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August 24

Table of Kilobytes to Megabytes and Gigabytes

Is there a table that shows how many kilobytes there are in a megabyte and gigabytes?

I have a system with a limit of 25GB, but it displays what I've used in KB's, so I need a table that can show me what my KB is in terms of GB.

The same system allows me 10MB of space, but shows me what space I've used in KB.

I am charged when I use over the limits, but am having trouble understanding what the limit is when it's expressed in KB instead of GB, or expressed in KB not MB.DIANNEdeb 04:15, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

8 bits = 1 byte; 1024 kilobytes = 1 megabyte; 1024 megabytes = gigabyte http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byte --Proficient 04:21, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It depends. In memory it's as Proficient as shown. In comms terms it increments in steps of 1000, as per the [SI] prefix indicates (1MB = 1000Kb). --Blowdart 11:24, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Technically, if you refer to storage spaces using Proficient's way, you should be using the units KiB, MiB and GiB. They refer to kibibyte, mebibyte and gibibyte. It's to reduce confusion with the SI form. Harryboyles 13:47, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

As long as you are going to leave yourself a bit of extra space and not go right to the very limit, you can just think of k as thousand, m as million, and b as billion (just in case you are in Britain, when I say billion I mean 1,000,000,000). So if your limit is 10 MB that is about 10 million bytes. If your current usage is 9,800,000 kB that is about 9,800,000 thousand bytes, or 9,800 million bytes. So you could add about 200 million bytes before you pay extra.

Sometimes in computing a kB is exactly 1000 bytes, sometimes it is 1048 bytes. If the difference is important to you, you can do some experiments to find out how it works on your system. --Gerry Ashton 03:29, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Software based selftesting of embedded processor

Details about software based self testing of embedded processors?

An answer will be easier to provide if you give more details. --121.44.75.32 08:49, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

computer program

Who wrote the world's first computer program? 59.93.102.94 12:34, 24 August 2006 (UTC)g.lakshmi rupa59.93.102.94 12:34, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Ada Lovelace is commonly referred to as writing the first computer program. However, her program was written for a computer that did not exist, so she never actually programmed a computer or ran a program. --Kainaw ^(talk) 13:15, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

If you want to know what the first computer program ever executed was, you have to decide what the first computer was. This is not an easy question either; see history of computing hardware for some of the subtleties. --Robert Merkel 13:20, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Google search

1) I search for an english word with the Japanese Google. It is apparently set to "Search: the web", yet I get predominantly Japanese language results. I'd always assumed that, when set as "search: the web", Google would treat equally all indexed sites of all languages. To what degree is this not so?

2) Regarding the wildcard feature: one asterisk will mostly substitute for only a single word. And a search containing two seems much more inclined to return multiple word strings. But why is there no steadfast rule? -and why do three asterisks get less results than two? Woodenbeam 12:40, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Firefox auto-refresh?

Is there any way to set Firefox to auto-refresh a web page after a set interval, say one minute? A quick scan of the help and prefs didn't reveal anything. Many thanks. --Richardrj 13:01, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

There is no way that I know of, but... You can make a quick and dirty frameset with one frame reloading the other one on a set interval with javascript. --Kainaw ^(talk) 13:13, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

There's a Firefox extension that does just this. It's called ReloadEvery and you can get it from here. Harryboyles 13:51, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Great, thanks very much. I have to wonder, though, why Firefox doesn't include functionality like this as part of the core browser rather than requiring users to download all these extensions. Presumably, it's because the basic broswer would then be too big and bloated. But personally I would rather have a longer initial download than have to keep going off hunting for extensions. Any comments? --Richardrj 14:01, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

You have answered your own quesiton. IIRC, firefox was a reaction against mozilla bloat, on which basis it does not make sense to cram the kitchen sink into it. by way of example, I think few of us want an auto reload function. --Tagishsimon (talk)

[1]. --cesarb 21:54, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

How many Wikipedia users are aware of the Reference Desk?

I'm sure the majority of Wikipedia users -- people just checking articles -- are completely unaware of the reference desk. I myself didn't notice the reference desk existed until almost a year after I started using Wikipedia. Has anyone considered linking to the reference desk on the left-hand-side menu, or on the main page? Taiq 18:39, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

How about on the Main Page just under "Today's featured picture" in a section titled "Other areas of Wikipedia"? That would seem like a good place. --hydnjo talk 18:52, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

With the vast number of people who come straight to the reference desk and ask questions like "Who was Gerald Ford?", many know of the reference desk and do not know about Wikipedia. --Kainaw ^(talk) 19:40, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I am perplexed, because the Reference Desk is really hard to find (in fact, how do you get to it from the Main Page? I usually just click on my last edit in my contributions) and I didn't find it until ooh, a good year or so after becoming an editor. And yet it still gets questions, even from those with impaired navigation skills. Sum0 11:00, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

From the main page, click Help on the left nav menu and then click Reference Desk below "Where to Ask Question". There are also issues where someone, like AOL, makes the Reference Desk a "site of the day" and we get flooded with hundreds of AOL users asking things like, "If I put ice in the tub and pour milk on it, how cold is the cow next door?" and "1) When did W. Shakespeare live? 2) Name three of Shakespeares plays. 3) Which play do you find most interesting and why? ANSWER FAST - CLASS IS IN 10 MINUTES!!!!!" --Kainaw ^(talk) 14:55, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

No, you mean "ANSWER FAST STUPID NERDS, CLASS IS IN 10 MINUTES, IDIOTS! WIKIPEDIA SUCKS!" Sum0 22:27, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Actually, I meant "N5R F45+ NRD5! CL55 N 10M 1D10+5! W1K1P3D14 5K5! 1 M L33+! 1 R0K! W00+ W00+!" Honestly, a person asked a whole question about troubleshooting a "large java program" in mixed l33t and IM. It was obvious that his problem centered around his inability to follow common syntax. --Kainaw ^(talk) 14:20, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Software to print large text over several sheets of paper

I would like to put a large "For Rent" sign or poster in the window of a house, with the text printed out over several sheets of paper which would be put next to each other to assemble the complete sign.

Is there any no-cost software that could do that please? My word-processor cannot do this, I've tried. Thanks.

Permanant marker? It'd probably be easier to make a huge piece of paper with the text on it Wizrdwarts (T|C|E) 21:36, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I seem to recall an old piece of software with "banner" in the name. Does this ring any bells with anyone ? I do tend to agree on just using marker, though, as that amount of printer ink is really going to cost a lot. StuRat 23:20, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I'm guessing you're probably thinking of Bannermania. I remember using it a lot in school when I was about 9 or 10. It would do the job and it can be downloaded from various sites for free. --Kiltman67 05:17, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I was about to suggest open office but then I tried it myself and couldn't figure out a way to do it, as the page size limit seems to be 46.85". Is there another way to make a banner in open office that I'm missing (it is almost 7a.m., time for bed :) ) Autopilots 10:50, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Error message

I have to use an AOL dial-up connection and Windows ME for the next few days. Just saying that, so that no one thinks I use it regularly. Anyway, this error message keeps appearing when I go to or edit any page on Wikipedia:

An error has occurred in the script on this page.

Line: 5024

Char: 4

Error: 'clientx' is null or not an object

Code: 0

URL: (whatever URL it is)

Would you like to continue running scripts on this page?

I keep clicking "yes", but it comes back several seconds later. Why is this happening, and can it be avoided? -- TheGreatLlama ^{(speak to the Llama!)} 20:49, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

probably an out of date browser try using firefox, dunno if its compiled for me, i had that ver of windows back in the day what a piece of crap24.193.235.5 05:46, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

virtual memory

my computer keeps coming up with low virtual memory messages even though i have a lot of memory left. what is the problem and how can i solve it?

thanks--86.140.84.212 21:46, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

That message may be referring to paging space, which is space on the disk used to store what's in memory, so the memory is then freed up for other work. Also, some programs seem to only allocate a limited amount of memory for themselves, even if more is available. Thus, that program can run out of memory, even though the computer is not out. StuRat 23:15, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

We don't have an article on paging space ? What's up with that ? StuRat 23:16, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I see someone has now added a redirect to swap space. Thanks. StuRat 03:07, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

August 25

U3

What are your thoughts and opinions about bringing U3 support to the Mac and Linux environments? Looking forward to hearing your ideas!

Free web host

Does anybody know of a free web host that does not require forum posts to keep hosting, and has the following features:

PHP5
MySQL
FTP access

I would like to run MediaWiki 1.7 (and higher, as released), but can't find a free php5 host. The more space the better. I would like to start off with 100mb, but I will accept 50mb. If any web hosts have all this, and also instant activation, that would be fantastic, but I don't want to get too greedy. Thanks, Shardsofmetal ^{[ Talk | Contribs ]} 03:07, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Irritating bad spelling corrected - unless he wants to get to Greedy, Alaska.

I am not 100% sure, but I think you are being too greedy. I doubt that there is Free web hosting service that give that much away. Jon513 12:31, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

You can have a try with Awardspace. I have used them and they have been a pretty good provider. Ronaldh 12:48, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Swapping in ID3 Tags

I've got a collection of MP3s where in their ID3 tags the name of the artist is in the title and the title of the song is listed as the artist. Does anyone know of any piece of software which would allow me to simply swap the data around rather then having to edit each file individually? --Kiltman67 05:21, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

no but if you find one please share ;p 24.193.235.5 03:25, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I know of programs called Tag&Rename, mp3Tag Pro that let you do this among many other things. You can download a 30-day trial. Once you have it running, select the folder or files you want, then use the Tools menu and select Swap Tag Fields, then Artist <-> Title. --jh51681 19:39, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

foobar2000 is a nice audio player with a powerful 'Masstagger' feature that would allow you to do something like this en masse with a little careful thought. 62.232.224.2 09:20, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Linux lockup problem

I've had a debilitating problem with Mandriva Linux 2006.0 ever since I installed it, which is that it locks up at seemingly random points in time. I mean a hard lockup -- nothing moves, nothing responds, caps lock light doesn't turn on, etc. It's an NEC laptop which came with XP Pro, but I repartitioned the main NTFS partition to make room for an ext3 partition for Mandriva. I was having a tough time trying to troubleshoot it, so I asked around the #mandriva channel on IRC, people in which suggested that my RAM might be the problem. I subsequently ran memtest86 for 3 hours on my 1 GB of RAM (2 x 512 MB) and got 6 errors. I later ran another 6 hour memtest, which revealed 21 errors. This further convinced me that the RAM is the problem, because of the results of the memtests and because there seemed to be no obvious software cause to the lockups. However, the laptop has never, ever, locked up on Windows XP Pro. Some people suggested that this was so because Windows handled bad RAM differently to Linux, but I still wasn't convinced, so I resized my Mandriva partition to make room for an ext3 partition to put SuSE Linux 10.1 on. I began to use SuSE frequently to test if it would lock up, and it never has. This experience seems to point to a software-specific problem, especially since I tested each 512 MB RAM stick individually with Mandriva, and it has locked up under both.

However, many things still convince me that the RAM is indeed the problem. These include assurances from people, IRC and real-life, that memtest86 never lies. Also, nothing is logged in /var/log/messages in Mandriva when it locks up, suggesting that it "didn't have a chance" to record anything. The lockups seem to occur most frequently when I do something, and not when idle. For example, it has locked up as a result of clicking a tab in Firefox, moving the mouse from its stationary position, but also in the middle of listening to music while not doing anything else. I have never had the same situation "cause" a lockup more than once; it's always different. Finally, if I get memtest86 to output its errors in BadRAM format, and pass the defective memory addresses as a boot option to the kernel (I have BadRAM support compiled into the kernel), the frequency of the lockups I get seems to be reduced.

I have 2 x 512 MB DDR2 200-pin CL4 SODIMM RAM at 533 MHz, no ECC -- the RAM sticks in there are the ones from the factory. I don't have spare DDR2 RAM to test, and I've been thinking about getting new RAM, but I don't want to waste the money and find that it doesn't solve the problem. Can anyone here troubleshoot my problem further or suggest my next course of action? I will happily provide more details if requested. -- Daverocks (talk) 07:45, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I've experienced a similar problem. I had a PC which ran Windows 2000 reasonably stably (i.e. with a BSOD, about once a month), but in which memory-intensive operations always crashed in linux, especially compilation. The os and gui layer continued running. The same thing happened with various linuxes (Mandrake, Slackware and Debian). Running memtest86 immediately revealed zillions of RAM errors. It's amazing how little effect the memory errors had in Windows. --N·Blue^talk 13:51, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I just had teh same problem. Had two 1-gig sticks in my linux box. It was stable for at least a year. Then, two weeks ago, it started locking up. No new programs were installed. No configurations changed. So, I pulled one stick out and it started locking up more often (at least 3 times a day). I then swapped the one I took out with the one I left in and I haven't had a lockup in the last three days. --Kainaw ^(talk) 14:18, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I'm glad to see that I'm not alone, but Mandriva locks up with each RAM stick on its own, which is worrying. I really just don't know if new RAM will actually solve the problem. :| -- Daverocks (talk) 14:50, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Try keeping top open in a shell at all times - so you can see it. Whataver is locking up the computer might bubble to the top of top just before most lockups. Then, you will know what is causing the problem. As for reduction of memory usage - I turned off pango in Firefox and greatly reduced CPU and memory load. --Kainaw ^(talk) 17:26, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I multitask a lot, so I don't know if I'd be able to keep top open in a visible shell all the time like that. However, I might try making a script running in the background which constantly executes ps and logs the output. -- Daverocks (talk) 09:03, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The difference can probably be explained by the way Mandriva compiled the kernel. It's possible that it has more agressive optimizations, which are more sensitive to bad RAM (which you have, since the memtest86 gave errors). If the problem persists with each memory stick individually, it's quite possible that the RAM problem is not on the sticks, but somewhere else (an overheating or overclocked CPU, a flaky memory bus, or an incompatibility between the memory and the northbridge, for instance). See also the SIG11 FAQ (while it's very old and focuses more on gcc crashing, a lot of the advice still applies). --cesarb 22:08, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for that link. :) -- Daverocks (talk) 09:03, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Payment Systems/Vision Plus

Hi,

I somewhere read that giant multi national banks which operate in almost every country can afford to rent/buy a mainframe for their daily processing.

They also use some specialized software known as "Vision Plus", designed by First Data International which handles all credit/debit card and mortgage related processing.

I would like to know more about this Vision Plus Package. And how does it function across different countries which use different cirrency models. How Mortgages and cards are handled, etc.

If You could Provide some some insight on this, I'd be grateful to you.

Thanks, Raghav.

Google works wonders: google:vision plus software --Markwalling 12:48, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Display rotate 90 degrees

After playing a MAME videogame that unexpectedly quit, my display has been rotate 90 degrees, thus making using the computer a real headache, how do I change it back to its original settings? I looked in the display thing in the control panel and found nothing.... Thanks in advance

Do you have any software that came with your graphics card that has options you can change. I have an ATI card and it comes with a Control Center which allows me to change the rotation of my display. --Kiltman67 18:09, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I don't believe so, I can't find it at least... I vaguely remember being able to change the rotation of my screen in some control panel area but I don't remember where.

If you are running Windows XP, try right clicking on the desktop, then Graphics Options, then Rotation, and choose your angle. This has happened to me too before and I know how annoying it is! Hyenaste ^(tell) 20:26, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

RUNESCAPE! and mso frontpage

Right i have a few questions and first of all is this one:

I play on runescape and i think it is a great game but i would like to get better quickly. i know there are ways of editing your stats but i cant seem to find any. First of all i heard of a way doing it without using any new programs by going onto start, run, typing 'regedit' to bring up regestry editor, press F3 (find)(whilst playing the game!) and searching for 'jagex stats'/'jagex sotware' (and others). Then I was told would appear the stats which I would be able to edit. Well I tried this but it didnt work: there were no results for my search! Firstly does this method work and have i done anything wrong? If it doesn't is there another way of editing stats without downloading any programs? Well if there isnt can you recomend a program to download that wont bust my computer or come with any viruses or other stupid problems. (BY THE WAY I HAVE WINDOWS XP 2003 (i think its 2003 and its probably home edition))

Wow. I thought that rumour stopped years ago. It doesn't work. Hyenaste ^(tell) 20:32, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Are there any other decent games such as runescape which are rpgs, online, free and '3d mulitplayer world like'? Is there a website which will have these games on?

You might like to try some of the games at List of free MMORPGs. Hyenaste ^(tell) 20:32, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

is there anywhere where i can download microsoft office frontpage from for free? that will give me the full version without any dodgey bits?

There's no legal way to do this, but with a peer-to-peer program you might find it. Hyenaste ^(tell) 20:32, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Finally is there a program that i can download (for free) which will enable me to create a massive 3d world with monsters and interactive stuff in like runescape but without all the otherplayers and internet stuff?

Not that I'm aware. Creating satisfactory video games requires a vast knowledge of programming languages. There's a nice little program called Game Maker, but to be able to create some really stunning game with it would require just as much skill as it would to create one in C++ or similar. Hyenaste ^(tell) 20:32, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Get a copy of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, download the Construction Set from the website, and visit the Construction Set Wiki for the tutorial. You can be producing simple mods within a couple of hours. 'Lo Hyenaste! CaptainVindaloo ^{t c e} 23:51, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe Second Life? Wizrdwarts (T|C|E) 22:54, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

thank you very much! --William dady 15:42, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Half the files I download get corrupted

I've recently built a new computer, and it's running more or less fine, but there's something wrong with downloading. Most files that I download seem to be corrupt in some way - either they won't open, or they give an error at some point during installation. I seem to have more luck downloading with Internet Explorer rather than Firefox, and some files have given me more grief than others. It might be to do with size, but I've had the devil of a time getting Java Runtime Environment downloaded successfully - at time of typing it's just failed again, despite trying with various combinations of IE, Firefox, and the 'XPI' and 'Manual' installations. This is incredibly annoying as it's a rather essential download.

Large pictures occasionally get scrambled as well when viewing them in a browser - I imagine this might be due to the same thing.

My connection comes from a normal ADSL connection which goes into my computer via a standard network cable from the router, and my motherboard is an ABIT KN8 Ultra. Does anyone have any idea why it might be doing this (and how I can fix it)? --Sam Blanning^(talk) 19:13, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Check the network cable. A friend of mine had lots of misterious corruption of data between two computers of his, and the root cause was an incorrectly made network cable (the pairs weren't correctly matched, which had the same effect as if they weren't twisted). Apparently the CRC checks weren't strong enough to detect and discard all incorrect packets. The problem went away after the cable was either replaced or fixed (I do not recall right now which was the exact solution).

It can also be a problem with the computer (even more likely for a new computer than for one which has been working fine for a while); for instance, you might have memory corruption (check with memtest86+), an overheating CPU, a problematic motherboard, or even a defective HD. --cesarb 21:58, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Hopefully you found the answer already, but if not then here it is: The Nforce4 chipset in your Abit KN8 has had driver issues related to it's builtin network firewall, causing data corruption. There are numerous threads discussing this around the 'net, and in short you should use the latest drivers from Nvidia and elect to NOT install/use any of the built in firewalling. --Jmeden2000 20:12, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

WinXP connection and DNS problems

I just started working at a place with a 100M bps 10baseT CAT-5 ethernet network. I'm using my Windows XP SP2 laptop which works just fine on my home, cablemodem 100 Mbps ethernet, and on everywhere's WiFi.

The problem is when I plug in to this company's ethernet, the DHCP-based ethernet connection lasts for 10-15 minutes and then connections get dropped, DNS and new connections stop working, and I have to ipconfig/release /renew after which it works for another 10-15 minutes. Nobody else has this problem, including from my jack, and I get the same trouble on my neighbor's jack.

How do I debug this problem? What could it be? Thanks for any help. I'm a power user and I don't mid downloading and installing advanced diagnosis tools, if they will help. 75.30.240.49 23:03, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I would boot up off a Live CD and see if you still have the problem. If you do have a problem, you know that the problem is either hardware of the network itself. If you don't have a problem you know the problem is windows. I strongly suspect (as it seems you do as well) that the problem is windows and that the connection will work with a live cd. Nevertheless it is still worthwhile to eliminate possiblities. Jon513 18:32, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Weird network problems like this are, in my experience, very frequently caused by the range of crappy personal firewall / security suites with which people's machines are regrettably infested. It works at home because the firewall counts your home network as one kind of network, one for which it applies a marginally less stupid ruleset than it does for your work network. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 18:56, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

August 26

reinstalling windows

Hi guys... sorry I am asking a bunch of questions... if i reinstall windows... (because mine is screwed) ... do I have to save all my information somewhere else?! also, does reinstalling windows = formating it?... gosh , my pc is completely screwed...--Cosmic girl 01:52, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

yes it is. but if your cd burner still works youre in luck. first burn all of your documents/crap to a cd. any pictures in your computer. most files that youll need will be saved to your desktop, my documents and its subdirectories. other such things you need will be any mp3s you have on your computer, and file sharing directories. i dont know what you use your comptuer for but think of all the things you use it for. next find the cds that came with your computer. restart it with the cds in your computer. you may have to change the boot order for it to load from the cd instead of your hard drive. im not going to get into all of that htough. yes this is called reformating your computer or reinstalling windows and will completely reformat your harddrive and install windows on it, fresh as the day you got your computer 24.193.235.5 03:22, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

However, if the prob is a virus, it might come back when you copy your old crap back into windows. So, if a virus is in your critical files, you may not be able to restore them. StuRat 09:52, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Also, while it is possible to reload Windows without reformatting the hard disk, I see no reason to do so. You might as well do both. StuRat 09:54, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I have ABSOLUTELY no clue what is 'reformating the hard disk' much less, how to do it =( . --Cosmic girl 17:28, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

reformating the hard disk is a way to erase everything and start over (removing, along with everything else, the virus). First back up all the files you need, you can upload them to your email account, copy them to a usb key, or burn them on a CD whatever. Do not copy any programs, they may be contaminated by the virus; you can redownload them if you need them. The most inportant information often takes up the least amount of space. After you back up what you need, put in the windows CD that came with your computer and restart. The computer should boot off the CD. There you should have a menu that says something like "would you like to install windows". and there will be a point where it says "Stop, this will erase all your information, are you sure you want to do this!" and "are you really really sure?" and maybe even a "are you 100% certain about this?". Just keep clicking yes. When it is done your computer should be as good as new. If you have any question feel free to ask back over here. Jon513 18:22, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Also, if you go to a DOS window, you can type in FDISK to bring up the disk format utility. The same warning applies, however, as this will wipe the disk clean, so be sure you've saved anything you want, first. Be sure to view the current format first so you can use the same format (such as FAT32), when you reformat. StuRat 20:42, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you guys =), I think I'll just go with the windows cd procedure, because I don't know how to open a DOS window... yeah...pathetic, I know. =) :p --Cosmic girl 01:25, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

On my Windows 98 comp, it's "Start" + "Programs" + "MS-DOS Prompt". StuRat 10:16, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

thanks a lot!!! =). I'll let u guys know how it all goes.--Cosmic girl 19:15, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I've said it before and I will say it again. Try fixing the issue and using virus scanners before you wipe your hard drive. If you don't do that, reinstalling windows won't solve your problem. -- Mgm|^(talk) 09:54, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

If you format all disks and then reload Windows, no virus should be able to survive that. StuRat 06:21, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

using a Laptop

Upto how many degrees do laptop users open and keep their laptop and use (on an average)? For example, you may say most of the users use their laptops having opened 135 degrees (distance between keyboard and monitor). Or you may say that the distance between monitor and keyboard is 120 degrees. like that.

I have no idea and I don't think any studies have been carried out. I would guess 90 degrees though, that's how I keep mine.

It depends on the height of the screen relative to your eyes. If it's much lower than your eyes, 135 degrees might be right. But, if it's the same height as your eyes, 90 degrees would be better. Ideally, you want a line perpendicular to the center of the screen to bisect your eyes. StuRat 09:47, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

study abroad information science

hello, i apologize in advance for this question, as i know it will probably get no responses and is pretty long. i am a senior IS&T student at temple university, and i am regretting that i never studied abroad. my last semester is the coming spring and i only ahve 3 classes left. i am looking for a university that i could study abroad at that has classes that may be similar to these so i could try to sell it to the computer science department. i need these 3 classes:

330. network architectures: This course covers the operation of computer networks and internets. It provides the background to enable students to evaluate alternative approaches to client-server computing and n-tier software development. To accomplish this the course includes communications technology, computer network technology internetworking using the TCP/IP protocol suite, client-server protocols, client-server computing, network program component models as well as issues involving security, privacy, authentication, intellectual property rights, and social changes related to computer networking.

342 net app systems: The objective of this course is to provide further depth, beyond CIS 0309, into the development of network deployed systems. Its emphasis is on distributed, multi-tier architectures. The course is divided into 3 parts. First is the theory associated with protocols, architectures, middleware, and database transactions. These include such topics as HTTP, SOAP, DNA, Multi-tiered architecture, Web Services, .NET Framework, .NET Remoting ADO.NET and COM+. The second part is a deeper knowledge of the ASP.NET and VB.NET languages beyond CIS 0309. This would include (1) application system design, construction and packaging via .NET assemblies, server controls, and custom controls, (2) component and data distribution via COM+, XML, SOAP, Web Services and .NET Remoting, (3) database transactions via ADO.NET, and (4) report generation via Crystal Reports. The third part of the course is a project that the student will perform in the design and programming of a distributed application.

w381 information systems implimentation: This is a capstone course where teams of students implement the information system for which they developed specifications in CIS W281. The teams create the database, programs, procedures and documentations necessary for their project. Techniques of modular design, program development, testing and integration are employed. Emphasis is placed on writing documentations, oral presentations and project management.

i know these courses are very specific but perhaps any university with a wide variety of computer classes could find a match that is somewhat close. i know this is a pretty specific question, so even if you have a lead or know any good schools id be interested. some of the places id like to visit would be london, melbourne/sydney, rome, spain, japan. but i can only speak english : \ thanks 24.193.235.5 03:18, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I was going to toot my own horn at first, welcoming you to Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, but I realize that starting already this spring might not be possible. Since I'm not very knowledgeable in the American education system, I am not quite sure on what level you are studying right now. If, by any chance, you are about to get a Bachelor's degree I can perhaps interest you in coming for a Master's program in English, starting next autumn. It takes one and a half year to complete, and is free of charge. The courses might, on average, be more theoretical than the ones you mention. It's not you wishlist of locations but in any case I can't really imagine that you would experience much of communication problems. Save for some older people, you will be able to speak with pretty much a anyone and among youths, it can be tricky to find a person that is not fluent in your language. Swedish students at said university are for example expected to accept courses being held in English. Oh well, enough advertising. —Bromskloss 13:37, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

How long would it take to download a movie?

I was just trying to figure out what kind of bandwidth speeds would be required to make downloading movies as easy as downloading music is today. I could use some help.

My internet connection today is ~2.5Mbps. I know from experience that it takes me about a week or more to download an 8GB file (about the same size a dual layer DVD). To try to verify this I calculated that 2.5Mbps = 0.3MBps and 8GB = 8000MB. After simple division I get that it should take 7.5 hours to download that 8GB file with a 2.5Mbps connection. That's not what real world experience indicates.

What am I doing wrong?

I know right off the bat that I didn't take into consideration the upload speeds of the servers I'm tapping. How would I go about that?

- Pyro19 08:37, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Then the sender isn't sending as fast as you can receive. You didn't say from where you're trying to download these movies - if it's a peer-to-peer service, then the sender is probably using an ADSL line - the "A" in ADSL stands for asymmetric - which means they have much less upstream bandwidth than downstream. If that's the case, you're limited not by your down speed, but by the other guy's up. Moreover, he may be sending to multiple people, meaning you only get a share of what he's sending. Bittorrent helps that, as you're potentially getting lots of people's downstream (which is why on bittorrent you might, sometimes, approach your max download speed) - but very often people sharing movies or whatever on Bittorrent will be downloading to multiple people, so again their upstream becomes saturated. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 08:49, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah, I was talking about a p2p service. So it doesn't really matter how fast the down speed is as long as the other guy's up speed doesn't at least match it? I guess a corporation like Apple would probably have plenty of bandwidth allowing for the down speed to be the only effective limit while joe shmoe would have a regular consumer line where the up speed is seriously hindered thereby making the down speed effectivly irrelevant. Well, that sucks. - Pyro19 09:10, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, that's generally true. The asymmetry in ADSL is deliberate, and it's an artifact of how telcos (and, to be fair, everyone else) thought the internet would develop - you'd issue relatively small requests for web pages and the like, and receive relatively large replies (from professional providers with beefy connections). The modest number of home/small-business users who needed significant upstream (largely for VPN) would either buy SDSL or bonded ISDN. P2P turns that right on its head. And given how the telcos are already complaining they have to carry too much stuff already, I doubt they'll be keen to provide better upstream in the near future. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 09:40, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

If you're talking about bittorrent, the more you upload, the more people will send you, but only until you're uploading at about 2/3 of your upload capacity... if you upload more at more than that, the usual behaviour is that upload is saturated and it strongly affects download, negativelly, because of some trouble with the workings of internet protocols (basically, the "received" confirmation that is send to acknownedge received data is queued in the upload queue after lots of big packages from the upload, forming a bottleneck). Serious operating systems like Linux have sophisticated package schedulers to avoid that sort of problem; Users of lesser systems can, alternativelly, just set up their bittorrent clients to limit upload to about 2/3 it's (previously tested without that limitation) capacity.-- Roc Vallès^Talk|Hist - 15:02, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Sony VEGAS -- WHAT do I RENDER as if I want to BURN to a DVD?

I have my video in Vegas. Up until now, I've been rendering as .avi-Pal DV-"good" render quality... then I have been using Nero to burn this avi file as a DVD with their "make DVD-video" option.

I was just wondering, is .avi-Pal DV-"good" quality the best one to use if I want to burn as a DVD?

gelo 11:00, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I would think .avi-anyhting is your best choice, but then I don't have Vegas, but for outputting to DVD you're probably always best off with .avi-PAL or .avi-NTSC. I would think the difference would be unnoticeable, especially considering that television is inherintely low-res, and that TV usually works as people's baseline for video quality--71.247.243.173 14:37, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I don't know vegas, but I know DVDs store video in MPEG2 format, at a range of bitrate that goes from about 6mbit/s to about 10mbit/s depending on the vendor. In any case, storing the video in any other (lossy) format as an intermediate means losing quality twice: Once at each reencoding. In any case, there are good Free Software solutions both for video edition/encoding/etc and for DVD recording; looking at them cannot do any harm.-- Roc Vallès^Talk|Hist - 15:07, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

IDE channel

Good Morning,

I have a few questions,

1. How much peripheral can you connnect on one IDE channel?

2. In windows XP, when you view some pictures in the thumbnail view, windows creats a hidden file, my question is what is the extension of this hidden file.

3. What is OS X and on what type of computer is it used on?

4. What is the difference between a password protected file and a password encrypted file?

Thank you,

4. An encrypted file has every bit of the file scrambled (encrypted). To decrypt the file, you must provide a password. The password may be used directly to decrypt the file, or it may give you access to the actual decryption key, which is then used to decrypt the file.

An encrypted file could also be called a "password protected file" but that phrase could also mean a weaker form of protection. The file may be sitting on your disk drive in a readable form, but when the program that is usually used to read it (a word processor for example) opens the file, it sees that it is protected so asks for the password. But a different brand of word processor might read the same file without the password, or the file could be altered to remove the password protection.

If you want to know how well protected a certain file is, tell us what operating system you are using, how the file was protected, and what kind of file it is. --Gerry Ashton 15:23, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

3. OS X is an operating system and is installed on the latest apple computers

1. Two

2. .db -83.129.36.234 21:51, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Also, very often a "password protected" just has restricted access. For instance, a website with a members section has "password protected" the webpages in that section. Password protection could refer to encryption, but in a lot of cass, it just means you need a password to get to the file, and the file isn't actually encrypted. - Rainwarrior 00:33, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Sound Recording Software!!!!!!!!

Hi, is there any software that I can use as an alternative to using Windows' Sound Recorder? If so, where can I download it from the net? THANKS Jon

Audacity. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 12:06, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Yep, Audacity is good, plus it's hard to go wrong with free, open source, software. Not to mention it reads Vorbis--71.247.243.173 14:33, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

fixed wireless Vs fully mobile

(Im writing from India) In today's world, is offering fixed wireless service any cheaper than offering fully mobile service? If there are no differences between costs incurred by the operator offering these two technologies, why are still fixed wireless been marketed in India even today? Companies playing gimmicks here? Thanks

Printing

I have an error dialogue when I try to print. It mentions not being able to print to LPT1 port. Help me and thanks Debbie-----------

More information please;

Operating System? If using Linux/Unix, CUPS?
Printer Type
Printer connection; USB, Parallel?
Is your printer turned on?

Benbread 19:19, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

We also need to know if this printer and the corresponding printer driver software were previously installed and working on that computer. StuRat 19:55, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Unix environment variables question

If I SSH into a Unix computer and set an environment variable, and then export it, the variable only lasts for the duration of the SSH session. If I disconnect and connect again, the variable is gone. How can I set an environment variable that remains even after the SSH connection is closed? JIP | Talk 17:32, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Environment variables are a property of the process they're set on; in your case, they're a property of the shell you're setting them in (and, if you export, of that shell's child processes). If you want a process created later (and not a child of your original shell) to get those settings, you need to put them into your .profile or .bashrc. If you specifically want later ssh sessions (when you reconnect at some later time) to have those same settings, the smartest idea is to use GNU Screen - the first time create a screen session, set your environment variables, and when you're done you detatch from the session (ctrl-a d). Then you log out of ssh. Next time you ssh in, reattach to that same session (which has been persistently hanging around waiting for you) with screen -r. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 17:40, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The computer in question is a database server, which reads some of its configuration from environment variables. I need to change one of those variables. From what I understand of the above, this is impossible with only SSH, because the variables set there don't affect processes started earlier. Do I need to restart the whole database? JIP | Talk 17:47, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Anticipating this issue, most well-written server processes have a "reread your config file" command, which allows the configuration to be changed without stopping and restarting the process. A common choice is sending the server process a SIGHUP. But how that's implemented is entirely up to the server author - and while it'll pick up a change in a config file, it won't pick up anything from your environment. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 17:55, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Computer colours

I have a simple problem I'd feel stupid asking a real-life IT expert whom I'd have to pay to fix. I have Windows 98 on my computer, and recently installed ArcSoft PhotoStudio. Upon doing this, the colors on my screen have been lousy, and I fiddled around in the "display properties" settings, and now I have only a choice between 2 colors and 16 colors. Where can I get the 256-colour display back from? It doesn't give me that choice. Thanks, kind IT folks. --Dangherous 20:13, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

You (or the program's installer) may have increased your screen resolution. Older PCs have very limited graphics memory - so they can either display lots if pixels in only a few colours, or rather fewer pixels but with more colours. So try to reduce your graphics resolution. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 20:16, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

How does one reduce one's graphics resolution? --Dangherous 20:45, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

In that same "display properties" screen there should be an option (it's been so long since I used '98 that I can't remember precisely what they call it). -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 20:46, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

"Start" + "Settings" + "Control Panel" + "Display" + "Settings" tab. StuRat 01:34, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Another option is that you might have booted up in "safe mode" - you can tell this because the text "safe mode" appears in each of the four corners of the screen background (when you close all other programs). Safe mode frequently runs your computer hardware in a very rudimentary, conservative way, and you'll often get chunkier graphics and fewer colours. If you see "safe more", try rebooting. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 21:59, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

If you fiddled with Windows display properties, it should be on the same screen, to the right of where you select the colour depth. (e.g. 800x600, et al - smaller numbers = less resolution). If you can't change it in display properties you probably have to re-install the display driver - cross your fingers you have that disk somewhere (or download a new driver). Then start again, taking note of what "fiddle" caused the problem. I see Photostudio requires a 16-bit graphics card, one assumes you're ok there. If you fiddled with display properties in some Photostudio setup, you get to the Windows one by rightclick on desktop, select properties and select the appropriate tab (usually the far right one, or second from right). --Seejyb 15:46, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It looks like I'll have to reinstall a display driver. From where can I download one? There's no chance I'll find the disk of it. Thanks again. --Dangherous 18:23, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I can't see where you've told us what graphics card (or on-board chip) you have. Although some sites provide all kinds of drivers, it's probably better to go directly to nVidia or ATi or whatever. You may even need a driver, not from the graphics chip maker, but from the graphics card maker. Anyway, if you want more specifics from us we'll need more from you. --KSmrq^T 20:45, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

August 27

Networking a Performa 575

I saw a Performa 575 at a garage sale this weekend and I was just wondering if anyone could tell me how hard it would be to put on a network. Could I put an ethernet card in it? Also, is there a way to load Linux on it? I would think "yes" on this last question, just a matter of finding a variant that will run on 68k Macs. I just thought it might be intersting to have a 33Mhz Mac running Linux on my current network... Thanks, Dismas|^(talk) 01:52, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I have one of these somewhere... you obviously won't be able to put "just any" ethernet card in there, it'd have to be compatible with the 575's bus (NuBus?). Other than that, I don't think there would be any problems. The card I have on my box uses 10Base2 however, so you may not be able to just shove a Cat5 cable in the box. I don't know how well Linux supports it, but NetBSD will run on it. You may have to netboot the install process, IIRC, though. Dysprosia 11:47, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

There's a helpful site, lowendmac.com, for those with an interest in older Macs. Here's their page for a Performa 575, and here's a page discussing Ethernet and LocalTalk options. As always, upgrading an oldie can be hard to justify economically; it's usually an emotional attachment that provides the motivation. --KSmrq^T 14:31, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks to both of you! Like I said, I thought it might just be interesting to do... I realize that I'd be limited in what I could do with it. Dismas|^(talk) 08:34, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I believe your OS options will be severely limited without a CPU upgrade as well, because the 68LC040 has no FPU. Check your favorite Linux sites to confirm (and read this), but you may have to use NetBSD (home) instead of Linux. --KSmrq^T 13:04, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Clicking HD noises on bootup

For the last several days, one of my HDs (presumably the one with the OS on it) has produced fairly loud semi-regular clicking noises during Windows XP being loaded, starting immediately on bootup. It quietens down once the OS is loaded, producing the odd click for one or two minutes afterwards and is then silent. HD performance is unimpaired, as far as I can tell. Although I have all the important stuff backed up, should I now expect an imminent drive failure or can I afford to ignore this? And in the former case, could anyone recommend a good ghosting software for shifting my current Windows installation to a new HD? Thanks a bunch. Sandstein 15:24, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I'd play it safe and expect an imminent failure. StuRat 01:17, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Your drive is failing. The clicks are likely the drive failing to read data and continually trying to check bad sectors. A lot of the new drives I purchase come with disk copy programs, so you can put the new drive in and painlessly copy your old data to the new drive - then trash the bad drive before it gives you any real trouble. --Kainaw ^(talk) 19:48, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

That's rather affectionately called the 'click of death'. That drive is going to die off soon - get a copy of Norton/Symantec Ghost for a decent hard drive ghosting utility, and clone or back up the drive for easier replacement later. 62.232.224.2 09:32, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The "click of death" normally refers to Zip disks, not harddrives. But, the issue is the same - at least one of the drive's heads is having trouble finding where it is supposed to be. --Kainaw ^(talk) 13:00, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for all the comments! (The drive lives... yet.) Sandstein 20:56, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Playing DVDs on Linux

I just bought a movie on DVD. But I have no idea how to play it on my computer. I have Red Hat Fedora Core 3 with just the normal applications it comes with. The DVD disc gets recognised as /media/cdrom, but none of the files there seem to mean anything to any applications. Is there a, preferably open-source, DVD player for Linux that would play commercial DVDs and not require extreme technological wizardry to configure? I'm easily the most computer-knowledgeable member of my family but I'm no Linus Torvalds. JIP | Talk 17:16, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

VideoLAN or Xine. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 17:17, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I've already tried Xine, but it doesn't seem to have an option to automatically play a DVD, and opening any of the files on /media/cdrom just gives an error about an unrecognised format. I'll try VideoLAN as soon as I get it downloaded. Thanks. JIP | Talk 17:22, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It turns out Xine works after all. I just have to open "dvd:/" instead of a file on the filesystem. The movie looks really good. Thanks! JIP | Talk 18:22, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Mobile phone consumer software publishers

How can I get a list of mobile phone consumer software (i.e., J2ME applications) publishers? I'm particularly interested in those who market outside the US. 75.18.208.210 17:35, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

64 bit CPU

I feel incredibly dense asking this, but here goes anyway: If I have a computer with a 64-bit processor (such as one of the new AMD Athlon 64 X2 processors which I'm currently eyeing), will it run 'ordinary' applications and OS's (which I presume are written for a 32-bit architecture)? Or do I need to go and hunt down a 64-bit version of my OS? Thanks muchly in advance! — QuantumEleven 19:43, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It should be able to run 32-bit systems and applications perfectly normally. JIP | Talk 19:53, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I have an AMD64. I run a 64bit OS and run 32bit applications in the 64bit OS without trouble. It is nearly identical to running DOS apps in Windows (post 3.11). DOS was a 16bit application/OS and Windows is 32bit. --Kainaw ^(talk) 20:04, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

64 Bit processors generally have a 32 Bit mode which they will probably run in most of the time if you're running 32 Bit programs. So, there shouldn't be any problem with such a processor as long as it's designed for the usual applications. (There are probably specialized 64 Bit cpus that don't bother, but they're more for industrial/institutional settings where you're designing a computer to solve a specific kind of problem). I don't know if there's actually an advantage to having a 64 Bit CPU if you're going to be running 32 Bit software anyway. (There are probably high end scientific programs which could take advantage of such a CPU... Matlab might.) - Rainwarrior 00:30, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you very much everyone! — QuantumEleven 12:17, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It's worth noting that all recent (< 10 years old) x86 chips have included a math coprocessor that actually does 80-bit arithmetic but which importantly supports 64-bit floating-point numbers. As far as I know, the x86-64 chips do not extend this at all, so Matlab might actually benefit very little. What could benefit greatly are programs that manipulate large numbers of machine-precision integers -- image processing comes to mind -- and anything which could benefit from having ludicrous amounts of addressable memory (scientific computing comes to mind here). Does that help? --Tardis 17:27, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The real benefit I have seen has nothing at all to do with math or numbers. It is memory. With 32 bits, you are limited to 32bit addresses for accessing memory. With 64 bits, you can access a hell of a lot more memory without paging. Unfortunately, the OS designers know this and I'm certain they are eagerly looking for "features" they can bloat to fill up the new address space. --Kainaw ^(talk) 18:40, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

How is paging relevant? With 64-bit pointers, there are a lot more pointers (or, equivalently, a larger virtual memory space). But how many of those pointers can point to RAM (as opposed to disk, where they would cause page faults) depends only on how much RAM there is, not how many pointers there can be. Of course, a 32-bit machine wouldn't be able to use 20GB of RAM without severe contortions and speed penalties, but that's a separate question ("Does an 64-bit architecture allow the fruitful use of more physical memory?" (Yes.)). --Tardis 22:13, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

32 bit legacy mode means a performance penalty; Many 64bit CPUs have more registers, instructions, etc. that didn't exist in their 32bit counterparts, like SSE3 on newer Intel and AMD64 processors. There's a wide collection of high-quality Free Software Operating Systems out there that are already built to make full use of many models of 64bit processors. The most popular one is GNU/Linux. This system is used on the vast majority of internet servers and is slowly gaining usage as a desktop operating system in office and domestic environments. A popular user-friendly distribution I'd recommend is Ubuntu.-- Roc Vallès^Talk|Hist - 15:16, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

How to get PDF thumbnails to display?

On my work computer, when I view PDF files in a Windows folder on "thumbnail" view, it gives me a picture of the first page. On my home computer, however, it only displays the standard PDF file symbol. What can I do to make the home computer like the work one?

Thanks 71.246.153.243 23:17, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Right clicking the folder (not the file) and going to view < thumbnail should do the trick. --Demonesque 02:18, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Might it be worth mentioning what operating system your home computer uses? I assumed you had KDE, but the poster above seems to assume Windows. Ojw 19:14, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It's Windows XP SP2 on both work and home computers...but only the work computer will show the first page of a PDF file as a thumbnail when a Windows folder is on "thumbnail" view. I wish I could sort this out because it will help me a lot with my new ScanSnap, which scans to PDF. I have both Acrobat 6.0 and Adobe Reader 7.0 installed on both computers. 72.82.47.122 02:35, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Online startups?

What are some of the best sites for info on starting your own business online?

Find a successful site and copy it. Change the name and logo of course. --Kainaw ^(talk) 12:30, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

August 28

Boot-up Problems

Recently, my cooling fan has gone to its max speed when I have been attempting to turn on my computer, and then it fails to boot. Does anyone happen to know what might be causing this? It seems to be a hardware issue and not a software one. I am really frightened because if this computer dies, I won't be able to get another one. --Demonesque 02:18, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

What do you mean by "fails to boot"? Does it even get to the POST (that is, the nice happy screen when the computer first starts and does memory tests, etc.) Does it make any beeping sounds? -- Consumed Crustacean | Talk | 08:04, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I own a Dell laptop and when I updated/flashed my BIOS, the fans ran extremely fast at startup, then it booted with the new BIOS. Though this is just speculation, there could be something wrong with your BIOS, which is not good at all. --Russoc4 11:56, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I don't get anything on my monitor. It just remains black. I don't get any screens.

If it is my BIOS, what can I do about it? --Demonesque 20:30, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I seriously doubt it's your BIOS, though it's mildly possible. More likely, it's a motherboard or CPU issue. The power supply might almost be ruled out because it's getting as far as it is, though it's still possible. The best way to diagnose this would be switching the power supply with another computer's, and if that fails then going through each of the other components. If you don't have spare parts laying around, or don't know how to take a computer apart (not too difficult), then you may be out of luck :/.

Other possibilities: try dusting the thing (compressed air), especially around the fans. Try taking the RAM and cards out, and then putting them back in securely. Look at the capacitors on the motherboard (they stick out); if they're leaky or bulgy, it's no good. -- Consumed Crustacean | Talk | 21:55, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I did open it up when the problem first occurred, since it seemed, as I said, to be a hardware issue and not a software one. The thing is, though, that I have no clue about the hardware side of computers. I was just looking to see if there was an obvious cause like a melted processor or capacitors. It is a bit dusty in there but I ran out of compressed air a while back. However, there isn't much dust.

I have had someone else suggest that my power supply might be faulty when my hard drives fried about a year ago. I would have no idea how to remove and replace it, though, nor do I have another computer to switch parts with. As I said, if this computer goes, I'm out of luck and will have to buy a really, really cheap and crappy one. My current system has 1022 Ram, 3.60 GHz and about 230 Gigs of useable hard drive space, so it would be the end of the world for me to lose it. --Demonesque 01:44, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Internet Cafes

How can I get access to a precise business plan for operating an Internet cafe in a resource-poor community of Africa? Richard Bugembe

That is a business question, not a computer question. However, there is no such thing as a generic business plan. You have to go to the area, estimate every single cost you will have for the first three years, estimate every single profit you will have in the first three years, and if your estimated profits exceed your costs, you have a business plan. For most people, getting a loan on their plan fails because they just make up the numbers and have nothing to back their estimates. So, you have to actually do work by running surveys, asking neighboring businesses about their expenses, getting quotes on construction, design, services... You cannot just steal someone elses plan and hope it works for you. --Kainaw ^(talk) 12:30, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I can't see how an Internet cafe could be profitable in a resource-poor community in Africa (which means poor area, I assume). Only wealthy areas in Africa could support such a business. Now, if you want to set up a charity which provides Internet access to the poor in Africa, that might very well be possible. The greatest expense seems to be hiring personnel to run the place. Somebody experimented with another concept in a poor area of India, where they just left a computer on in a community center and the kids seemed to learn how to use it on their own, eventually, and then taught others. StuRat 03:54, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

C programing

"Write a program in which we find a temperature from celcius into Ferenhight at the run time in C programing language? so that we enter the temperature in celcius and after processing it give us in Ferenhight"--82.148.119.152 16:42, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

No. However, I will point out for your benefit that the fractions involved in the conversion should not be written as (for instance) (3/7) in the code, because that will evaluate to 0 in C. Use a type conversion, or write your numeric literals as floating-point. I'd also recommend looking up Celsius (note spelling) for assistance with the math. --Tardis 17:31, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I'll write the program if you pass on the grade to me. --Kainaw ^(talk) 18:37, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

That seems fair. Even so, ethics require that the instructor be informed. Would it be acceptable to give a partial program in Scheme?

(define C2F (lambda (C) (let ((r 1.8) (e -40.0)) (+ e (* r (- C e))))))

(Correctness not guaranteed!) Or would that be giving away too much? ;-) --KSmrq^T 22:27, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

°F = °C × 1.8 + 32

There you go! Now just write it in C. Ohanian 22:25, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

And while you're at it, if you're using a command line interface, you'll need to access some functions in the C standard library to get the input and print the output. The functions that deal with input and output are in a header file called "stdio.h". Good luck! --Robert Merkel 22:59, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Trusted paths outside of Windows

Oddly enough, to my knowledge Windows is the only OS that provides a reasonable trusted path for user password input (the famous "Press Ctrl-Alt-Delete to begin."). Why aren't such things implemented on common varieties of Unix, or on the Mac? (Or if they are, what are they?) Some things come close, like the common Ctrl-Alt-Backspace that kills many X servers, and the almost-always-present menubar in Mac OS X, but none of them appear to actually be unforgeable. I recently had the idea that a graphical login screen could display some sort of shared secret (e.g., the contents of a file only the user can write and only root can read) to a user (as some websites do as an anti-phishing measure), but there's no way I can see to prevent Mallet from attempting to login as Alice, grabbing her secret (even if it's dynamic), and then displaying that to her with the fake login screen. Is there some way to salvage the idea? --Tardis 17:49, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

See secure attention key. It is available in Linux, just not packaged with normal distributions. --Kainaw ^(talk) 18:36, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Computing/IT

Would you consider dropping the 'IT' part from the header? It would make it easier to archive/transclude, since the subpage would be the same as the title--71.247.243.173 18:57, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

btw, when I say 'you' I pretty much mean any CS desk regulars who might have a preference for one particular title--71.247.243.173 18:58, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

*Wikipedia:Reference desk archive/Computing/2006 August 7

vs

*Wikipedia:Reference desk archive/Computing/IT/2006 August 7

The output from the new template, would create an un-needed subpage, or even worse, will simply confuse people, and cause the next day headers to simply red link, if the tagging isn't done consistently--71.247.243.173 19:07, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Or, you can use Computing&IT. --Kainaw ^(talk) 19:31, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The point is not to get rid of the subpage, rather to make the subpage: computing have the same name as the desk: computing/IT. Making it Computing&IT is only helpful if you want to move this page to Wikipedia:Reference desk/Computing&IT--71.247.243.173 19:47, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

If we go back to the old system, we have to go back to the old template, that needed 5 separate inputs to create each transclusion header. The new version only needs 2 unique inputs in order to work, but it requires that {{{Type}}}="computing"=archive name--71.247.243.173 19:53, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Basically, the transclusion process is unnecessarily involved. I'm trying to streamline it, to make people more able to volunteer to do the work, since we still don't have a bot. One of the changes, requires that CS desk transclusion use the word Computing by itself, as a title, since it shares a variable with the line that generates a link to archives from the day before. This desk is unique in that respect, since it is the only desk to have a title that is different from it's pagename--71.247.243.173 20:12, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Bad, invincible, double-redirect-fixing bots

Have bots been written to resolve double redirects? Do I no longer need to fix these? --Username132 (talk) 21:50, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

You seem to have already found the place for this sort of question: the Help desk is your best bet. — QuantumEleven 05:50, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

They havn't answered it though... I recon the people that frequent this desk are more likely to be suitably informed regarding the bot operations on Wikipedia. I just don't want to waste time fixing things that will be fixed by a machine. --Username132 (talk) 11:17, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

After some searching, the answer is yes - bots do exist to perfom this operation. We need do it ourselves no more. Wikipedia_talk:Computer_help_desk/double_redirect_study - should I edit the double redirect help page accordingly? --Username132 (talk) 11:24, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

VGA and DVI: connecting a monitor to a PC

After reading through the respective articles (DVI and VGA connector) I have one unanswered question which I hope you wizards of the computing ref desk could help me with: If I understood correctly, the DVI connector carries both analog and digital signals (although compared with the 15-pin VGA connector the I²C signal seems to be missing). Could I connect a monitor with a VGA connector to a PC with a DVI output (using an adapter of some sort)? It seems like this ought to work since the same signals are present. Obviously the digital signals in the DVI connector would go to waste. Would it work as well as on a computer with a VGA output (I am thinking particularly of the 'missing' I²C analog signal in the DVI connector)? Thanks muchly in advance! — QuantumEleven 22:19, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It does work. Many video cards, including all of the ones which I own, come with a simple adapter that does this. You can likely pick them up at a local electronics store for a small price. From what I've seen with my own eyes, and from what I've heard others say, there is no quality degredation in DVI->VGA compared to simply VGA. -- Consumed Crustacean | Talk | 04:52, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks muchly! It seems that the video card (with only DVI output) already includes one of these adapters, so all is well. Cheers! — QuantumEleven 11:44, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

August 29

Robot Eye

Is there a manufacture that actually sells a robotic vision software and hardware? I have searched the internet with no results. Thanks67.122.136.53 04:35, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Internet speed record breakthroughs?

Hello All!

I'm looking for a list of internet speed breakthroughs. I see all the time on DSLreports about scientists and reasearchers experimenting on new methods to improve the throughtput of the internet. Similar example (e.g. land speed record). Wikipedia has a list for devices, but not records.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_device_bandwidths

Thank You,

--65.6.11.50 06:05, 29 August 2006 (UTC) Admiral.ross[reply]

The maximum bandwidth is the maximum bandwidth. You cannot exceed it. Yes - you can overclock two computer network cards and exceed bandwidth - but that is not the internet. That is a weirdo with two overclocked network cards. When they claim to exceed the top speeds, they are actually compressing the data (like a zip file), sending the zip file, and then decompressing it. They did not exceed the bandwidth of the line. They did this: take 100MB of data, compress it to 50MB, send 50MB over the line, decompress it back to 100MB - then claim you doubled the throughput. No - you didn't double the throughput. You just sent a compressed file. --Kainaw ^(talk) 15:48, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

here an example:

New Internet speed record set (This was news posted a while ago, 2003-10-15 16:31:09 to be exact.) Two major scientific research centres said on Wednesday they had set a new world speed record for sending data across the Internet, equivalent to transferring a full-length DVD film in seven seconds. The European Organisation for Nuclear Research, CERN, said the feat, doubling the previous top speed, was achieved in a nearly 30-minute transmission over 7,000 kms of network between Geneva and a partner body in California.

Internet Speed Record Smashed 840 gigabytes sent 10K miles in 27 minutes (This was news posted a while ago, 2004-06-21 10:36:28 to be exact.) Sprint claims they've broken the internet speed record by sending 840 gigabytes worth of data 10,157 miles (From San Jose, California to Sweden) in 27 minutes. Just for reference, 840 gigabytes is roughly the data equivalent of 150 full length DVD's. The Sprint and Swedish National Research and Education Network (SUNET) team's record now sits at 69,073 Terabit meters per second (distance x transfer speed). According to PC" rel=nofollow>www.pcpro.co.uk/news/news_story.···9178">PC Pro, the data was sent via the SprintLink and GigaSunet IP backbones while other traffic was using the network.

65.6.11.50 16:54, 29 August 2006 (UTC) Admiral.ross[reply]

So if I had a truck full of DVDs (say... a million) and drove it across the planet, that would count as a data-transfer speed record too? :) CptJoker 12:12, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

You'd have to drive down a T3 line. Regardless, the questioner apparently doesn't understand the concept of compressed data. These "records" have nothing to do with data transfer speeds. It is all about how much you can compress the data. --Kainaw ^(talk) 12:19, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

WHAT DO I OPEN WITH???

Hi, I've just downloaded a music file with the extenxion called sap, what program do I open it with? Thanks Jon

try VLC media player, it plays almost anything. Jon513 12:30, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

accessing a UK-only site

Hello, I tried to visit a website but it said that access to that site was prohibited to non-UK users (I'm not in the UK). Presumably I would need to have a UK IP address to visit the site, so I would need to use a proxy server. I've looked at some lists of public proxies, but can't seem to find one in the UK. Any advice as to how I might visit the site, short of finding a UK-based proxy? Many thanks. --Richardrj ^talk ^email 09:54, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

What's the site? I'll describe it to you in tantalising detail! (only kidding) Assuming I won't go to prison for exporting official secrets, I could put the HTML on a talk page or something. Or do you need to visit the site in person to order something? Rentwa 12:56, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

'Thanks for the offer, but don't worry about it - it's far too embarrassing. No, not porn or anything like that, it was just something very cheesy in the entertainment field. And I found a UK proxy anyway :-) --Richardrj ^talk ^email 13:30, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Finding my ip address

How do you find out what your ip address is? thanks --86.143.183.34 10:08, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

assuming your using Windows. Click on Start, Click on Run. In the Dos Box type: Ipconfig and then hit the enterkey. Your ipaddress address will be displaced along with you Subnet and Gateway.

However, if you're behind a router (generally, if you're on some form of broadband), that won't show you your public (i.e. useful to the world) address. To find that, I use whatismyip.com — Lomn | Talk 15:35, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Although, they sold their domain name a while back, and the new owners packed the sight full of advertising. You might be better off with the method you already know, type ~~~~ and hit 'preview' (: --VectorPotential^{71.247.243.173} 15:38, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Does anyone else find it strangely amusing that his question was signed with his IP address the moment he saved the question? --Silvaran 20:42, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Yes. :) Dysprosia 02:42, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

set of objective type questions relating to computer system, processing, language.

Hello sir,

This is HITESH JAIN and I'm looking for set of objective type questions relating to the computer system, processing , language frquently used abbrevations etc. with answers.

You can mail in this regard to my e-mail (email address redacted) as soon as possible.Its really urgent.

Thanks!

So you want a quiz with answers ? Why do I think you're a teacher too lazy to write your own test ? :-) StuRat 13:46, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Game boy Advanced Game.

If I could only buy two gameboy advanced games what should they be with regards to:

The most graphically advanced 2D game. The "killer title" or "Must have" game.

Thanks.

This is a pretty subjective question and I'm not quite sure what you are asking in any case. If you are asking which of those two options are better, I would go with the "must have"/"killer title" game. Why? Because those have generally proven themselves in the market as being good games on the whole. The most graphically advanced may not be — it might be pretty, but be a very lousy game. If you are asking what game should you buy, I was personally quite fond of Golden Sun when I had a GBA for a short while. I'm not a big RPG fan but I thought it was fun, had good graphics, simple gameplay with a lot of potential depth, and had lots of puzzle-solving which was quite enjoyable. --Fastfission 15:32, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Metroid Zero Mission, and... I dunno. But that's my favourite. - Rainwarrior 15:52, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

my kingdom for a transclusion bot

Can anyone here come up with a good way to create semi-automatic transclusions? I realize the current process is a bit involved, so it might not be possible. But ideally what I'd want, is a bit of java that I could stick in my monobook, and be able to open one of the reference desk, and click on a button, let's call it, the "easy button" and have it set up the transclusion for me, rather than doing it by hand. Consider this a challenge (:--VectorPotential^{71.247.243.173} 15:51, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Wait, what's the difference between what you want to do and subst? (Or... do I not know what a transclusion is?) - Rainwarrior 15:53, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It's the opposite, each day, old questions are supposed to be added to a new page, then linked to the origional, before eventually being archived. The problem is that it's supposed to be done by bot, only we don't have one. The process relies heavily on a some what obtuse template, which is a real PITA to use manually, and was clearly designed with a bot in mind. And, if you want to see how big a mess the template is, there's a long discussion on the talk page for the reference desk--VectorPotential^{71.247.243.173} 15:57, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Just for reference purposes, this is an example transclusion, if I were to use subst, it would add the content of the transclusion to this page--VectorPotential^{71.247.243.173} 16:01, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

And for those wondering what he's talking about, the code for the above is:

:::Just for reference purposes, {{User:VectorPotential/example transclusion}}, if I were to use
 subst, it would add the content of the transclusion to this page--
 VectorPotential^{71.247.243.173} 16:01, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

—Daniel (‽) 17:26, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

language

"what is the main difference between C and C++ (write in points)? all the input output in C are also or the same in C++"--82.148.120.147 16:30, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It's undefined; you can't modify a variable and use its value at another place without an intervening sequence point. EdC 17:11, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

   "what about the program C99 etc, is it a  type or version or what?"

"what is the standard version of Language C and C++"

What are you quoting? - Rainwarrior 17:28, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Bridgehead Server

Could somebody please explain in easy to understand english what a Bridgehead Server is with regards to Windows 2003.

From here: "The bridgehead server is the server that manages the connections between the local routing group and one or more remote routing groups. For example, suppose that a routing group consisted of ten Exchange Servers with 100,000 users. Any mail from any of those users that was destined for a remote routing group would have to pass through the designated bridgehead server to reach the remote routing group. Likewise, inbound mail from other routing groups would also pass through the bridgehead server, and would then be distributed by the local bridgehead to the appropriate server." digfarenough (talk) 22:08, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

DVD Drive

How do you find out what kind of DVD drive you have on your computer?--Taida 20:12, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

On Windows, click Start, Control Panel, then System. Click Device Manager. The name of your DVD drive should be listed under "DVD/CD-ROM drives", although it may not be entirely accurate. Sum0 22:11, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

If you want to find out for sure... read the documentation for you PC... or remove your drive and examine it for labeling.--Frenchman113 on wheels! 14:37, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Persistent error with Subversion over tunneled webdav connection

I have this problem with Subversion that only happens when I tunnel over SSH using port forwarding. I have a machine behind the firewall running the usual WebDAV Subversion module in apache 2. I port forward localhost:8008 to port 80 on this server when I SSH in to the firewall. When I do an svn update, and about 40-50 files (or more) have been changed, part way through I get this:

svn: REPORT request failed on '/svn/dev/!svn/vcc/default'
svn: REPORT of '/svn/dev/!svn/vcc/default': Could not read response body: connection was closed by server. (http://localhost:8008)

Of course, I can simply do a second update and it continues where it left off (usually successfully). I NEVER get this when my laptop is on the same LAN, doing a direct connection to the repository (Still WebDAV). Ordinarily I'd report this to the Subversion lists, but it seems more like something to do with tunnelling than Subversion itself. Any ideas? --Silvaran 20:37, 29 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

PAL Format

OK... so I have an American laptop that's a Gateway and has a Multi-format double layer DVD+RW/CD-RW drive... so will this play PAL formats? I'm so confused and not the smartest computer person in the world. Thanks!

~Cathy~

So I found out exactly what my drive is: HL-DT-ST DVD-RW GWA-4082N... whatever that is.

~Cathy~

Yes it will. Go to Device manager (right click "My Computer" icon. Click properties. Then Click on the hard ware tab. then click on the device manager button. Expand the DVD/CD rom devices catergory. Then Right click on you DVD drive and click properties. In the new window that opens click on the DVD Regions tab. In the country list select your country and click ok. Close all the open windows and play as many PAL DVDs as you want.

Thanks!

~Cathy~

Note that PAL is a way of encoding video and DVD region code is an artificially imposed limit on where a given disk may be played. If you bought a European (region 2) disk and want to play it on your American laptop, you have to change the region code of your DVD drive, as was described above. Note that you can only change this code a limited number of times (usually 5), so be careful about changing it too often. — QuantumEleven 11:42, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Better yet, search the web for a region-free firmware for you PC. Then you can play any movie anywhere (although it voids your warranty).--Frenchman113 on wheels! 14:38, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Or, alternatively, install VLC media player - it's free, and it'll play DVDs from all regions without having to install region-free firmware. VLC is our standard answer on the reference desk to pretty much all DVD region problems. --Robert Merkel 22:20, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Appending a .rar or a .zip to a .jpg or a .gif

I've heard of people doing this and actually seen the results, but am unable to find out how to do it. I've looked in google and wikipedia but no luck. Any help woukd be appreciated 137.112.141.191 02:47, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Er, appending two files is trivial, but often useless — the result is rarely a valid example of either of the file types from which it was made. However, it might work in your case if an image reader ignored trailing garbage. Under Windows, use copy file1+file2 newfile (you can have more than two files with +s between them if you like). Under any POSIX environment, do cat file2 >> file1 (or, if you don't want to lose the unappended file, use cp first). Of course, later you'd want to separate the files; in POSIX again, you can use cut, but I don't know how to do that in Windows immediately. Hope this helps. --Tardis 15:19, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I don't think the user is talking about cat'ing them together. There are utilities that can be used to actually append one file to another while keeping the host file working perfectly normally (though at a bloated size). It probably does something to the header or something tricky. I don't have any links, but some Googling would probably turn a few up. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 15:24, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

You're making your explanation harder than needed. cat was meant to conCATenate in the first place, so just "cat file1 file2 >file3" and file3 will be the concatenation of file1 and file2. No need to backup any files, because the source ones aren't written to.-- Roc Vallès^Talk|Hist - 15:29, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Er, yeah — that's easier, certainly. I just thought "append" → >> in one jump. Appending stdout is more general, but obviously for regular files that's what you want. Thanks for the emphaziation. --Tardis 20:06, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

August 30

Boot-up Problems (Continued)

A couple of days ago I mentioned I was having boot-up problems. I finally got a message which might further explain what the problem is.

"Alert! PCI Express Card is running in x1 mode."

Any information on what is wrong and how I might be able to fix it would be greatly appreciated. --Demonesque 07:48, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

hidden file

In windows XP, when you view some pictures in the thumbnail view, windows creates a hidden file. What is the extension of this hidden file? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 205.174.162.131 (talk • contribs)

Thank you

The file is thumbs.db. See also Computing#IDE_channel where this question was asked before.-gadfium 08:35, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

PC Beep error

My pc has a strange "Siren" sound and wont POST. Its not RAM and its not the GFX card. There is also nothing on the screen. (infact no signal from the gfx card) Its a P4 Mobo with a socket 478 CPU.

I recon the mobo is dead. Whats your opinion?

It could be the graphics card, the cpu, the power supply, or even a fan. I seriously doubt there's a siren in the computer. It is just the beep that normally makes a quick "beep beep", but now going "beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...." right? I've been able to do that with just a broken keyboard too. --Kainaw ^(talk) 12:22, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

PC normally makes one kind of beep to tell you all hardware is OK (and proceeds to post screen), and other kinds of beep to tell you of serious hardware problems (and blank screen).

My Asus mobo handbook came with descriptions of various noises and meanings, but most don't.

My PC recently did this, in the end I unplugged everything (disks, RAM, PCI, power) except cpu and plugged it all back in and luckily it works OK now. If this doesn't work I'd assume mobo is dead. Rentwa 14:23, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Numeric Keypad Inverter

In Windows, is there a way to tell the computer that the numeric keypad is upside down (like a telephone). In other words, when I hit 7 on the numeric keypad, I want it to think I hit 1. When I hit 1, I want it to think I hit 7. Then, the numbers will be in the same order as my telephone - even though the actual print on the keys will not change until I pull off the keys and move them around. --Kainaw ^(talk) 14:40, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It's ofcourse possible but I doubt there is anything short of reprogramming the driver which will do it. I googled it and did some research, and found nothing. Not very helpful, I guess Oskar 14:49, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I've found two programs of interest. This seems like a nice simple program to do it, and this comes from Microsoft itself. I havn't tested either program myself, but they seem to be exactly what you want. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 15:16, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I passed the MS tool along. Now, if I can just hack my phone to be like my keyboard... --Kainaw ^(talk) 18:08, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

That is a good idea! —Bromskloss 19:49, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

HOW

How i come to know that the programing language that i use, is the C or C++?which things are differ--86.62.212.112 16:38, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Main difference is classes, but there are a number of things. See C and C++ Oskar 16:53, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

processor

i want to know what is a dual core processor and what is the advantages of using it. i want to also know what is meaning of duo and solo.

A dual core processor is essentially a processor that contains two core processors. The advantage? Well, there are many, but basically the computer can be made faster because you can run things in parallel. For details, see Multi-core (computing). Oskar 17:46, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Internet Security

I am looking at buying a new laptop and am wondering if Internet security is necessary, I can get Norton for about €40 but a friend tells me that its not worth getting as there is no treats to home users and that all the talk about Viruses, hackers, etc... is just scaremongering by software providers to make profits. He also said that if I really want it there are equally good free ones available on the net. is he right or should i definitely get the normal security? Ken 19:16, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It's definitely worth using security software - my PC was recently infected with some sort of trojan/spyware, and I hadn't done anything stupid like opening attachments on unsolicited email - my firewall picked it up and my anti-virus zapped it.

If you want to save money there are various free versions available online, also Norton came bundled on my PC driver disk. Many ISPs also offer protection, but whatever you do don't go unprotected! Rentwa 21:15, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Virus talk is not scaremongering—an unprotected Windows machine will get viruses very quickly (hackers are mostly an issue in connection with viruses—many of the viruses one can get will turn your computer into a "slave" machine for a hacker; if you don't get viruses, you probably won't have a hacker problem). You should definitely get a virus scanner and a firewall if you are using a Windows machine. However you can indeed get free versions of these. I think my Windows XP setup uses the native XP firewall (which seems to work fine), and AVG Anti-Virus, which is free and works great. --Fastfission 23:48, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

SVG file format

I've taken a look at the relavent article and want to know if I understand correctly, that the SVG file format allows an image to be opened and have its components shifted around again, kinda like layers saved in Paint Shop Pro's native file format..? --Username132 (talk) 19:35, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I don't really get why you are specifically referring to the SVG file format when, to me, your question seems to concern vector graphics in general. —Bromskloss 19:52, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I suggest you also read the vector graphics and raster graphics articles. --N·Blue^talk 19:53, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Programming Languages

What would be the best programming language for general use? --Yanwen 22:07, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Let me answer by with another question: what is the best car for general use? Lots of people come up with different answers based on their general use. Similarly, programmers come up with different answers for the projects they do.

If you're asking because you want to start to learn programming and you want to pick a language, they are all, in large part, the same. The ones that are really different are generally not taught outside university settings, and the features that make the ones you are likely to learn different aren't really all that obvious until you try and build very large programs. The standard answer to "what language should I learn first" on here seems to be Python or possibly Java, with Python favoured because of its cleanness and simplicity for beginners (but don't get us wrong, it's not a toy language, it's used by real programmers for real projects), or Java (because of its relatively clean design and wide industrial use). --Robert Merkel 22:18, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I guess I should rephrase this. What type of language(programming paradigm) should I use if I were to program small applications/programs for personal use? --Yanwen 22:34, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I forgot to say that, yes, I am going to try to learn a programming language.(I'm not taking a course, I'm teaching myself.) I don't mind if it's hard to learn or isn't simple, because I've had a decent amount of experience with programming before. --Yanwen 23:04, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Windows, Linux, or Mac? --Robert Merkel 23:38, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Windows --Yanwen 00:20, 31 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Upgrading Windows

Hi,

Sorry that a similar question was asked earlier, but I have a slightly different question. I have an IBM Thinkpad (laptop) that is running Windows 98. I want to upgrade it to XP, but my CD drive doesn't burn CDs, the laptop doesn't recognize any of my flash drives, and my internet connection is not working on it. So essentially, I can't back up my files. If I install XP, will I lose all my files, or will they still be there in XP? Thanks, --potatoman7134

Always back up your files before upgrading an operating system, regardless of whether the files are supposed to be untouched or not. The chances of something not working are simply too great. --Robert Merkel 23:41, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I don't suggest upgrading. I have a similar IBM ThinkPad, and have decided to leave it "as is". I have a new computer I will use for new stuff, and the laptop will just be used as an archive. BTW, does your laptop even meet the minimum system requirements for Windows XP ? StuRat 23:55, 30 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]