in the monitor we need to type the ASCII or ANSI value of the number. 3 digits denote ASCII and, 4 digits denote ANSI. We already see that the ANSI value of A is 65 when we specifies this in ANSI we have to specify as 065 in three digits. As same as in ASCII we have to specify as 0065 in four digits. For typing the ANSI and ASCII codes we should use the Numeric Keypad, which is in left side of our keyboard. We should not use the number keys, which is in second row of our keyboard. For typing ANSI and ASCII code open the word document in Microsoft. Press the Num lock key the light should glow.

*Press Alt key and type the keys 065(in Numeric Keypad). Letter A will display. Press Alt key and type other values (example 078,094,). From typing the three digit numbers we get the ASCII letters.

*Press Alt key and type the keys 0128. Displays the Euro money symbol, as same as type other four digit numbers (example 0065,0163,). We get ANSI letters.

What is Downloading, Uploading Installing and Un-Installing

2009-06-06T23:37:00.001-07:00

Downloading, Uploading, Installing and Un installing are most favorite words in the usage of computer and Internet. Let’s see about this.

Downloading:

We are copying a file from a network or an Internet to our computer is called downloading. We need not to do so much work for this. In Internet it displays, if you want this facility click here to download. If we click the link it will ask the place to store the file then we select the directory. The file will start to download. It shows the message it contain the rate and time.

Uploading:

This is the reverse process of downloading. That is we can copy the files from can computer to a network or the Internet. Generally the process is run by F.T.P. some of the Internet website provide the way to upload the files through their browsers.

Installing:

Mostly the peoples confuse both downloading and installing. Installing means process of our computer is preparing for run a program. Generally its have a setup program to run when we are executing the setup program it ask some questions. We give to answer for this questions then it start copy the files to your computer for run the particular program. If we want to run the program we may click the icons in the desktop. Otherwise select the program from star/program menu.

Un Installing:

This is also the reverse process of installing while installing the program. It will copy the files in your computer. When we don’t want the program it’s hard task find and delete the files. Because of that the developers are create one exe file for uninstalling with that program.

We can see the file in program directory. Otherwise we can uninstall the file by select the Add/Remove Program option in control panel. Here all the installed programs are arranged in alphabetical order. We can select the program from the list, which is wanted to uninstall.

Computer Monitor troubleshooting steps

2009-06-04T23:03:00.000-07:00

Consider now your computer works properly. But the monitor has a problem. The monitor problems irritate us while we want to get things done fast. Follow these steps to troubleshoot your monitor.

1. First of all check if the power supply to the monitor is ON. In old type of computers the power supply is given in the CPU but in recent computers the monitors have own power cable.. Check if it is fixed correct and If the switch is on. If the power supply comes to the monitor the LED will glow in the monitor. Otherwise it does not glow.

2. After that you have a switch control in monitor for adjusting the monitor setting. You can adjust to get display. Children may change the settings mistakenly. We can check it out.

3. After that check whether video cable is connected to the CPU firmly.

4. If you have any other monitor you can connect with CPU by using the same video cable and also the problem continuous that means the video cable has a problem.

5. If you can connect your monitor with another CPU then we decide the problem is in your monitor. You have to change your monitor or repair the monitor by the technician.

6. When booting the computer the monitor that is identified maybe incorrect then we decide the problems in your display card. Try to change the monitor driver if you have the CD. Or change the video card.

After fixing new display card, if the problem continues then change your monitor. Don’t buy a second hand monitor. Buy a monitor based on new technology releases when you buy a new monitor. Recently the flat LCD monitors are cheep.

PC is now 25 years old

2009-06-04T00:45:00.001-07:00

Before 25 years in august 12,1981 IBM releases personal computers for small level organization, home and School. During that period it cost was $ 1,565 and the monitor will display the letter in green color. It contains 16 KB memory. It doesn’t use any hard disks. OS and files are save in the floppies, which are in big size. Bilgates develop disk operating system for this computer. After that Apple produced a different computer. But 90% of computers around the world were produced by IMB.

The pc can be used by public and students. This credits goes to HCL. Following them Wipro, PSI, Smith TCL data system also give their products to Indian people.

The computer production now grows well in the range of 27% per year. The producers of the computer and assemblers were producing lakes and lakes of computers per year. Now the computer containing dual processor had came into practice. These computers are highly configured than the previously manufactured computers.

In the case of operating system in the personal computer, first it starts from the DOS operating system and goes to tremendous level. Particularly Bilgates release the Windows 95 OS. People around the world had celebrated that as a festival.

Like the scientific development computer field also get developed. At the same time the disaster also being growing side by side.

Some of the people are saying that the life of personal computer had reduced now and some of them are refusing that. They are telling that the cost of the personal computer had got reduced and the efficiency had got increased and the computer was being an entertainment device in homes and it takes place around audio system and TV.

But the mobile phones were coming to make computations with computers. One mobile phone cans wok as a Desktop computer or laptops. One device, which combines both the device, will release soon and it will be in the public hands. When pc will reach it 50th age, we can’t judge the usage and efficiency of the pc, we have to wait and see it.

Facilities of Clipboard in MS Office

2009-06-03T04:17:00.000-07:00

It’s totally different from clipboard in windows operating system.

Due to the following option the menu will automatically open.

1. When you cut or copy more than 2 items in a program
2. In a same program copy one text and past after that copy a text.
3. When you past the same item twice.

Some Windows Error messages and means to avoid them

2009-06-02T03:09:00.001-07:00

While we working in computer you may get a black blank screen with white words at that time we get confusion about, whether the file, which is not saved, may get erased so we restart the system. At that time we won’t get tension just read the message and follow the action. These errors are happening with out the CPU knowledge, some of the errors and reasons and how to avoid this are given below.

This program is not responding End now cancel

These types of errors are occurring while we get transfer the data’s frequently from program to computer. If the program got crash means you got the message as End now/ Cancel. These errors are occurs on old type of computers. When we use our pcs on hard task we got this message at that time you may click Cancel and got continue on program else press End Now and got close the program and open once again it to work.

Non system disk or disk error. Replace and press any key when ready

When computer can’t get read the booting disk at the time you got this error message. If you may not take the floppy from the CPU means you may go this problem. So you would take away the system and restart the system. If you wont get cure means switch off the current and open the CPU cabin and find whether any cables get disconnected means connect it even though you may no got cure means bring your computer to a hardware mechanic.

An Exception OE has occurred

For each program it may need memory these memory are allocated by the computer automatically. When a program access the unauthorized memory these type of errors are displayed, if you got these type of errors frequently occur means you may get delete the recently installed file either if we change any setup means re modify it. This process is called as System Restore.

An error has occurred in your program to keep working anyway, click ignore and save your work to a new file. To quit this program click close.

If you got any bug errors on running program mean you got these message. You may also continue running the program even these error displayed now you give ignore and save the file into new name. Because the old file can be get corrupt.

Duplicate name exists

These type of message displays on the networking, because in network each system contain separate names so if any tow system have same name means it will display it. Without the separate we wont access the network at once you right click the My computer icon and select Computer name => change and give the new name to it and use the computer.

A runtime error has occurred. Do you wish to debug?

You got these message while using internet explorer these error are happen due to the website that you have accessing it. You wont debug it debugging is software developer work. If you want to avoid this messages means do the following steps. Go to Tools => Internet options => Advanced => Browsing => Disable script debugging and put a tick mark on it

The margins of section ... are set outside the printable area of the page. Do you want to continue? in Word

Some printers work print on full page they take margin space on four types. If you got about message in Microsoft word means please give No and go to document page setup and change the margin and paper size and also view print preview before printing through this way we can avoid this error.

How to maintain your computer and keep it secure?

2009-06-01T10:14:00.000-07:00

You can maintain the computer by taking these following steps. We have websites helping you out to clear your doubts. You can use their articles and software’s in them. We need some software’s and hardware devices like Screwdriver, Nose flyer to maintain the computer. We can learn some thing about them here.

Software tools:

If you install good antivirus software’s in you can guard your computer from virus attack. We can buy quality software like Norton antivirus, McCabe. If you don’t want to spend your money you download AVG ( http://www.grisoft.com ). A Vast of Home Edition ( http://www.asw.org ), Antivirus Personal Edition ( http://www.freeav.com ) as they are available for free.. The utilities used for computer maintenance. This utility used for avoid the mistakes easily and simply in the computer. System suite E, Norton system works 2004, Win cleaner utility Suite 8, System meathanic 4 professional these are some utilities. You can install ay one from these.

If you enter the browsing the hackers will be attack your system. So you have to install Firewall software to your system. But generally the software firewall is enough. You can use Zone alarm firewall. If you are not wishing to spend money for this you can get this software as free.

You must keep the Booting floppy or CD-Rom disc. Now a days most of the computer’s boot by using CD-Rom disc. If your computer not having this features then you can boot by using booting floppy.

Hardware tools:

If your computer gets collapsed, while you repairing it you need to know some tools. Now we can see about those tools. First we have different size of Screwdrivers. Nose pliers and Tweezfrs are used for repair the spare parts. We need Vacuum Cleaner for clean the dust and hairs. First we should disconnect the earth from our body, then only we should touch the computer parts. If you failed to do this it may spoil your system. You must open your system by using Antistatic strip belt wear in hand.( Suppose you not having the belt touch a water pipe made of metal. After that you should open the system).

Websites:

If you hadn’t update your antivirus in your system, it leads easy way to entry of new viruses from Internet. To avoid this you can test the viruses in online. Mac fee, Norton and some other antivirus software companies have online testing. You can also enter the websites like http://housecall.antivirus.com/ , www.peptistop.com.antivitus/defanlt.asp .
If your ports are open in your system means it make easy way to enter your system by the hackers. So you must know about the open port in your system. Steve Gibson produced an analysis called Shields up which gives the report about your ports. You can get this software from http://www/gre.com/ .

Pepitslop’s software analyzes and give the report about computer hardware and software’s. This is also test the price of the disk, test the memory conditions and it can also test the speed of your computer Internet connection. You can get this software from http://www.pepitslop.com . Some of the websites used to find the speed of the Internet connection and say how to increase the speed \. The websites are http://www/broadbanfreports.com/ , www.dslreports.com/stest , http://msn.zdnet.com/partners/msn/bandwith/speedtest.him and http://promos.mcafee.com/speedometer .

Custom Views in MS Excel

2009-05-31T02:39:00.000-07:00

First open your large workbook.
Then go to the place you are using.
Now make the changes you want. For example create print area, hide rows, filters, subtotals. Then create the view settings.
Go to view menu and select the custom view there. Now open the custom view window.
Press the Add button to create new view. The opened window gives the feature of decide the name of the new view. Select the view name that is used to identify easily.

How to erase my hard disk drive and start over.

2009-05-30T06:34:00.000-07:00

Issue:

How to erase my hard disk drive and start over.

Additional information:

If you are looking for information about securely erasing your hard disk drive, or making it difficult or close to impossible to recover or read the old data, we recommend you refer to document CH000520.
If you are attempting to use a recovery or restore diskette to restore your computer information and are experiencing issues, please refer to document CH000566.

Checklist:

The below recommendations are what a user should check before completely erasing their computer hard disk drive and starting over. Following these steps can prevent hours of hassles and headaches.

Did you backup all information on your hard disk drive?
Although most current operating systems have driver support for most hardware have you made sure you have the diskettes/CD's for your computer hardware devices so you can install the hardware after erasing everything?
If you are reinstalling Windows 98 or lower do you have a boot disk?
Have you tested the boot disk or bootable CD to make sure it loads properly?
Do you need an operating system CD or Restore CD to reinstall the operating system?
Do you have the necessary licensing and OEM numbers needed to register your software again?
If you are planning to use a floppy diskette version to install your software you may want to verify all diskettes are accessible to prevent you from erasing the hard disk drive and not being able to recover the data because of a bad diskette.

Solution:

Please remember that following the below steps will erase all of the information on your hard disk drive. Once the below steps have been completed, you will not be able to reverse the steps if you want to recover possible lost data. Please make sure that you have checked the above checklist verifying that you have not forgotten a possible important step. Finally, the below steps are the most recommended steps and it is possible that the manufacturer of your computer may have another method of restoring your computer using their software.

Erasing the hard disk drive

The below steps are for users with MS-DOS 5.0+, Windows 3.x, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME, and Windows NT 4.0.

If you are running or plan on installing Microsoft Windows 2000 please see document CH000544.
If you are running or plan on installing Microsoft Windows XP please see document CH000647.

Place the bootable diskette or disc inside the computer and reboot to get to the DOS prompt. In some cases you may need to boot the computer with CD-ROM support or press a key to boot from the disk.
At the MS-DOS prompt type format c: /s
The computer will ask you "Are you sure you want to erase everything on drive c:" if you are ok with doing this press "Y" for yes and press enter.
After doing this, the computer will begin the formatting process. If you receive errors during this process, please see document CH000180.
Once the format process is completed successfully, at the MS-DOS prompt type fdisk /mbr and press enter. This should return you back to the MS-DOS prompt with no message. This step is not required but recommended.
Once back at the MS-DOS prompt, reboot the computer with the boot disk still in the computer.
Once back at the MS-DOS prompt, insert either the diskettes for MS-DOS, Windows 3.x, Windows 95, or the CD for Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows NT and click the appropriate link

MS-DOS users
Windows 3.x users
Windows 95 floppy diskette users
Windows 95 CD users
Windows 98 users
Windows NT 4.0 users

MS-DOS users

Place the first MS-DOS diskette into the computer.
At the A:\> type setup and press enter to being the installation.
Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

Note: If you discover a bad diskette during the installation, it is recommended that you contact Microsoft for a possible replacement.

Windows 3.x users

Place the first diskette of Windows 3.x into the computer.
At the A:\> type setup and press enter to begin the installation.
Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

Note: If you discover a bad diskette during the installation, it is recommended that you contact Microsoft for a possible replacement.

Windows 95 floppy diskette users

Place the first diskette of Windows 95 into the computer.
At the A:\> type setup and press enter to begin the installation.
Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

Note: If you discover a bad diskette during the installation of Windows 95 it is recommended you contact Microsoft for possible replacement.

Windows 95 CD users

Place the CD into the computer.
Type X: (where x is the CD-ROM drive, generally this is D).
Once at the appropriate drive, type CD WIN95 and press enter to get into the Windows 95 directory.
Once at X:\WIN95> type setup to begin the installation
Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

If you are encountering issues during the setup process, you can add additional switches to the setup command line. These switches can be found on our Windows 95 Setup Switches page.

Windows 98 users

Complete information about the setup and installation of Windows 98 once the hard disk drive has been erased can be found on document CH000569.

Windows NT 4.0 users

Windows NT can be installed several different ways. We recommend that Windows NT be installed using the below steps as we feel that these steps by far are the easiest way to install Windows NT 4.0.

First, we recommend that all users wanting to simply install Windows NT use the /b switch, which allows the users to not need to create the diskettes. We do, however, recommend that the user create the Emergency recover diskettes if they have not already been created after the installation of Windows NT.

Finally, before the installation of Windows NT, it is recommended that you run SMARTDRV, which will help the installation of Windows NT run a lot faster.

Place the CD into the computer.
Type X: (where x is the CD-ROM drive, generally this is D).
Once at the appropriate drive, type CD WINNT and press enter to get into the Windows 95 directory.
Once at X:\WINNT> type winnt /b.
Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

HTML color codes and names

2009-05-29T04:43:00.000-07:00

About color codes and how to apply

HTML color codes are hexadecimal triplets representing the colors red, green, and blue. For example, in the the color red, the color code is FF0000, which is '255' red, '0' green, and '0' blue.

Complete information about how to apply HTML color codes using CSS, the tag and applying other font types can be found on document CH000072.

Major hexadecimal color codes

Color	Color Code	Color	Color Code
Red	#FF0000	White	#FFFFFF
Turquoise	#00FFFF	Light Grey	#C0C0C0
Light Blue	#0000FF	Dark Grey	#808080
Dark Blue	#0000A0	Black	#000000
Light Purple	#FF0080	Orange	#FF8040
Dark Purple	#800080	Brown	#804000
Yellow	#FFFF00	Burgundy	#800000
Pastel Green	#00FF00	Forest Green	#808000
Pink	#FF00FF	Grass Green	#408080

Color code chart

COLOR NAME	CODE	COLOR
Black	#000000	Black
Gray0	#150517	Gray0
Gray18	#250517	Gray18
Gray21	#2B1B17	Gray21
Gray23	#302217	Gray23
Gray24	#302226	Gray24
Gray25	#342826	Gray25
Gray26	#34282C	Gray26
Gray27	#382D2C	Gray27
Gray28	#3b3131	Gray28
Gray29	#3E3535	Gray29
Gray30	#413839	Gray30
Gray31	#41383C	Gray31
Gray32	#463E3F	Gray32
Gray34	#4A4344	Gray34
Gray35	#4C4646	Gray35
Gray36	#4E4848	Gray36
Gray37	#504A4B	Gray37
Gray38	#544E4F	Gray38
Gray39	#565051	Gray39
Gray40	#595454	Gray40
Gray41	#5C5858	Gray41
Gray42	#5F5A59	Gray42
Gray43	#625D5D	Gray43
Gray44	#646060	Gray44
Gray45	#666362	Gray45
Gray46	#696565	Gray46
Gray47	#6D6968	Gray47
Gray48	#6E6A6B	Gray48
Gray49	#726E6D	Gray49
Gray50	#747170	Gray50
Gray	#736F6E	Gray
Slate Gray4	#616D7E	Slate Gray4
Slate Gray	#657383	Slate Gray
Light Steel Blue4	#646D7E	Light Steel Blue4
Light Slate Gray	#6D7B8D	Light Slate Gray
Cadet Blue4	#4C787E	Cadet Blue4
Dark Slate Gray4	#4C7D7E	Dark Slate Gray4
Thistle4	#806D7E	Thistle4
Medium Slate Blue	#5E5A80	Medium Slate Blue
Medium Purple4	#4E387E	Medium Purple4
Midnight Blue	#151B54	Midnight Blue
Dark Slate Blue	#2B3856	Dark Slate Blue
Dark Slate Gray	#25383C	Dark Slate Gray
Dim Gray	#463E41	Dim Gray
Cornflower Blue	#151B8D	Cornflower Blue
Royal Blue4	#15317E	Royal Blue4
Slate Blue4	#342D7E	Slate Blue4
Royal Blue	#2B60DE	Royal Blue
Royal Blue1	#306EFF	Royal Blue1
Royal Blue2	#2B65EC	Royal Blue2
Royal Blue3	#2554C7	Royal Blue3
Deep Sky Blue	#3BB9FF	Deep Sky Blue
Deep Sky Blue2	#38ACEC	Deep Sky Blue2
Slate Blue	#357EC7	Slate Blue
Deep Sky Blue3	#3090C7	Deep Sky Blue3
Deep Sky Blue4	#25587E	Deep Sky Blue4
Dodger Blue	#1589FF	Dodger Blue
Dodger Blue2	#157DEC	Dodger Blue2
Dodger Blue3	#1569C7	Dodger Blue3
Dodger Blue4	#153E7E	Dodger Blue4
Steel Blue4	#2B547E	Steel Blue4
Steel Blue	#4863A0	Steel Blue
Slate Blue2	#6960EC	Slate Blue2
Violet	#8D38C9	Violet
Medium Purple3	#7A5DC7	Medium Purple3
Medium Purple	#8467D7	Medium Purple
Medium Purple2	#9172EC	Medium Purple2
Medium Purple1	#9E7BFF	Medium Purple1
Light Steel Blue	#728FCE	Light Steel Blue
Steel Blue3	#488AC7	Steel Blue3
Steel Blue2	#56A5EC	Steel Blue2
Steel Blue1	#5CB3FF	Steel Blue1
Sky Blue3	#659EC7	Sky Blue3
Sky Blue4	#41627E	Sky Blue4
Slate Blue	#737CA1	Slate Blue
Slate Blue	#737CA1	Slate Blue
Slate Gray3	#98AFC7	Slate Gray3
Violet Red	#F6358A	Violet Red
Violet Red1	#F6358A	Violet Red1
Violet Red2	#E4317F	Violet Red2
Deep Pink	#F52887	Deep Pink
Deep Pink2	#E4287C	Deep Pink2
Deep Pink3	#C12267	Deep Pink3
Deep Pink4	#7D053F	Deep Pink4
Medium Violet Red	#CA226B	Medium Violet Red
Violet Red3	#C12869	Violet Red3
Firebrick	#800517	Firebrick
Violet Red4	#7D0541	Violet Red4
Maroon4	#7D0552	Maroon4
Maroon	#810541	Maroon
Maroon3	#C12283	Maroon3
Maroon2	#E3319D	Maroon2
Maroon1	#F535AA	Maroon1
Magenta	#FF00FF	Magenta
Magenta1	#F433FF	Magenta1
Magenta2	#E238EC	Magenta2
Magenta3	#C031C7	Magenta3
Medium Orchid	#B048B5	Medium Orchid
Medium Orchid1	#D462FF	Medium Orchid1
Medium Orchid2	#C45AEC	Medium Orchid2
Medium Orchid3	#A74AC7	Medium Orchid3
Medium Orchid4	#6A287E	Medium Orchid4
Purple	#8E35EF	Purple
Purple1	#893BFF	Purple1
Purple2	#7F38EC	Purple2
Purple3	#6C2DC7	Purple3
Purple4	#461B7E	Purple4
Dark Orchid4	#571B7e	Dark Orchid4
Dark Orchid	#7D1B7E	Dark Orchid
Dark Violet	#842DCE	Dark Violet
Dark Orchid3	#8B31C7	Dark Orchid3
Dark Orchid2	#A23BEC	Dark Orchid2
Dark Orchid1	#B041FF	Dark Orchid1
Plum4	#7E587E	Plum4
Pale Violet Red	#D16587	Pale Violet Red
Pale Violet Red1	#F778A1	Pale Violet Red1
Pale Violet Red2	#E56E94	Pale Violet Red2
Pale Violet Red3	#C25A7C	Pale Violet Red3
Pale Violet Red4	#7E354D	Pale Violet Red4
Plum	#B93B8F	Plum
Plum1	#F9B7FF	Plum1
Plum2	#E6A9EC	Plum2
Plum3	#C38EC7	Plum3
Thistle	#D2B9D3	Thistle
Thistle3	#C6AEC7	Thistle3
Lavendar Blush2	#EBDDE2	Lavender Blush2
Lavendar Blush3	#C8BBBE	Lavender Blush3
Thistle2	#E9CFEC	Thistle2
Thistle1	#FCDFFF	Thistle1
Lavendar	#E3E4FA	Lavender
Lavendar Blush	#FDEEF4	Lavender Blush
Light Steel Blue1	#C6DEFF	Light Steel Blue1
Light Blue	#ADDFFF	Light Blue
Light Blue1	#BDEDFF	Light Blue1
Light Cyan	#E0FFFF	Light Cyan
Slate Gray1	#C2DFFF	Slate Gray1
Slate Gray2	#B4CFEC	Slate Gray2
Light Steel Blue2	#B7CEEC	Light Steel Blue2
Turquoise1	#52F3FF	Turquoise1
Cyan	#00FFFF	Cyan
Cyan1	#57FEFF	Cyan1
Cyan2	#50EBEC	Cyan2
Turquoise2	#4EE2EC	Turquoise2
Medium Turquoise	#48CCCD	Medium Turquoise
Turquoise	#43C6DB	Turquoise
Dark Slate Gray1	#9AFEFF	Dark Slate Gray1
Dark Slate Gray2	#8EEBEC	Dark slate Gray2
Dark Slate Gray3	#78c7c7	Dark Slate Gray3
Cyan3	#46C7C7	Cyan3
Turquoise3	#43BFC7	Turquoise3
Cadet Blue3	#77BFC7	Cadet Blue3
Pale Turquoise3	#92C7C7	Pale Turquoise3
Light Blue2	#AFDCEC	Light Blue2
Dark Turquoise	#3B9C9C	Dark Turquoise
Cyan4	#307D7E	Cyan4
Light Sea Green	#3EA99F	Light Sea Green
Light Sky Blue	#82CAFA	Light Sky Blue
Light Sky Blue2	#A0CFEC	Light Sky Blue2
Light Sky Blue3	#87AFC7	Light Sky Blue3
Sky Blue	#82CAFF	Sky Blue
Sky Blue2	#79BAEC	Sky Blue2
Light Sky Blue4	#566D7E	Light Sky Blue4
Sky Blue	#6698FF	Sky Blue
Light Slate Blue	#736AFF	Light Slate Blue
Light Cyan2	#CFECEC	Light Cyan2
Light Cyan3	#AFC7C7	Light Cyan3
Light Cyan4	#717D7D	Light Cyan4
Light Blue3	#95B9C7	Light Blue3
Light Blue4	#5E767E	Light Blue4
Pale Turquoise4	#5E7D7E	Pale Turquoise4
Dark Sea Green4	#617C58	Dark Sea Green4
Medium Aquamarine	#348781	Medium Aquamarine
Medium Sea Green	#306754	Medium Sea Green
Sea Green	#4E8975	Sea Green
Dark Green	#254117	Dark Green
Sea Green4	#387C44	Sea Green4
Forest Green	#4E9258	Forest Green
Medium Forest Green	#347235	Medium Forest Green
Spring Green4	#347C2C	Spring Green4
Dark Olive Green4	#667C26	Dark Olive Green4
Chartreuse4	#437C17	Chartreuse4
Green4	#347C17	Green4
Medium Spring Green	#348017	Medium Spring Green
Spring Green	#4AA02C	Spring Green
Lime Green	#41A317	Lime Green
Spring Green	#4AA02C	Spring Green
Dark Sea Green	#8BB381	Dark Sea Green
Dark Sea Green3	#99C68E	Dark Sea Green3
Green3	#4CC417	Green3
Chartreuse3	#6CC417	Chartreuse3
Yellow Green	#52D017	Yellow Green
Spring Green3	#4CC552	Spring Green3
Sea Green3	#54C571	Sea Green3
Spring Green2	#57E964	Spring Green2
Spring Green1	#5EFB6E	Spring Green1
Sea Green2	#64E986	Sea Green2
Sea Green1	#6AFB92	Sea Green1
Dark Sea Green2	#B5EAAA	Dark Sea Green2
Dark Sea Green1	#C3FDB8	Dark Sea Green1
Green	#00FF00	Green
Lawn Green	#87F717	Lawn Green
Green1	#5FFB17	Green1
Green2	#59E817	Green2
Chartreuse2	#7FE817	Chartreuse2
Chartreuse	#8AFB17	Chartreuse
Green Yellow	#B1FB17	Green Yellow
Dark Olive Green1	#CCFB5D	Dark Olive Green1
Dark Olive Green2	#BCE954	Dark Olive Green2
Dark Olive Green3	#A0C544	Dark Olive Green3
Yellow	#FFFF00	Yellow
Yellow1	#FFFC17	Yellow1
Khaki1	#FFF380	Khaki1
Khaki2	#EDE275	Khaki2
Goldenrod	#EDDA74	Goldenrod
Gold2	#EAC117	Gold2
Gold1	#FDD017	Gold1
Goldenrod1	#FBB917	Goldenrod1
Goldenrod2	#E9AB17	Goldenrod2
Gold	#D4A017	Gold
Gold3	#C7A317	Gold3
Goldenrod3	#C68E17	Goldenrod3
Dark Goldenrod	#AF7817	Dark Goldenrod
Khaki	#ADA96E	Khaki
Khaki3	#C9BE62	Khaki3
Khaki4	#827839	Khaki4
Dark Goldenrod1	#FBB117	Dark Goldenrod1
Dark Goldenrod2	#E8A317	Dark Goldenrod2
Dark Goldenrod3	#C58917	Dark Goldenrod3
Sienna1	#F87431	Sienna1
Sienna2	#E66C2C	Sienna2
Dark Orange	#F88017	Dark Orange
Dark Orange1	#F87217	Dark Orange1
Dark Orange2	#E56717	Dark Orange2
Dark Orange3	#C35617	Dark Orange3
Sienna3	#C35817	Sienna3
Sienna	#8A4117	Sienna
Sienna4	#7E3517	Sienna4
Indian Red4	#7E2217	Indian Red4
Dark Orange3	#7E3117	Dark Orange3
Salmon4	#7E3817	Salmon4
Dark Goldenrod4	#7F5217	Dark Goldenrod4
Gold4	#806517	Gold4
Goldenrod4	#805817	Goldenrod4
Light Salmon4	#7F462C	Light Salmon4
Chocolate	#C85A17	Chocolate
Coral3	#C34A2C	Coral3
Coral2	#E55B3C	Coral2
Coral	#F76541	Coral
Dark Salmon	#E18B6B	Dark Salmon
Salmon1	#F88158	Pale Turquoise4
Salmon2	#E67451	Salmon2
Salmon3	#C36241	Salmon3
Light Salmon3	#C47451	Light Salmon3
Light Salmon2	#E78A61	Light Salmon2
Light Salmon	#F9966B	Light Salmon
Sandy Brown	#EE9A4D	Sandy Brown
Hot Pink	#F660AB	Hot Pink
Hot Pink1	#F665AB	Hot Pink1
Hot Pink2	#E45E9D	Hot Pink2
Hot Pink3	#C25283	Hot Pink3
Hot Pink4	#7D2252	Hot Pink4
Light Coral	#E77471	Light Coral
Indian Red1	#F75D59	Indian Red1
Indian Red2	#E55451	Indian Red2
Indian Red3	#C24641	Indian Red3
Red	#FF0000	Red
Red1	#F62217	Red1
Red2	#E41B17	Red2
Firebrick1	#F62817	Firebrick1
Firebrick2	#E42217	Firebrick2
Firebrick3	#C11B17	Firebrick3
Pink	#FAAFBE	Pink
Rosy Brown1	#FBBBB9	Rosy Brown1
Rosy Brown2	#E8ADAA	Rosy Brown2
Pink2	#E7A1B0	Pink2
Light Pink	#FAAFBA	Light Pink
Light Pink1	#F9A7B0	Light Pink1
Light Pink2	#E799A3	Light Pink2
Pink3	#C48793	Pink3
Rosy Brown3	#C5908E	Rosy Brown3
Rosy Brown	#B38481	Rosy Brown
Light Pink3	#C48189	Light Pink3
Rosy Brown4	#7F5A58	Rosy Brown4
Light Pink4	#7F4E52	Light Pink4
Pink4	#7F525D	Pink4
Lavender Blush4	#817679	Lavendar Blush4
Light Goldenrod4	#817339	Light Goldenrod4
Lemon Chiffon4	#827B60	Lemon Chiffon4
Lemon Chiffon3	#C9C299	Lemon Chiffon3
Light Goldenrod3	#C8B560	Light Goldenrod3
Light Golden2	#ECD672	Light Golden2
Light Goldenrod	#ECD872	Light Goldenrod
Light Goldenrod1	#FFE87C	Light Goldenrod1
Lemon Chiffon2	#ECE5B6	Lemon Chiffon2
Lemon Chiffon	#FFF8C6	Lemon Chiffon
Light Goldenrod Yellow	#FAF8CC	Light Goldenrod Yellow

What is the Windows desktop.ini file and can I delete it?

2009-05-28T03:06:00.000-07:00

Answer:

The desktop.ini file is a hidden file used to customize and adjust settings for the Windows folders that contain the file.

Can it be deleted?

This file can be safely deleted from any directory. However, because this file may have settings associated with the folder that it contains and deleting this file will change these settings back to default. For example, if the folder containing this file has a different icon and you delete this file the default folder icon will be re-enabled.

Is this file a virus?

No. By default this file is not a virus. However, there have been a few known viruses that exploit the capabilities of the desktop.ini file. So it can be infected or if created by another program may have attributes that may compromise your computer. If you're concerned about this file being a virus you can delete it and/or see document document CH000896 for additional information about determining if a file is infected.

Area code listing

2009-05-27T11:42:00.000-07:00

Below is a simple listing of area codes, the related states and locations, and related area codes. Related area codes are area codes that have been split, overlayed, or otherwise relate to the area code. If you're looking for third-party computer companies see our third-party support page.

Area code	State	Location	Related
201	NJ	N New Jersey: Jersey City, Hackensack	973, 551
202	DC	Washington, D.C.
203	CT	Connecticut	860
204	MB	Manitoba Canada
205	AL	Central and Western Alabama	256, 334
206	WA	W. Washington state: Seattle	253, 360, 425, 564
207	ME	Maine
208	ID	Idaho
209	CA	Central California	559
210	TX	San Antonio S. Texas	830, 956
212	NY	New York City, New York	646,718
213	CA	Los Angeles California	310, 626, 818
214	TX	Dallas Texas	469, 972
215	PA	Philadelphia Pennsylvania	267
216	OH	Cleveland	330, 440
217	IL	Central Illinois
218	MN	North Minnesota
219	IN	North Indiana	260, 574
224	IL	Northern NE Illinois	847
225	LA	Louisiana: Baton Rouge, New Roads, Donaldsonville, Albany, Gonzales, Greensburg, Palquemine, Vacherie	504
226	ON	SW Ontario Canada
228	MS	South Mississippi	601
229	GA	SW Georgia	912, 478
231	MI	Michigan	248, 810
234	OH	NE Ohio	330
236	VA	Virginia
239	FL	Florida	305
240	MD	West Maryland: Silver Spring, Frederick	301
242		Bahamas
246		Barbados
248	MI	Michigan: Oakland county	231, 810, 947
250	BC	British Columbia	604
251	AL	South Alabama	205, 256, 334
252	NC	NE Carolina	919
253	WA	South Washington	206, 425, 564
254	TX	Central Texas	817, 940
256	AL	Huntsville, Alabama	205, 334
260	IN	NE Indiana	219
262	WI	Wisconsin, surrounding Milwaukee	414, 920
264		Anguilla	809
267	PA	SE Pennsylvania: Philadelphia	215
268		Antigua and Barbuda	809
269	MI	SW Michigan	616
270	KY	West Kentucky	502
276	VA	South Virginia	540
278	MI	Michigan	734
280	MD	Maryland	240, 301
281	TX	Texas: Houston Metro	713, 832
282	IL	Illinois	309
283	OH	SW Ohio	513
284		British Virgin Islands	809
289	ON	South Central Canada	905
301	MD	W Maryland: Silver Spring, Frederick	240
302	DE	Delaware
303	CO	Central Colorado: Denver	720, 970
304	WV	West Virginia
305	FL	SE Florida: Miami	239, 786, 954
306	SK	Saskatchewan Canada
307	WY	Wyoming
308	NE	West Nebraska
309	IL	West Central Illinois	282
310	CA	South California: Los Angeles	424, 562
311	-	Reserved / Municipal Assistance.
312	IL	Chicago, Illinois (Downtown only)	630, 773, 847, 872
313	MI	Detroit and suburbs	734
314	MO	SE Missouri: St Louis metro area only	557, 573, 636
315	NY	North Central New York
316	KS	South Kansas	620
317	IN	Central Indiana	765
318	LA	Northern Louisiana	337, 504
319	IA	East Iowa	319
320	MN	Central. Minnesota
321	FL	Florida	407
323	CA	Los Angeles	213
325	TX	Central Texas	915
330	OH	NE Ohio: Akron, Canton, and Youngstown area	216, 234, 440
331	IL	NE Illinois	630, 708
334	AL	South Alabama
336	NC	Central North Carolina	910
337	LA	SW Louisiana	318
339	MA	Boston Massachusetts	508, 617, 781
340		US Virgin Islands	809
345		Cayman Islands
347	NY	New York	718
351	MA	North Massachusetts	508, 781, 978
352	FL	Florida	904
353	WI	Wisconsin
354	FL	Florida
356	NJ	New Jersey
358	PA	Pennsylvania	412, 724
360	WA	W. Washington State	206
361	TX	Corpus Christi	512
369	CA	California
380	OH	Ohio	614
383	ME	Maine
384	OH	Ohio
385	UT	Utah	435, 801
386	FL	Daytona Beach, Florida	904
401	RI	Rhode Island
402	NE	East Nebraska
403	AB	Alberta	780, 867
404	GA	N Georgia: Atlanta	678, 770
405	OK	Oklahoma City metro	580, 918
406	MT	Montana
407	FL	Central Florida: Metro Orlando
408	CA	Cupertino, Los Gatos, Milpitas, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, and San Jose area.	415
409	TX	SE Texas: Galveston, Port Arthur	936, 979
410	MD	East Maryland	443
411	N/A	Not an area code - information	511, 911
412	PA	West Pennsylvania	724, 358
413	MA	West Massachusetts
414	WI	SE Wisconsin: Milwaukee	920
415	CA	San Francisco, California	408, 650
416	ON	Canada: Metrolpolitan Toronto	647
417	MO	SW Missouri: Springfield
418	QC	NE Quebec
419	OH	NW Ohio: Toledo	567
423	TN	East Tennessee	615, 865
424	CA	Los Angeles, South California	310, 562
425	WA	North Washington	206, 253, 564
430	TX	NE Texas	903
432	TX	West Texas	915
434	VA	East Virginia	757, 804
435	UT	Utah outside Salt Lake City	801
438	QC	Canada: SW Quebec	514
440	OH	Ohio: Cleveland metro area, excluding Cleveland	216, 330
441		Bermuda	809
443	MD	East Maryland	410
450	QC	Southeastern Quebec outside metro Montreal
456		International Inbound
464	IL	Illinois
469	TX	Texas	214, 972
470	GA	Georgia	404, 678, 770
473		Grenada	809
475	CT	Connecticut
478	GA	Central Georgia	229, 912
479	AR	NW Arkansas	501
480	AZ	Arizona	520, 602, 623
484	PA	SE Pennsylvania: Allentown, Reading	610
500		Personal Services
501	AR	Central Arkansas	870
502	KY	W Kentucky: Louisville	270
503	OR	Oregon	541, 971
504	LA	East Louisiana: New Orleans	225, 985, 318
505	NM	New Mexico
506	NB	New Brunswick Canada
507	MN	South Minnesota: Rochester
508	MA	Cent. Massachusetts: Framingham	774, 978
509	WA	East Washington
510	CA	California: Oakland, East Bay	925
511		Travel information line.
512	TX	Austin	361
513	OH	SW Ohio	937
514	QC	SW Quebec: Montreal	438
515	IA	Central Iowa	641
516	NY	Nassau county on Long Island and New York: Hempstead	631
517	MI	Central Michigan	989
518	NY	NE New York: Albany
519	ON	SW Ontario: Windsor	226
520	AZ	Arizona outside the Phoenix area	602, 928
530	CA	NE California: Chico, Redding	916
540	VA	Fredericksburg and Roanoke and nearby areas	276, 703
541	OR	Oregon	503, 541
546	MI	E Michigan	810
551	NJ	North New Jersey	201
557	MO	SE Missouri	314
559	CA	California: Fresno	209
561	FL	Florida (S. Central) (West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Vero Beach)	772
562	CA	California: Long Beach	310
563	IA	East Iowa	319
564	WA	West Washington	360, 206, 253, 425
567	OH	NW Ohio	419
570	PA	E Pennsylvania: Wilkes-Barre, Scranton	717
571	VA	North Virginia	540, 703
573	MO	SE Missouri: excluding St Louis metro area
574	IN	North Indiana	219
580	OK	Western and Sothern Oklahoma	405, 918
585	NY	NW New York: Rochester	716
586	MI	Michigan	810
590		French West Indies
600		Canadian Services
601	MS	Mississippi	228, 662, 769
602	AZ	Phoenix Arizona	480, 520, 623
603	NH	New Hampshire
604	BC	Canada: British Columbia, Greater Vancouver	250, 778
605	SD	South Dakota
606	KY	East Kentucky: Ashland	859
607	NY	South Central New York: Ithaca, Binghamton
608	WI	SW Wisconsin: Madison
609	NJ	South New Jersey: Trenton	856
610	PA	SE Pennsylvania: Allentown, Reading	484, 835
612	MN	Central Minnesota, Minneapolis	651, 763, 952
613	ON	Canada: SE Ontario, Ottawa
614	OH	SE Ohio: Columbus	380
615	TN	East Tennessee: Nashville	423, 931
616	MI	West Michigan: Grand Rapids	269
617	MA	East Massachusetts: Boston	857
618	IL	South Illinois
619	CA	South California: San Diego	760, 858, 935
620	KS	South Kansas: Wichita	316
623	AZ	Arizona	480, 520, 602
626	CA	SE California: Pasadena	818
630	IL	NE Illinois, Oak Brook or Chicago suburbs	312, 331, 708
631	NY	New York: Suffolk County	516
636	MO	Missouri	314, 573
641	IA	Iowa	515
646	NY	Manhattan New York	212, 917
647	ON	South Central Ontario	416
650	CA	Peninsula south of San Francisco -- San Mateo county, parts of Santa Clara county	415
651	MN	Central Minnesota, St. Paul	612, 763, 952
657	CA	Orange County, California	714
660	MO	North Missouri	816
661	CA	California: N. Los Angeles, Mckittrick, Mojave, Newhall, Oildale, Palmdal, Taft, Tehachapi, Bakersfield, Earlimart, Lancaster	805
662	MS	Mississippi	601
664		Montserrat	809
669	CA	Central California coast	408
671		Guam
678	GA	North Georgia: Atlanta	404, 770
682	TX	Fort Worth Texas
689	FL	Central Florida	321, 407
700		Interconnect Services
701	ND	North Dakota
702	NV	South Nevada	775
703	VA	Northern Virginia: Arlington, McLean, Tysons Corner	540, 571
704	NC	West North Carolina: Charlotte
705	ON	Canada: NW Ontario, Sault Ste. Marie
706	GA	North Georgia: Columbus, Augusta
707	CA	NW California: Santa Rosa
708	IL	Central NE Illinois: Oak Brook	464, 630
709	NF	Canada Newfoundland
710		US Government
712	IA	West Iowa
713	TX	Mid SE Texas: Houston	281, 832
714	CA	North Orange County, California	657, 949
715	WI	North Wisconsin: Eau Claire
716	NY	NW New York: Buffalo, Rochester	585
717	PA	East Pennsylvania: Wilkes-Barre, Scranton	570
718	NY	New York City, New York	212, 347
719	CO	SE Colorado: Pueblo, Colorado Springs
720	CO	Central Colorado: Denver	303
724	PA	SW Pennsylvania	412
727	FL	Tampa Metro: Saint Petersburg, Clearwater	813
731	TN	West Tennessee	901
732	NJ	Central New Jersey: New Brunswick, Bound Brook	848, 908
734	MI	SE Michigan: west and south of Detroit -- Ann Arbor, Monroe	313
737	TX	South Texas	512, 614
740	OH	SE Ohio	614
757	VA	E Virginia, Williamsburgh area, including Portsmouth	804
758		St. Lucia	809
760	CA	California: Southeastern San Diego north to Sierra Nevada	619
763	MN	Minnesota	612, 952, 651
765	IN	Indiana: outside Indianapolis	317
770	GA	Atlanta and suburbs	285, 404, 678
772	FL	South central Florida	561
773	IL	Non-downtown Chicago, Illinois	312, 872
774	MA	Massachusetts	508, 978
775	NV	Nevada	702
778	BC	British Colombia Canada	250, 604
780	AB	Alberta Canada	403
781	MA	E Massachusetts: Boston suburbs	339, 508, 617
784		St. Vincent/Grenadines	809
785	KS	N Kansas: Topeka	913
786	FL	SE Florida	305
787	PR	Puerto Rico	939
800		Domestic Toll-Free	888, 877, 866, 855, 844, 833, 822
801	UT	Salt Lake City Metro	385, 435
802	VT	Vermont
803	SC	South Carolina	843, 864
804	VA	East Virginia: Richmond	434, 757
805	CA	South Central Coastal California: Bakersfield	661
806	TX	Panhandle Texas: Amarillo
807	ON	Canada: West Ontario, Thunder Bay
808	HI	HAWAII
809		Bermuda, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Caribbean	441,340
810	MI	East Michigan: Flint, Pontiac	248, 586
812	IN	South Indiana: Evansville
813	FL	SW Florida: Tampa Metro	727, 941
814	PA	Central Pennsylvania: Erie
815	IL	NE Illinois: Rockford, Kankakee
816	MO	N Missouri: Kansas City	660, 975
817	TX	N Cent. Texas: Fort Worth area	254, 940
818	CA	S California: Los Angeles	213, 310, 562, 626
819	QC	Canada: NW Quebec: Trois Rivieres	867
822		US/Canada Toll-Free
828	NC	West North Carolina: Asheville	704
830	TX	Texas: North and West of San Antonio	210
831	CA	California: central coast area from Santa Cruz through Monterey County
832	TX	Texas	281, 713, 936
833		US/Canada Toll-Free
835	PA	SE Pennsylvania	484, 610
843	SC	South Carolina	803
844		US/Canada Toll-Free
845	NY	New York	914
847	IL	Northern NE Illinois: Oak Brook	224, 312
848	NJ	Central New Jersey	732
850	FL	Florida panhandle, from east of Tallahassee to Pensacola	904
855		US/Canada Toll-Free
856		SW New Jersey	609
857		Massachusetts	617
858	CA	S California: San Diego	619, 760, 935
859	KY	Kentucky	606
860	CT	Connecticut	203
861	FL	SW Florida	863, 941
862	NJ	North New Jersey	973
863	FL	Florida
864	SC	South Carolina	803
865	TN	Tennessee	423, 615
866		US/Canada Toll-Free
867	YT	Canada: Yukon and Northwest Territories	403,819
868		Trindad & Tobago
869		St. Kitts/Nevis
870	AR	South Arkansas	501
872	IL	Illinois: Chicago	312, 773
876		Jamaica
877		Domestic Toll-Free
878	PA	Pittsburgh	412
888		Domestic Toll-Free
898		VoIP service
900		Personal paid service line
901	TN	W Tennessee: Memphis	615, 731, 931
902	NS	Canada: Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island
903	TX	NE Texas: Tyler	430
904	FL	North Florida: Jacksonville	352, 386, 850
905	ON	South central Ontario	416, 647
906	MI	Upper Peninsula Michigan: Sault Ste. Marie, Escanaba, Marquette
907	AK	Alaska
908	NJ	Cent. New Jersey: Elizabeth, Basking Ridge, Somerville, Bridgewater	732
909	CA	Inland empire: San Bernandino	951
910	NC	South Central North Carolina: Fayetteville, Wilmington	336
911		Emergency Help	411
912	GA	South Georgia: Savannah	229, 478
913	KS	North East Kansas/Kansas City Metro/Leavenworth	785
914	NY	South New York: White Plains	845
915	TX	West Texas: Sweetwater	325, 432
916	CA	NE California: Sacramento	530
917	NY	New York City, New York	646
918	OK	East Oklahoma: Tulsa	405, 580
919	NC	East North Carolina: Raleigh	252, 984
920	WI	NE Wisconsin	414
925	CA	California	510
928	AZ	Arizona	520
931	TN	Central Tennessee	615
935	CA	South California: San Diego	760, 858, 619
936	TX	SE Texas	409, 254, 817, 940, 979
937	OH	SW Ohio: Dayton	513
939	PR	Puerto Rico	787
940	TX	North Central Texas: Denton, Wichita Falls	254, 817, 936
941	FL	SW Florida: Tampa Area	813, 863
947	MI	Michigan	248
949	CA	South Coastal Orange County California	714
951	CA	West riverside California	909
952	MN	Minnesota	612, 763, 651
954	FL	Broward County area, including Ft. Lauderdale	305, 754
956	TX	Valley of Texas area (Harlingen)	210
959	CT	Connecticut	860
970	CO	North and West Colorado	303
971	OR	Oregon	503
972	TX	Texas: Dallas Metro: Dallas and parts of Denton and Collin counties	214, 469
973	NJ	North New Jersey: Newark Paterson Morristown	201, 862
975	MO	North Missouri	816
976		Personal paid service line
978	MA	Central Massachusetts	508, 978
979	TX	SE Texas	409, 936
980	NC	Carolina	704
984	NC	Carolina	919
985	LA	E Louisiana	504
989	MI	Michigan	517

Programming language

2009-05-26T04:20:00.000-07:00

A programming language is a computer language programmers use to develop applications, scripts, or other set of instructions for a computer to execute. Below is a listing of several different programming languages and scripting languages currently listed in our database.

ALGOL
Ada
AIML
Assembly
BASIC
Batchfile
BCPL
C
C#
C++
COBOL
CPL
D
DarkBASIC
dBASE

FORTRAN
FoxPro
HDML
HTML
Java
JavaScript
JCL
LISP
Live Script
LOGO
Pascal
Perl
PHP
Pick

Prolog
SGML
Smalltalk
SQL
Tcl
True BASIC
VHDL
Visual Basic
Visual FoxPro
WML
WHTML
XML

Users who are new to computer programming may find the above list confusing and may not be sure where to start. Where to start really depends on the type of computer programming you wish to do. Below is a listing of some of the different fields of programming as well as what language you should consider for each of these fields.

Note: There are several programming languages listed above that may not be listed in a category below that they are capable of doing. Instead of listing every language under every category below, we have just listed some of the more popular choices for each category.

Application / Program development
Artificial Intelligence development
Database development
Game development
Computer drivers or other hardware interface development
Internet and web page development
Script development

Applications / Program development

Application and program development involves programs you work on a daily bases. For example, the Internet browser you are using to view this web page is considered a program. If you are interested in writing your own programs you should consider the below languages.

Artificial Intelligence development

Artificial Intelligence or related fields could involve anything from creating the character interactions in computer games, portions of programs that make the decisions in programs, chatbots, or any other related programs. If you're interested in writing your own AI you should consider the below languages.

Database development

Database developers create and maintain databases. If you're interested in creating your own database or maintaining other databases you should consider any of the below languages.

Game development

Game development involves the development of computer games or other entertainment software. If you're interested in writing your own games you should consider the below languages.

Computer drivers or other hardware interface development

Computer drivers and programming hardware interface support is a necessity for computers to operate with the hardware; without it your computer wouldn't work. If you're interested in writing your own drivers or software interfaces for hardware devices you should consider the below languages.

Internet and web page development

The Internet and web page development is the essence of the Internet, without developers we would have no Internet. If you're interested in creating your own web pages, developing Internet applications, or Internet related tasks, you should consider the below languages.

Script development

Although not likely to be a career, knowing how to create and develop scripts to increase your productivity and/or your company's can save you countless hours. If you're interested in developing your own scripts you should consider the below languages.

How to create a boot disk

2009-05-25T01:11:00.001-07:00

What is a boot disk?

A boot disk will allow you to boot off of a diskette instead of your hard drive. This diskette can be used to fix issues that may arise during the lifetime of your computer and/or to help load older MS-DOS games.

Tip: After you have created a boot diskette, it is highly recommended that you write-protect the diskette to prevent possible computer virus infection and to help the diskette from being erased.

Creating a MS-DOS boot disk

Note: These steps are for users who have MS-DOS installed on the computer. If you have any version of Windows follow the below steps for your version of Windows.

To create a MS-DOS diskette, begin by getting to the DOS directory by typing:

cd\dos

Once at the C:\DOS directory, skip to copying files.

Index

Category:
Software

Companies:
Microsoft

Related Pages:
Autoexec.bat / Config.sys
Floppy Drive
MS-DOS
Windows 95
Windows 98
Windows NT
Windows 2000

Resolved

Were you able to locate the answer to your questions?

Creating a Windows 3.X boot disk

Note: These steps are for users who have Windows 3.x installed on the computer.

To create a Windows 3.x diskette, from Windows Program manager, click File and then choose the option to Exit Windows, which will get you to a prompt; at the prompt, type:

cd\dos

Once at the C:\DOS directory, skip to copying files.

Creating a Windows 95 boot disk

Note: These steps are for users who have Windows 95 installed on the computer.

In Windows 95, Microsoft has created a new method of creating a bootable recovery diskette. Unfortunately, however, this diskette does not support CD-ROM support and is missing a few recommended files. To do this, click Start / Settings / Control Panel / double-click the Add Remove programs icon / click the Startup Disk and create disk.

Alternatively, to create a Windows 95 boot diskette manually from Windows, click Start / Shutdown and choose the option to restart the computer in a MS-DOS prompt. At the prompt, type:

cd\windows\command

Once at the C:\DOS directory, skip to copying files.

Creating a Windows 98 / ME boot disk

Note: These steps are for users who have Windows 98 or Windows ME installed on the computer.

An excellent feature of Windows 98/ME is its boot diskette. Using Windows to create you a Windows 98 boot diskette will give you all the needed files as well as CD-ROM support. To create a Windows 98 boot diskette, click Start / Settings / Control Panel / double-click the Add Remove programs icon / click the Startup Disk and create disk.

Alternatively, to create a Windows 98 boot diskette manually from Windows, click Start / Shutdown and choose the option to restart the computer in a MS-DOS prompt. At the prompt, type:

cd\windows\command

Once at the C:\DOS directory, skip to copying files.

Copying additional files

NOTE: When making a boot disk, if you are running "Stacker" or some kind of a DoubleSpace or drive swapper program, this could not work

Once you are in DOS and at the correct directory as instructed in the above sections by operating system, you are ready to create your bootable diskette. Insert a diskette that does not contain any information (it will be erased).

At the prompt, if you have MS-DOS 6.2 / Windows 3.x / Windows 95 / Windows 98, type:

FORMAT A:/S

If you have MS-DOS 5.0 type using double density 5.25" diskettes type:

FORMAT A: /360 /S

If you have MS- DOS 3.11 through 4.0 using double density 5.25" diskettes, type:

FORMAT A: /4 /S

Once the diskette has been formatted and the system has been transferred, you should be returned to your original directory. In this directory, type:

copy format*.* a: [PRESS ENTER]
copy fdisk*.* a: [PRESS ENTER]
copy mscdex*.* a: [PRESS ENTER]
copy sys*.* a: [PRESS ENTER]
copy edit*.* a: [PRESS ENTER]
copy qbasic*.* a: [PRESS ENTER] (Win 95/98 users skip this line)
copy debug*.* a: [PRESS ENTER]
copy himem*.* a: [PRESS ENTER]
copy emm386*.* a: [PRESS ENTER]

If you are planning to use this diskette as a diskette to load games or you feel that you need mouse support, you will need to copy the mouse driver onto the boot diskette. The MS-DOS mouse driver is generally mouse.com / mouse.sys. Locate this file and copy it to your bootable diskette.

For CD-ROM support, visit our CD-ROM drivers page for information on loading your CD-ROM driver.

Once you have copied the above files, create an autoexec.bat and a config.sys. Get to the floppy drive by typing A:, once at the floppy drive, type:

copy con autoexec.bat [PRESS ENTER]
@echo off [PRESS ENTER]
LH A:\MSCDEX.EXE /D:CDROM [PRESS ENTER] (this line is used for your CD-ROM drive).
LH A:\MOUSE.* [PRESS ENTER] (skip line if you did not copy mouse file, the * is either sys / com).

Press and hold CTRL + Z - this should return ^Z. Once this is displayed, press enter to copy the file.

copy con config.sys [PRESS ENTER]
device=a:\himem.sys
dos=high,umb
device=a:\emm386.exe noems
files=30
buffers=20
devicehigh=a:\oakcdrom.sys /d:CDROM (this line is used for your CD-ROM drive).

Press and hold CTRL + Z - this should return ^Z. Once this is displayed, press enter to copy the file.

Congratulations, after completing the above steps you should now have a bootable floppy diskette.

Creating a Windows NT boot disk

To create a boot diskette you must have access to the i386 directory located on your Windows NT CD or possibly your Hard disk drive.

Format the floppy diskette you wish to make a bootable Windows NT boot disk using the Windows NT machine.

Copy boot.ini, ntdetect.com and ntldr to the floppy diskette just formatted.

If you are using any SCSI devices that you need access to, you will also need to load these drivers onto the diskette.

Creating a Windows 2000 boot disk

To create a Windows 2000 Professional bootable diskette you will need four 1.44MB diskettes and the Windows 2000 Professional CD.

Click Start / Run / browse to the CD-ROM drive.
Open the "BOOTDISK" folder and double-click makeboot.exe and click ok to launch the program to create the diskette.

Users can also easily create an Emergency Repair Disk by clicking Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and opening Backup. From the Backup window, click the button for Emergency Repair Disk and follow each of the steps.

Creating a Windows XP boot disk

Note: The Microsoft Windows XP CD is a bootable CD and in many cases you should not need a bootable floppy diskette. Booting from the Windows XP CD will allow you to not only install/re-install Windows XP but will also allow you to troubleshoot it.

Create MS-DOS bootable diskette

When formatting a floppy diskette, users have the option of creating a MS-DOS startup disk, follow the below steps to do this.

Place diskette in the computer.
Open My Computer, right-click the A: drive and click Format.
In the Format window, check Create an MS-DOS startup disk.
Click Start

Create Windows XP Setup diskettes

Microsoft is beginning to phase out bootable floppy diskettes in favor of bootable CD discs and has not included a method of easily creating a bootable floppy diskette in Windows XP or from the CD. However, Microsoft has downloads available for users who still need to create bootable diskettes to install (not upgrade) Windows XP. These downloads can be found through KB310994.

Additional help and information about troubleshooting bootable CDs not booting is found on document CH000217.

How to use a boot diskette

Once the bootable diskette has been successfully created, following the below steps you will be able to boot from the diskette.

Place the diskette into write-protect mode (in case a virus is on the computer, this will not allow the virus to transfer itself onto the diskette).
Insert the diskette into the computer and reset or turn on the computer to begin the boot process.
As the computer is booting, answer the questions prompted (if any).
Once at the A:\> take the appropriate actions depending upon the situation of the computer.
If you are unfamiliar with MS-DOS we recommend you see our MS-DOS page.

NTLDR is Missing

2009-05-24T12:33:00.000-07:00

Issue:

NTLDR is Missing.

Related errors:

Below are the full error messages that may be seen when the computer is booting.

NTLDR is Missing
Press any key to restart

Boot: Couldn't find NTLDR
Please insert another disk

NTLDR is missing
Press Ctrl Alt Del to Restart

Cause:

Computer is booting from a non-bootable source.
Computer hard disk drive is not properly setup in BIOS.
Corrupt NTLDR and/or NTDETECT.COM file.
Misconfiguration with the boot.ini file.
Attempting to upgrade from a Windows 95, 98, or ME computer that is using FAT32.
New hard disk drive being added.
Corrupt boot sector / master boot record.
Seriously corrupted version of Windows 2000 or Windows XP.
Loose or Faulty IDE/EIDE hard disk drive cable.

Solutions:

Computer is booting from a non-bootable source

Many times this error is caused when the computer is attempting to boot from a non-bootable floppy disk or CD-ROM. First verify that no floppy diskette is in the computer, unless you are attempting to boot from a diskette.

If you are attempting to boot from a floppy diskette and are receiving this error message it is likely that the diskette does not have all the necessary files and/or is corrupt.

If you are attempting to install Windows XP or Windows 2000 and are receiving this error message as the computer is booting verify that your computer BIOS has the proper boot settings. For example, if you are attempting to run the install from the CD-ROM make sure the CD-ROM is the first boot device, and not the hard disk drive.

Second, when the computer is booting you should receive the below prompt.

Press any key to boot from the CD

Important: When you see this message press any key such as the Enter key immediately, otherwise it will try booting from the hard drive and likely get the NTLDR error again.

Note: If you are not receiving the above message and your BIOS boot options are set properly it's also possible that your CD-ROM drive may not be booting from the CD-ROM properly. Verify the jumpers are set properly on the CD-ROM drive. Additional information about checking the CD-ROM drive connections can be found on document CH000213.

Additional information: This error has also been known to occur when a memory stick is in a card reader and the computer is attempting to boot from it. If you have any type of card reader or flash reader make sure that no memory stick is inside the computer.

Computer hard disk drive is not properly setup in BIOS

Verify that your computer hard disk drive is properly setup in the BIOS / CMOS setup. Improper settings can cause this error. Additional information on how to enter the BIOS / CMOS setup can be found in document CH000192.

Corrupt NTLDR and/or NTDETECT.COM file

Windows 2000 users
Windows XP users

Windows 2000 users

If your computer is using Microsoft Windows 2000 and you are encountering the NTLDR error. Create the below boot.ini file on the floppy diskette drive.

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional" /fastdetect

Copy the NTLDR and NTDETECT.COM files from another computer using the same operating system. Both of these files are located in the root directory of the primary hard disk drive. For example, C:\NTLDR and C:\NTDETECT.COM should be the locations of these files on many computers.

Please keep in mind that these files are hidden system files, if you need additional help with viewing hidden files in Windows please see document CH000516.

Once these files have been copied to a floppy diskette reboot the computer and copy the NTLDR and NTDETECT.COM files to the root directory of the primary hard disk drive. Below is an example of what commonly should be performed from the A:\> drive.

copy ntldr c:
copy ntdetect.com c:

After the above two files have been copied, remove the floppy diskette and reboot the computer.

Windows XP users

Insert the Windows XP bootable CD into the computer.
When prompted to press any key to boot from the CD, press any key.
Once in the Windows XP setup menu press the "R" key to repair Windows.
Log into your Windows installation by pressing the "1" key and pressing enter.
You will then be prompted for your administrator password, enter that password.
Copy the below two files to the root directory of the primary hard disk. In the below example we are copying these files from the CD-ROM drive letter, which in this case is "e." This letter may be different on your computer.

copy e:\i386\ntldr c:\
copy e:\i386\ntdetect.com c:\
Once both of these files have been successfully copied, remove the CD from the computer and reboot.

Misconfiguration with the boot.ini file

Edit the boot.ini on the root directory of the hard disk drive and verify that it is pointing to the correct location of your Windows operating system and that the partitions are properly defined. Additional information about the boot.ini can be found on document CH000492.

Attempting to upgrade from a Windows 95, 98, or ME computer that is using FAT32

If you are getting this error message while you are attempting to upgrade to Windows 2000 or Windows XP from Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows ME running FAT32 please try the below recommendations.

Boot the computer with a Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows ME bootable diskette.
At the A:\> prompt type:

sys c:
After pressing enter you should receive the "System Transferred" message. Once this has been completed remove the floppy diskette and reboot the computer.

New hard disk drive being added

If you are attempting to add a new hard disk drive to the computer make sure that drive is a blank drive. Adding a new hard disk drive to a computer that already has Windows installed on it may cause the NTLDR error to occur.

If you are unsure if the new drive is blank or not try booting from a bootable diskette and format the new hard disk drive.

Corrupt boot sector / master boot record

It's possible your computer's hard disk drive may have a corrupt boot sector and/or master boot record. These can be repaired through the Microsoft Windows Recovery console by running the fixboot and fixmbr commands.

Additional information and help in getting into the Microsoft Windows Recovery console can be found on document CH000627.

Seriously corrupted version of Windows 2000 or Windows XP

If you have tried each of the above recommendations that apply to your situation and you continue to experience this issue it is possible you may have a seriously corrupted version of Microsoft Windows. Therefore we would recommend you reinstall Microsoft Windows 2000 and Windows XP.

If you are encountering this issue during your setup you may wish to completely erase your computer hard disk drive and all of its existing data and then install Microsoft Windows 2000 / Windows XP. Additional information about erasing the computer and starting over can be found on document CH000186.

Loose or Faulty IDE/EIDE hard disk drive cable

This issue has been known to be caused by a loose or fault IDE/EIDE cable. If the above recommendation does not resolve your issue and your computer hard disk drive is using an IDE or EIDE interface. Verify the computer hard disk drive cable is firmly connected by disconnected and reconnecting the cable.

If the issue continues it is also a possibility that the computer has a faulty cable, try replacing the hard disk drive cable with another cable and/or a new cable.

Create short Internet addresses

2009-05-23T03:44:00.000-07:00

Create easy to read and type Internet addresses from long convoluted addresses often found on popular sites such as Amazon, eBay, MapQuest, etc. by using online services that shrink the address. For example, the URL: http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/c/cmos.htm would become: http://tinyurl.com/ynkjhp. Below are examples of sites that allow you to copy and paste any URL into them to make them smaller.

Google 10 tips

2009-05-22T10:59:00.000-07:00

Below is a list of our top ten Google tricks many users don't know about.

Definitions - Pull up the definition of the word by typing define followed by the word you want the definition for. For example, typing: define bravura would display the definition of that word.
Local search - Visit Google Local enter the area you want to search and the keyword of the place you want to find. For example, typing: restaurant at the above link would display local restaurants.
Phone number lookup - Enter a full phone number with area code to display the name and address associated with that phone number.
Find weather - Type weather followed by a zip code or city and state to display current weather conditions and forecasts for upcoming days.
Track airline flight - Enter the airline and flight number to display the status of an airline flight and it's arrival time. For example, type: delta 123 to display this flight information if available.
Track packages - Enter a UPS, FedEx or USPS tracking number to get a direct link to track your packages.
Pages linked to you - See what other web pages are linking to your website or blog by typing link: followed by your URL. For example, typing link:http://www.computerhope.com displays all pages linking to Computer Hope.
Find PDF results only - Add filetype: to your search to display results that only match a certain file type. For example, if you wanted to display PDF results only type: "dell xps" filetype:pdf -- this is a great way to find online manuals.
Calculator - Use the Google Search engine as a calculator by typing a math problem in the search. For example, typing: 100 + 200 would display results as 300.
Stocks - Quickly get to a stock quote price, chart, and related links by typing the stock symbol in Google. For example, typing: msft will display the stock information for Microsoft.

Windows Sysinternals

2009-05-21T06:09:00.000-07:00

Sysinternals are a group of utilities to help you manage, troubleshoot and diagnose your Windows systems and applications. Microsoft acquired Sysinternals in 1996 and offers these tools free of charge for people who want to get the most out of Windows and other software. Some of the programs are GUI based while others only work from a command prompt. The Sysinternals site is broken down into several categories for the different types of utilities offered.

File and Disk Utilities - Utilities for viewing and monitoring file and disk access and usage. Some examples include AccessEnum which shows you who has what access to directories, files and Registry keys on your computer and PageDefrag which lets you defragment your paging files and Registry hives.

Networking Utilities - Networking tools that range from connection monitors to resource security analyzers. Some examples include PsFile which lets you see what files are opened remotely and Whois which shows you who owns an Internet address

Process Utilities - Utilities for looking under the hood to see what processes are doing and the resources they are consuming. Examples include Process Explorer which shows you what files, registry keys and other objects processes have open and which DLLs they have loaded and also PsExec which will execute processes remotely.

Security Utilities - Security configuration and management utilities, including rootkit and spyware hunting programs. Examples include AccessChk which shows you the accesses the user or group you specify has to files, Registry keys or Windows services and LogonSessions which lists active logon sessions

System Information - Utilities for looking at system resource usage and configuration. Some examples include Regmon which lets you see all Registry activity in real time and PsLoggedOn which will show users logged on to a system

Miscellaneous Utilities - A collection of diverse utilities that includes a screen saver, presentation aid, and debugging tool.

NoSpyMail E-mail Utility

2009-05-20T12:55:00.000-07:00

NoSpyMail is a utility that discovers SpyMail in your mailbox and alerts you to it, and then neutralizes it. NoSpyMail operates as a plug-in for Outlook 2000, XP, or 2003 running on Windows 2000 or later.

SpyMail refers to an email message sent to you that attempts to collect information about you, your computer, or your email habits without your permission. SpyMail is used by spammers to try to better target their marketing campaigns. They use this information to find out more about your computer and your email and web habits or to find out if you received their spam. Once they know you read their spam, they know that your email address is valid and current.

A good way to avoid SpyMail is to not have your email client display images by default. NoSpyMail detects images that contain tracking information, and forcibly removes the tracker with a 95% success rate. NoSpyMail does add a tab to the Outlook Options menu where you can control NoSpyMail's behavior. When you do receive a message that contains a Spy Message, a NoSpyMail will show a popup message (which can be turned off)

CrossLoop Remote Access Software

2009-05-08T06:04:00.001-07:00

CrossLoop is free software that simplifies the process of securely working with friends located in different physical locations and across different network environments. CrossLoop enables you to see the screen and control the mouse and keyboard on a remote computer over the internet as if you were sitting at the remote computer itself. It’s similar to other software such as Remote Desktop, Terminal Services and pcAnywhere.

If you have never used CrossLoop before, you will be asked to login or create an account when you start the application.

If you already have a CrossLoop account, click on Login. If you don’t have a CrossLoop account, click on Create Account to create one. If you don’t want to login or create an account, you can click on the cancel button at the top right of this window. This will not close the application and you will be taken directly to the screen sharing controls. To login in to the CrossLoop Software application, enter your email address and password in the login screen that you registered with.

If you are going to be the one sharing your computer with another person then you would click on the Share tab and give the other person your Access Code.

Then this person would enter your code into the Access Code box under the Access tab on their computer.

After you put in the code you will get an invitation to have the other user access your computer and take control of it. Then the other person can use your computer as if they were sitting at it. It is recommended that you have a high speed internet connection to effectively use this service for the best results.

Some firewall software may see CrossLoop as a threat and try to block it so make sure you don’t have your settings too secure if you want to be able to share your computer using CrossLoop. This applies to Vista’s User Access Control security settings.

CrossLoop Remote Access Software

2009-05-08T06:04:00.000-07:00

If you have never used CrossLoop before, you will be asked to login or create an account when you start the application.

If you are going to be the one sharing your computer with another person then you would click on the Share tab and give the other person your Access Code.

Then this person would enter your code into the Access Code box under the Access tab on their computer.

Software Errors

2009-04-17T08:09:00.000-07:00

Windows errors - (Errors and fixes may vary depending on your version of Windows)

Your are unable to copy and paste in Windows Explorer.
Go to Start, Settings then Control Panel. Select the Internet Options icon and click on the Security tab. Then click on Custom Setting, and make sure the "Drag and copy or paste" option is enabled.
Windows encountered an error accessing the system Registry (Windows 98/ME)
Do a search on the C Drive for the User.dat file. If the file size is 0k, delete the file so Windows will recreate it next boot up.
Your files do not open with the program you want to open them with.
Hold down shift while right clicking on the file. Select Open With from the menu. Select Choose Program and find the appropriate program from the list. If the program you want to use is not listed, click on Browse. Navigate to the executable (.exe) for the program and then click on Open. Check the box that says "Always use the selected program to open this kind of file" checkbox.
Error deleting file or folder
This message will most likely occur if you attempt to delete, save over, or move a file while it is in use by another application. Close the open file and try it again. If it is open by another user over the network you will get the same error.
llegal Operation Errors
An illegal operation is usually when the computer requests an operation that is unknown to the operating system or processor and that can't be performed. The operating system or processor usually terminates the program that made the illegal request. If this keeps happening you should reboot your computer.

Web Browser Errors

Cannot find server
This basically means your web browser was unable to find the Web server you attempted to reach. It usually means there is a problem with your internet connection or the web page just happens to be down.
401 Unauthorized/Authorization Required
You will usually see this error when you are trying to access a web page that requires a password or some other credentials to get in which you do not have.
404 Not Found/The Page Cannot Be Found
This usually happens when you try to access a page that doesn't exist on the web server. This is most likely caused by mistyped URL.
503 Service Unavailable
This usually means the page is offline due to too much traffic or maintenance.

How To Find Your IP Address

2009-04-14T11:39:00.001-07:00

One way is from a command prompt. To open a command prompt the easiest way is to go to Start, then Run and type in cmd (command for Windows 95/98) and click OK. You will see a black box with a cursor like the image below.

If you just want to find your IP address you can type in ipconfig and press enter. You will get a listing similar to this.

You will notice 3 pieces of information. The first is the IP address which is the address of your computer on the network. Then you have the subnet mask which determines what subnet your computer is on within the network. Finally you have the default gateway which is a node on the network that serves as an access point to another network, in most cases out to the internet.

If you need to know more detailed information you can type ipconfig /all to get a listing of other IP related information.

This option gives you information such as your host (computer) name, DNS & WINS information and your MAC or physical address of your network card.

Another way to get your IP address is from your network connection properties. Right click your My Network Places and select properties. Then right click your Local Area Connection icon and select properties again. You will see a window similar to the example below.

Select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and click on Properties.

Here you will see you IP address information

If you are getting your IP address automatically (using DHCP) there will not be anything listed in the boxes and this method will not work to find your IP address.

One final way I will mention to obtain your IP address is to click on the local area connection icon in your taskbar.

Then click on the Support tab to display the following.

Shutdown Command Graphical Interface

2009-04-06T08:19:00.000-07:00

Windows has always offered a way to shut down your own computer or other computers on the network remotely via a command line using the shutdown command. There is a way to modify the command so you can use a graphical interface instead to make it easier to choose what computers to shutdown or even restart.

The shutdown command uses switches to control how it is used. For example you can use the –r switch to reboot rather than shutdown and the –t switch to control how long before the computer is shutdown or restarted. If you use the –i switch then it will launch the graphical interface which allows you to fine tune how you want the computer to shutdown. You can make a desktop shortcut for the graphical interface by making the target for the shortcut be %windir%\system32\shutdown.exe –i. That way you can have it as an icon that you can double click to run

When you launch the shutdown interface you can click on the Add button to add computers by name or the Browse button to browse Active Directory looking for computers if you use a domain.

Then you can choose if you want to shutdown, reboot or log off the users and how long until that event happens. If you want to tack your reboots you can use the Shutdown Event Tracker to have a description of why you shutdown the computers.

Software Errors

2009-04-02T23:20:00.000-07:00

Windows errors - (Errors and fixes may vary depending on your version of Windows)

Your are unable to copy and paste in Windows Explorer.
Go to Start, Settings then Control Panel. Select the Internet Options icon and click on the Security tab. Then click on Custom Setting, and make sure the "Drag and copy or paste" option is enabled.
Windows encountered an error accessing the system Registry (Windows 98/ME)
Do a search on the C Drive for the User.dat file. If the file size is 0k, delete the file so Windows will recreate it next boot up.
Your files do not open with the program you want to open them with.
Hold down shift while right clicking on the file. Select Open With from the menu. Select Choose Program and find the appropriate program from the list. If the program you want to use is not listed, click on Browse. Navigate to the executable (.exe) for the program and then click on Open. Check the box that says "Always use the selected program to open this kind of file" checkbox.
Error deleting file or folder
This message will most likely occur if you attempt to delete, save over, or move a file while it is in use by another application. Close the open file and try it again. If it is open by another user over the network you will get the same error.
llegal Operation Errors
An illegal operation is usually when the computer requests an operation that is unknown to the operating system or processor and that can't be performed. The operating system or processor usually terminates the program that made the illegal request. If this keeps happening you should reboot your computer.

Web Browser Errors

Cannot find server
This basically means your web browser was unable to find the Web server you attempted to reach. It usually means there is a problem with your internet connection or the web page just happens to be down.
401 Unauthorized/Authorization Required
You will usually see this error when you are trying to access a web page that requires a password or some other credentials to get in which you do not have.
404 Not Found/The Page Cannot Be Found
This usually happens when you try to access a page that doesn't exist on the web server. This is most likely caused by mistyped URL.
503 Service Unavailable
This usually means the page is offline due to too much traffic or maintenance.

Use the Windows Vista Snipping Tool For Capturing Screen Shots

2009-04-02T23:19:00.001-07:00

Windows Vista comes with a nice screen capture utility called the Snipping Tool which allows you to take screen shots in a variety of ways and place them into other programs, save them or email them right from the utility.

You can use Snipping Tool to capture a screen shot, or snip, of any object on your screen and then annotate, save, or share the image. Simply use a mouse or tablet pen to capture any of the following types of snips:

Free-form Snip. Draw an irregular line, such as a circle or a triangle, around an object.
Rectangular Snip. Draw a precise line by dragging the cursor around an object to form a rectangle.
Window Snip. Select a window, such as a browser window or dialog box, that you want to capture.
Full-screen Snip. Capture the entire screen when you select this type of snip.

After you capture a snip, it's automatically copied to the mark-up window, where you can annotate, save, or share the snip. It will also add the screen shot to the clipboard by default so you can easily paste it into another application

To capture a snip

1. Open the Snipping Tool by clicking on Start, All Programs and then Accessories
2. Click the arrow next to the New button, select a snip type from the menu, and then use your mouse or tablet pen to capture a snip.
3. Once you have captured the section of the screen you like or the whole screen itself it will be placed into the Snipping Tool mark-up window.

To annotate a snip simply use a mouse or tablet pen to write on or around the snip using one of the pens or the highlighter.

To save a snip, do the following:

1. Click the Save Snip button.
2. In the Save As dialog box and enter a name for the snip
3. Choose a location to save the snip in
4. Choose a file type to save the snip as. You can save a snip as an HTML, PNG, GIF, or JPEG file.
5. Click Save.

To share a snip Click the arrow on the Send Snip button, and then select an option from the menu. You can send it as an email attachment or have it embedded in the email itself.

Symantec pcAnywhere

2009-04-02T23:18:00.001-07:00

Symantec pcAnywhere provides secure, remote access to computers and servers. Symantec pcAnywhere supports network connections over a local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), or the Internet, modem-to-modem connections, and direct cable connections using a serial or parallel port

Common uses for pcAnywhere include managing computers remotely, supporting and maintaining servers, transferring files between computers and working from a remote location.

If you support multiple computers in a networked environment then you can connect to a specific computer and control it as if you were sitting in front of it. It is similar to Microsoft’s Remote Desktop and Remote Assistance except pcAnywhere supports older versions of Windows that Remote Desktop and Remote Assistance do not. The only downside is that you can only have one concurrent connection to a particular computer at a time.

If you need to demonstrate how to do a specific procedure on a remote computer, you can take control of the computer while other people watch as you demonstrate.

You may also need to access files or email on a remote computer such as your home PC. Simply log onto your home computer and use it just like you were at home.

You can even install or modify software on the multiple computers from one location rather than having to go to each individual workstation. pcAnywhere lets you have multiple sessions with different computer open at the same time. There is an option to perform file transfers between the local and remote computer as well.

There are several different components of pcAnywhere that allow you to perform specific tasks. These include:

pcAnywhere program - this lets you access computers and servers remotely

Host Administrator - a tool that lets you manage pcAnywhere hosts on your network.

Host Administrator Agent - a component of the Host Administrator tool that provides the files required for remote management of a host computer using Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM) technology.

Remote Access Perimeter Scanner – a tool that lets you scan your network for unsecured hosts.

Symantec LiveUpdate – this allows installed Symantec products connect to a Symantec server automatically for program and virus definitions updates.

The pcAnywhere Manager is the main window for pcAnywhere. From the pcAnywhere Manager, you can manage your connection items, start a session, access pcAnywhere tools, and customize preferences. The navigation bar on the left of the window lets you access pcAnywhere session options, configuration files, and tools.

Quick Connect
Quick Connect lets you connect to another computer with minimum setup. Use this option for one-time or infrequent connections to a host computer. Before connecting, you must know the computer name, IP address, or modem number of the host computer and the logon information.

Setting up a Host computer
pcAnywhere lets you set up a host computer to receive a connection by modifying an existing connection item or creating a new one. pcAnywhere provides the three default connection items, which are pre-configured to optimize security and performance.

Modem Connection – this is used to dial out to a connection over a phone line.

Direct Connection - this is a connection where you use either a parallel (LPT) or a serial (COM) port and a null parallel or null serial cable.

Network, Cable, DSL Connection – use this type for computers on your network or to connect over a broadband Internet connection.

Once you setup your remotes you can access them simply by double clicking on their name/icon to start the connection. You can even copy pcAnywhere configuration to another computer running pcAnywhere instead of having to setup all the remotes again.

Windows Sysinternals

2009-04-02T23:17:00.000-07:00

Miscellaneous Utilities - A collection of diverse utilities that includes a screen saver, presentation aid, and debugging tool.

The site also offers a discussion forum for any questions you may have about any of the utilities as well as a blog containing information about any updates and other news. If you would like training on the Sysinternals software or other topics there are Webcasts available as well as DVD training. Click here to go to the Sysinternals website.

Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer

2009-04-02T23:16:00.000-07:00

The Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) allows you to assess the administrative vulnerabilities present on one or multiple computers on your network. MBSA scans the specified computers and then generates a report that contains details for each computer about the security checks that it performed, the results, and recommendations for fixing any problems. You can check your computer for security problems in Microsoft SQL Server and Internet Information Services (IIS) as well as check to see if your computer has the most current Windows and Office updates installed.

The Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) checks computers running Windows Server 2003, Vista, XP and Windows 2000 with Internet Explorer 5.01 or later installed for common security mis-configurations. You must have administrator privileges for each computer you want to scan though.

Scanning Options
The following checks are optional and you can choose whether or not to run these checks before starting a scan of the computer.

Check for Windows administrative vulnerabilities
This option scans for problems with the way that Windows is configured on the target computer. Such factors as the number of members of the local Administrators group, file-system type, and whether Windows Firewall is enabled are checked and reported.

Check for weak passwords
This option tests the passwords of local user accounts to determine whether any are blank or have other problems that might allow them to be guessed easily.

Check for IIS administrative vulnerabilities
This option checks for Internet Information Services administrative vulnerabilities.

Check for SQL Server administrative vulnerabilities

Selecting this option checks for administrative vulnerabilities on each instance of SQL Server, Microsoft Data Engine, or SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine (MSDE) running on the target computer.

Check for security updates
Selecting this option checks the target computer for missing Windows and Office updates. When you select this option, you can also specify the following options:

Configure computers for Microsoft Update and scanning prerequisites
This option installs the current version of Microsoft Update Agent on the target computer if it is absent or out of date and configures the target computer to meet other requirements for scanning for security updates.

Scan using Update Services servers only
Selecting this option scans only for those security updates that are approved on the computer's Update Services server. The Microsoft Update Web site or an offline catalog are not used.

Scan using Microsoft Update only
Selecting this option uses only the security update catalog downloaded from the Microsoft Update Web site to determine the updates to be checked. Updates that are not approved on the computer's Update Services server are reported as though they were approved.

Once you select your options you can pick which computer you want to scan and click on Start scan.

When completed you will see the results of the scan which can be sorted in different ways such as the worst results first etc.

There will be links within the results that you can click for more information such as what was scanned and more details about the results. Icons will be placed next to each result showing statistics such as failure, passing, warning or information.

There are other options to print and copy your report to paste into another application such as Word. You can also view previous scans if you want to make comparisons.

Find the MAC address of the computers on your network

2009-04-01T07:46:00.000-07:00

A MAC address, short for Media Access Control address, is a unique code assigned to most forms of networking hardware. This is a unique identifier specific to the network card inside the computer. The MAC address makes the host recognizable to and distinguishable from other hosts.

CC Get MAC Address is a tool for finding MAC address and computer names from IP addresses. You can use it to find the MAC address, computer name and IP address of a computer on your network or the whole LAN range itself.

CC Get MAC can resolve MAC addresses from IP or computer name. Also, you can find the IP address from the MAC address. CC Get MAC Address also can be used with the Wake On LAN feature of your network card. You can use it wake up any computer on your LAN remotely (To use Wake On LAN function, you must have a network card with chipset that supports this feature)

Using Disk Management to Manage Hard Drives

2009-04-01T07:45:00.000-07:00

Windows 2000 and up included a utility called Disk Management that is used to view and change your hard drive and other drive configurations. With Disk Management you can get a graphical view of the layout and partitions of your hard drives. It will also tell you if the size of the partitions, how they are formatted and the volume label. You can also see CD and DVD drives as well as flash drive configuration.

If you need to change partition configuration or change drive letters you can do so from here as well. So if you want to organize your drives and CDROMs you can switch the letters around so they will be in a more logical order. Just be aware that if you change the drive letters and Windows has programs installed with different drive letters that they most likely work anymore.

You can also format drives and change basic disks to dynamic disks if needed. Disk Management can also be used to setup spanned or striped volumes or software RAID configurations depending on what version of Windows you are using and how many drives you have in your system.

If you are installing a drive from another computer and it is not recognized you should check Disk Management to see if its listed and many times import the foreign disk to have it recognized by the system. Sometimes a drive will be recognized but not get a drive letter assigned to it and you can take care of that here.