ALL HOW TO AND TRICKS

The Windows installer cannot update one or more protected Windows files.

2010-03-02T00:16:00.000-08:00

For one thing, if you haven’t already installed 7-zip on your computer, DO IT NOW. It rocks, and it’s free and super-fast and tiny. If only all programs were like that…but I digress. Run the 7-zip file manager from Start > Programs > 7-Zip > 7-Zip File Manager, and go to Tools > Options > System and hit [Select All] and then [OK]. This will associate all of the archive types 7-Zip supports with the 7-Zip File Manager. Close it and follow the rest of the directions.

You’ll need access to a Windows XP CD for this one. The file you’re looking for is called FP40EXT.CAB and is in the I386 folder on the CD. If you can’t find it on the CD or don’t have access to a CD, use the built-in search functions in Windows XP to look for that file on your hard drive. Once you’ve found the file, double-click on it and it should open in 7-Zip. Find the file “fp4autl.dll” in the list, click on it, and click the [Extract] button on the 7-Zip program toolbar.

You will be prompted for a folder to extract to, usually defaulting to your user account’s temporary files folder (which is NOT where we want it!) Hit [backspace] to clear the box, and copy and paste (control-v or right-click and “paste) this into the blank instead:

c:\program files\common files\microsoft shared\web server extensions\40\bin\

Hit [OK].

You may install Office 2007 now wihtout error

Can not use my password to get back into Windows XP

2009-10-11T11:41:00.001-07:00

Because of the security features built into Windows XP, it is virtually impossible to get back into the system without the password.
You have several options to try and get around this problem.

If you have access to another user account with administrator rights, you can use that account to change the password
of the account that is locked out. You can also use the default Administrator account that is built into Windows XP.

First you need to boot the system into Safe Mode.
1.Restart your system.
2.When you see the blue Dell globe or screen, press the ( F8 ) key about 3 times a second.
3.You should get the Windows startup menu. Use the (Up or Down) arrow keys to highlight (SafeMode)
4.Press (Enter) on (Safe Mode), then press (Enter) on (Windows XP).
5.The system should boot to Safe Mode.

Once you are at the Account Log on Screen, click on the icon
for the user account with administrator rights, or click on the icon
for the administrators account.
Note: For Home the Administrator account isn't normally shown & in Safe Mode you have to press Ctrl+Alt+Delete keys twice to show.
For PRO you can do this in normal mode

When the system has booted to the desktop, use the following steps to change the accounts password.
1.Click Start, Control Panel, Administrative Tools.
2.Click Computer Management.
3.Double click Local Users and Groups, double click the folder Users.
4.Right click on the account name that is locked out, and click on Set Password.
5.You may get a warning message about changing the password, simply click proceed.
6.Leave the New Password box blank, also leave the Confirm Password box blank.
7.Click OK, and OK again.
8.Then close all Windows, reboot the system and try to log in.

There are also applications that can recover the password for you.
The following companies provide these applications at a cost.
iOpus® Password Recovery XP here.
LostPassword.com, here.
Asterisk Password Recovery XP v1.89 here.
Windows XP / 2000 / NT Key here.

If the above information does not help in recovering the password, the only option left is to
format the hard drive then reinstall Windows and the system software.

Can not play video in Youtube

2009-10-11T11:39:00.001-07:00

If you can not play video/flash in youtube.com even you did already all the solutions, downloading the flash player in adobe.com and enabling java but still did works,
try dowloading this flash player stane alon full version, Im sure this will help you, because it helped me. Good luck.

http://www.softwarepatch.com/network-security/flashplay-security.html

Bit Torrent Tutorials

2009-10-11T11:38:00.000-07:00

The first things you need to know about using Bit Torrent:
-- Bit Torrent is aimed at broadband users (or any connection better than dialup).
-- Sharing is highly appreciated, and sharing is what keeps bit torrent alive.
-- A bit torrent file (*.torrent) contains information about the piece structure of the download (more on this later)
-- The method of downloading is not your conventional type of download. Since downloads do not come in as one
big chunk, you are able to download from many people at once, increasing your download speeds. There may be
100 "pieces" to a file, or 20,000+ pieces, all depending on what you're downloading. Pieces are usually small (under 200kb)
-- The speeds are based upon people sharing as they download, and seeders. Seeders are people who constantly
share in order to keep torrents alive. Usually seeders are on fast connections (10mb or higher).

In this tutorial, I will be describing it all using a bit torrent client called Azureus. This client is used to decode the .torrent files into a useable format to download from other peers. From here on out, I will refer to Bit Torrent as BT.

Which BT client you use, is purely up to you. I have tried them all, and my personal favorite is Azureus for many reasons. A big problem with most BT clients out there, is that they are extremely CPU intensive, usually using 100% of your cpu power during the whole process. This is the number one reason I use Azureus. Another, is a recently released plug-in that enables you to browse all current files listed on suprnova.org (the #1 source for torrent downloads).

Before you use the plug-in, take a look at /http://www.suprnova.org, and browse the files. Hold your mouse over the links, and you'll notice every file ends in .torrent. This is the BT file extension. Usually, .torrent files are very small, under 200kb. They contain a wealth of information about the file you want to download. A .torrent file can contain just 1 single file, or a a directory full of files and more directories. But regardless, every download is split up into hundreds or thousands of pieces. The pieces make it much easier to download at higher speeds. Back to suprnova.org. Look at the columns:

Added | Name | Filesize | Seeds | DLs (and a few more which aren't very useful.)

I'll break this down.
Added: Self explanitory, its the date the torrent was added.
Name: Also self explanitory.
Filesize: Duh
Seeds: This is how many people are strictly UPLOADING, or sharing. These people are the ones that keep .torrent files alive. By "alive", I mean, if there's no one sharing the .torrent file, no one can download.
DLs: This is how many people currently downloading that particular torrent. They also help keep the torrent alive as they share while they download.

It's always best to download using a torrent that has a decent amount of seeders and downloaders, this way you can be assured there's a good chance your download will finish. The more the better.

Now that you should understand how torrent files work, and how to use them, on to Azureus!
First, get JAVA! You need this to run Azureus, as java is what powers it. Get Java here: /http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.2/download.html
Next, get Azureus at: /http://azureus.sourceforge.net
Next, get the Suprnovalister plugin from /http://s93732957.onlinehome.us/storage/suprnovalister.jar

Install Java JRE before you do ANYTHING.

Install Azureus, and then in the installation folder, create 2 more folders. ./Plugins/suprnovalister (For example, if you installed Azureus to C:\PROGRAM FILES\AZUREUS, create C:\PROGRAM FILES\AZUREUS\PLUGINS\SUPRNOVALISTER). Next, put the suprnovalister.jar file that you downloaded, in that folder.

Load up Azureus, and if you want, go through the settings and personalize it.

The tab labeled "My Torrents" is the section of Azureus you need the most often. That lists all your transfers, uploads and downloads. It shows every bit of information you could possibly want to know about torrents you download.

In the menu bar, go to View > Plugins > Suprnova Lister. This will open up a new tab in Azureus. Click on "Update Mirror". This will get a mirror site of suprnova.org containing all current torrent files available. Once a mirror is grabbed, choose a category from the drop-down box to the left and click "Update". Wah-lah, all the available downloads appear in the main chart above. Just double click a download you want, and bang its starting to download. Open the "My Torrents" tab again to view and make sure your download started.

After your download has finished, be nice, and leave the torrent transferring. So people can get pieces of the file from you, just as you got pieces from other people.

Alternatively, if you don't want to use the plugin... you can just head to suprnova.org and download files to any folder. Then go to File > Open > .torrent File in Azureus.

This should about wrap it up for the Bit Torrent Tutorial. If you guys think of anything I should add, or whatnot, just let me know and I'll check into it.

Best keyboard shortcuts

2009-10-11T11:36:00.000-07:00

Getting used to using your keyboard exclusively and leaving your mouse behind will make you much more efficient at performing any task on any Windows system. I use the following keyboard shortcuts every day:

Windows key + R = Run menu

This is usually followed by:
cmd = Command Prompt
iexplore + "web address" = Internet Explorer
compmgmt.msc = Computer Management
dhcpmgmt.msc = DHCP Management
dnsmgmt.msc = DNS Management
services.msc = Services
eventvwr = Event Viewer
dsa.msc = Active Directory Users and Computers
dssite.msc = Active Directory Sites and Services
Windows key + E = Explorer

ALT + Tab = Switch between windows

ALT, Space, X = Maximize window

CTRL + Shift + Esc = Task Manager

Windows key + Break = System properties

Windows key + F = Search

Windows key + D = Hide/Display all windows

CTRL + C = copy

CTRL + X = cut

CTRL + V = paste

Also don't forget about the "Right-click" key next to the right Windows key on your keyboard. Using the arrows and that key can get just about anything done once you've opened up any program.

Keyboard Shortcuts

[Alt] and [Esc] Switch between running applications

[Alt] and letter Select menu item by underlined letter

[Ctrl] and [Esc] Open Program Menu

[Ctrl] and [F4] Close active document or group windows (does not work with some applications)

[Alt] and [F4] Quit active application or close current window

[Alt] and [-] Open Control menu for active document

Ctrl] Lft., Rt. arrow Move cursor forward or back one word

Ctrl] Up, Down arrow Move cursor forward or back one paragraph

[F1] Open Help for active application

Windows+M Minimize all open windows

Shift+Windows+M Undo minimize all open windows

Windows+F1 Open Windows Help

Windows+Tab Cycle through the Taskbar buttons

Windows+Break Open the System Properties dialog box

acessability shortcuts

Right SHIFT for eight seconds........ Switch FilterKeys on and off.

Left ALT +left SHIFT +PRINT SCREEN....... Switch High Contrast on and off.

Left ALT +left SHIFT +NUM LOCK....... Switch MouseKeys on and off.

SHIFT....... five times Switch StickyKeys on and off.

NUM LOCK...... for five seconds Switch ToggleKeys on and off.

explorer shortcuts

END....... Display the bottom of the active window.

HOME....... Display the top of the active window.

NUM LOCK+ASTERISK....... on numeric keypad (*) Display all subfolders under the selected folder.

NUM LOCK+PLUS SIGN....... on numeric keypad (+) Display the contents of the selected folder.

NUM LOCK+MINUS SIGN....... on numeric keypad (-) Collapse the selected folder.

LEFT ARROW...... Collapse current selection if it's expanded, or select parent folder.

RIGHT ARROW....... Display current selection if it's collapsed, or select first subfolder.

Type the following commands in your Run Box (Windows Key + R) or Start Run

devmgmt.msc = Device Manager
msinfo32 = System Information
cleanmgr = Disk Cleanup
ntbackup = Backup or Restore Wizard (Windows Backup Utility)
mmc = Microsoft Management Console
excel = Microsoft Excel (If Installed)
msaccess = Microsoft Access (If Installed)
powerpnt = Microsoft PowerPoint (If Installed)
winword = Microsoft Word (If Installed)
frontpg = Microsoft FrontPage (If Installed)
notepad = Notepad
wordpad = WordPad
calc = Calculator
msmsgs = Windows Messenger
mspaint = Microsoft Paint
wmplayer = Windows Media Player
rstrui = System Restore
netscp6 = Netscape 6.x
netscp = Netscape 7.x
netscape = Netscape 4.x
waol = America Online
control = Opens the Control Panel
control printers = Opens the Printers Dialog

internetbrowser

type in u're adress "google", then press [Right CTRL] and [Enter]
add www. and .com to word and go to it

For Windows XP:

Copy. CTRL+C
Cut. CTRL+X
Paste. CTRL+V
Undo. CTRL+Z
Delete. DELETE
Delete selected item permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin. SHIFT+DELETE
Copy selected item. CTRL while dragging an item
Create shortcut to selected item. CTRL+SHIFT while dragging an item
Rename selected item. F2
Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next word. CTRL+RIGHT ARROW
Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word. CTRL+LEFT ARROW
Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next paragraph. CTRL+DOWN ARROW
Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous paragraph. CTRL+UP ARROW
Highlight a block of text. CTRL+SHIFT with any of the arrow keys
Select more than one item in a window or on the desktop, or select text within a document. SHIFT with any of the arrow keys
Select all. CTRL+A
Search for a file or folder. F3
View properties for the selected item. ALT+ENTER
Close the active item, or quit the active program. ALT+F4
Opens the shortcut menu for the active window. ALT+SPACEBAR
Close the active document in programs that allow you to have multiple documents open simultaneously. CTRL+F4
Switch between open items. ALT+TAB
Cycle through items in the order they were opened. ALT+ESC
Cycle through screen elements in a window or on the desktop. F6
Display the Address bar list in My Computer or Windows Explorer. F4
Display the shortcut menu for the selected item. SHIFT+F10
Display the System menu for the active window. ALT+SPACEBAR
Display the Start menu. CTRL+ESC
Display the corresponding menu. ALT+Underlined letter in a menu name
Carry out the corresponding command. Underlined letter in a command name on an open menu
Activate the menu bar in the active program. F10
Open the next menu to the right, or open a submenu. RIGHT ARROW
Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu. LEFT ARROW
Refresh the active window. F5
View the folder one level up in My Computer or Windows Explorer. BACKSPACE
Cancel the current task. ESC
SHIFT when you insert a CD into the CD-ROM drive Prevent the CD from automatically playing.

Use these keyboard shortcuts for dialog boxes:

To Press
Move forward through tabs. CTRL+TAB
Move backward through tabs. CTRL+SHIFT+TAB
Move forward through options. TAB
Move backward through options. SHIFT+TAB
Carry out the corresponding command or select the corresponding option. ALT+Underlined letter
Carry out the command for the active option or button. ENTER
Select or clear the check box if the active option is a check box. SPACEBAR
Select a button if the active option is a group of option buttons. Arrow keys
Display Help. F1
Display the items in the active list. F4
Open a folder one level up if a folder is selected in the Save As or Open dialog box. BACKSPACE

If you have a Microsoft Natural Keyboard, or any other compatible keyboard that includes the Windows logo key and the Application key , you can use these keyboard shortcuts:

Display or hide the Start menu. WIN Key
Display the System Properties dialog box. WIN Key+BREAK
Show the desktop. WIN Key+D
Minimize all windows. WIN Key+M
Restores minimized windows. WIN Key+Shift+M
Open My Computer. WIN Key+E
Search for a file or folder. WIN Key+F
Search for computers. CTRL+WIN Key+F
Display Windows Help. WIN Key+F1
Lock your computer if you are connected to a network domain, or switch users if you are not connected to a network domain. WIN Key+ L
Open the Run dialog box. WIN Key+R
Open Utility Manager. WIN Key+U

accessibility keyboard shortcuts:

Switch FilterKeys on and off. Right SHIFT for eight seconds
Switch High Contrast on and off. Left ALT+left SHIFT+PRINT SCREEN
Switch MouseKeys on and off. Left ALT +left SHIFT +NUM LOCK
Switch StickyKeys on and off. SHIFT five times
Switch ToggleKeys on and off. NUM LOCK for five seconds
Open Utility Manager. WIN Key+U

shortcuts you can use with Windows Explorer:

Display the bottom of the active window. END
Display the top of the active window. HOME
Display all subfolders under the selected folder. NUM LOCK+ASTERISK on numeric keypad (*)
Display the contents of the selected folder. NUM LOCK+PLUS SIGN on numeric keypad (+)
Collapse the selected folder. NUM LOCK+MINUS SIGN on numeric keypad (-)
Collapse current selection if it's expanded, or select parent folder. LEFT ARROW
Display current selection if it's collapsed, or select first subfolder. RIGHT ARROW

About Bandwidth

2009-10-11T11:34:00.000-07:00

This is well written explanation about bandwidth, very useful info.

BandWidth Explained

Most hosting companies offer a variety of bandwidth options in their plans. So exactly what is bandwidth as it relates to web hosting? Put simply, bandwidth is the amount of traffic that is allowed to occur between your web site and the rest of the internet. The amount of bandwidth a hosting company can provide is determined by their network connections, both internal to their data center and external to the public internet.

Network Connectivity

The internet, in the most simplest of terms, is a group of millions of computers connected by networks. These connections within the internet can be large or small depending upon the cabling and equipment that is used at a particular internet location. It is the size of each network connection that determines how much bandwidth is available. For example, if you use a DSL connection to connect to the internet, you have 1.54 Mega bits (Mb) of bandwidth. Bandwidth therefore is measured in bits (a single 0 or 1). Bits are grouped in bytes which form words, text, and other information that is transferred between your computer and the internet.

If you have a DSL connection to the internet, you have dedicated bandwidth between your computer and your internet provider. But your internet provider may have thousands of DSL connections to their location. All of these connection aggregate at your internet provider who then has their own dedicated connection to the internet (or multiple connections) which is much larger than your single connection. They must have enough bandwidth to serve your computing needs as well as all of their other customers. So while you have a 1.54Mb connection to your internet provider, your internet provider may have a 255Mb connection to the internet so it can accommodate your needs and up to 166 other users (255/1.54).

Traffic

A very simple analogy to use to understand bandwidth and traffic is to think of highways and cars. Bandwidth is the number of lanes on the highway and traffic is the number of cars on the highway. If you are the only car on a highway, you can travel very quickly. If you are stuck in the middle of rush hour, you may travel very slowly since all of the lanes are being used up.

Traffic is simply the number of bits that are transferred on network connections. It is easiest to understand traffic using examples. One Gigabyte is 2 to the 30th power (1,073,741,824) bytes. One gigabyte is equal to 1,024 megabytes. To put this in perspective, it takes one byte to store one character. Imagine 100 file cabinets in a building, each of these cabinets holds 1000 folders. Each folder has 100 papers. Each paper contains 100 characters - A GB is all the characters in the building. An MP3 song is about 4MB, the same song in wav format is about 40MB, a full length movie can be 800MB to 1000MB (1000MB = 1GB).

If you were to transfer this MP3 song from a web site to your computer, you would create 4MB of traffic between the web site you are downloading from and your computer. Depending upon the network connection between the web site and the internet, the transfer may occur very quickly, or it could take time if other people are also downloading files at the same time. If, for example, the web site you download from has a 10MB connection to the internet, and you are the only person accessing that web site to download your MP3, your 4MB file will be the only traffic on that web site. However, if three people are all downloading that same MP at the same time, 12MB (3 x 4MB) of traffic has been created. Because in this example, the host only has 10MB of bandwidth, someone will have to wait. The network equipment at the hosting company will cycle through each person downloading the file and transfer a small portion at a time so each person's file transfer can take place, but the transfer for everyone downloading the file will be slower. If 100 people all came to the site and downloaded the MP3 at the same time, the transfers would be extremely slow. If the host wanted to decrease the time it took to download files simultaneously, it could increase the bandwidth of their internet connection (at a cost due to upgrading equipment).

Hosting Bandwidth

In the example above, we discussed traffic in terms of downloading an MP3 file. However, each time you visit a web site, you are creating traffic, because in order to view that web page on your computer, the web page is first downloaded to your computer (between the web site and you) which is then displayed using your browser software (Internet Explorer, Netscape, etc.) . The page itself is simply a file that creates traffic just like the MP3 file in the example above (however, a web page is usually much smaller than a music file).

A web page may be very small or large depending upon the amount of text and the number and quality of images integrated within the web page. For example, the home page for CNN.com is about 200KB (200 Kilobytes = 200,000 bytes = 1,600,000 bits). This is typically large for a web page. In comparison, Yahoo's home page is about 70KB.

How Much Bandwidth Is Enough?

It depends (don't you hate that answer). But in truth, it does. Since bandwidth is a significant determinant of hosting plan prices, you should take time to determine just how much is right for you. Almost all hosting plans have bandwidth requirements measured in months, so you need to estimate the amount of bandwidth that will be required by your site on a monthly basis

If you do not intend to provide file download capability from your site, the formula for calculating bandwidth is fairly straightforward:

Average Daily Visitors x Average Page Views x Average Page Size x 31 x Fudge Factor

If you intend to allow people to download files from your site, your bandwidth calculation should be:

[(Average Daily Visitors x Average Page Views x Average Page Size) +
(Average Daily File Downloads x Average File Size)] x 31 x Fudge Factor

Let us examine each item in the formula:

Average Daily Visitors - The number of people you expect to visit your site, on average, each day. Depending upon how you market your site, this number could be from 1 to 1,000,000.

Average Page Views - On average, the number of web pages you expect a person to view. If you have 50 web pages in your web site, an average person may only view 5 of those pages each time they visit.

Average Page Size - The average size of your web pages, in Kilobytes (KB). If you have already designed your site, you can calculate this directly.

Average Daily File Downloads - The number of downloads you expect to occur on your site. This is a function of the numbers of visitors and how many times a visitor downloads a file, on average, each day.

Average File Size - Average file size of files that are downloadable from your site. Similar to your web pages, if you already know which files can be downloaded, you can calculate this directly.

Fudge Factor - A number greater than 1. Using 1.5 would be safe, which assumes that your estimate is off by 50%. However, if you were very unsure, you could use 2 or 3 to ensure that your bandwidth requirements are more than met.

Usually, hosting plans offer bandwidth in terms of Gigabytes (GB) per month. This is why our formula takes daily averages and multiplies them by 31.

Summary

Most personal or small business sites will not need more than 1GB of bandwidth per month. If you have a web site that is composed of static web pages and you expect little traffic to your site on a daily basis, go with a low bandwidth plan. If you go over the amount of bandwidth allocated in your plan, your hosting company could charge you over usage fees, so if you think the traffic to your site will be significant, you may want to go through the calculations above to estimate the amount of bandwidth required in a hosting plan.

Automatic Windows Installation, No keypressed requred

2009-10-11T11:32:00.000-07:00

An unattended Windows XP/2003 install can install all your software and settings along with Windows, and without you having to click a button or press a key,completely automated. Learn how over here:

CODE

http://unattended.msfn.org

Make your unattended setup now!

Anonymity of Proxy

2009-10-11T11:30:00.000-07:00

The exchange of information in Internet is made by the "client - server" model. A client sends a request (what files he needs) and a server sends a reply (required files). For close cooperation (full understanding) between a client and a server the client sends additional information about itself: a version and a name of an operating system, configuration of a browser (including its name and version) etc. This information can be necessary for the server in order to know which web-page should be given (open) to the client. There are different variants of web-pages for different configurations of browsers. However, as long as web-pages do not usually depend on browsers, it makes sense to hide this information from the web-server.

What your browser transmits to a web-server:
a name and a version of an operating system
a name and a version of a browser
configuration of a browser (display resolution, color depth, java / javascript support, ...)
IP-address of a client
Other information

The most important part of such information (and absolutely needless for a web-server) is information about IP-address. Using your IP it is possible to know about you the following:
a country where you are from
a city
your provider?s name and e-mail
your physical address

Information, transmitted by a client to a server is available (accessible) for a server as environment variables. Every information unit is a value of some variable. If any information unit is not transmitted, then corresponding variable will be empty (its value will be undetermined).

These are some environment variables:

REMOTE_ADDR ? IP address of a client

HTTP_VIA ? if it is not empty, then a proxy is used. Value is an address (or several addresses) of a proxy server, this variable is added by a proxy server itself if you use one.

HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR ? if it is not empty, then a proxy is used. Value is a real IP address of a client (your IP), this variable is also added by a proxy server if you use one.

HTTP_ACCEPT_LANGUAGE ? what language is used in browser (what language a page should be displayed in)

HTTP_USER_AGENT ? so called "a user?s agent". For all browsers this is Mozilla. Furthermore, browser?s name and version (e.g. MSIE 5.5) and an operating system (e.g. Windows 98) is also mentioned here.

HTTP_HOST ? is a web server?s name

This is a small part of environment variables. In fact there are much more of them (DOCUMENT_ROOT, HTTP_ACCEPT_ENCODING, HTTP_CACHE_CONTROL, HTTP_CONNECTION, SERVER_ADDR, SERVER_SOFTWARE, SERVER_PROTOCOL, ...). Their quantity can depend on settings of both a server and a client.

These are examples of variable values:

REMOTE_ADDR = 194.85.1.1
HTTP_ACCEPT_LANGUAGE = ru
HTTP_USER_AGENT = Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.0; Windows 98)
HTTP_HOST = www.webserver.ru
HTTP_VIA = 194.85.1.1 (Squid/2.4.STABLE7)
HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR = 194.115.5.5

Anonymity at work in Internet is determined by what environment variables "hide" from a web-server.

If a proxy server is not used, then environment variables look in the following way:

REMOTE_ADDR = your IP
HTTP_VIA = not determined
HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR = not determined

According to how environment variables "hided" by proxy servers, there are several types of proxies
Transparent Proxies

They do not hide information about your IP address:

REMOTE_ADDR = proxy IP
HTTP_VIA = proxy IP
HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR = your IP

The function of such proxy servers is not the improvement of your anonymity in Internet. Their purpose is information cashing, organization of joint access to Internet of several computers, etc.
Anonymous Proxies

All proxy servers, that hide a client?s IP address in any way are called anonymous proxies

Simple Anonymous Proxies

These proxy servers do not hide a fact that a proxy is used, however they replace your IP with its own:
REMOTE_ADDR = proxy IP
HTTP_VIA = proxy IP
HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR = proxy IP

These proxies are the most widespread among other anonymous proxy servers.

Distorting Proxies

As well as simple anonymous proxy servers these proxies do not hide the fact that a proxy server is used. However a client?s IP address (your IP address) is replaced with another (arbitrary, random) IP:

REMOTE_ADDR = proxy IP
HTTP_VIA = proxy IP
HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR = random IP address
High Anonymity Proxies

These proxy servers are also called "high anonymity proxy". In contrast to other types of anonymity proxy servers they hide a fact of using a proxy:

REMOTE_ADDR = proxy IP
HTTP_VIA = not determined
HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR = not determined

That means that values of variables are the same as if proxy is not used, with the exception of one very important thing ? proxy IP is used instead of your IP address.
Summary

Depending on purposes there are transparent and anonymity proxies. However, remember, using proxy servers you hide only your IP from a web-server, but other information (about browser configuration) is accessible!

All mIRC Commands

2009-10-11T11:28:00.000-07:00

/ Recalls the previous command entered in the current window.
/! Recalls the last command typed in any window.
/action {action text} Sends the specifed action to the active channel or query window.
/add [-apuce] {filename.ini} Loads aliases, popups, users, commands, and events.
/ame {action text} Sends the specifed action to all channels which you are currently on.
/amsg {text} Sends the specifed message to all channels which you are currently on.
/auser {level} {nick|address} Adds a user with the specified access level to the remote users
list.

/auto [on|off|nickname|address] Toggles auto-opping of a nick or address or sets it on or off
totally.
/away {away message} Sets you away leave a message explaining that you are not currently paying
attention to IRC.
/away Sets you being back.
/ban [#channel] {nickname} [type] Bans the specified nick from the curent or given channel.
/beep {number} {delay} Locally beeps 'number' times with 'delay' in between the beeps. /channel
Pops up the channel central window (only works in a channel).
/clear Clears the entire scrollback buffer of the current window.
/ctcp {nickname} {ping|finger|version|time|userinfo|clientinfo} Does the given ctcp request on
nickname.
/closemsg {nickname} Closes the query window you have open to the specified nick.
/creq [ask | auto | ignore] Sets your DCC 'On Chat request' settings in DCC/Options.
/dcc send {nickname} {file1} {file2} {file3} ... {fileN} Sends the specified files to nick.
/dcc chat {nickname} Opens a dcc window and sends a dcc chat request to nickname.
/describe {#channel} {action text} Sends the specifed action to the specified channel window.
/dde [-r] {service} {topic} {item} [data] Allows DDE control between mIRC and other
applications.
/ddeserver [on [service name] | off] To turn on the DDE server mode, eventually with a given
service name.
/disable {#groupname} De-activates a group of commands or events.
/disconnect Forces a hard and immediate disconnect from your IRC server. Use it with care.
/dlevel {level} Changes the default user level in the remote section.
/dns {nickname | IP address | IP name} Uses your providers DNS to resolve an IP address.
/echo [nickname|#channel|status] {text} Displays the given text only to YOU on the given place
in color N.
/enable {#groupname} Activates a group of commands or events.
/events [on|off] Shows the remote events status or sets it to listening or not.
/exit Forces mIRC to closedown and exit.
/finger Does a finger on a users address.
/flood [{numberoflines} {seconds} {pausetime}] Sets a crude flood control method.
/fsend [on|off] Shows fsends status and allows you to turn dcc fast send on or off.
/fserve {nickname} {maxgets} {homedirectory} [welcome text file] Opens a fileserver.
/guser {level} {nick} [type] Adds the user to the user list with the specified level and
address type.
/help {keyword} Brings up the Basic IRC Commands section in the mIRC help file.
/ignore [on|off|nickname|address] Toggles ignoring of a nick or address or sets it on or off
totally.
/invite {nickname} {#channel} Invites another user to a channel.
/join {#channel} Makes you join the specified channel.
/kick {#channel} {nickname} Kicks nickname off a given channel.
/list [#string] [-min #] [-max #] Lists all currently available channels, evt. filtering for
parameters.
/log [on|off] Shows the logging status or sets it on or off for the current window.
/me {action text} Sends the specifed action to the active channel or query window.
/mode {#channel|nickname} [[+|-]modechars [parameters]] Sets channel or user modes.
/msg {nickname} {message} Send a private message to this user without opening a query window.
/names {#channel} Shows the nicks of all people on the given channel.
/nick {new nickname} Changes your nickname to whatever you like.
/notice {nick} {message} Send the specified notice message to the nick.
/notify [on|off|nickname] Toggles notifying you of a nick on IRC or sets it on or off totally.
/onotice [#channel] {message} Send the specified notice message to all channel ops.
/omsg [#channel] {message} Send the specified message to all ops on a channel.
/part {#channel} Makes you leave the specified channel.
/partall Makes you leave all channels you are on.
/ping {server address} Pings the given server. NOT a nickname.
/play [-c] {filename} [delay] Allows you to send text files to a window.
/pop {delay} [#channel] {nickname} Performs a randomly delayed +o on a not already opped nick.
/protect [on|off|nickname|address] Toggles protection of a nick or address or sets it on or off
totally.
/query {nickname} {message} Open a query window to this user and send them the private message.
/quit [reason] Disconnect you from IRC with the optional byebye message.
/raw {raw command} Sends any raw command you supply directly to the server. Use it with care!!
/remote [on|off] Shows the remote commands status or sets it to listening or not.
/rlevel {access level} Removes all users from the remote users list with the specified access
level.
/run {c:\path\program.exe} [parameters] Runs the specified program, evt. with parameters.
/ruser {nick[!]|address} [type] Removes the user from the remote users list.
/save {filename.ini} Saves remote sections into a specified INI file.
/say {text} Says whatever you want to the active window.
/server [server address [port] [password]] Reconnects to the previous server or a newly
specified one.
/sound [nickname|#channel] {filename.wav} {action text} Sends an action and a fitting sound.
/speak {text} Uses the external text to speech program Monologue to speak up the text.
/sreq [ask | auto | ignore] Sets your DCC 'On Send request' settings in DCC/Options.
/time Tells you the time on the server you use.
/timer[N] {repetitions} {interval in seconds} {command} [| {more commands}] Activates a timer.
/topic {#channel} {newtopic} Changes the topic for the specified channel.
/ulist [{|}]{level} Lists all users in the remote list with the specified access levels.
/url [-d] Opens the URL windows that allows you to surf the www parallel to IRC.
/uwho [nick] Pops up the user central with information about the specified user.
/who {#channel} Shows the nicks of all people on the given channel.
/who {*address.string*} Shows all people on IRC with a matching address.
/whois {nickname} Shows information about someone in the status window.
/whowas {nickname} Shows information about someone who -just- left IRC.
/wavplay {c:\path\sound.wav} Locally plays the specified wave file.
/write [-cidl] {filename} [text] To write the specified text to a .txt file.

MoViEBoT #xdcc-help /server irc.atomic-irc.net

We strive to make IRC easier for you!

Free 2-Column Website Template

2009-02-18T11:57:00.000-08:00

Blooming - Rounded corners and the flower header give this simple template a little extra class.

Hyperglass - rounded corners and the abstract circles in the header make this very Web 2.0.

Stylized - this is a nice, simple template, perfect for a blog.

Landscape - I love the Grand Canyon header and rounded corners in this one.

Stickybud - the header background image on this one is really nice.

Travel Portal - this is a colorful nature-inspired template.

The Island - The transparency in this template is very attractive.

Fun Ride - the semi-retro feeling of this combined with the tabbed header is very classy.

Affection - a Victorian-inspired design.

Multiple - funky striped template.

Multiplex - a blue, purple and green version of the Multiple template.

Deserted - Desert inspired theme with transparency effects.

Carbonated - a patriotic template with lots of bubbles.

Fractal Broccoli - this one has a very neat header image.

Enter - neat multi-color template.

Natural Beauties - another nature-inspired theme.

Snowflakes - yet another nature-inspired template.

Logistix - very abstract Web 2.0-ish template.

Gumamela - flower-inspired template.

Earthling - attractive template that’s perfect for an environmental site.

Rational - very simple and classic gray and red template.

Integral - simple green and blue theme with rounded corners, very simple and elegant.

NauticaX1 - a pretty blue theme that would be great for a photographer, but could easily be modified for just about anything.

PixelGreen - pretty nature-inspired template.

Bonsai Tree - a simple template with a bonsai tree.

Yellow Effectz - a very simple yellow and white template.

Clean Green - very simple green and white template.

Deep Blue - very slick black and blue template that’s got a very Web 2.0 look.

Dirtylicious - slightly rough-looking and edgy.

ETC - another simple light on dark template.

Tick_Tock - the time theme on this template is a little different.

SQ_2 - another simple gray template.

Turn_It_Up - yet another gray template.

Movies of My Dreams - not 100% sure about the fish, but it does look cool.

Smooth and Sleek - just as the name says.

Typography Paramount - this is one of my favorite super-simple templates.

Civilized - this template has some nice texture in the header.

Gemstone - another very cool gray template.

Truly Simple - another one that is just as the name says.

Dreamy - this template is absolutely gorgeous.

Ebony and Ivory - another simple template.

Rambling Soul 2 - this would be great for a travel site or an environmental website.

Pastel Flowers - the abstract line-drawing flowers are very cool.

Underground - very simple while still making a very bold impact.

Ruby - a slightly gothic-looking template.

Untitling - the equal columns on top are very cool.

The Daily Read - the newspaper look is kind of retro looking.

Home - a light-on-dark template perfect for real estate.

Melmac - more gray and orange.

Standard Issue - very Web 2.0 colors and design.

Colors - 3, Tan and white template with a nature-inspired header.

Colors - 4 - this one has a very nice green background.

Level 2 - very bold red and white template.

Syndicate Me - another super-simple template.

TerraFirma - another nature-inspired template.

Internet Music - perfect for a band website or a general blog.

Coolisimo - a very bold template.

Mighty - a simple green template.

FreeStyle - a graphic, art-inspired template.

Missunderstood - rough edges set this template apart.

Dark Shine - this template has really nice jewel tones.

Nautica04 - very serene and zen-like.

lazydays - a neat urban template with some unexpected hot-air balloons.

Lovely - a very girly template.

Balloonr - another simple template.

Hibiscus - another template with a flower header.

Orchid - a very elegant flower template.

Classicish - love the funky corduroy-inspired header.

Blue Neutral - this one has abstract flowers.

Natheless - the maroon accents add interest.

EcoFriendly 2 - a different color scheme for an environmental template.

Thunder - a very bold light-on-dark template.

Ever Green - a bold green and black template with spooky trees.

AT001 - yet another gray and orange template. This one would be perfect for a corporate or business-related website.

Differential - a pretty light-on-dark template.

Burned - I love the burned antique paper look of this template.

Refresh - another blue and lime green template with rounded corners.

Isometric - yet another (albeit slightly darker) blue and lime template.

Sahara - the sand texture in the header is very cool.

Zenlike - the board background is unexpected and gives this template a little something extra.

The Missing Piece - an interesting template with a puzzle piece theme.

Yoghourt - very cool retro-feeling theme that’s also very Web 2.0.

Solemnity - a simple and pretty theme that could be used for just about any kind of site.

How To Build a Mailto Form with FrontPage

2009-02-14T20:24:00.000-08:00

Building a mailto form can be a little tricky with FrontPage because FrontPage assumes that you'll be using FrontPage extensions. But with only 10 steps, you can create a mailto form with FrontPage. Once you understand how, you'll be surprised how easy it is.

Create the form.
In Page view: go to the Insert menu, choose Form (you may have to expand the drop-down to see it), and then click Form.
Add the form fields.
Go to the Insert menu, chose Form, and then click on the fields you want to add to your form.
Set the form properties.
Right click in the form and choose Form properties...
Click on "Send to other", leave the drop-down as "Custom ISAPI, NSAPI, CGI, or ASP Script"
Click on Options, and type in the following:
Action: mailto:emailaddress
Method: POST
Encoding type: text/plain
Click OK and save the file.
Upload it to your Web server and test

How to bypass web filters

2009-02-02T10:59:00.000-08:00

There are several occasions where you will be at a public te How to bypass web filters
rminal, and require access to a particular website that is blocked for some reason or another. How to bypass these restrictions is a very common question, and will be covered here.

Lets pretend for a moment that the Internet is made up of 26 websites, A-Z. The web filter blocks your browser from accessing sites X-Z, but not sites A-W. Simply make the browser think you’re going to A-
W. There are a variety of ways to do this:

Proxy Servers:
This is a list of http proxies. These sites may not be up forever, so you may need to search for “free http proxy” or “public proxy servers” or other similar terms.

Proxy server lists:
• http://www.aliveproxy.com
• http://www.multiproxy.org
• http://www.publicproxyservers.com/index.html
• http://www.tehbox.com/proxy
• http://www.proxz.com
• http://www.proxy4free.com/index.html
• http://free-proxies.com

Now that you have a list of proxies, you would open IE (internet explorer) and click on Tools > Internet Options > Connections > LAN Settings > Advanced. Enter the address and port of one of the servers from the list in the proper area (http) and make sure the “use a proxy server for your LAN” option is selected. Remember to replace the proxy and port at your terminal to the original when you're done.

*Note: Some proxies listed may not work, and this method may decrease your surfing speed. By trying various entries, you’ll find one that works, or works faster.

The infamous translation trick:
Go to a web page translation site and use their services to “translate a page to English” thus accessing the blocked page through their trusted site.

You’ll notice that several translation sites are blocked, but by using less popular ones, this method can still be effective. Here is a list of some translation services. Again, these sites may not be up forever, so you may need to search for them.

• http://babelfish.altavista.com
• http://world.altavista.com
• http://translation.langenberg.com
• http://freetranslation.com/web.thm

Url Scripting:

Url scripting is the easiest method. It works on a select few web filters and is based on the same principal as the translation trick. By typing and address like “www.yahoo.com@www.restricted_site.com the filter will not go into effect as it recognizes the trusted site (in this case yahoo.com)

Other tricks:
Simply open the command prompt and type:
Ping restricted.com ? restricted.com obviously being the restricted site
At this point you can take down the IP address (ex. 216.109.124.73) and enter it into the browser. If access to the command prompt is also restricted, see “How to bypass restrictions to get to the command prompt.” If this article has been taken from information leak, then know that it involves anything from opening the browser, selecting view > source, then saving it as X.bat and opening it to opening a folder or browser and typing in the location of cmd.exe depending on the OS. I will not go into further, as this a completely different topic.

Use https://restrictedsite.com as referring to it as a secured site may confuse the filter.

Note: These are ancient methods that many new filters defend against, but still may be applicable in your situation. If not, a little history never hurt anyone.

Web based Proxies:
Another one of the easier, yet effective methods include web based proxies. These are simple in the fact that you just enter the restricted address and surf! Some of these have some restrictions, like daily usage limits, etc but you can also use another proxy (perhaps one that sucks, like a text only) to bypass their restrictions as well. Here is a list of some:

• http://proxify.com]http://proxify.com
• http://www.anonymizer.com/index.cgi]http://www.anonymizer.com/index.cgi
• http://www.guardster.com/]http://www.guardster.com/
• http://anonymouse.ws/anonwww.html]http://anonymouse.ws/anonwww.html
• http://www.the-cloak.com/login.html]http://www.the-cloak.com/login.html
• https://www.megaproxy.com/freesurf]https://www.megaproxy.com/freesurf
• http://www.anonymizer.ru]http://www.anonymizer.ru
• https://nadaily.com/cgi-bin/nph-proxyb.cgi]https://nadaily.com/cgi-bin/nph-proxyb.cgi
• http://www.userbeam.de/cgi-bin/nph-userbeam.cgi]http://www.userbeam.de/cgi-bin/nph-userbeam.cgi
• http://www.free2.surffreedom.com/nph-free.cgi]http://www.free2.surffreedom.com/nph-free.cgi

Proxy Programs:
There are many proxy programs that allow you to surf anonymously that are more or less based on the same topics we’ve covered here. I’ve added them just to cover the topic thoroughly:

• http://www.hotscripts.com/Detailed/28480.html]http://www.hotscripts.com/Detailed/28480.html
• http://www.inetprivacy.com/a4proxy/anonymous-grc.htm]http://www.inetprivacy.com/a4proxy/anonymous-grc.htm
• http://www.orangatango.com/home/index.ie.html]http://www.orangatango.com/home/index.ie.html
• http://www.steganos.com]http://www.steganos.com
• http://www.anonymization.net]http://www.anonymization.net ? toolbar that requires admin rights to install

Making your own CGI proxy server:

Making your own proxy server may come in handy, but I personally find that simply uploading a txt file/w a list of proxies to a free host makes for a much easier and headache free solution. If you don’t know PERL, there is code out there to help you set it up. Check out these sites for more info:

• http://httpbridge.sourceforge.net]http://httpbridge.sourceforge.net
• http://www.jmarshall.com/tools/cgiproxy]http://www.jmarshall.com/tools/cgiproxy
• http://www.manageability.org/blog/stuff/open-source-personal-proxy-servers-written-in-java/view]http://www.manageability.org/blog/stuff/op...en-in-java/view

Admin Access:
When all else fails, you can simply take over the PC and alter or delete the damn filter. This method varies according to the OS (operating system) you are dealing with. Please see “Hacking Windows NT” for more information. If this tutorial has been taken from information leak, then I will go as far as to say it involves booting the PC in another OS, copying the SAM file and cracking it using a program like saminside or LC5 rather than start a whole new topic within one.

How to copy songs from your iPod to your PC

2009-02-02T10:57:00.001-08:00

A reader points out a straightforward way for Windows users to transfer music from an iPod to your hard drive, without extra software:

1. Connect the iPod to your PC. If iTunes starts syncing (ie erasing) your music automatically, hit the X in the upper right hand corner of iTunes display, to the left of the search box, to stop it.
2. In Control Panel, Portable Media Devices, double-click your iPod.
3. Navigate to the Music folder.
4. Select all the music folders, and drag and drop them into a folder on your hard drive, or directly into iTunes.

And you’re done! The iPod music folder structure is strange and inexplicable, but once you move your files into iTunes you can set it to automatically organize your folder by artist and album to clean that up. (To do this, in iTunes Edit menu, choose Preferences and in the Advanced tab, check “Keep iTunes Music Folder organized.”)

If you give this a go, lemme know how it goes. I’ll ammend the instructions with any additional info for other versions of Windows and iPods.

Just for the record, I did not write this article, but I would have known how to do this. But one thing I ahve noticed is that you do not need to go into the control panel. Instead just make explorer.exe show hidden folders. Then, navigate into the iPod directory, go into iPod_control, and follow step four of the article. Software

How Linux Boot?

2009-02-02T10:56:00.001-08:00

As it turns out, there isn't much to the boot process:

1. A boot loader finds the kernel image on the disk, loads it into memory, and starts it.
2. The kernel initializes the devices and its drivers.
3. The kernel mounts the root filesystem.
4. The kernel starts a program called init.
5. init sets the rest of the processes in motion.
6. The last processes that init starts as part of the boot sequence allow you to log in.

Identifying each stage of the boot process is invaluable in fixing boot problems and understanding the system as a whole. To start, zero in on the boot loader, which is the initial screen or prompt you get after the computer does its power-on self-test, asking which operating system to run. After you make a choice, the boot loader runs the Linux kernel, handing control of the system to the kernel.

There is a detailed discussion of the kernel elsewhere in this book from which this article is excerpted. This article covers the kernel initialization stage, the stage when the kernel prints a bunch of messages about the hardware present on the system. The kernel starts init just after it displays a message proclaiming that the kernel has mounted the root filesystem:

VFS: Mounted root (ext2 filesystem) readonly.

Soon after, you will see a message about init starting, followed by system service startup messages, and finally you get a login prompt of some sort.

NOTE On Red Hat Linux, the init note is especially obvious, because it "welcomes" you to "Red Hat Linux." All messages thereafter show success or failure in brackets at the right-hand side of the screen.

Most of this chapter deals with init, because it is the part of the boot sequence where you have the most control.
init

There is nothing special about init. It is a program just like any other on the Linux system, and you'll find it in /sbin along with other system binaries. The main purpose of init is to start and stop other programs in a particular sequence. All you have to know is how this sequence works.

There are a few different variations, but most Linux distributions use the System V style discussed here. Some distributions use a simpler version that resembles the BSD init, but you are unlikely to encounter this.

Runlevels

At any given time on a Linux system, a certain base set of processes is running. This state of the machine is called its runlevel, and it is denoted with a number from 0 through 6. The system spends most of its time in a single runlevel. However, when you shut the machine down, init switches to a different runlevel in order to terminate the system services in an orderly fashion and to tell the kernel to stop. Yet another runlevel is for single-user mode, discussed later.

The easiest way to get a handle on runlevels is to examine the init configuration file, /etc/inittab. Look for a line like the following:

id:5:initdefault:

This line means that the default runlevel on the system is 5. All lines in the inittab file take this form, with four fields separated by colons occurring in the following order:
# A unique identifier (a short string, such as id in the preceding example)
# The applicable runlevel number(s)
# The action that init should take (in the preceding example, the action is to set the default runlevel to 5)
# A command to execute (optional)

There is no command to execute in the preceding initdefault example because a command doesn't make sense in the context of setting the default runlevel. Look a little further down in inittab, until you see a line like this:

l5:5:wait:/etc/rc.d/rc 5

This line triggers most of the system configuration and services through the rc*.d and init.d directories. You can see that init is set to execute a command called /etc/rc.d/rc 5 when in runlevel 5. The wait action tells when and how init runs the command: run rc 5 once when entering runlevel 5, and then wait for this command to finish before doing anything else.

There are several different actions in addition to initdefault and wait, especially pertaining to power management, and the inittab(5) manual page tells you all about them. The ones that you're most likely to encounter are explained in the following sections.

respawn

The respawn action causes init to run the command that follows, and if the command finishes executing, to run it again. You're likely to see something similar to this line in your inittab file:

1:2345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty1

The getty programs provide login prompts. The preceding line is for the first virtual console (/dev/tty1), the one you see when you press ALT-F1 or CONTROL-ALT-F1. The respawn action brings the login prompt back after you log out.

ctrlaltdel

The ctrlaltdel action controls what the system does when you press CONTROL-ALT-DELETE on a virtual console. On most systems, this is some sort of reboot command using the shutdown command.

sysinit

The sysinit action is the very first thing that init should run when it starts up, before entering any runlevels.

How processes in runlevels start

You are now ready to learn how init starts the system services, just before it lets you log in. Recall this inittab line from earlier:

l5:5:wait:/etc/rc.d/rc 5

This small line triggers many other programs. rc stands for run commands, and you will hear people refer to the commands as scripts, programs, or services. So, where are these commands, anyway?

For runlevel 5, in this example, the commands are probably either in /etc/rc.d/rc5.d or /etc/rc5.d. Runlevel 1 uses rc1.d, runlevel 2 uses rc2.d, and so on. You might find the following items in the rc5.d directory:

S10sysklogd S20ppp S99gpm
S12kerneld S25netstd_nfs S99httpd
S15netstd_init S30netstd_misc S99rmnologin
S18netbase S45pcmcia S99sshd
S20acct S89atd
S20logoutd S89cron

The rc 5 command starts programs in this runlevel directory by running the following commands:

S10sysklogd start
S12kerneld start
S15netstd_init start
S18netbase start
...
S99sshd start

Notice the start argument in each command. The S in a command name means that the command should run in start mode, and the number (00 through 99) determines where in the sequence rc starts the command.

The rc*.d commands are usually shell scripts that start programs in /sbin or /usr/sbin. Normally, you can figure out what one of the commands actually does by looking at the script with less or another pager program.

You can start one of these services by hand. For example, if you want to start the httpd Web server program manually, run S99httpd start. Similarly, if you ever need to kill one of the services when the machine is on, you can run the command in the rc*.d directory with the stop argument (S99httpd stop, for instance).

Some rc*.d directories contain commands that start with K (for "kill," or stop mode). In this case, rc runs the command with the stop argument instead of start. You are most likely to encounter K commands in runlevels that shut the system down.

Adding and removing services

If you want to add, delete, or modify services in the rc*.d directories, you need to take a closer look at the files inside. A long listing reveals a structure like this:

lrwxrwxrwx . . . S10sysklogd -> ../init.d/sysklogd
lrwxrwxrwx . . . S12kerneld -> ../init.d/kerneld
lrwxrwxrwx . . . S15netstd_init -> ../init.d/netstd_init
lrwxrwxrwx . . . S18netbase -> ../init.d/netbase
...

The commands in an rc*.d directory are actually symbolic links to files in an init.d directory, usually in /etc or /etc/rc.d. Linux distributions contain these links so that they can use the same startup scripts for all runlevels. This convention is by no means a requirement, but it often makes organization a little easier.

To prevent one of the commands in the init.d directory from running in a particular runlevel, you might think of removing the symbolic link in the appropriate rc*.d directory. This does work, but if you make a mistake and ever need to put the link back in place, you might have trouble remembering the exact name of the link. Therefore, you shouldn't remove links in the rc*.d directories, but rather, add an underscore (_) to the beginning of the link name like this:

mv S99httpd _S99httpd

At boot time, rc ignores _S99httpd because it doesn't start with S or K. Furthermore, the original name is still obvious, and you have quick access to the command if you're in a pinch and need to start it by hand.

To add a service, you must create a script like the others in the init.d directory and then make a symbolic link in the correct rc*.d directory. The easiest way to write a script is to examine the scripts already in init.d, make a copy of one that you understand, and modify the copy.

When adding a service, make sure that you choose an appropriate place in the boot sequence to start the service. If the service starts too soon, it may not work, due to a dependency on some other service. For non-essential services, most systems administrators prefer numbers in the 90s, after most of the services that came with the system.

Linux distributions usually come with a command to enable and disable services in the rc*.d directories. For example, in Debian, the command is update-rc.d, and in Red Hat Linux, the command is chkconfig. Graphical user interfaces are also available. Using these programs helps keep the startup directories consistent and helps with upgrades.

HINT: One of the most common Linux installation problems is an improperly configured XFree86 server that flicks on and off, making the system unusable on console. To stop this behavior, boot into single-user mode and alter your runlevel or runlevel services. Look for something containing xdm, gdm, or kdm in your rc*.d directories, or your /etc/inittab.

Controlling init

Occasionally, you need to give init a little kick to tell it to switch runlevels, to re-read the inittab file, or just to shut down the system. Because init is always the first process on a system, its process ID is always 1.

You can control init with telinit. For example, if you want to switch to runlevel 3, use this command:

telinit 3

When switching runlevels, init tries to kill off any processes that aren't in the inittab file for the new runlevel. Therefore, you should be careful about changing runlevels.

When you need to add or remove respawning jobs or make any other change to the inittab file, you must tell init about the change and cause it to re-read the file. Some people use kill -HUP 1 to tell init to do this. This traditional method works on most versions of Unix, as long as you type it correctly. However, you can also run this telinit command:

telinit q

You can also use telinit s to switch to single-user mode.

Shutting down

init also controls how the system shuts down and reboots. The proper way to shut down a Linux machine is to use the shutdown command.

There are two basic ways to use shutdown. If you halt the system, it shuts the machine down and keeps it down. To make the machine halt immediately, use this command:

shutdown -h now

On most modern machines with reasonably recent versions of Linux, a halt cuts the power to the machine. You can also reboot the machine. For a reboot, use -r instead of -h.

The shutdown process takes several seconds. You should never reset or power off a machine during this stage.

In the preceding example, now is the time to shut down. This argument is mandatory, but there are many ways of specifying it. If you want the machine to go down sometime in the future, one way is to use +n, where n is the number of minutes shutdown should wait before doing its work. For other options, look at the shutdown(8) manual page.

To make the system reboot in 10 minutes, run this command:

shutdown -r +10

On Linux, shutdown notifies anyone logged on that the machine is going down, but it does little real work. If you specify a time other than now, shutdown creates a file called /etc/nologin. When this file is present, the system prohibits logins by anyone except the superuser.

When system shutdown time finally arrives, shutdown tells init to switch to runlevel 0 for a halt and runlevel 6 for a reboot. When init enters runlevel 0 or 6, all of the following takes place, which you can verify by looking at the scripts inside rc0.d and rc6.d:

1. init kills every process that it can (as it would when switching to any other runlevel).

# The initial rc0.d/rc6.d commands run, locking system files into place and making other preparations for shutdown.
# The next rc0.d/rc6.d commands unmount all filesystems other than the root.
# Further rc0.d/rc6.d commands remount the root filesystem read-only.
# Still more rc0.d/rc6.d commands write all buffered data out to the filesystem with the sync program.
# The final rc0.d/rc6.d commands tell the kernel to reboot or stop with the reboot, halt, or poweroff program.

The reboot and halt programs behave differently for each runlevel, potentially causing confusion. By default, these programs call shutdown with the -r or -h options, but if the system is already at the halt or reboot runlevel, the programs tell the kernel to shut itself off immediately. If you really want to shut your machine down in a hurry (disregarding any possible damage from a disorderly shutdown), use the -f option.

How to download Windows Media Streams

2009-02-02T10:55:00.000-08:00

Look for the video source url in the webpage source code and copy it:
user posted image

To view the source code, r-click on the webpage that plays the video and select "view source." If unable to do so, just close the window and in the main Internet Explorer (IE) window, click the History icon or press Ctrl+H. Look for the same webpage on the left pane. On the menu, click View > View source.

Paste the video source url in Windows Media Player. (File > Open URL... )
Let the video play now. When the correct title appears on the playlist pane, r-click on it and select "Properties."
Select the source url and copy it:
user posted image

tongue.gif Paste this url in Flashget to download the video clip.

How to update BIOS - Procedure

2009-02-02T10:51:00.001-08:00

BIOS Update Procedure

All latest Motherboards today, 486/ Pentium / Pentium Pro etc.,ensure that upgrades are easily obtained by incorporating the system BIOS in a FLASH Memory component. With FLASH BIOS, there is no need to replace an EPROM component. Once downloaded, the upgrade utility fits on a floppy disc allowing the user to save, verify and update the system BIOS. A hard drive or a network drive can also be used to run the newer upgrade utilities. However, memory managers can not be installed while upgrading.

Most pre-Pentium motherboards do not have a Flash BIOS. The following instructions therefore do not apply to these boards. If your motherboard does not have a Flash BIOS (EEPROM) you will need to use an EPROM programmer to re-program the BIOS chip. See your dealer for more information about this.

Please read the following instructions in full before starting a Flash BIOS upgrade:
A. Create a Bootable Floppy (in DOS)

•With a non-formatted disk, type the following:

format a:/s

•If using a formatted disk, type:

sys a:

This procedure will ensure a clean boot when you are flashing the new BIOS.

B. Download the BIOS file

•Download the correct BIOS file by clicking on the file name of the BIOS file you wish to download.

•Save the BIOS file and the Flash Utility file in the boot disk you have created. Unzip the BIOS file and the flash utility file. If you don't have an "unzip" utility, download the WinZip for Windows 95 shareware/ evaluation copy for that one time use from _www.winzip.com or _www.pkware.com. Most CD ROMs found in computer magazines, have a shareware version of WinZip on them.

•You should have extracted two files:

Flash BIOS utility eg: flash7265.exe (for example)

BIOS eg: 6152J900.bin (example)

Use the latest flash utility available unless otherwise specified (either on the BIOS update page or in the archive file). This information is usually provided.

C. Upgrade the System BIOS

During boot up, write down the old BIOS version because you will need to use it for the BIOS backup file name.

Place the bootable floppy disk containing the BIOS file and the Flash Utility in drive a, and reboot the system in MS-DOS, preferably Version 6.22

•At the A:> prompt, type the corresponding Flash BIOS utility and the BIOS file with its extension.

For example:

flash625 615j900.bin

•From the Flash Memory Writer menu, select "Y" to "Do you want to save BIOS?" if you want to save (back up) your current BIOS (strongly recommended), then type the name of your current BIOS and its extension after FILE NAME TO SAVE: eg: a:\613J900.bin

Alternatively select "N" if you don't want to save your current BIOS. Beware, though, that you won't be able to recover from a possible failure.

•Select "Y" to "Are you sure to program?"

•Wait until it displays "Message: Power Off or Reset the system"

Once the BIOS has been successfully loaded, remove the floppy disk and reboot the system. If you write to BIOS but cannot complete the procedure, do not switch off, because the computer will not be able to boo, and you will not be given another chance to flash. In this case leave your system on until you resolve the problem (flashing BIOS with old file is a possible solution, provided you've made a backup before)

Make sure the new BIOS version has been loaded properly by taking note of the BIOS identifier as the system is rebooting.

For AMI BIOS
Once the BIOS has been successfully loaded, remove the floppy disk and reboot the system holding the "END" key prior to power on until you enter CMOS setup. If you do not do this the first time booting up after upgrading the BIOS, the system will hang.

BIOS Update Tips
note:
1.Make sure never to turn off or reset your computer during the flash process. This will corrupt the BIOS data. We also recommend that you make a copy of your current BIOS on the bootable floppy so you can reflash it if you need to. (This option is not available when flashing an AMI BIOS).

2. If you have problems installing your new BIOS please check the following:

Have you done a clean boot?
In other words, did you follow the above procedure for making a bootable floppy? This ensures that when booting from "A" there are no device drivers on the diskette. Failing to do a clean boot is the most common cause for getting a "Memory Insufficient" error message when attempting to flash a BIOS.

If you have not used a bootable floppy, insure a clean boot either by

a) pressing F5 during bootup

b) by removing all device drivers on the CONFIG.SYS including the HIMEM.SYS. Do this by using the EDIT command.

Have you booted up under DOS?
Booting in Windows is another common cause for getting a "Memory Insufficient" error message when attempting to flash a BIOS. Make sure to boot up to DOS with a minimum set of drivers. Important: Booting in DOS does not mean selecting "Restart computer in MS-DOS Mode" from Windows98/95 shutdown menu or going to Prompt mode in WindowsNT, but rather following the above procedure (format a: /s and rebooting from a:\).

Have you entered the full file name of the flash utility and the BIOS plus its extension?
Do not forget that often you will need to add a drive letter (a:\) before flashing the BIOS. Example: when asked for file name of new BIOS file which is on your floppy disk, in case you're working from c:\ your will need to type a:\615j900.bin, rather than 615j900.bin only.

Boot Windows XP Faster

2009-02-02T10:50:00.001-08:00

Follow the following steps

1. Open notepad.exe, type "del c:\windows\prefetch\ntosboot-*.* /q" (without the quotes) & save as "ntosboot.bat" in c:\
2. From the Start menu, select "Run..." & type "gpedit.msc".
3. Double click "Windows Settings" under "Computer Configuration" and double click again on "Shutdown" in the right window.
4. In the new window, click "add", "Browse", locate your "ntosboot.bat" file & click "Open".
5. Click "OK", "Apply" & "OK" once again to exit.
6. From the Start menu, select "Run..." & type "devmgmt.msc".
7. Double click on "IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers"
8. Right click on "Primary IDE Channel" and select "Properties".
9. Select the "Advanced Settings" tab then on the device or 1 that doesn't have 'device type' greyed out select 'none' instead of 'autodetect' & click "OK".
10. Right click on "Secondary IDE channel", select "Properties" and repeat step 9.
11. Reboot your computer.

How to Change you IP address in less than 1 minute

2009-02-02T10:48:00.000-08:00

1. Click on "Start" in the bottom left hand corner of screen
2. Click on "Run"
3. Type in "command" and hit ok

You should now be at an MSDOS prompt screen.

4. Type "ipconfig /release" just like that, and hit "enter"
5. Type "exit" and leave the prompt
6. Right-click on "Network Places" or "My Network Places" on your desktop.
7. Click on "properties"

You should now be on a screen with something titled "Local Area Connection", or something close to that, and, if you have a network hooked up, all of your other networks.

8. Right click on "Local Area Connection" and click "properties"
9. Double-click on the "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)" from the list under the "General" tab
10. Click on "Use the following IP address" under the "General" tab
11. Create an IP address (It doesn't matter what it is. I just type 1 and 2 until i fill the area up).
12. Press "Tab" and it should automatically fill in the "Subnet Mask" section with default numbers.
13. Hit the "Ok" button here
14. Hit the "Ok" button again

You should now be back to the "Local Area Connection" screen.

15. Right-click back on "Local Area Connection" and go to properties again.
16. Go back to the "TCP/IP" settings
17. This time, select "Obtain an IP address automatically"
tongue.gif 18. Hit "Ok"
19. Hit "Ok" again
20. You now have a new IP address

With a little practice, you can easily get this process down to 15 seconds.

P.S:
This only changes your dynamic IP address, not your ISP/IP address.

Change the storage location of My Computer

2009-02-02T10:37:00.000-08:00

I just found out about this today, and I use Windows XP for some time now, so i guess there are others out there who don't know about this yet.

But normally windows saves the "My Documents" folder on your C-drive. But when you right-click on it and go to properties, you can change the location where you want windows to save your Documents folder.

I have a partition set up with just windows on it, and all my things i want to keep are on different partitions/disks. So now I put My Documents on another partition than where I have windows installed. If windows screws up and you have to format your C-drive again, your documents will be spared at least...

How Create Windows XP in USB Flash Drive

2009-01-22T09:12:00.000-08:00

Before starting, some things must be downloaded first, and others you need to have available:

But first thing first... if not already done, (thanks Henk for bringing up this issue), we will enable hidden/system files viewing first.

a.. In Windows Explorer go to the "Tools" menu

b.. Click on "Folder Options..."

c.. Go to the "View" tab

d.. Enable the "Display simple folder view in Explorer's Folders list"
checkbox

e.. Enable the "Display the contents of system folders" checkbox

f.. Choose the "Show hidden files and folders" ratio button

g.. Uncheck the "Hide extensions for known file types" checkbox

h.. Uncheck the "Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)" checkbox, and click "Yes" on the popup.

i.. Hit the "OK" button on the "View" tab

Next we are going to start with the downloading of...

- pebuilder3110a

- Pe2usb

- HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool

- Network Drivers….

- Windows Service pack 1 for Windows 2003 server.
(we only need 2 files from this service pack)

- Windows XP installation CD (With Service Pack 2 integrated / slipstreamed. )

- A USB key of at least 256MB, also here, bigger is better...

Step 1: Extracting

- Extract PEBuilder (pebuilder3110a.zip) into a location and folder of your choice.

- Next is to extract pe2usb (pe2usb101.zip). The 3 extracted files have to be placed in the folder you have used/created to extract PEBuilder to.

- Install HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool (SP27213.exe) to a location of your choice.

- now we are going to extract our Service pack 1 for Windows 2003 server.
You only need 2 files. To do so, you do the following:

Open a Dos window. To do so click on “Start” – “Run” – and type the following:

CMD and click on OK.

In the dos window you have to go to the location where you have your service pack previously saved after the download.

Here in this example one would go to c:\temp and give in the name of the service pack followed by a “-X” (without the quotation marks). Now the service pack will be extracted...you decide the location

After the extraction you can close this dos window...

Next is to search for the 2 files needed in the extraction folder...”setupldr.bin”
and “ramdisk.sy_” Both are in the i386
folder and need to be copied to the PEBuilder folder as well.

This ramdisk.sy_ file still has be worked with.Therefore we will open up again a dos window.

In this example we give in the following:

This is the result you should get

We now will create a new folder in the PEBuilder folder. This new folder will be given the following name: srsp1 and you have to copy the files ”setupldr.bin” and “ramdisk.sys”
from the PEBuilder folder into that newly created folder.

Step 2: Starting Pebuilder

Once the .iso file has been created, you can close PEBuilder...

Step 3: The USB-key

Fisrt step here is to format the USB key. REMINDER!!!! all data will be deleted on the USB-key...

To format the USB-key, we will use HPUSBFW.exe
(HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool), which we downloaded installed in the
beginning of this document...

Best thing to do, is to leave the file system on the USB-key to FAT...

After the format we are going to do the transfer to the USB-key..

We are now going to use pe2usb. To do so open a dos window.

We now go through the dos window to the PEBuilder folder and type in the
following command:pe2usb X: (where X is the drive letter of your USB-key.
In this example it would be G: ) and hit Enter

The size of the iso files depends on the number and size of plugins you have added or activated...

If you take a look on the USB-key you should at least have the following files:
an .iso file – NTDETECT.COM – ntldr and winnt.sif

You could also copy some extra files onto the USB-key, which can be run without any installation. (stand allone applications)...these apps can be found anywhere...a few examples
you can already find here and here.

The very last step of course is to tell youre computer it should boot from USB. This can be done through the BIOS of the computer. Because of the different versions and makings of BIOS, I would refer here to your manual on the BIOS youre computer is using, to take the necessary steps...

Once all necessary steps are taken, and if you computer is fit to boot from USB, it should normally boot from the USB-key.

If you recieve an Error 16 during the startup, it is most likely you do not have enough memory in
your computer to unpack the iso file. If so you can eiter add extra memory or you make your ISO smaller by reducing the plugins used while creating with PEBUILDER.

Mastering The Windows XP Registry

2009-01-15T22:54:00.000-08:00

The Recovery Console

The Windows XP Recovery Console is a tool that allows recovery from a number of failures. Previously, all you could do was boot another copy of Windows XP and hack your way around, replacing files, even registry components, in the blind hope that you would somehow fix the problem.
With Windows XP, you have two tools to use: the Recovery Console and the Safe Mode feature.
The Recovery Console is a powerful, simple (no, that's not an oxymoron!) feature that is supplied with Windows XP, but it is not installed by default. The Windows XP Safe Mode works in the same manner as the Safe Mode found in other versions of Windows. You can modify a number of system settings using Safe Mode (such as video modes). Installing the Recovery Console after the system has failed is quite like locking the barn door
after the horse has been stolen—it really won't work that well.

Installing the Recovery Console
The Recovery Console must be installed before disaster strikes. It will be difficult (maybe even impossible) to install it after a disaster has reared its ugly head. So, let's install the Recovery Console right now.

First, you must use the Windows XP distribution CD (or share containing the appropriate files, if installing from a network device). The Recovery Console is installed using the winnt32.exe program. The winnt32.exe program is the same program that is used to install Windows XP; however, by selecting the correct option, you are able to tell winnt32.exe to not install Windows XP, but to install the Recovery Console instead.

Note It is not possible to install the Recovery Console at the same time as Windows XP. You must first install Windows XP, then install the Recovery Console. If you have multiple copies of Windows XP installed, it is only necessary to install the Recovery Console one time—the Recovery Console will work with as many copies of Windows XP as are
installed.

Follow these steps to install the Recovery Console from the Windows XP distribution CD:
1. Insert the distribution CD and change into the i386 directory.
2. Run winnt32.exe using the /cmdcons option. Typically, no other options are needed, though some users may wish to specify source options, especially if installing from a network share rather than a hard drive.
3. The installation program contacts Microsoft to check for updates to this Windows XP component.

Figure 2.3: Windows XP's Dynamic Update uses the Internet to retrieve the latest files directly from Microsoft.
4. The winnt32.exe program opens the dialog box shown in Figure 2.4. This dialog box allows you to cancel the installation if you need to. Note that multiple installations of the Recovery Console will simply overwrite previous installations; in such cases, no error is generated.

Figure 2.4: Setting up the Recovery Console using winnt32/cmdcons by passes all other setup options.
5. If there are no errors, the dialog box shown in Figure 2.5 is displayed. The Recovery Console is ready for use at this point.

Figure 2.5: The Recovery console has been successfully installed.

What's in the Recovery Console?

The Recovery Console consists of a minor modification to the boot.ini file, and the addition of a hidden directory on the boot drive. The added directory's name is cmdcons. The change to the boot.ini file is simply the addition of another line providing for a new boot option:
C:\cmdcons\bootsect.dat="Microsoft Windows Recovery console" /cmdcons
This option consists of a fully qualified file name (C:\cmdcons\bootsect.dat), a text description (Microsoft Windows Recovery Console), and a boot option (/cmdcons).
As everyone should be well aware, the Windows XP Boot Manager is able to boot virtually any operating system (assuming that the operating system is compatible with the currently installed file system).

How Windows XP Supports Booting other Operating Systems
Windows XP can be told to "boot" any directory or file location. For example, the Recovery Console is saved in the cmdcons directory. In the cmdcons directory is a 512-byte file named bootsect.dat. Windows XP will treat a file named bootsect.dat exactly as if it were a hard disk's boot sector. In fact, one could, theoretically, copy the bootsect.dat file to a drive's boot sector location and cause that operating system to be booted directly.

One use for this technology is in a multiple-boot configuration where the other operating system or systems are not compatible with Windows NT (such as Windows 95/98/Me).
The Recovery Console does qualify as an operating system, though it is very simple—and limited.
A major question will always be this: is the Recovery Console secure? In most situations, the
Recovery Console is actually quite secure. The user, at startup of the Recovery Console, is prompted for two pieces of information:
• Which Windows XP installation is to be repaired (assuming that there is more than one Windows XP installation!).
• The Administrator's password for that installation. The Recovery Console then uses the installation's SAM to validate this password to ensure the user has the necessary permission to use the system.
A situation comes to mind: if the Administrator's password is lost or otherwise compromised, not only may it be impossible to use the Recovery Console, but anyone with access to the compromised password could modify the system with the Recovery Console. This is not really an issue, though. If the Administrator's password is lost, that's life. It will be difficult, if not impossible, to recover the password. If the security of the Administrator's password is compromised, then it will be necessary to repair the damage—changing the password is mandatory in this case. In either case, the Recovery Console is no less secure than Windows XP is.
The cmdcons directory holds over 100 files.
_________________

List of Windows Shotcuts

2009-01-15T22:47:00.000-08:00

For Real Windows Newbie's here you go...

CTRL+C (Copy)
CTRL+X (Cut)
CTRL+V (Paste)
CTRL+Z (Undo)
DELETE (Delete)
SHIFT+DELETE (Delete the selected item permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin)
CTRL while dragging an item (Copy the selected item)
CTRL+SHIFT while dragging an item (Create a shortcut to the selected item)
F2 key (Rename the selected item)
CTRL+RIGHT ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next word)
CTRL+LEFT ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word)
CTRL+DOWN ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next paragraph)
CTRL+UP ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous paragraph)
CTRL+SHIFT with any of the arrow keys (Highlight a block of text)
SHIFT with any of the arrow keys (Select more than one item in a window or on the desktop, or select text in a document)
CTRL+A (Select all)
F3 key (Search for a file or a folder)
ALT+ENTER (View the properties for the selected item)
ALT+F4 (Close the active item, or quit the active program)
ALT+ENTER (Display the properties of the selected object)
ALT+SPACEBAR (Open the shortcut menu for the active window)
CTRL+F4 (Close the active document in programs that enable you to have multiple documents open simultaneously)
ALT+TAB (Switch between the open items)
ALT+ESC (Cycle through items in the order that they had been opened)
F6 key (Cycle through the screen elements in a window or on the desktop)
F4 key (Display the Address bar list in My Computer or Windows Explorer)
SHIFT+F10 (Display the shortcut menu for the selected item)
ALT+SPACEBAR (Display the System menu for the active window)
CTRL+ESC (Display the Start menu)
ALT+Underlined letter in a menu name (Display the corresponding menu)
Underlined letter in a command name on an open menu (Perform the corresponding command)
F10 key (Activate the menu bar in the active program)
RIGHT ARROW (Open the next menu to the right, or open a submenu)
LEFT ARROW (Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu)
F5 key (Update the active window)
BACKSPACE (View the folder one level up in My Computer or Windows Explorer)
ESC (Cancel the current task)
SHIFT when you insert a CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive (Prevent the CD-ROM from automatically playing)
Dialog Box Keyboard Shortcuts
CTRL+TAB (Move forward through the tabs)
CTRL+SHIFT+TAB (Move backward through the tabs)
TAB (Move forward through the options)
SHIFT+TAB (Move backward through the options)
ALT+Underlined letter (Perform the corresponding command or select the corresponding option)
ENTER (Perform the command for the active option or button)
SPACEBAR (Select or clear the check box if the active option is a check box)
Arrow keys (Select a button if the active option is a group of option buttons)
F1 key (Display Help)
F4 key (Display the items in the active list)
BACKSPACE (Open a folder one level up if a folder is selected in the Save As or Open dialog box)
Microsoft Natural Keyboard Shortcuts
Windows Logo (Display or hide the Start menu)
Windows Logo+BREAK (Display the System Properties dialog box)
Windows Logo+D (Display the desktop)
Windows Logo+M (Minimize all of the windows)
Windows Logo+SHIFT+M (Restore the minimized windows)
Windows Logo+E (Open My Computer)
Windows Logo+F (Search for a file or a folder)
CTRL+Windows Logo+F (Search for computers)
Windows Logo+F1 (Display Windows Help)
Windows Logo+ L (Lock the keyboard)
Windows Logo+R (Open the Run dialog box)
Windows Logo+U (Open Utility Manager)
Accessibility Keyboard Shortcuts
Right SHIFT for eight seconds (Switch FilterKeys either on or off)
Left ALT+left SHIFT+PRINT SCREEN (Switch High Contrast either on or off)
Left ALT+left SHIFT+NUM LOCK (Switch the MouseKeys either on or off)
SHIFT five times (Switch the StickyKeys either on or off)
NUM LOCK for five seconds (Switch the ToggleKeys either on or off)
Windows Logo +U (Open Utility Manager)
Windows Explorer Keyboard Shortcuts
END (Display the bottom of the active window)
HOME (Display the top of the active window)
NUM LOCK+Asterisk sign (*) (Display all of the subfolders that are under the selected folder)
NUM LOCK+Plus sign (+) (Display the contents of the selected folder)
NUM LOCK+Minus sign (-) (Collapse the selected folder)
LEFT ARROW (Collapse the current selection if it is expanded, or select the parent folder)
RIGHT ARROW (Display the current selection if it is collapsed, or select the first subfolder)
Shortcut Keys for Character Map
After you double-click a character on the grid of characters, you can move through the grid by using the keyboard shortcuts:
RIGHT ARROW (Move to the right or to the beginning of the next line)
LEFT ARROW (Move to the left or to the end of the previous line)
UP ARROW (Move up one row)
DOWN ARROW (Move down one row)
PAGE UP (Move up one screen at a time)
PAGE DOWN (Move down one screen at a time)
HOME (Move to the beginning of the line)
END (Move to the end of the line)
CTRL+HOME (Move to the first character)
CTRL+END (Move to the last character)
SPACEBAR (Switch between Enlarged and Normal mode when a character is selected)
Microsoft Management Console (MMC) Main Window Keyboard Shortcuts
CTRL+O (Open a saved console)
CTRL+N (Open a new console)
CTRL+S (Save the open console)
CTRL+M (Add or remove a console item)
CTRL+W (Open a new window)
F5 key (Update the content of all console windows)
ALT+SPACEBAR (Display the MMC window menu)
ALT+F4 (Close the console)
ALT+A (Display the Action menu)
ALT+V (Display the View menu)
ALT+F (Display the File menu)
ALT+O (Display the Favorites menu)
MMC Console Window Keyboard Shortcuts
CTRL+P (Print the current page or active pane)
ALT+Minus sign (-) (Display the window menu for the active console window)
SHIFT+F10 (Display the Action shortcut menu for the selected item)
F1 key (Open the Help topic, if any, for the selected item)
F5 key (Update the content of all console windows)
CTRL+F10 (Maximize the active console window)
CTRL+F5 (Restore the active console window)
ALT+ENTER (Display the Properties dialog box, if any, for the selected item)
F2 key (Rename the selected item)
CTRL+F4 (Close the active console window. When a console has only one console window, this shortcut closes the console)
Remote Desktop Connection Navigation
CTRL+ALT+END (Open the Microsoft Windows NT Security dialog box)
ALT+PAGE UP (Switch between programs from left to right)
ALT+PAGE DOWN (Switch between programs from right to left)
ALT+INSERT (Cycle through the programs in most recently used order)
ALT+HOME (Display the Start menu)
CTRL+ALT+BREAK (Switch the client computer between a window and a full screen)
ALT+DELETE (Display the Windows menu)
CTRL+ALT+Minus sign (-) (Place a snapshot of the active window in the client on the Terminal server clipboard and provide the same functionality as pressing PRINT SCREEN on a local computer.)
CTRL+ALT+Plus sign (+) (Place a snapshot of the entire client window area on the Terminal server clipboard and provide the same functionality as pressing ALT+PRINT SCREEN on a local computer.)
Microsoft Internet Explorer Navigation
CTRL+B (Open the Organize Favorites dialog box)
CTRL+E (Open the Search bar)
CTRL+F (Start the Find utility)
CTRL+H (Open the History bar)
CTRL+I (Open the Favorites bar)
CTRL+L (Open the Open dialog box)
CTRL+N (Start another instance of the browser with the same Web address)
CTRL+O (Open the Open dialog box, the same as CTRL+L)
CTRL+P (Open the Print dialog box)
CTRL+R (Update the current Web page)
CTRL+W (Close the current window)

How To Download MP3's and Application

2009-01-15T22:39:00.000-08:00

Great Tip For Mp3 Searching On Google,

go to google copy and paste in

?intitle:index.of? mp3

and after mp3 put in an artist or album or whatever and hit enter... what you get is lists of downloadable mp3s

eg:

?intitle:index.of? mp3 santana

Another trick:

Use the following

inurl:microsoft filetype:iso

You can change the string to watever you want, ex. microsoft to adobe, iso to zip etc…

Another trick:

http://www.google.com/ie?q=parent-directory+"Warez"+exe+OR+zip+OR+rar+OR+gzip+OR+tar+OR+bzip&num=100

Replace "Warez" with "Gamez" "Mp3" anything you like....

Free X-Box Live!

2009-01-15T03:07:00.001-08:00

Anyone here think about getting xbox live but not have enough money to pay for the starter kit...

WELL GUESS WHAT!!!!!!!!

You can now get it without paying a cent (that is if you have a free 2 month trial)

First go to http://www.xbconnect.com/downloads.php and download the current version of XBConnect...

Secondly you must get a Ethernet cable and connect your X-BOX to your router (if you have, you MUST have one BTW)

Thirdly install and open xbconnect. Create a new account .......

Fourthly go on www.xbox.com/live and sign in your .NET passport and create a profile for xbox live

Fifthly open your xbox with a xbox live supported game and follow the setup for xbox live ....

And YOUR DONE!!!!!

How To Create One-Click Shutdown and Reboot Shortcuts

2009-01-15T02:50:00.001-08:00

First, create a shortcut on your desktop by right-clicking on the desktop, choosing New, and then choosing Shortcut. The Create Shortcut Wizard appears. In the box asking for the location of the shortcut, type shutdown. After you create the shortcut, double-clicking on it will shut down your PC.

But you can do much more with a shutdown shortcut than merely shut down your PC. You can add any combination of several switches to do extra duty, like this:

shutdown -r -t 01 -c "Rebooting your PC"
Double-clicking on that shortcut will reboot your PC after a one-second delay and display the message "Rebooting your PC." The shutdown command includes a variety of switches you can use to customize it. Table 1-3 lists all of them and describes their use.

I use this technique to create two shutdown shortcuts on my desktop—one for turning off my PC, and one for rebooting. Here are the ones I use:

shutdown -s -t 03 -c "Bye Bye m8!"
shutdown -r -t 03 -c "Ill be back m8 ;)!"

Switch
What it does

-s
Shuts down the PC.

-l
Logs off the current user.

-t nn
Indicates the duration of delay, in seconds, before performing the action.

-c "messagetext"
Displays a message in the System Shutdown window. A maximum of 127 characters can be used. The message must be enclosed in quotation marks.

-f
Forces any running applications to shut down.

-r
Reboots the PC.

How to Convert Movies To Psp Format.

2009-01-15T02:47:00.001-08:00

Hey again, this is a real quick guide for anyone interested to get a movie onto there PSP without all the fluff i have seen elsewhere. I just watched Africa the Serengeti on my PSP and heres is the lowdown.

Movie - approx 40 minutes - dvd
Saved to hard drive - 2.6GIG - using DVD Decryptor (free program) try google
Transfered to avi format - 377MB- using Super DVD Ripper (9 FREE trial uses) then you must buy
Transfered to MP4 - 37MB - using the (basically free) Image convertor 2

Average movie breakdown - using above as a guide only.
so im guessing the average movie may be 4.5gig for example
saved to 800MB
CONVERTED TO 70-80MB

Ok use DVD decryptor to save the movie to your hard drive eg. C:\africa (it will save it for you as described)
When completed find the folder c:\africa on your computer and find the vob file in that folder - generally the largest one and right click and play it with your dvd program to see what part it is. If its the correct movie part you now know thats the one you need.

Once you have located the vob file you want to transfer open DVD Ripper and go to wizard icon. There you will see an icon of VOB to AVI button. Click it and then it will ask to locate the file. Locate the file and click it. It will SCAN THE FILE(just wait till that finishes) a parameter box opens next and just click the arrow. It then askes to choose output file, click the file icon and locate the correct fob file. It then askes for file compression - choose microsoft windows media and then click ok Then press the start button. It will now convert the vob into avi format.
(there are also other opions ie;dvd to avi etc) I have only used the vob to avi for this test.

After DVD ripper has transferred the file it will save it to the same folder as the original move was in eg: c:\africa\viteots. Open the file and you will now see an AVI icon containing the movie.

Make sure you PSP is on and in usb mode then Open Image convertor 2 and press on movie / add to list. For this example i click on C:drive the found the folder Africa and opened it and there was my converted AVI file. Click the file press ok and it will be transfered to your PSP for viewing pleasure.

*****Note**** i only converted one VOB file as thatS all there was for this particular movie. If you have more then one vob file you may need to try the dvd to avi when you rip. This is just a guide i worked out to compress dvd into the smallest possible file so you can get value out of a 512 card.

QUOTE
http://www.crazyhatsoftware.com/ImageConverter2.1.exe

Image Converter 2.1 JAP translated to ENG.

Computer Acronyms

2009-01-15T02:44:00.000-08:00

ADSL -Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line
AGP - Accelerated Graphics Port
ALI - Acer Labs, Incorporated
ALU - Arithmetic Logic Unit
AMD - Advanced Micro Devices
APC - American Power Conversion
ASCII - American Standard Code for Information Interchange
ASIC - Application Specific Integrated Circuit
ASPI - Advanced SCSI Programming Interface
AT - Advanced Technology
ATI - ATI Technologies Inc.
ATX - Advanced Technology Extended

--- B ---
BFG - BFG Technologies
BIOS - Basic Input Output System
BNC - Barrel Nut Connector

--- C ---
CAS - Column Address Signal
CD - Compact Disk
CDR - Compact Disk Recorder
CDRW - Compact Disk Re-Writer
CD-ROM - Compact Disk - Read Only Memory
CFM - Cubic Feet per Minute (ft�/min)
CMOS - Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor
CPU - Central Processing Unit
CTX - CTX Technology Corporation (Commited to Excellence)

--- D ---

DDR - Double Data Rate
DDR-SDRAM - Double Data Rate - Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory
DFI - DFI Inc. (Design for Innovation)
DIMM - Dual Inline Memory Module
DRAM - Dynamic Random Access Memory
DPI - Dots Per Inch
DSL - See ASDL
DVD - Digital Versatile Disc
DVD-RAM - Digital Versatile Disk - Random Access Memory

--- E ---
ECC - Error Correction Code
ECS - Elitegroup Computer Systems
EDO - Extended Data Out
EEPROM - Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory
EPROM - Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory
EVGA - EVGA Corporation

--- F ---
FC-PGA - Flip Chip Pin Grid Array
FDC - Floppy Disk Controller
FDD - Floppy Disk Drive
FPS - Frame Per Second
FPU - Floating Point Unit
FSAA - Full Screen Anti-Aliasing
FS - For Sale
FSB - Front Side Bus

--- G ---
GB - Gigabytes
GBps - Gigabytes per second or Gigabits per second
GDI - Graphical Device Interface
GHz - GigaHertz

--- H ---
HDD - Hard Disk Drive
HIS - Hightech Information System Limited
HP - Hewlett-Packard Development Company
HSF - Heatsink-Fan

--- I ---
IBM - International Business Machines Corporation
IC - Integrated Circuit
IDE - Integrated Drive Electronics
IFS- Item for Sale
IRQ - Interrupt Request
ISA - Industry Standard Architecture
ISO - International Standards Organization

--- J ---
JBL - JBL (Jame B. Lansing) Speakers
JVC - JVC Company of America

- K ---
Kbps - Kilobits Per Second
KBps - KiloBytes per second

--- L ---
LG - LG Electronics
LAN - Local Are Network
LCD - Liquid Crystal Display
LDT - Lightning Data Transport
LED - Light Emitting Diode

--- M ---
MAC - Media Access Control
MB � MotherBoard or Megabyte
MBps - Megabytes Per Second
Mbps - Megabits Per Second or Megabits Per Second
MHz - MegaHertz
MIPS - Million Instructions Per Second
MMX - Multi-Media Extensions
MSI - Micro Star International

--- N ---
NAS - Network Attached Storage
NAT - Network Address Translation
NEC - NEC Corporation
NIC - Network Interface Card

--- O ---
OC - Overclock (Over Clock)
OCZ - OCZ Technology
OEM - Original Equipment Manufacturer

--- P ---
PC - Personal Computer
PCB - Printed Circuit Board
PCI - Peripheral Component Interconnect
PDA - Personal Digital Assistant
PCMCIA - Peripheral Component Microchannel Interconnect Architecture
PGA - Professional Graphics Array
PLD - Programmable Logic Device
PM - Private Message / Private Messaging
PnP - Plug 'n Play
PNY - PNY Technology
POST - Power On Self Test
PPPoA - Point-to-Point Protocol over ATM
PPPoE - Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet
PQI - PQI Corporation
PSU - Power Supply Unit

--- R ---
RAID - Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks
RAM - Random Access Memory
RAMDAC - Random Access Memory Digital Analog Convertor
RDRAM - Rambus Dynamic Random Access Memory
ROM - Read Only Memory
RPM - Revolutions Per Minute

--- S ---
SASID - Self-scanned Amorphous Silicon Integrated Display
SCA - SCSI Configured Automatically
SCSI - Small Computer System Interface
SDRAM - Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory
SECC - Single Edge Contact Connector
SODIMM - Small Outline Dual Inline Memory Module
SPARC - Scalable Processor ArChitecture
SOHO - Small Office Home Office
SRAM - Static Random Access Memory
SSE - Streaming SIMD Extensions
SVGA - Super Video Graphics Array
S/PDIF - Sony/Philips Digital Interface

--- T ---
TB - Terabytes
TBps - Terabytes per second
Tbps - Terabits per second
TDK - TDK Electronics
TEC - Thermoelectric Cooler
TPC - TipidPC
TWAIN - Technology Without An Important Name

--- U ---
UART - Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter
USB - Universal Serial Bus
UTP - Unshieled Twisted Pair

--- V ---
VCD - Video CD
VPN - Virtual Private Network

--- W ---
WAN - Wide Area Network
WTB - Want to Buy
WYSIWYG - What You See Is What You Get

--- X ---
XGA - Extended Graphics Array
XFX - XFX Graphics, a Division of Pine
XMS - Extended Memory Specification
XT - Extended Technology

How To Recover Forget Administrator Password in Windows XP

2009-01-15T02:38:00.000-08:00

Or if your Guest Account is not accessible/not active do the following.You must have the Windows XP operating system CD;

1. Place your Windows XP CD in your cd-rom and start your computer (it's assumed here that your XP CD is bootable – as it should be - and that you have your bios set to boot from CD)

2. Keep your eye on the screen messages for booting to your cd Typically, it will be “Press any key to boot from cd”

3. Once you get in, the first screen will indicate that Setup is inspecting your system and loading files.

4. When you get to the Welcome to Setup screen, press ENTER to Setup Windows now

5. The Licensing Agreement comes next - Press F8 to accept it.

6. The next screen is the Setup screen which gives you the option to do a Repair.

It should read something like “If one of the following Windows XP installations is damaged, Setup can try to repair it”

Use the up and down arrow keys to select your XP installation (if you only have one, it should already be selected) and press R to begin the Repair process.

7. Let the Repair run. Setup will now check your disks and then start copying files which can take several minutes.

8. Shortly after the Copying Files stage, you will be required to reboot. (this will happen automatically – you will see a progress bar stating “Your computer will reboot in 15 seconds”

9. During the reboot, do not make the mistake of “pressing any key” to boot from the CD again! Setup will resume automatically with the standard billboard screens and you will notice Installing Windows is highlighted.

10. Keep your eye on the lower left hand side of the screen and when you see the Installing Devices progress bar, press SHIFT + F10. This is the security hole! A command console will now open up giving you the potential for wide access to your system.

11. At the prompt, type NUSRMGR.CPL and press Enter. Voila! You have just gained graphical access to your User Accounts in the Control Panel.

12. Now simply pick the account you need to change and remove or change your password as you prefer. If you want to log on without having to enter your new password, you can type control userpasswords2 at the prompt and choose to log on without being asked for password. After you've made your changes close the windows, exit the command box and continue on with the Repair (have your Product key handy).

13. Once the Repair is done, you will be able to log on with your new password (or without a password if you chose not to use one or if you chose not to be asked for a password). Your programs and personalized settings should remain intact.

Create AHCI ICH8M SATA Driver in Floppy Disk

2009-01-14T23:53:00.000-08:00

Please follow the Windows Installation prompt to eject the floppy disc before the system reboots.

When the system reboots for the first and subsequent times during Windows installation from a CD, you may see a prompt to "Press any key to boot from CD." DO NOT PRESS a key at this point, as the OS installation will have already copied the needed installation files to your hard drive, and needs to be booted from your hard drive during this portion of the install routine.

10. During Windows setup, create a partition and file system on the hardware-based RAID 0 or RAID 1 volume or AHCI-enabled hard drive as you would any physical disk.

The size of the RAID 0 (striped) volume is the combined capacity of the two Serial ATA (SATA) disk drives if they are of the same capacity. If they differ in capacity, your RAID 0 volume will be twice the size of the smaller of the two SATA disk drives. If you have a RAID 1 (mirrored) array, the size of the RAID 1 volume is only the capacity of one of the two Serial ATA (SATA) disk drives if they are of the same capacity. If they differ in capacity, your RAID 1 volume will be the size of the smaller of the two SATA disk drives.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

When clicking on the file link, It is preferable to save the file to your hard drive when prompted to open the file from it's current location or save it. You can then click the downloaded file and go through the installation routine as prompted by the file.

32-bit drivers:
(Most users will use these.)
File: f6flpy32.exe (351 KB)
64-bit drivers:
(Be sure you are running a 64-bit operating system version.*)
File: f6flpy64.exe (380 KB)

Computer Models Supported:

Bistro955
has ICH7R (RAID or AHCI)
Bistro965
has ICH8R (RAID or AHCI)
Tapa-G33
has ICH9R (RAID or AHCI)
Bistro-P35
has ICH9R (RAID or AHCI)
Flava-P35
has ICH9R (RAID or AHCI)
Flava-X38
has ICH9R (RAID or AHCI)

For earlier Intel®-based systems, please go here.

Operating Systems Supported: Windows XP Home

Windows XP Professional (32-bit/64-bit)
Windows 2000 Advanced Server
Windows Server 2003
Windows Media Center Edition
Windows Vista (32-bit/64-bit)

Intel® Chipset Support:

Chipset must be using one of the following Intel® Controller Hubs:

Desktop ICH9R
Mobile ICH8M-E/M
Desktop ICH8R
Server/Workstation ESB2
Mobile ICH7M/DH
Desktop ICH7R/DH
Mobile ICH6M

For earlier Intel®-based systems, please go here.

Hard Drive Requirements:

2 or more SATA drives installed for SATA RAID or
1 or more SATA drives connected to the onboard Intel® Controller Hub SATA ports for advanced capabilities non-RAID (AHCI) operation

Driver Version: 7.8.0.1012

For additional information: Please visit the Intel® website

*To find out if you are running the 32-bit or 64-bit edition of the Windows Vista™ or Windows® XP operating system:

For Windows Vista

1. Click Start and then click Computer.
2. From the menu bar, click System properties to view basic information about your computer.
3. Under System, see System type for details.

For Windows XP

Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
In the System Properties dialog box, click the General tab.
Under Computer:, you will find system type details.
NOTE: If your computer is running the 64-bit edition, “64-bit Edition” will appear at the end of your operating system; otherwise, your computer is running the 32-bit edition.

3. Ensure that the following 8 files are located on the root directory of your floppy disk:

*iaahci.cat
*iaahci.inf
*iastor.cat
*iastor.inf
*iastor.sys
*license.txt
*readme.txt
*txtsetup.oem

4. Label the floppy disc you've just created "Intel Matrix Storage Manager Driver Diskette".

5. At the beginning of the operating system setup, press F6 to install a third party SCSI or RAID driver (Windows XP) or if prompted during a Windows Vista installation. Note: This prompt for Windows XP appears at the beginning of the installation routine and only appears for a few moments, so watch for it closely. Setup will temporarily continue loading drivers and then you will be presented with a message stating, 'Setup could not determine the type of one or more mass storage devices installed in your system'. You will then be prompted with a screen to load support for mass storage device(s).

6. When prompted, select 'S' to Specify Additional Device.

7. When prompted, insert the floppy disk you created and press enter.

8. At this point you should be presented with a selection of one or more of the following, depending upon your particular system:

*Intel(R) ICH9 SATA AHCIController (Desktop ICH9R)
*Intel(R) 82801HEM SATA RAID Controller (Mobile ICH8M-E)
*Intel(R) 82801HEM/HBM SATA AHCI Controller (Mobile ICH8M-E/M)
*Intel(R) ICH8R/ICH9R SATA RAID Controller
*Intel(R) 82801HR/HH/HO SATA AHCI Controller (Desktop ICH8R)
*Intel(R) 631xESB/632xESB SATA RAID Controller (Server/Workstation ESB2)
*Intel(R) 631xESB/632xESB SATA AHCI Controller (Server/Workstation ESB2)
*Intel(R) 82801GHM SATA RAID Controller (Mobile ICH7MDH)
*Intel(R) 82801GR/GH SATA RAID Controller (Desktop ICH7R/DH)
*Intel(R) 82801GR/GH SATA AHCI Controller (Desktop ICH7R/DH)
*Intel(R) 82801GBM SATA AHCI Controller (Mobile ICH7M/DH)
*Intel(R) 82801FBM SATA AHCI Controller (Mobile ICH6M)

Highlight the selection that matches your particular hardware configuration and intended use (RAID or AHCI), then press enter (see below for the correct controller applicable for your particular system.)

9. Press enter again to continue. Leave the floppy disk in the system until the next reboot as the software will need to be copied from the floppy disk again when setup is copying files.

How To Download Bittorrent Files

2009-01-14T23:42:00.000-08:00

What is BitTorrent in Plain English?

BitTorrent is a program you download. It is similar to a peer-to-peer file sharing service. Basically it goes like this: You download the installer. You get the link to a file that ends in .torrent and enter that URL into your browser (preferably Internet Explorer). This opens the BitTorrent download window. It starts downloading the file, or episode that you wanted (eg. alias2x01.torrent). As it downloads, it uploads the parts that you have to other people so many people can get it at once. When you've finished downloading the file, you can leave the window open (don't press finish or close the window) and other people can still download from you. This is very much encouraged.

I'm new to all this. How do I download with BitTorrent???

First we need to download and install a BitTorrent client

Official client 3.3
CODE
http://www.bitconjurer.org/BitTorrent/index.html

Experimental client 3.2.1b-2
CODE
http://ei.kefro.st/projects/btclient

TheShad0w Experimental S-5.8.3
CODE
http://home.elp.rr.com/tur

Azureus 2.0.3.0
CODE
http://azureus.sourceforge.net/

burst! RC5d
CODE
http://krypt.dyndns.org:81/torrent/download.phtml
BT++ 0.5.4 alpha [code]http://btplusplus.sourceforge.net

Shareaza 1.8.9.22
CODE
http://www.shareaza.com

Nova Torrent 0.2.0
CODE
http://blackflaw.dyndns.org

SimpleBT 0.1.9
CODE
http://sourceforge.net/projects/simplebt

BitAnarch 1.0.5a
CODE
http://sourceforge.net/projects/bitanarch/

Personal Torrent Collector 0.8.2.2
CODE
http://ptc.sourceforge.net

Effusion 0.3.3 beta
CODE
http://www.azrael-uk.f2s.com/az/effusion

Snark 0.5 beta
CODE
http://www.klomp.org/snark

ByteTorrent 0.95
CODE
http://sourceforge.net/projects/bytetorrent/

ABC 2.5
CODE
http://pingpong-abc.sourceforge.net

Note:

If you?re client freezes during D/Ls, it?s a problem with you?re network card or modem, this happens when you connect to more peers than you?re card or modem can handle & windows shuts it down. There is a cure. Shad0ws Experimental client allows you to set how many incoming peers to allow.

All about BT:
CODE
http://www.dessent.net/btfaq/#now_what

How to D/L Torrent files

BitTorrent is not like other peer-to-peer applications (such as Winmx, Kazaa, Gnutella, etc.) in that it does not have its own \"universe.\" Put another way, BT lives on top of the Web, which means that all of the searching/listing of available files is done on the web. When you find a file you want to download, you click on it and the BitTorrent client program will run and ask you where to put it, and then start downloading. Or you save target as. Save the file somewhere then click on it when you?re ready to start the D/L.

It doesn't do anything it says:
Problem connecting to tracker - timeout exceeded
Problem connecting to tracker - HTTP Error 503: Connect failed
Problem connecting to tracker - [Error socket error] (10061, \" Connection refused\")
Problem connecting to tracker - (111, \'Connection refused\'

Generally just wait ... this normally means that the \'Tracker\' is maybe too busy. Leave your window open and it will try to connect every 2 minutes or so.

Note: BT dose resume downloads, just click the torrent file again when you are ready to resume the D/L and save it to same place as the original. All clients have an option for default D/L directory. I suggest setting this option.

My speed is always very slow!!!!!!!!!!

Speeds can be real slow if your one of the below, they all can bet set to allow BT in and out

#1 behind a firewall
#2 behind a router
#3 on a network
#4 Xps firewall is enabled

ports 6881 thru 6999 need to be open to get good speeds

If you need info on bit torrent and how to set it up with a firewall or router

CODE
http://knowbuddy.dyndns.org/torrent/btclientconfig.html

Get general info on how torrent works and how it uses ports

CODE
http://knowbuddy.dyndns.org/torrent/btclientconfig.html

http://www.dessent.net/btfaq/

Where do I get torrent files???

Suprnova mirrors are the best site?s, updated every 20 minutes.

CODE
http://www.suprnova.org

There are others you can use here is another one:
CODE
http://www.torrentbox.com

Places to find other torrent sites
CODE
http://torrentlinks.com/index.php?action=displaycat&catid=10
http://members.chello.nl/~p.wiersema/
http://home.quicknet.nl/qn/prive/romeria/bittorrentsites.htm

Torrent Search engine
CODE
http://novasearch.net/

Keeping up with the torrent network
CODE
http://www.digital-update.com/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=163113
http://www.filesoup.com/phpBB2/index.php
http://www.lickmytaint.com/
http://suprnova.org/

PeerGuardian

What does PeerGuardian actually do?

PeerGuardian does two things to help P2P users. The first is the obvious one, it closes connections on certain IP addresses. The second is that it optionally logs all connections made to your computer. The reason for this is so that if you do use PeerGuardian but still get sent a legal threat, you can cross-reference the date/time of the alleged infringement with the log. This gives us a list of IPs, one of which will be the IP that's doing the busting. It's basically to help us identify which IPs are doing the busting and weren't known to PeerGuardian before. - Hope that makes sense.

Is PeerGuardian 100% Protection?

CERTAINLY NOT!!! - PeerGuardian relies on users sharing information to stay up to date. It IS contributory to protection and (I'm not trying to blow my own trumpet here!!) it seems to be the most up-to-date and open database of this nature on the internet (as far as I know). The more people who are using full-logging and report the relevant IPs when they get a C&D threat (see above paragraph), the more people we can save. ANONYMOUS P2P is the way ahead IMHO, PeerGuardian isn't 100% effective.. I've NEVER claimed that and never will and I look forward to the day that PG (not just the app, more.. the database and communication between p2p'ers on blocking IPs) becomes totally redundant. I'm just trying to help supply the next-best thing until we get to that stage.

I use PeerGuardian and have still been sent a legal threat.

What do I do?

First of all, stop sharing the file you got busted with. If you're worried, try sharing older/rarer files. If you share Bourne Identity, Terminator 3 and a load of Busta Rhymes mp3s after being busted, you'll be asking for trouble. Second thing to do, check the "full connection log" in PeerGuardian. (you did have it enabled didn't you?) - Work out the difference in timezones on the infringement warning and cross-reference it with the log. From this you should be able to identify a handful of IPs. Either post that list to the PG forums for one of our admins/moderators/members to investigate or investigate it yourself and post the p2p enemy IP to the on-line database. - There are plans to automate this whole process in the future.

CODE
http://www.peerguardian.net/

Well it isn't really much of a tutorial but I spent a lot of time on this so please help me out if it is wrong.

How to do a high Quality DivX rip

2009-01-14T23:36:00.001-08:00

First and foremost, go to

http://www.doom9.org

and go to their downloads section.
get the following files:
under Audio:
Besweet
Besweet GUI

Under Codecs:
DivX 5.2.1 Pro

Under Divx/Mpeg-4 encoders:
Nandub 1.0RC2

then get this:
http://www.dvd-digest.tv/downloads/files/virtualdub/vdub_pack-145.exe
alternatively, get any version of virtualdub that includes mp3 support.

these are all the required tools, there are ways with fewer items, but they produce very inferior outputs. Besides, after you get used to it, the whole process is really easy.

Okay, first and foremost, pull out Nandub. This is the step that takes the longest, as well as where you will make most of your decisions. I am going to assume that you are making a 1 cd rip. If you do what is in this faq, there won't be much reason to do anything else. Twisted Evil

First of all, run Nandub . It will pop up a dialogue box, and want to know if you are making a new project or resuming an old. New, of course. Give it a name and tell fairuse where you want it to store its data. Fairuse is about to rip the entire movie to your harddrive(nice if you want to go rent a movie and return it the next day).

Then it will ask for your DVD drive with a dvd in it. give it. Then, select which video stream you want. This is usually pretty obvious as the movie stream is the one that is an hour or so long. If there are two of these, check out the other tags. which languages and so on. worst case senario is that you have to trial and error. but that is rare. choose the long stream and hit next.

This is where Nandub rips everything to your hard drive. depending on the speed of various components in your computer, and the length of the movie, this could take a while. let it finish. and then move on.

Once all that is done, the really important screen pops up. this is where you set resolutions and video length. first, cut off the ending credits with the slider, but DO NOT mess with the beginning, as the sound and video frames need to start at the same point for sync. Then hit auto set for the cropping region, this is usually just fine. Then decide whether or not you want subtitles, which would be the subpicture stream. When you're done, hit next.

Set the field mode to IVTC. This will give you better quality for size, as it runs at 24 frames instead of 30, due to the nature of divx, there won't be any noticeable difference in quality, but 6 less frames to deal with each second(and to store data for) really add up. Besides this is the correct mode for all movies anyway. NExt.

This is where you set FINAL file size, including audio, for 1 cd rip, set to 690, for 2, set to double that. Then follow the directions they give you and choose a final resolution that has between a 120:1 and 150:1 (if possible, sometimes the movie is compression ratio. NEXT!

This screen is where you determine quality. The autoadd button is usefull, and will give you decent quality, with 4 encodings. What this does is encode the movie 4 times, and then mix the frames to creat the final encoding, with the most efficient possible encoding for each frame. which is how we get bad ass quality for a single cd. I usually go for 8 encodings, as on my athlon 1600+ this rarely takes more than 8 hours to do, so I just go to sleep, wake up, and its done.

Then add the audio encoding that you want.

Hit next.
And let the bastard fly. Depending on what you set, and your computer, this could take from a few hours to a few days. CPU's of 1.2Ghz+ are nice right about here. You can do stuff while this is going on, but it makes things take much longer.

In the end you will have a bunch of encodings in the folder you specified at the beginning, the 4+ you chose and the final. You will also have an AC3 stream. Take the final AVI and toss it someplace to await the rest of the audio work you have to do, and you can erase the other encodings, freeing up a few gigs in the process of space.

NEXT: AUDIO

Ok, this is where Besweet comes in.

Extract BeSweet and the GUI into the same folder. Now Run the GUI.

At the top there are three fields. One for BeSweet which you should point at the besweet.exe that you should have unzipped to the same directory you are running the Gui from, A field for the AC3 stream, which is in the folder where you sent the encoded video from Fairuse, and an output mp3. The output mp3 has to be an existing file, so make a text file, rename it (yourmovie).mp3 and just say yeah, its cool to change the extension and make things weird. besweet will overwrite it so don't worry. point the third field at that file. The default values for stuff should be fine. but to make sure go to Azid 1(on the left) and select stereo, and then go to Lame 2 and select constant bit rate, and 128(assuming that is what you want). then click on besweet again, and finally, click on AC3 to MP3.

Let the bastard fly.

Now. When its done you should have an mp3 that is the entire soundtrack for the movie. This is where virtualdub comes in. run the virtualdub mp3 version. go to File:open video file and select the final encoding that you had from way back. Then go to audio and select mp3 audio. it will ask you for the file, give it the mp3. Go to audio again and make sure direct stream copy is selected. Then go to video and make sure that direct stream copy is also selected. Finally go to file again and SAVE AVI. give it a file name and let the bastard fly. This final file is your movie. Beautiful and glorious. Congratulations, its a DivX rip. Aren't you proud. burn to cd, and give copies to all your friends.

Note: These is a RIP

How to Disable Picture and Fax Viewer

2009-01-14T23:33:00.000-08:00

We all know that WinXP likes to keep itself held together, and how it doesnt like you uninstalling certain components. Well The Picture and Fax Viewer, is one of these programs which can cause problems if removed incorrectly. It can be disabled safely as follows:

[Start] [Run] type regedit and click [OK]

Navigate to :

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/ SystemFileAssociations/ image/ ShellEx/ ContextMenuHandlers

then delete the Folder ShellImagePreview under ContextMenuHandlers

Note: If you want to restore the Picture and Fax Viewer :

Create the ShellImagePreview folder and create the String Value (Default)
Assign it the value {e84fda7c-1d6a-45f6-b725-cb260c236066}

NOTE: This tweak doesnt uninstall the program. It removes the association and therefore it cannot be run.

How To Go Directly To Inbox, Compose in Hotmail

2009-01-14T23:30:00.000-08:00

FOR HOTMAIL OR MSN EMAIL USERS

sometimes just checking the hotmail website to check your hotmail or msn email is quicker than opening your email client.. and this method is a sure-fire way to make checking your email very quick and easy.. i would suggest making a seperate folder in your bookmark list and add this links into that folder to make checking your multiple folders in hotmail very accessible with one single click.

FIRST go to hotmail.com and log in. make sure you set it to automatically sign you in.. (i guess only for ppl that have a computer all to themselves )

afterwards try going to this link

you might have to update your links every now and then but work fine for the most part..

CODE
http://hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/HoTMaiL?

use this for your inbox

CODE
http://hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/compose?

use this for 'compose message'

CODE
http://hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/options?

options of course

CODE
http://hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/addresses?

contact list etc.

if you have customized folders you can link directly to those as well

just click on one of your custom folders and copy the url..

should look something like the following...

/http://hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/HoTMaiL?a=abcdefghijklmnop&curmbox=F123456789

delete the 'yellow' portion above to change the url into this...

CODE
http://hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/HoTMaiL?&curmbox=F123456789

bookmark this link.

that should make your bookmark permanent with no "RESEND POST DATA" messages..

enjoy

How To Customize START Button

2009-01-14T23:27:00.000-08:00

First you need a tool called "Resource Hacker". This free program allows you to change resources in any .exe file such as "Explorer.exe", which includes the [Start] button's Label. You can visit Download.com and search there for "Resource Hacker".

After you download it, follow the guide here:

Step 1:

A - Run "Resource Hacker" and open the file "%windir%\Explorer.exe".
B - You see a Tree of all Resources in this file, expand the "String Table"
C - Find the "start" and replace it with your own text. then press the [Compile Script] button.
D - Save "Explorer.exe" as "MyStart.exe" DONT save it as Explorer.exe, do "save as.." and give it a new name.
E - Quit "Resource Hacker".

Step 2:

A - Click on the [Start] button and choose the "Run..." item from the start menu. (Or use the shortcut key WinKey+R)
B - Type "RegEdit" in the Run "Dialog Box". And then press the [Ok] buton to run the "Registry Editor" program.
C - Go to: "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" and find the "Shell" property.
D - Replace value of the "Shell" property to "MyStart.exe".
E - Quit "Registry Editor".
F - Restart your system.

Note about Registry Editor:
if you did not find the key "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon", you can search the Registry for the "Explorer.exe", to do this use the Edit Menu Find Next (Ctrl+F).

AmirBehzad Eslami's site has a handy tool for altering your start button, which makes life much easier, you can find his site here:
h**p://www.startbtn.main-page.com

How to copy songs from your iPod to your PC

2009-01-14T23:26:00.001-08:00

HOW TO COPY A DVD WHICH WILL PLAY ON A X BOX

2009-01-14T23:25:00.001-08:00

TOOLS YOU WILL NEED:

DVD decrypter
DAEMON TOOLS
DVD2ONE
NERO 5.5.10 or above.

1. Rip the DVD in ISO mode with DVD decrypter to your hdd.
(mode=ISO-read)

2. Right click DEAMON TOOLS icon on your desktop
virtual cd/dvd rom
Device 0 [k] no media
Mount Image - ISO file

3. Make a main folder ( title MOVIE ) on your desktop.
make 2 subfolders in it VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS

4. Open DVD2ONE. choose movie only or entire disc.
source - drive you mounted in step 2 (VIDEO_TS)
Destination - VIDEO_TS folder you created in step 3.
start

5. DEAMON TOOLS - unmount the drive you made in step 2.
you can now delete the ISO file to save disc space

6. open NERO
close wizard
New Compilation DVD
Left Column (DVDROM/UDF/ISO)
No Multisession
UHF check Force DVD compatability (required for x box)
Label ( NAME OF MOVIE ) ALL CAPITAL LETTERS
Click New
drag over the VIDEO_TS FOLDER and AUDIO_TS folder you made
BURN

How To Convert File System, fat - fat32 to ntfs

2009-01-14T23:24:00.001-08:00

open a dos prompt and give the command

convert d: /fs:ntfs

this command would convert your d: drive to ntfs.

if the system cannot lock the drive, you will be prompted to convert it during next reboot.

Normally you should select yes.

Conversion from fat/fat32 to ntfs is non-destructive, your data on the drive will NOT be lost.

Be aware that converting to ntfs will make that partition of your
drive unreadable under dos unless you have ntfs utilites to do so.

How To Change Thumbnail Size and Quality

2009-01-14T23:23:00.001-08:00

If any of you out there like to use the thumbnail view, especially for browsing through photos and images, it can become a bit of a drain on your system. It is possible to lower the thumbnail size and quality by editing the following registry keys.

Open the registry and navigate to :

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ Software\ Microsoft \ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Explorer

Create a new DWORD value called ThumbnailSize, and set the value between 32 and 256.

And/or create another DWORD value called ThumbnailQuality, and set the value between 50 and 100.

Key Details :

USER Key: [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ Software\ Microsoft \ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Explorer]
Value Name: ThumbnailSize
Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value)
Data Value: 32 - 256

USER Key: [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ Software\ Microsoft \ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Explorer]
Value Name: ThumbnailQuality
Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value)
Data Value: 50 - 100

How To Change The Serial Number Used in Windows XP

2009-01-14T23:20:00.001-08:00

Step 1

Open Start/Run... and type the command:
regedit and click "OK" (or press ENTER).

Go to HKey_Local_Machine\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\Current Version\WPAEvents,
on the right double click on "oobetimer" and change at least one digit of this value to deactivate windows.

Click "OK" and close the Registry Editor.

Step 2

Open Start/Run... and type the command:
%systemroot%\system32\oobe\msoobe.exe /a and click "OK" (or press ENTER).

This will bring up the "Activate Windows" window.

Check the option for "Yes, I want to telephone a customer service representative to activate Windows" and click "Next"

Step 3

Then click "Change Product Key" (don't enter any information on that screen)

Step 4

Type in the new key and click "Update"

The activate Windows by phone window will reappear at this point, just close it by clicking the X in the upper right hand corner

Step 5

Reboot your system and Open Start/Run... and type the command:
%systemroot%\system32\oobe\msoobe.exe /a and click "OK" (or press ENTER).

If you see "Windows is already activated" then everything is OK.

How To Change The Serial Number Used in Windows XP

2009-01-14T23:20:00.000-08:00

How To Change CMOS Battery

2009-01-14T23:16:00.000-08:00

First the safety rules

The inside of a computer is a bad place full of electricity and sharp edges.
On the electricity side always when working on you computer make sure that it’s still plugged in to the power socket and the power is turned off, this is to ensure that any static
From you is discharged through the earth. The inside of most computer cases are unfinished metal and has very sharp edges so be careful.

The first signs of a battery failing are:-

1) your clock starts running slowly
2) when you boot (start) your computer it has a problem finding your hardware (no hard drive, no cd rom)

To change the battery you need the following tools

1) a X-point screwdriver
2) an anti-static strap(optional)
3) a new battery (seems logical)

Then unplug all the cables from the back of the computer as you remove them make a note where they came from. (So when you finished you can put them back)

Move the computer somewhere where you can work on it with ease

Remove the cover by locating the screws around the outer edge (back) of the computer, Some computer cases only require you to remove 2 screws on one side then a panel can be removed allowing you access to the computers insides, others you must remove 6 screws and remove the whole case by sliding it to the rear and lifting it off.

Now make sure that you read the safety instructions about static.
Look inside you will see a round silver thing that looks about the size of a 10p piece (quarter). This is the battery itself, carefully lift the retaining clip and slide the battery out. That’s it removed now go to your local computer retailer, electrical retailer (Tandy/Radio shack) taking the old battery with you and get a new battery.

Back to your computer insert the new battery by lifting the clip and sliding the battery in.

Reinstall your case and plug all the cables back (you did remember to label them didn’t you)

Now for the fun part.

You will now need to go into you bios….

Right the bios is the god of your computer.

To access it, when your computer first starts you will see a black screen with white text.

If you look carefully you will see a line that says something like "press del for setup" or some other key (F2 or ESC or tab) this will take you to god's house where you can make lots of changes to the way your machine works.

It is also the place where you can make your nice computer in to a rather expensive door stop so be careful and don’t go playing with anything.

You will now be presented with a blue screen with a lot of options on it,
The one we want is load optimised/default settings.

Press the F10 key and type y the computer should now reboot.

If every thing went well then your computer will now be up and running.

Shizers way: Keep computer running. Lay it on it's side and remove side cover to expose MoBo. Take any thin object, "small screwdriver, knife point, wood shiskabob skewer. Pull back the battery retaining clip. Toss the old battery in the junk recepticle, unless you belong to greenpeace and want to save the earth. Install the new battery. No need to reset bios becasue the compter supplies voltage to the cmos while it is running. Reset or resync clock with internet. Done!

HOW TO CAPTURE STREAMING MEDIA

2009-01-14T23:14:00.000-08:00

Many websites (http://ww.smashits.com) stream songs and videos
people believe they cannot be downloaded, quite why i dont know. they kinda think there is no file present to dwnld

once the file is located it can then be retrieved by nettransport
nettransport is able to dwnld any file whether ftp or rtsp etc

1. Download Project URL Snooper 1.02.01 from http://rain66.at.infoseek.co.jp/
2. Install URL Snooper (and WinPcap together)
3. Don't run URL Snooper when it is done installing
4. Restart computer
5. Open Project URL Snooper
6. Click on the General Options Tab
7. user posted image
8. Chose a network adapter
9. Now click on the search tab
10. Click Sniff Network
11. Go to a webpage and you should see some results in the results list
12. If nothing is appearing then chose another network adapter, until one works

13. Now you are ready to begin searching
14. Click the "Hide Non-Streaming URLs" option to hide all http:// references and only show URLs corresponding to streaming audio/video (rtsp, pnm, wma, etc.)
15. Then click Sniff Network
16. Your links should appear as you begin streaming your file
17. Select your desired stream user posted image
18. usually rm file user posted image
19. On the bottom there should be the link which you simply copy user posted image

20. Download nettransport from here ftp://down_transport:123@s1.5fox.com/NT2Setup_multi.EXE or
ftp://nettransport:nettransport@61.153.24...Setup_multi.EXE
http://lycos26486.l97.lycos.com.cn/download.htm

21. Install it
22. Click on new
23. Paste link

now you should be able to download any file
I think dialups may have problems

How to Bypass BIOS Passwords

2009-01-14T23:10:00.000-08:00

BIOS passwords can add an extra layer of security for desktop and laptop computers. They are used to either prevent a user from changing the BIOS settings or to prevent the PC from booting without a password. Unfortunately, BIOS passwords can also be a liability if a user forgets their password, or changes the password to intentionally lock out the corporate IT department. Sending the unit back to the manufacturer to have the BIOS reset can be expensive and is usually not covered in the warranty. Never fear, all is not lost. There are a few known backdoors and other tricks of the trade that can be used to bypass or reset the BIOS

DISCLAIMER
This article is intended for IT Professionals and systems administrators with experience servicing computer hardware. It is not intended for home users, hackers, or computer thieves attempting to crack the password on a stolen PC. Please do not attempt any of these procedures if you are unfamiliar with computer hardware, and please use this information responsibly. LabMice.net is not responsible for the use or misuse of this material, including loss of data, damage to hardware, or personal injury.

Before attempting to bypass the BIOS password on a computer, please take a minute to contact the hardware manufacturer support staff directly and ask for their recommended methods of bypassing the BIOS security. In the event the manufacturer cannot (or will not) help you, there are a number of methods that can be used to bypass or reset the BIOS password yourself. They include:

Using a manufacturers backdoor password to access the BIOS

Use password cracking software

Reset the CMOS using the jumpers or solder beads.

Removing the CMOS battery for at least 10 minutes

Overloading the keyboard buffer

Using a professional service

Please remember that most BIOS passwords do not protect the hard drive, so if you need to recover the data, simply remove the hard drive and install it in an identical system, or configure it as a slave drive in an existing system. The exception to this are laptops, especially IBM Thinkpads, which silently lock the hard drive if the supervisor password is enabled. If the supervisor password is reset without resetting the and hard drive as well, you will be unable to access the data on the drive.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Backdoor passwords

Many BIOS manufacturers have provided backdoor passwords that can be used to access the BIOS setup in the event you have lost your password. These passwords are case sensitive, so you may wish to try a variety of combinations. Keep in mind that the key associated to "_" in the US keyboard corresponds to "?" in some European keyboards. Laptops typically have better BIOS security than desktop systems, and we are not aware of any backdoor passwords that will work with name brand laptops.

WARNING: Some BIOS configurations will lock you out of the system completely if you type in an incorrect password more than 3 times. Read your manufacturers documentation for the BIOS setting before you begin typing in passwords

Award BIOS backdoor passwords:

ALFAROME ALLy aLLy aLLY ALLY aPAf _award AWARD_SW AWARD?SW AWARD SW AWARD PW AWKWARD awkward BIOSTAR CONCAT CONDO Condo d8on djonet HLT J64 J256 J262 j332 j322 KDD Lkwpeter LKWPETER PINT pint SER SKY_FOX SYXZ syxz shift + syxz TTPTHA ZAAADA ZBAAACA ZJAAADC 01322222
589589 589721 595595 598598

AMI BIOS backdoor passwords:

AMI AAAMMMIII BIOS PASSWORD HEWITT RAND AMI?SW AMI_SW LKWPETER A.M.I. CONDO

PHOENIX BIOS backdoor passwords:

phoenix, PHOENIX, CMOS, BIOS

MISC. COMMON PASSWORDS

ALFAROME BIOSTAR biostar biosstar CMOS cmos LKWPETER lkwpeter setup SETUP Syxz Wodj

OTHER BIOS PASSWORDS BY MANUFACTURER

Manufacturer Password
VOBIS & IBM merlin
Dell Dell
Biostar Biostar
Compaq Compaq
Enox xo11nE
Epox central
Freetech Posterie
IWill iwill
Jetway spooml
Packard Bell bell9
QDI QDI
Siemens SKY_FOX
TMC BIGO
Toshiba Toshiba

TOSHIBA BIOS

Most Toshiba laptops and some desktop systems will bypass the BIOS password if the left shift key is held down during boot

IBM APTIVA BIOS

Press both mouse buttons repeatedly during the boot

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Password cracking software

The following software can be used to either crack or reset the BIOS on many chipsets. If your PC is locked with a BIOS administrator password that will not allow access to the floppy drive, these utilities may not work. Also, since these utilities do not come from the manufacturer, use them cautiously and at your own risk.

Cmos password recovery tools 3.1
!BIOS (get the how-to article)
RemPass
KILLCMOS

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Using the Motherboard "Clear CMOS" Jumper or Dipswitch settings

Many motherboards feature a set of jumpers or dipswitches that will clear the CMOS and wipe all of the custom settings including BIOS passwords. The locations of these jumpers / dipswitches will vary depending on the motherboard manufacturer and ideally you should always refer to the motherboard or computer manufacturers documentation. If the documentation is unavailable, the jumpers/dipswitches can sometimes be found along the edge of the motherboard, next to the CMOS battery, or near the processor. Some manufacturers may label the jumper / dipswitch CLEAR - CLEAR CMOS - CLR - CLRPWD - PASSWD - PASSWORD - PWD. On laptop computers, the dipswitches are usually found under the keyboard or within a compartment at the bottom of the laptop.
Please remember to unplug your PC and use a grounding strip before reaching into your PC and touching the motherboard. Once you locate and rest the jumper switches, turn the computer on and check if the password has been cleared. If it has, turn the computer off and return the jumpers or dipswitches to its original position.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Removing the CMOS Battery

The CMOS settings on most systems are buffered by a small battery that is attached to the motherboard. (It looks like a small watch battery). If you unplug the PC and remove the battery for 10-15 minutes, the CMOS may reset itself and the password should be blank. (Along with any other machine specific settings, so be sure you are familiar with manually reconfiguring the BIOS settings before you do this.) Some manufacturers backup the power to the CMOS chipset by using a capacitor, so if your first attempt fails, leave the battery out (with the system unplugged) for at least 24 hours. Some batteries are actually soldered onto the motherboard making this task more difficult. Unsoldering the battery incorrectly may damage your motherboard and other components, so please don't attempt this if you are inexperienced. Another option may be to remove the CMOS chip from the motherboard for a period of time.
Note: Removing the battery to reset the CMOS will not work for all PC's, and almost all of the newer laptops store their BIOS passwords in a manner which does not require continuous power, so removing the CMOS battery may not work at all. IBM Thinkpad laptops lock the hard drive as well as the BIOS when the supervisor password is set. If you reset the BIOS password, but cannot reset the hard drive password, you may not be able to access the drive and it will remain locked, even if you place it in a new laptop. IBM Thinkpads have special jumper switches on the motherboard, and these should be used to reset the system.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Overloading the KeyBoard Buffer

On some older computer systems, you can force the CMOS to enter its setup screen on boot by overloading the keyboard buffer. This can be done by booting with the keyboard or mouse unattached to the systems, or on some systems by hitting the ESC key over 100 times in rapid succession.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jumping the Solder Beads on the CMOS

It is also possible to reset the CMOS by connecting or "jumping" specific solder beads on the chipset. There are too many chipsets to do a breakdown of which points to jump on individual chipsets, and the location of these solder beads can vary by manufacturer, so please check your computer and motherboard documentation for details. This technique is not recommended for the inexperienced and should be only be used as a "last ditch" effort.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Using a professional service

If the manufacturer of the laptop or desktop PC can't or won't reset the BIOS password, you still have the option of using a professional service. Password Crackers, Inc., offers a variety of services for desktop and laptop computers for between $100 and $400. For most of these services, you'll need to provide some type of legitimate proof of ownership. This may be difficult if you've acquired the computer second hand or from an online auction.

How To Boot Up Window XP Faster

2009-01-14T23:02:00.000-08:00

First of all, this tweak only apply to those who only have one HDD on their primary IDE channel (nothing else on device 0 or 1) and a CD-ROM and/or DVD-ROM on the secondary IDE channel. Each time you boot Windows XP, there's an updated file called NTOSBOOT-*.pf who appears in your prefetch directory (%SystemRoot%Prefetch) and there's no need to erease any other files as the new prefetch option in XP really improves loading time of installed programs. We only want WindowsXP to boot faster and not decrease its performance. Thanks to Rod Cahoon (for the prefetch automation process...with a minor change of mine) and Zeb for the IDE Channel tweak as those two tricks, coupled together with a little modification, result in an EXTREMELY fast bootup:

1. Open notepad.exe, type "del c:windowsprefetch tosboot-*.* /q" (without the quotes) & save as "ntosboot.bat" in c:
2. From the Start menu, select "Run..." & type "gpedit.msc".
3. Double click "Windows Settings" under "Computer Configuration" and double click again on "Shutdown" in the right window.
4. In the new window, click "add", "Browse", locate your "ntosboot.bat" file & click "Open".
5. Click "OK", "Apply" & "OK" once again to exit.
6. From the Start menu, select "Run..." & type "devmgmt.msc".
7. Double click on "IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers"
8. Right click on "Primary IDE Channel" and select "Properties".
9. Select the "Advanced Settings" tab then on the device 0 or 1 that doesn't have 'device type' greyed out select 'none' instead of 'autodetect' & click "OK".
10. Right click on "Secondary IDE channel", select "Properties" and repeat step 9.
11. Reboot your computer.

WindowsXP should now boot REALLY faster.

How To Block Websties Without Software

2009-01-14T22:59:00.000-08:00

Steps:

1] Browse C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc
2] Find the file named "HOSTS"
3] Open it in notepad
4] Under "127.0.0.1 localhost" Add 127.0.0.2 www.sitenameyouwantblocked.com , and that site will no longer be accessable.
5] Done!

-So-

127.0.0.1 localhost
127.0.0.2 www.blockedsite.com

-->www.blockedsite.com is now unaccessable<--

For every site after that you want to add, just add "1" to the last number in the internal ip (127.0.0.2) and then the addy like before.

IE: 127.0.0.3 www.blablabla.com
127.0.0.4 www.blablabla.com
127.0.0.5 www.blablabla.com

etc

How To Backup PS2 Games

2009-01-14T21:45:00.000-08:00

Hi guys...here I found a tutorial from other Foum:
INFO: Text didn't write by me!

Okay, these are some methods to backup PS2 titles and Xbox titles, in order to play a backup you need a modchip of some sort, I have also included a tutorial on boot methods. Follow any one of these instructions to fit your needs. You can tell what format the PS2 title is by looking at the written side of the disc, DVD's are Silver and CD's are Purple. The DVD backup methods here consist of reading the image to the hard drive then burning it to the media for an easier backup, this depends on your hardware and it?s setup. I say that because the proper setup would be to have the Reader and Writer on separate IDE cables. This allows no cross information when doing Disc to Disc/On the fly copying. But, since most people would not know how to check or fix this, I suggest reading the image to your Hard Drive and then burning from there. *A little useful trick*, If the DVD backup "image" is small enough in size you can fit it onto a CD-R (80 minute or larger if need be) instead of using a more expensive DVD-R. I have done this succesfully using Prassi and the first tutorial for it below. In addition a DVD Movie backup will play on a PS2/Xbox without a chip. As I get more info I will update. Dexter

PS1/PS2 CD backup tutorials

Using CloneCD (v4.x.xx) for PS1/PS2

1. Start CloneCD
2. Select "Copy CD"
3. Select your Reader, press Next
4. Select "Game CD", press Next
5. Select/Deselect your options here (on the fly, cue or delete) then press Next
6. Select your Writer, press Next
7. Select your burn speed and "Game CD"
8. Press "OK" to begin

Using Alcohol 120% for PS1/PS2

1. Start Alcohol 120%
2. Select ?Copy Wizard?
3. Select your Reader & Read Speed
4. Select or Deselect ?Copy current disc on the fly?
5. For Datatype select which console PS1 or PS2, press Next
6. Select your Image location and Name for it, press Next
7. Select you Writer, Write Speed and anything else you feel you might need
8. Make sure the Datatype selected is the same you chose above
9. Press Start to begin

PS2 DVD backup tutorials

Using Prassi

1. Start Primo
2. Select "go to full application"
3. Right Click the drive that has your original in it
4. Select "build global image" and choose a path for the image (preferably on an NTFS opsys)
5. After the image is extracted go to next step
6. Choose the 3rd disc icon from the left *or* click file, new job, Global/Other Image
7. Then just burn the .gi (global image) of the game

This next way has one less step which saves some time because once you press record it does everything by itself (if you have a DVD reader and DVD Writer)

1. Start Primo
2. Use the "PrimoDVD Starter" (it's easier, and less confusing)
3. Choose "disc copy"
4. Select your Reader and Also your Writer
5. Select "make a temp image on HD..."
6. Select your burn speed and then record to begin

Using Nero

1. Start Nero, Use the Wizard (for easy use)
2. Select "DVD" then select Next
3. Select "Copy a DVD" then select Next
4. Select your source drive
5. Check OFF "copy on the fly" then select next
6. Select your write speed
7. Select either "Test", "Test and Burn" or "Burn"
8. Press "Burn" to begin

This next way is without the Wizard

1. Start Nero, and select "File" then "New..."
2. On upper left side of the window from the drop down menu select "DVD"
3. Select "DVD Copy" Icon
4. Select "Copy options" tab
5. Check OFF "copy on the fly"
6. Select source drive and read speed
7. If needed Select "Image" tab to choose image directory and select/deselect "delete image..."
8. Select "Burn" tab and choose your settings
9. Press "Copy" to begin

Using Alcohol 120%

1. Start Alcohol 120%
2. Select ?Copy Wizard?
3. Select your Reader
4. For ?Separate Image file every:? choose ?Never Separate?
5. Select or Deselect ?Copy current disc on the fly?, press Next
6. Select your Image location and Name for it, press Next
7. Select you Writer, Write Speed and anything else you feel you might need
8. Select or Deselect ?Delete image file after recording?
9. Press Start to begin

XBOX backup tutorials

Xbox original games are burned from the outside in. The only way to backup a title is to have a modchip like X-exuter (best), Enigma, or Xodus/Matrix. You also have to flash the bios and have a CD program inserted or installed into the X-Box named EVO-X (this allows you to assign the X-Box an IP address). The game has to be stored on the X-Box's HD, this allows you to file transfer the title to your PC using an ftp program like FlaxhFXP (best) or similar. From there you use a burning application to make the backup. Some applications allows you to "drag & drop" right from the Xbox or you can build an ISO of the image then burn to CD-R/W or DVD-R/W backup. (I will update this to show steps as soon as I have a minute)

Modded PS2 with or without Action Replay/GameShark CD & DVD backup booting methods

PS2 with NeoKey/Sbox & AR/GS, PS1 CD backup booting

1. Turn on PS2 and NeoKey/Sbox
2. Press Eject
3. Insert PS1 CD backup
4. Press reset
5. PS2 tray will close
6. PS1 CD backup will now boot

PS2 with NeoKey/Sbox & AR/GS, PS2 CD backup booting

1. Have AR/GS dongle in a memory card slot
2. Power on your PS2
3. Insert AR/GS disc
4. At the AR/GS menu, select Start Game, With/Without codes
5. Eject and swap to your PS2 CD backup and press X.
6. Screen will change and game will now boot

* Note - Neokey will not play DVD-R!
* Note - Old versions of AR2/GS2 you might need to press R1+O instead of X to boot games

PS2 with Neo 2.2, PS1 CD backup booting

1. Turn on PS2
2. Press Eject
3. Insert PS1 CD backup
4. Press reset
5. PS2 tray will close
6. PS1 CD backup will now boot

PS2 with Neo 2.2 & AR/GS, PS2 CD backup booting

1. Have AR/GS dongle in a memory card slot
2. Power on your PS2
3. Insert AR/GS disc
4. At the AR/GS menu, select Start Game, With/Without codes
5. Eject and swap to your PS2 CD backup and press X.
6. Screen will change and game will now boot

PS2 with Neo 2.2 & AR/GS, PS2 DVD backup booting

1. Have AR/GS dongle in a memory card slot
2. Power on your PS2
3. Insert AR/GS disc, close tray
4. Power off your PS2, wait a few seconds
5. Press and Hold Reset button to load AR/GS
6. At the AR2/GS2 menu, press EJECT while still holding Reset
7. Swap AR/GS disc for an Original-TOC-DVD* and wait 10 seconds
8. Select "AR/GS Codes"
9. Highlight "Add new code" and press X to get to the next screen
10. Press X three times. You will see "Updating code list please wait" each time)
11. Press "Start" on controller
12. Select "Without codes", press X
13. Then Press X again, and immediately release the Reset button, you will see "Updating code list please wait"
14. The PS2 tray will eject allowing you to swap Original-TOC-DVD* for DVD backup and then close on it?s own
15. Screen will change and game will now boot

* Note - "Original-TOC-DVD" is an original DVD that is a larger file size than the backup
* Note ? For a shortcut make a few ?Add new codes? and after step 8 just highlight one of them and press square to delete it, then proceed on with step 11

PS2 with Messiah

1. PSX Backups will boot directly.
2. PS2 CD-R Backups will boot directly.
3. PS2 Unpatched EA backups will boot directly.
4. PS2 DVD-R Backups will boot directly.

PS2 with Magic 2, 3 or 3.5

1. PSX Backups will boot directly.
2. PS2 CD-R Backups will boot directly.
3. PS2 Unpatched EA backups will boot directly.
4. PS2 DVD-R Backups will boot directly.

Ps2 with Apple Mod

1. PSX Backups will boot directly.
2. PS2 CD-R Backups will boot directly.
3. PS2 Unpatched EA backups will boot directly.
4. PS2 DVD-R Backups will boot directly.[CODE]

How to Integrate a SATA AHCI driver in a Windows XP Setup CD

2009-01-14T21:11:00.000-08:00

Use of any software made available for download from this system constitutes your acceptance of the Export Control Terms and the terms in the Toshiba end-user license agreement both of which you can view before downloading any such software.

Issue:
Many users would like to have Windows XP on their machine installed instead the preinstalled Windows Vista.

The problem is:
when trying to install Windows XP on a newer machine with an "SATA AHCI controller", the harddisk would not be recognized.

The reason is:
Windows XP has no SATA drivers included on the setup CD and the HDD would not be recognized from the installation wizard.

Resolution (short):
This tutorial describes step-by-step how to integrate the SATA AHCI controller driver in a Windows XP Setup CD to install XP on a machine which is equipped with an SATA AHCI controller.

By creating this special Windows XP SP2 Setup CD, it will not be necessary to load the driver from an external USB floppy disk drive during the installation procedure (by pressing "F6") which is necessary to enable SATA AHCI support for the installation wizard of the operating system.

Resolution (detailed):
1. Needed Software

A Genuine Windows XP CD (Home/Professional) with Service Pack 2 integrated. In case of no integrated Servicepack 2 on the Windows XP Setup CD, you can integrate it with the below mentioned tool. Slipstreaming tool which integrates the drivers on the Windows XP Setup CD.

In this tutorial the freeware tool "nLite" was used for integration of the drivers (http://www.nliteos.com/)
Driverfiles which are needed for the integration: "IAAHCI.INF", "IAAHCI.CAT", "IASTOR.INF", "IASTOR.CAT", "IASTOR.SYS", and "TXTSETUP.OEM" You can either download the driver package from HERE (for FLOPPY click HERE) or from the Toshiba Driver Download Site (http://eu.computers.toshiba-europe.com/cgi-bin/ToshibaCSG/download_drivers_bios.jsp) or from the Intel website (http://www.intel.com/support/chipsets/imsm/). CD-Recording software to write the generated image to a CD/DVD (e.g. "Ahead Nero")

2. Downloading and unpacking the driverfiles

Attention: The filenames in this tutorial are for a system with an "ICH8M SATA AHCI controller" and must not match the drivers and chipset of your system.

Step1:

To find out which chipset is installed in your system, right-click on "My Computer" -> left-click on "Properties" -> left-click on the tab "Hardware" -> left-click on "Device Manager" and scroll down to "IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers" -> left-click on the square to expand the tree and check which chipset is installed.

In this example an "Intel(R) 82801HEM/HBM SATA AHCI Controller" (also called "ICH8M") is installed:

Please replace the filenames and paths from the tutorial with your drivers which match the chipset in your system. (For example: If you have an "ICH7M" chipset, use the "ICH7M" drivers for integration on the Windows XP SP2 setup CD)

Step 2:

Drivers from the Intel website:

In case of downloading the drivers from the Intel website you must make sure you have downloaded the appropriate driverpackage for your system!!

Attention: The filenames in this tutorial are for a system with an "ICH8M SATA AHCI controller" and must not match the drivers and chipset for your system.

Unpack the the driverfiles by running the downloaded file (i.e. IATA78_ENU.EXE) with the command line parameters -A -A PC:\

Open a commandline and type the following to extract the files:

Please follow the wizard which appears after executing the command.

After the installshield has finished, the needed files are now available in the folder you have typed in the commandline:

Copy these files to the newly created folder in "Step 3"

Drivers from the Toshiba Drivers Download site:

In case of downloading the drivers from the Toshiba Driver download site (http://eu.computers.toshiba-europe.com/cgi-bin/ToshibaCSG/download_drivers_bios.jsp) unpack the downloaded file to a folder on your harddisk (i.e. C:\stormng-20070827133046) Go to the folder where the files were extracted and go into the folder "F6flpy" to choose the drivers for your chipset:

Copy the files from the chosen folder to the newly created folder in "Step 3"

Step 3

For the integration of the drivers the folder "DriverDisk" is needed. Create this folder and copy it in a folder of your choice (i.e. "C:\CDImages").

Copy the files from the downloaded driverpackage to this folder:

3. Copying the Windows XP Setup files

Create the folder "XPCD" in "C:\CDImages" :

Copy all files from the Windows XP CD to the folder "C:\CDImages\XPCD"

4. Integration of the driver files (Example is given with "nLite")

In the first dialog "nLite" asks for the preferred language. Choose the language you prefer (in this example "English") and continue with "Next":

In the next dialog, "nLite" asks for the folder which contains the Windows XP setup files. Search the folder by clicking on "Browse.." and choosing the folder "XPCD".

Continue to the next screen by clicking on "Next":

In the following dialog choose the "Buttons Drivers" and "Bootable ISO". Continue by clicking on "Next":

In this dialog click on "Insert" and "Single Driver" to choose the needed drivers:

A window will open and ask for an "*.ini" file. Go to the folder where the drivers are and choose the "iaahci.ini". Click on "Open":

Choose the chipset which is installed in your system and click on "OK". If unsure which chipset is installed, go to "Step 1" of "2. Downloading and unpacking driverfiles"

In this example the drivers from the Intel website were loaded which contain all available drivers. If you choose the driver from the Toshiba website only one driver will be available which must be chosen.

In this example the previously determined "Intel(R) 82801HEM/HBM SATA AHCI Controller" (also called "ICH8M") will be chosen:

The driver is now ready to be integrated into the new Windows XP image. Click on "Next" to continue to the next step:

Please wait until "nLite" has finished the integration procedure and click on "Next":

The drivers are now integrated and the image is ready to be created. Choose "Create Image" and click on "Make ISO" to start the image creation:

The image will be created after you have chosen the destination folder and the filename. After creation the ISO file can be written on a empty CD/DVD with a burning program (e.g. "Ahead Nero"):

Now you can install WindXP on your machine without the need of an external USB floppy drive.

How to backup the registry

2009-01-14T20:50:00.001-08:00

Before you edit the registry, export the keys in the registry that you plan to edit, or back up the whole registry. If a problem occurs, you can then follow the steps how-to restore the registry to its previous state.

How to Export Registry Keys

Click Start, and then click Run.

In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.

On the File menu, click Export.

In the Save in box, select the boxs at the bottom the bottom according to weather you want to export all or only selected branches of the registry.

Next select a location in which to save the backup .reg file. In the File name box, type a file name, and then click Save.

How to Restore the Registry

To restore registry keys that you exported, double-click the .reg file that you saved.

How to Add an Option to Print the Contents of a Folder

2009-01-14T20:32:00.001-08:00

Would you like to be able to right click any folder in Explorer and print its contents? You can add this option to the context menu by following these steps:

First, you need to create a batch file called Printdir.bat. Open Notepad or another text editor and type (or cut and paste) this text:

@echo off
dir %1 /-p /o:gn > "%temp%\Listing"
start /w notepad /p "%temp%\Listing"
del "%temp%\Listing"
exit

Now, in the Save As dialog box, type "%windir%\Printdir.bat" (without the quotation marks) and click the Save button.
Click Start, Control Panel, Folder Options.
Click the File Types tab, and then click File Folder.
Click the Advanced button.
Click the New button.

In the Action box, type "Print Directory Listing" (without the quotation marks).

In the Application used to perform action box, type "Printdir.bat" (without the quotation marks).

Click OK in all three dialog boxes to close the dialog boxes.

You're not quite finished yet! Now you need to edit the Registry, so open your favorite Registry Editor.

Navigate to HKEY CLASSES ROOT\Directory\shell.

Right click on "default" and select Modify.
In the File Data box, type "none" (without the quotation marks).

Click OK and close the Registry Editor.

Now when you right click a folder, you'll see the option to Print Directory Listing. Selecting it will print the contents of the folder.

Who needs a stinking program to print a folder directory?

How To Add URL Address bar to the Task bar

2009-01-14T13:30:00.000-08:00

You can add an Internet URL address bar to your Windows XP taskbar. Doing so will let you type in URLs and launch Web pages without first launching a browser. It will also let you launch some native Windows XP applications in much the same way as you would via the Run menu (so you could type in calc to launch the calculator or mspaint to launch Microsoft Paint. Here's how you add the address bar:

1. Right-click on the taskbar, select Toolbars, and then click Address.

2. The word Address will appear on your taskbar.

3. Double click it to access it.

4. If that doesn't work, your taskbar is locked. You can unlock it by right-clicking on the taskbar again and uncheck Lock the Taskbar.

NOTE: You may also need to grab the vertical dotted lines beside the word Address and drag it to the left to make the Address window appear.

How To Access Your Folders From Your Taskbar

2009-01-14T12:48:00.000-08:00

This is an easy way to get to the folders on your system without having to open a Windows Explorer Window every time you want to access files. I find it very useful to have this feature as it allows me to access my Folders and Drives immediately and saves me a lot of time.

This works in Windows XP:

1. Right Click an empty spot on your Taskbar (Between your Start Button and your System Tray).
2. Click Toolbars.
3. Click New Toolbar.
4. A Small Window will Open that allows you to pick the folder you wish to make a Toolbar. If you want to access your Desktop Without having to minimize all your windows. Just Pick Desktop. If you want to access ONLY your My Documents Folder, Select that. Any folder will work for this.
5. Click OK.
The New Tool bar will appear at the bottom of your screen next to your System Tray.

If you find this to be not useful, Repeat Steps 1 and 2 and then check click the Toolbar you created that has a check mark next to it. And it will disappear.

How to Get Videos onto your Sony Portable Play Station

2009-01-14T12:35:00.001-08:00

We’re going to show you step-by-step how to get video clips on to your PSP without having to spring for any additional software.

When you format a Memory Stick Duo or Pro Duo stick in your Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP), you will get a new PSP folder, with sub-folders for “game”, “music”, “photos”, and “savedata”. But nothing for videos? What’s up with that? Well, it turns out that you need to put MPEG-4 video files in their own special folder, one that’s not in the PSP directory, but in the main root directory of the Memory Stick.

Just create a new folder in the root directory named MP_ROOT, and then make a folder called 100MNV01 in there. So your .MP4 files should go into E:\MP_ROOT\100MNV01, where E:\ is the drive letter of your Memory Stick. You also need a PC, as the converter software does not work with Macs. This MP_ROOT directory structure is directly cribbed from Sony’s UX/VZ Clie PDA series, which also plays MPEG-4 videos. Sony does offer up Image Converter 2.1, but they charge 1000 yen (around $10) for it. We’re going to show you how to do it for free.

First, we need to download 3GP Converter, currently in version 0.22 (2.7MB).

/http://www.nurs.or.jp/~calcium/3gpp/
pspvideo01
Unzip the 3GPC .ZIP file into a directory of your choice, and run setup.exe. You may see a bunch of weird characters, but don’t worry, it’s set to Japanese by default. Scroll down to the bottom of the 3GP Converter Setup window and select the English radio button, select Customized: MP4, for PSP (Direct, renamed) the then press Apply. This is the setting for conversion of video files to MPEG-4 format that can be played by the PSP, and renamed so your PSP recognizes it (such as M4V31337.MP4). Unfortunately, the PSP currently won’t recognize file names such as TheUsualSuspects.MP4 or TheOCSeason2Episode4.MP4.

pspvideo02
Now, the 3GP Converter program window is open (if not, you can double-click the 3GP_Converter.exe program to run it). Click the Select button to choose where you want your converted PSP MP4 video files to reside. We just chose C:\3GP_Converter.

pspvideo05
The program may ask you to install QuickTime Authoring before being able to convert your video files. A simple click of the Do It Now button will suffice.

pspvideo03
The drop down box is what level quality setting you want your MP4 video to have. All outputted videos will have QVGA (320x240) resolution. You can choose from 15 or 29.97 frames per second, with 29.97 fps being a lot smoother. The third item listed in the quality settings is the video bitrate, the higher the bitrate, the better quality your video will turn out, with the highest quality being 1500kbps. The QB# settings appear to be variable bit rate (VBR) settings, where the converter will use a higher bitrate when necessary. The QB4 setting is the lowest quality VBR option, and QB10 the highest quality VBR. Next is the options for audio, choose between Mono or Stereo. The last bitrate is for your audio quality, you can choose from 32kbps (lower quality) to 128kbps (highest quality). The higher quality setting you choose, the slower it will be to convert.

pspvideo04
Now drag whatever file you want to convert into MPEG-4 format into the blank area of the program window. Here we chose a Shark Tale trailer, originally in DivX Pro HD format, to convert with the ‘QVGA/29.97fps/1500kbps Stereo/128kbps’ setting, the highest quality setting that 3GP supports. When the program is finished converting the video into MP4 format, the program will rename the file to something like M4V04895.MP4.

pspvideo07
pspvideo08
pspvideo06

Now setup the USB connection (or take out your Memory Stick Pro Duo and stick in a reader) on your PSP to copy the video files over. The correct folder name for videos is E:\MP_ROOT\100MNV01 (where E: is the drive letter of your PSP). Copy your .MP4 video(s) over (the .THM files that 3GP Converter creates are not necessary for playback), and then disconnect the PSP USB connection by pressing the X button.

pspvideo09
Scroll over to Video in your PSP menu and select it by pressing the O button. It should list your converted MP4, with title, date, and length of video. Press O again and it will start playing.

pspvideo10

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pspvideo13
There are four screen display modes, which you can choose from by pressing the triangle button. Scroll up to Screen Mode (2nd from left on the top row) and use the O button to scroll between Normal, Zoom, Full Screen, and Original modes. Normal is fine for regular 4:3 show viewing, Zoom gives you a closer view of the center of the video, Full Screen is perfect for 16:9 widescreen videos, and Original looks like it displays the video in a 320x240 pixel format.

With the codec and video expertise of our favorite geek friend, Craig, we tried to convert a video into MPEG-4 format with a 480x272 resolution, which is the native resolution of the PSP LCD. A 480x272 video file should be of higher quality than a stretched 320x240 pixel picture, but unfortunately, all of our attempts failed, no matter what we tried. We would always end up with Incompatible Data or Corrupted Data displayed on our PSP, though it played perfectly on a Windows box.

We came up with the theory that as the PSP uses the same video format as their Clies, and since those play videos just fine Sony didn’t want to put in the extra work involved to get native 480x272 resolution MPEG-4 support. We also guessed that any potential UMD movie titles would be shown in the full 480x272 resolution (just as games are in shown in the native screen resolution), but that Sony didn’t want to have videos from Memory Sticks (potentially copyright infringing) to be competing with the UMD discs which they would be making money from. In effect, they crippled the video playback capability from Memory Sticks. This is of course, just speculation, but this is Sony that we’re talking about here.

Using a Dell Inspiron 8600 laptop with a 2 GHz Intel Pentium M processor with 2GB of RAM, we processed a few video files for fun. It took 3GP Converter 1:40 for a 18.5MB .WMV (of the Pistons/Pacers fight) to be converted into .MP4 format, with an output file size of 19.8MB for QVGA/29.97fps/1500kbps Stereo/128kbps, the highest quality available. It took just 48 seconds when we dropped down the quality level to QVGA/15fps/216kbps Mono/32kbps, with a resulting filesize of 3.2MB. There is a noticabe difference in quality, with the lower video bitrate resulting in annoying pixilation (which we hate). If you can spare the space, definitely go for the higher quality.

We still think the holy grail of a portable video player is drag and drop support for all major video formats without any transcoding necessary. Converting video (just like converting MP3s to ATRAC in previous Sony music offerings) is just a pain and should be avoided if at all possible. This current way to put videos on the PSP is also a somewhat of a burden, as the process is more for the hacker type (and we mean hacker as in tinkerer).

Sony has released Image Converter 2.1 (available for 1000yen), which has an iTunes-like drag and drop functionality, converting videos, renaming it, and putting it in the correct directory. We have heard a few reports of the software bloating a video file on conversion (turning a 20MB file into 30MB or bigger for no reason). We have no first-hand experience yet with the Sony software, but the 3GP Converter is quite adequate in its own right, with a host of encoding quality options.

The converted videos using the QVGA/29.97fps/QB10 Stereo/64kbps mode (we assume QB10 is the highest quality variable bitrate mode, as QB4 video was loads worse) looks good in terms of video, but since the audio bitrate is half of the highest quality video’s 128kbps, you do notice the difference in audio quality, with the 64kbps audio being more hollow sounding and tinny. The filesize of the QB10 setting was 14.2MB, offering a bit of filesize saving over the 19.8MB of the 1500kbps video quality setting.

We successfully converted Windows Media Player (WMV), MPEG-1/2, DivX, and XviD formats into PSP-capable MP4. Of the various formats we tried, only a Quicktime MOV file failed to be converted by 3GP Converter.

Here’s a quick guide to convert parts of a DVD into MPEG-4. You can convert movies into MP4 format, but unfortunately, you will not be able to get a full movie to fit onto a 512MB Memory Stick unless you are willing to take a serious hit on video quality. What can work well is converting TV or anime episodes (30 minute or hour shows) from DVD, but any converting of clips 30 minutes or more will take quite a bit of time. First, decide what part of the DVD you want converted by previewing it in a standalone player or in a Windows DVD player. Write down the corresponding chapters which contain the episode or section you want.

You will need DVD Decrypter. After installing the program and running it, we will need to set the program to IFO Mode, select Mode, then IFO Mode.

/http://www.dvddecrypter.com

pspvideo15

You will now see the Input window with VTS and PGC sections. Below that is a checklist of Chapters on the DVD. Check off the chapters you wrote down earlier and then click on Stream Processing. For simplicity, we checked the video stream, one audio stream, and one subtitle stream. Now that we have selected all that we want to rip from the DVD, click on the DVD disc to Hard Drive icon. The time for the ripping process will depend on the speed of your DVD-ROM, but in the meantime, grab Auto Gordian Knot.

/http://www.free-codecs.com/download/AutoGK.htm

pspvideo16

We will need Auto Gordian Knot (AG Knot) to convert DVD Decrypter’s VOB file into AVI format. After installing the program and some associated programs, we can load it up. In Step 1, select file input, for Input File, put in the VOB file from DVD Decrypter. For output file, choose a filename and location to place it. Select the audio track from the drop down box, and choose subtitle if need. For the output size, choose Custom Size. We got a 166MB VOB file in our 4 minute, 30 second clip from Ali G’s Indahouse from DVD Decrypter. So to be safe, we put in a 83MB output filesize, half the size of the original VOB, just to be safe. Then we clicked Advanced Settings and changed the Fixed Width to 320, as the PSP MPEG-4 video format is 320 pixels wide. Now click the Add Job button and the Start button (below Step 4). After conversion, use the above 3GP Converter guide to convert the AVI file from AG Knot into MP4.

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Auto Gordian Knot turned the 4.5 minute clip into an 43.8MB AVI file. Using 3GP Converter, we converted the AVI file into a MPEG-4 file with a filesize of 54.7MB using the highest quality setting (QVGA/29.97fps/1500kbps Stereo/128kbps). Thus, if you had a 90 minute movie, and used the the same settings we did to convert to to AVI then to MP4, you would have the whole movie in 1100MB, which, unfortunately, is larger than the largest Memory Stick Duo currently available.

Using the lowest quality video setting (QVGA/15fps/216kbps Stereo/64kbps) produced a MP4 file of just 9.6MB, meaning 90 minutes of it would fit in around 192MB. Unfortunately, we can’t stand the choppiness nor graininess. So we need to find a middle ground, the 29.97fps/768kbps mode produces a 30.2MB video (around 600MB for a 90 min movie). It’s pretty good and the lowest quality that we would accept with our discerning eyes, but still too big to fit in a whole movie onto a 512MB stick, though it would fit fine for an hour long TV episode.

So we stepped it down a notch and tried 15fps and 384kbps, the highest video bitrate for 15fps. The converted MP4 was just 15MB, which would make a 90 minute movie 300MB, and thus fit on our 512MB Sandisk Duo card. The video is expectedly a bit choppy, but it’s okay if you’re not as nitpicky about video as we are. The audio quality (64kbps) is acceptable as well.

Depending on your video tastes and Memory Stick Duo capacity, you can squeeze an excellent hour of video (at 29.97fps) into a size under 512MB, or up to two hours using 15fps. Even though the conversion program converts files to 320x240 (a 4:3 screen size format), the PSP’s screen modes can stretch that size out to a full widescreen while still looking good. We would have preferred a native 480x272 resolution support (which would have meant bigger MPEG-4 filesizes), the PSP still performs video brilliantly.

Source Engadget
/http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000980024404/

How to use your Gmail with MSN Messenger?

2009-01-14T12:29:00.000-08:00

I think all of you know it but if someone dont then here it is, go to this page:

https://register.passport.net/default.srf?sl=1

1. Enter your gmail account as the email address.
2. Fill all the other blanks and continue the registration
3. Go to your gmail account and verify the registration and know sign in with msn

Actually this works will all emails not only gmail. Good luck!

HOWTO Change Windows XP Home to Windows XP Pro

2009-01-14T11:08:00.000-08:00

We can’t vouch for this hack, because we are too lazy to try it (and we never, ever violate copyrights or EULAs), but kind reader Martin explains the process for turning an Windows XP Home install disc to a Windows XP Pro disc after the jump.

It sounds pretty simple to do (just some registry changes), but you can’t install Service Pack 2, so you might try to slipstream in the changes to your modified install disc (if that’s even possible).

Alternately, buy XP Pro, or get a Mac.

Code:
yes indeed, you can’t change an installed Windows but only your Installation CD (or even a recovery CD in case the manufacturer had not left out important parts)

Here’s the detailed breakdown you asked for.

1. Copy the root directory and the i386 directory of the WindowsXP CD
to your harddisk
2. Extract the Bootsector of your WindowsXP CD
3. Change 2 Bytes in i386\Setupreg.hiv :
a) Open Regedit
b) Highlight HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
c) Menu: File -> Load Structure -> i386\Setupreg.hiv
d) Assign an arbitrary name to the imported structure e.g. “Homekey”
e) Goto HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Homekey\ControlSet001\Services\setupdd
f) edit the binary key “default” and change “01” to “00” and “02” to
“00”
g) Highlight “Homekey” and select menu: File -> unload structure
4. Burn your new XP Pro CD
5. Install WindowsXP as usual. Your XP Home Key will work.

Note: You cannot apply SP2 to such a WindowsXP Pro, so step 1.b)
might be to integrate SP2 in your Installation CD

Please check the menu-entries as I don’t owe an English copy of
XP and have to guess them.