Tutorial A Day

Getting older programs to run on Windows XP

2007-10-03T15:33:00.001-07:00

Most programs run properly on Windows XP. The exceptions are some older games and other programs that were written specifically for an earlier version of Windows. To run your program on Windows XP, you can try the following, Run the Program Compatibility Wizard. As an alternative, you can set the compatibility properties manually. Update your program, drivers, or hardware. These options are covered in detail below.

The Program Compatibility Wizard
This wizard prompts you to test your program in different modes (environments) and with various settings. For example, if the program was originally designed to run on Windows 95, set the compatibility mode to Windows 95 and try running your program again. If successful, the program will start in that mode each time. The wizard also allows you to try different settings, such as switching the display to 256 colors and the screen resolution to 640 x 480 pixels. If compatibility problems prevent you from installing a program on Windows XP, run the Program Compatibility Wizard on the setup file for the program. The file may be called Setup.exe or something similar, and is probably located on the Installation disc for the program. To run the Program Compatibility Wizard click Start, click Help and Support, click Find compatible hardware and software for Windows XP, and then, under See Also in the navigation pane, click "Program Compatibility Wizard."

Set the compatibility properties manually
As an alternative to running the Program Compatibility Wizard, you can set the compatibility properties for a program manually. The settings are the same as the options in the Program Compatibility Wizard. To set the compatibility properties for a program manually Right-click the program icon on your desktop or the shortcut on the Start menu for the program you want to run, and then click Properties. Click the Compatibility tab, and change the compatibility settings for your program.

The Compatibility tab is only available for programs installed on your hard drive. Although you can run the Program Compatibility Wizard on programs or setup files on a CD-ROM or floppy disk, your changes will not remain in effect after you close the program. For more information about an option on the Compatibility tab, right-click the option and then click "What's This."

Update your program or drivers
If your program does not run correctly after testing it with the Program Compatibility Wizard, check the Web for updates or other fixes, as follows:

Check the Web site of the program's manufacturer to see if an update or patch is available.
Check Windows Update to see if a fix is available for the program.
Click Home on the menu bar of Help and Support Center, then click Windows Update in the right pane.

If the program is a game that uses DirectX, ensure that you are using the latest version of DirectX. In addition, check the Web site of the manufacturer of your video card or sound card to see if newer drivers are available for either of them.

Getting started with Linux for nOObs

2007-10-03T15:32:00.000-07:00

I. What is Linux?
II. Trying it out
III. Installing
IV. What to do now
V. The Console

Intro:
This tutorial is written with the total Linux n00b in mind.
I've seen too many n00bs get totally left in the dark by asking what
the best distro is. They seem to only get flooded with too many
answers in so short a time. I'm a little bit of a n00b too, so I know
how it feels. I will cover a grand total of two basic distros. You may
learn to strongly prefer other ones (I do!) but this is just to get
you started. I touch on a number of topics that would be impossible to
go into in depth in one tutorial, so I encourage you to actively seek
out more about the concepts I make reference to.

I. What is Linux?

Linux is basically an operating system (OS for short). The Windows
machine you're (probably) using now uses the Mcft Windows
operating system.

Ok, so what's so different about Linux?

Linux is part of a revolutionary movement called the open-source
movement. The history and intricacies of that movement are well beyond
the scope of this tutorial, but I'll try and explain it simply. Open
source means that the developers release the source code for all their
customers to view and alter to fit what they need the software to do,
what they want the software to do, and what they feel software should
do. Linux is a programmer?s dream come true, it has the best compilers,
libraries, and tools in addition to its being open-source. A
programmer's only limit then, is his knowledge, skill, time, and
resolve.

What is a distro?

A distro is short for a distribution. It's someone's personal
modification or recreation of Linux.

What do you mean by distros? I just want Linux!

Since Linux is open source, every developer can write his own version.
Most of those developers release their modifications, or entire
creations as free and open source. A few don't and try to profit from
their product, which is a topic of moral debate in the Linux world.
The actual Linux is just a kernel that serves as a node of
communication between various points of the system (such as the CPU,
the mouse, the hard drive etc.). In order to use this kernel, we must
find a way to communicate with it. The way we communicate is with a
shell. Shells will let us enter commands in ways that make sense to
us, and send those commands to the kernel in ways that makes sense to
it. The shell most Linux's use it the BASH shell (Bourne Again SHell).
The kernel by itself will not do, and just a shell on top of the kernel
won?t either for most users; we are then forced to use a distribution.

What distro is best?

This is not the question you want to ask a large number of people at
one time. This is very much like asking what kind of shoe is best,
you'll get answers anywhere from running shoes, hiking boots, cleats,
to wingtips. You need to be specific about what you plan on using
Linux for, what system you want to use it on, and many other things. I
will cover two that are quick and easy to get running. They may not be
the best, or the quickest, or the easiest, or the most powerful, but
this is a guide for getting started, and everyone has to start
somewhere.

How much does it cost?

computer + electricity + internet + CD burner and CDs = Linux
I'll let you do your own math.
Note however that a few do charge for their distros, but they aren't
all that common, and can be worked around. Also, if you lack internet
access or a CD burner or CDs or you just want to, you can normally
order CDs of the distro for a few dollars apiece.

II. Trying it out.

Wouldn't it stink if you decide to wipe out your hard drive and install
Linux as the sole operating system only to learn that you don't know
how to do anything and hate it? Wouldn?t it be better to take a test
drive? 95 out of a 100 of you know where I'm heading with this section
and can therefore skip it. For those of you who don't know, read on.

There are many distros, and most distros try to have something that
makes them stand out. Knoppix was the first live-CD distro. Although
most of the other main distros have formed their own live-CDs, Knoppix
is still the most famous and I will be covering how to acquire it.

A live-CD distro is a distribution of Linux in which the entire OS can
be run off of the CD-ROM and your RAM. This means that no installation
is required and the distro will not touch your hard disk or current OS
(unless you tell it to). On bootup, the CD will automatically detect
your hardware and launch you into Linux. To get back to Windows, just
reboot and take the CD out.

Go to the Knoppix website (www.knoppix.com). Look around some to get
more of an idea on what Knoppix is. When you're ready, click Download.
You'll be presented with a large amount of mirrors, some of which have
ftp and some of which have http also.

note: the speed of the mirrors vary greatly, and you may want to
change mirrors should your download be significantly slow.

Choose a mirror. Read the agreement and choose accept. You'll probably
want to download the newest version and in your native language (I'll
assume English in this tutorial). So choose the newest file ending in
-EN.iso

note: you might want to also verify the md5 checksums after the
download, if you don't understand this, don't worry too much. You just
might have to download it again should the file get corrupted (you'll
have to anyway with the md5). Also, a lot of times a burn can be
botched for who-knows what reason. If the disk doesn?t work at all,
try a reburn.

Once the .iso file is done downloading, fire up your favorite
CD-burning software. Find the option to burn a CD image (for Nero, this
is under copy and backup) and burn it to a disk. Make sure you don't
just copy the .iso, you have to burn the image, which will unpack all
the files onto the CD.

Once the disk is done, put it in the CD-ROM drive and reboot the
computer. While your computer is booting, enter CMOS (how to get to
CMOS varies for each computer, some get to it by F1 or F2 or F3, etc.)
Go to the bootup configuration and place CD-ROM above hard disk. Save
changes and exit. Now, Knoppix will automatically start. You will be
presented with a boot prompt. Here you can input specific boot
parameters (called cheatcodes), or just wait and let it boot up using
the default.

note: Sometimes USB keyboards do not work until the OS has somewhat
booted up. Once you?re actually in Knoppix, your USB keyboard should
work, but you may not be able to use cheatcodes. If you need to,
attach a PS/2 keyboard temporarily. Also, if a particular aspect of
hardware detection does not work, look for a cheatcode to disable it.
Cheatcodes can be found on the Knoppix website in text format (or in
HTML at www.knoppix.net/docs/index.php/CheatCodes).

Upon entering the KDE desktop environment, spend some time exploring
around. Surf the web, get on IM, play some games, explore the
filesystem, and whatever else seems interesting. When your done, open
up the console (also called terminal, xterm, konsole, or even shell)
and get ready for the real Linux. See section V for what to do from
here.

note: to function as root (or the superuser) type su.

It's not entirely necessary that you are a console wizard at this point
(although you will need to be sooner or later), but a little messing
around wont hurt.

Just as there are many Linux distros, so there are also many types of
Knoppix. I won?t go into using any of them, but they should all be
somewhat similar. Some of them include: Gnoppix, Knoppix STD, Morphix,
and PHLAK. Other distros also have live-CDs.

III. Installing

I will guide you through the installation of Fedora Core 2. The reason
I chose Fedora is because it contains the Anaconda installer, which is
a very easy installer.

Download the discs from here:
http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/fedo...ore/2/i386/iso/
If the link doesn?t work, then go to www.redhat.com and navigate your
way to downloading Fedora (odds are your architecture is i386).
You will want to download the FC2-i386-disc1.iso and burn it using the
method for Knoppix. Do the same for all the discs.

Note: do NOT download the FC2-i386-SRPMS-disc1.iso files.

Now, once you?re ready, insert disc 1 into the drive and reboot.

The installer should come up automatically (if not, then see the
Knoppix section on CMOS).

Note: installer may vary depending on version. Follow directions best
you can using your best judgement.

1. Language: choose English and hit enter
2. Keyboard: choose us (probably) and hit enter
3. Installation media: choose local CDROM (probably) and hit enter
4. CD test: you can choose to test or skip
5. Intro: click next
6. Monitor: choose your monitor to the best of your ability, if you?re unsure, choose on of the generic ones
7. Installation type: choose which ever you want (default should be fine)
8. Partition: choose to automatically partition (unless you know what you?re doing)
9. Partition: the default partitions should suffice
10. Boot loader: choose your boot loader (grub for default)
11. Network settings: choose the correct settings for your network (generally, don?t mess with anything unless you know what you?re doing)
12. Firewall: you can choose a firewall if you want to
13. Language support: choose any additional language support you want
14. Time zone: pick your time zone
15. Root password: set your root password (root is the admin, or superuser; you want it to be very secure)
16. Packages: choose which packages you want to install. For hard drives over 10 gigs, you can go ahead and choose all
packages (depending on how much disk space you plan on taking up later, note that most everything you?ll need is a package: the exception
being large media files). You will generally want to install all the packages you think you?ll ever need. Two desktop environments aren?t necessary.
Make sure you have at least one and the X window system! (if you want a GUI that is). I suggest you get all the servers too.

Note: Knoppix uses the KDE Desktop environment

17. Make sure everything is all right, and install
18. You can create a boot disk if you want

Note: Desktop environments might have a set-up once you enter them

IV What to do now

Now that you have a Linux set-up and running, there are many paths you
can head down. First, you should explore your GUI and menus. Browse
the web with Mozilla, get on IM with GAIM, play games, add/delete
users, check out OpenOffice, and anything else that might be part of
your daily use. Also, set up a few servers on your computer to play
around with, specifically SMTP (*wink*wink*), FTP (vsftp is a good
one), and either telnet or SSH (OpenSSH is a good one). The setup and
use of these are beyond the scope of this tutorial, but researching
them could prove to be very educational.

The filesystem
The Linux (and Unix) filesystem is different from the normal Windows
that you?re used to. In Windows, your hard drive is denoted ?C:\? (or
whatever). In Linux, it is called the root directory and is denoted
?/?. In the / directory, there are several default folders, including
dev (device drivers) mnt (mount) bin (binaries) usr (Unix System
Resources) home, etc, and others. I encourage you to explore around
the whole file system (see section V) and research more.

Once you are well situated, it?s time to get into the heart and power
of Linux: the console. The next session will guide you through it and
set you on the path to finding out how to do stuff for yourself. You
will (probably) want to start learning to rely less and less on the
GUI and figure out how to do everything through the console (try
launching all your programs from the console, for example).

V. The Console

The Console might look familiar to DOS if you?ve ever used it. The
prompt should look something like the following:

AvatharTri@localhost avathartri$

With the blinking _ following it. This can vary greatly as it is fully
customizable. Let?s get started with the commands.

First, let?s explore the file system. The command ls will "list" the
files in the current directory. Here?s an example:

AvatharTri@localhost avathartri$ ls

It should then display the contents of the current directory if there
are any. Almost all commands have options attached to them. For
example, using the -l option, which is short for "long" will display
more information about the files listed.

AvatharTri@localhost avathartri$ ls -l

We will get into how to find out the options for commands and what
they do later.

The second command to learn will be the cd command, or "change
directory". To use it, you type cd followed by a space and the
directory name you wish to go into. In Linux, the top directory is /
(as opposed to C:\ in Windows). Let?s get there by using this command:

AvatharTri@localhost avathartri$ cd /
AvatharTri@localhost /$

Now, we are in the top directory. Use the ls command you learned
earlier to see everything that?s here. You should see several items,
which are directories. Now, let?s go into the home directory:

AvatharTri@localhost /$ cd home
AvatharTri@localhost home$

And you can now ls and see what?s around. In Linux there are some
special symbol shortcuts for specific folders. You can use these
symbols with cd, ls, or several other commands. The symbol ~ stands
for your home folder. One period . represents the directory your
currently in. Two periods .. represent the directory immediately above
your own. Here?s an example of the commands:

AvatharTri@localhost home$ cd ~
AvatharTri@localhost avathartri$

This moved us to our user?s personal directory.

AvatharTri@localhost avathartri$ cd .
AvatharTri@localhost avathartri$ cd ..
AvatharTri@localhost home$

The cd .. moved us up to the home directory.
As you?ve probably noticed by now, the section behind the prompt
changes as you change folders, although it might not always be the
case as it?s up to the personal configuration.

You can use these symbols with the ls command also to view what is in
different folders:

AvatharTri@localhost home$ ls ~
AvatharTri@localhost home$ ls ..

And you can view what is in a folder by specifying its path:

AvatharTri@localhost home$ ls /
AvatharTri@localhost home$ ls /home

The last command we will cover as far as finding your way around the
filesystem is the cat command. The cat command will show the contents
of a file. Find a file by using the cd and ls commands and then view
its contents with the cat command.

AvatharTri@localhost home$ cd [directory]
AvatharTri@localhost [directory]$ ls
AvatharTri@localhost [directory]$ cat [filename]

Where [directory] is the directory you want to view and [filename] is
the name of the file you want to view. Omit the brackets. Now, if the
file you viewed was a text file, you should see text, but if it wasn?t,
you might just see jumbled garbage, but this is ok. If the file goes
by too fast and goes off the screen, don?t worry, we will get to how
to scroll through it later.

One of the most useful commands is the man command, which displays the
"manual" for the command you want to know more about. To learn more
about the ls command:

AvatharTri@localhost home$ man ls

And you will see the manual page for ls. It displays the syntax, a
description, options, and other useful tidbits of information. Use the
up and down arrows to scroll and press q to exit. You can view the
manual pages for any command that has one (most commands do). Try this
out with all the commands that you know so far:

AvatharTri@localhost home$ man cd
AvatharTri@localhost home$ man cat
AvatharTri@localhost home$ man man

One very crucial option to the man command is the -k option. This will
search the descriptions of manual pages for the word you specify. You
can use this to find out what command to do what you need to do. For
example, let?s say we want to use a text editor:

AvatharTri@localhost home$ man -k editor

And you should see a list of apps with a short description and the
word "editor" in the description.

With a blank prompt, you can hit tab twice for Linux to display all
the possible commands. For Linux to display all the commands beginning
with a certain letter or series of letters, type those letters and hit
tab twice.

Note: This is actually a function of BASH and not Linux, but BASH is
the default Linux shell.

Now that you know a little about moving around the filesystem and
viewing manual pages, there is one more trick that we will cover to
help you out. Remember how the man pages were scrollable as in you
could use the arrow keys to scroll up and down? That is because the
man pages use something called the less pager. We?re not going to go
into what this does exactly and how it works, but that?s definitely
something that you will want to look up. Here?s how to use the less
pager with a file:

AvatharTri@localhost home$ cat [filename] | less

That uses something called a pipe. The line is the vertical line above
enter on your keyboard. Briefly, what this does is take the output
from the cat command, and stick it in the less pager. By doing this,
you can view files that would normally run off the screen and scroll
up and down.

Some final commands to check out:

mkdir - make directories
cp - copy file
mv - move file
rm - remove file
rmdir - remove directory
grep - search a file for a keyword
pwd - display current working directory
top - display system resources usage (kill the program with control + c)

Firefox Speed Tweaks

2007-10-03T15:31:00.000-07:00

Yes, firefox is already pretty damn fast but did you know that you can tweak it and improve the speed even more?

That's the beauty of this program being open source.
Here's what you do:
In the URL bar, type “about:config” and press enter. This will bring up the configuration “menu” where you can change the parameters of Firefox.

Note that these are what I’ve found to REALLY speed up my Firefox significantly - and these settings seem to be common among everybody else as well. But these settings are optimized for broadband connections - I mean with as much concurrent requests we’re going to open up with pipelining… lol… you’d better have a big connection.

Double Click on the following settins and put in the numbers below - for the true / false booleans - they’ll change when you double click.

Code:
browser.tabs.showSingleWindowModePrefs – true
network.http.max-connections – 48
network.http.max-connections-per-server – 16
network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-proxy – 8
network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server – 4
network.http.pipelining – true
network.http.pipelining.maxrequests – 100
network.http.proxy.pipelining – true
network.http.request.timeout – 300

One more thing… Right-click somewhere on that screen and add a NEW -> Integer. Name it “nglayout.initialpaint.delay” and set its value to “0”. This value is the amount of time the browser waits before it acts on information it receives. Since you’re broadband - it shouldn’t have to wait.

Now you should notice you’re loading pages MUCH faster now!

DVD Regions Information

2007-10-03T15:30:00.003-07:00

DVD Regions Information

The DVD region code identifies a DVD's compatibility with the players typically sold in a particular region.

The following graphic shows the approximate location of each region.

Image

Region 0 (or "region free") is compatible with DVD players from any region.

The majority of all current titles play only in one specific region unless otherwise noted. DVDs sold by Amazon.co.uk are encoded for Region 2 or Region 0. Region 2 DVDs may not work on DVD players in other countries.

Region 1 DVDs sold by Marketplace sellers

Region 1 discs are intended for use with standard DVD players in North America (Canada and the USA). In most instances they can also be played on compatible "multi-region" DVD players (also known as "chipped" or "region-free" players).

They also require an NTSC-compatible television. NTSC is the standard picture format in North America, and differs from the PAL format adopted in Britain and Europe. Region 1 DVDs are usually presented in NTSC format, so you should ensure that your TV is capable of reading the NTSC signal before purchasing Region 1 DVDs.

Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE)

Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE) has been added by some film studios (specifically Warner and Columbia) to selected Region 1 DVDs, with the intention of preventing these discs from playing on some multi-region DVD players. We are therefore unable to guarantee that all Region 1 discs will be compatible with all multi-region players.

Global DVD region countries

This is not a definitive list and is intended only as a guide.

Region 1 - US, US Territories and Canada

American Samoa, Canada, Guam, Palau, Mariana Islands, Marshall Islands, Puerto Rico, Micronesia, United States, U.S. Virgin Islands

Region 2 - UK, Europe, Japan, South Africa and Middle East

Albania, Andorra, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Vatican City, Yemen, Yugoslavia

Region 3 - Southeast and East Asia

Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Phillipines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam

Region 4 - Australia, New Zealand, Central and South America

Antigua, Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Barbuda, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Falkland Islands, French Guiana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, New Guinea, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad, Tobago, Uruguay

Region 5 - Former Soviet Union, Indian sub-continent, Africa, North Korea and Mongolia

Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh, Belarus, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, India, Ivory Coast, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Lithuania, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sri Lanka, St. Helena, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Region 6 - China

China

Region 7 - Reserved for future use

Region 8 - International Territories (ships, planes, etc)

Downloading Files, Using Archives And Images

2007-10-03T15:30:00.001-07:00

0x01.0 - the start...

So, you've just got a brand new internet connection thingie installed and it can handle up to 1 meg/sec download. But offcourse, no good PC without good software, but you know, good software is very expensive... And on a beautifull sunday morning you see something called Warez. Behold our kingdom and you start drewling a bit untill ur mom comes raging in your room asking for you to put the garbage out. After helping your mom out, the PC and fast inet connection is all yours... And so is the free software.

0x02.0 - packaged files.

As you might know, these software packages are sometimes pretty big in size. To try and reduce the big-file-downloads, the releasers of the package will often use some techniques to reduce the load. Techniques as compressing, archiving and splitting. Read-on if you dont understand these words..

0x02.1 - formats & tools.

If you've been around more than 1 year on the net, you prolly allready know all this but for the knew people I added this anyways...
The basic use of your Windows Operating System is the use of many different files and file-types. One of the most used file-types on the net is ZIP. File-types are also called 'formats'.
An overview:

ZIP A zipped file is a file thats been archived and compressed.
RAR RAR files are commonly used for archiving files; which is putting a large number of files in one file. Compressing is optional. File-splitting is optional.
ACE About the same as a RAR file, just an other format and another application.

I explain this to you because these file-types and coresponding programs are often, you can even use always here, used when you want to download Warez. The programs you download are almost always archived, compressed or bundled in one of the above formats. Keep reading if you didnt knew this

Ok so, now we know the formats of the files were gonna deal with, now the programs.
As you prolly figured out allready, these files arent created by Windows or by hand. Theyre made using specialy designed applications. Ill show you what applications you can use.

WinRAR : My personal favorite. Handles all of the above stated formats and alot, alot more. If you ask for my opinion, I think this is the only program you'll ever need.

WinZIP : This is a specially designed application for handleing ZIPPED files. If you like this one, take it.

WinACE : Another multi-file handling tool. Personal opinion: good for splitting files, way too big for every-day use for decompression.

I'd say: make your choice. I recommend WinRAR because of it's simplicity and effectiveness. But hey, I'm not forcing you. Just read some info on the sites and make ur choice.

Oh yea, one last thing: you'll notice these are all Evaluation versions. I suggest you crack them. Look for a good crack for the right version on: www.cracks.am.

0x02.2 - multi-part archives.

? These files are archived in multiple parts (with one of the applicatiosn mentioned above). Which means the software was zipped or rarred and divided into files of a smaller size then the whole thing together. How do you handle this?

>>> Download all the files to one directory.

>>> Check if all files are there. You can do this by looking at the extensions: *.00, *.01, ... If one's missing, download the missing file again (there are more sofisticated ways to do this but this is the simplest).

>>> Check if the files are about the same size. For example: the *.04 file must be the same size as the *.05 file, unless the 5th file is the last one.

>>> If theres a file with the extension *.RAR, double click it and u can start unpacking the stuff.

>>> If theres no *.RAR, but an *.ACE, do the same, its just an other format.

>>> Once you unarchived the package, you should have a directory full of files from an instalation or program. But its also possible there are, with the archived files, some other things:

- If the software pack is a Warez Group (MYTH, CLASS, Fairlight (FLT), ...) release, check if there's an EXE file with the package called Install.exe. If it's there, you can use that to unpack the files.

- If there's no exe in the package, the files are prolly just ready to be copied to your directory of choice // or ready to be installed.

IMPORTANT : please dont forget to read the NFO file. Its very important. It usually contains all further information needed for you to successfully install the software. You can open it with NFO-file viewers or in Notepad (set font to: terminal, 6 or 9 pts).

Normally, you're all done now and ready to start using the software.

? Ok, do I hear protest? Yes I do. It goes: "Hell, I downloaded a multi-part package but it has NO RAR OR ACE OR ZIP OR ANYTHING!!!! Just files with extensions called *.001; *.002, ..."

Your right. Although the situation is quite different from the situation above, it's really not so different when you look closer. Those files are just unarchived the same way:

>>> Select the first file (*.001).

>>> Right-click it and select 'Extract here...'

Watch the progress bar go! You see, its just the same method. You might notice theres only 2 or 3 files decompressed: ISO or CUE and BIN files. Thats fairly normal. Well talk about handling them in topic 0x03.0...

0x02.3 - one-file downloads.

Ok so the stuff u downloaded was none of above. Conclusion: you downloaded one big file. This happens quite often when you download things from fast-working FTPs.
What you need to do now:

>>> If the file is archived (.rar, .ace, .zip, ...), just unarchive it.

>>> If the file u unrachived is some weird *.ISO or *.CUE file, go to 0x03.0.

>>> If not, just continue the procedure as stated in 0x02.2.

0x03.0 - a clear view on images.

So when youre reading this, u prolly have some files called *.ISO or *.CUE. Offcourse you want to install the software as fast as possible. But, theres a little problem here. Those extensions... What the hell are they... Alienized files? No. Secret CIA files? Nope. You can stop guessing. Ill tell you: those files are image files.

0x03.1 - what are images?

Image files are big files filled with data. Yea, you can say its a sort of archived file. But theres something special about them: they are meant to written on a disc. They were made by special programs so they could be used to write on a CD-R with a writer and specially designed software.

0x03.2 - ISO files.

ISO is the most used image-format on the net. It has become a standard to any commercial cd-writing software to support image-writing capabilities, more specific ISO images.
Conclusion: ISO is just an extension for a specific type of image -file. But how do you install your software? You have 2 ways of dealing with this:
1) Use the file for what is was created: writing it to a CD-R.
2) Extracting the contents of an ISO to a certain directory.

First: how to write them to a CD-R...

>>> Download some CD-R writing software (if you dont have it allready).

>>> Install and crack it.

I recommend Nero Burning Rom. You can download it from WareZone in the Apps section.

>>> Go buy some CD-R's

>>> Fire-up Nero and you can start burning. Im not going to explain you how to use Nero. Read the help file about image writing and you should be fine. You can also use the wizard which is loaded automatically when you boot Nero.

Second: what to do if you dont got a CD-writer....

>>> Download some Image handling software.

I recommend WinISO.

>>> Fire-up WinISO, load your image file and extract it. Again I wont explain how to use WinISO. Check for help files or tutorials on the net, they should give you all the answers you need.

0x03.3 - CUE & BIN files.

CUE and BIN files always come together. The BIN file is comparable with an ISO and the CUE file is just a check, but it is required for any program to write this file correctly. Sometimes, theres an SFV file included. Again this is just a check-up about the file integrity.
You can burn and extract these files the same way i explained in 0x03.2.

0x04.0 - CD Emulation.

Ok, so here's another way to handle ISO images if you don't have a cd-writer.
You can create a virtual cd drive. What's that? That's something you'll see as a new disk drive in your Windows Explorer. This disk drive represents the contents you would see if you would burn the ISO image to cd!

Dvd-9 to Dvd+r Dl, Double Layer To Double Layer, 1-1 copies

2007-10-03T15:29:00.001-07:00

Dvd-9 -> Dvd+r Dl, Double Layer To Double Layer!, 1:1 copies

Remove all discs from drives.

Open DVD Decrypter.

From the 'Mode' menu, select 'ISO' -> 'Read'.

Put DVD-9 disc (Thats the film if you didn't guess) in drive.

Take note of the 'Destination' file name.

Click the big 'Decrypt' button.

Wait for it to read and write the image to your hard drive.

Take the DVD-9 disc (yep.. take the original film out) out of the drive.

From the 'Mode' menu, select 'ISO' -> 'Write'.

Put a blank double layer disc in your DVD Writer.

Click the little folder icon - 'Browse for source file' - and select the MDS file created for you as part of the steps above.

Click the big 'Write' button.

Finished!

Estimated time to read and burn 45 minutes. All copy protection is removed from the backup, and as you are writing to a dual layered disc there is no quality loss!!!

This process can be used to backup DVD5 disc's 1:1 and PS2 disc's.

Dos User - No Boot Dos Disk, No Edit.com,How to create Imp Files

2007-10-03T15:27:00.000-07:00

Hello Dos friends
This is a simple but most forgotton command to create
files like config.sys and autoexec.bat files, well heres it...
Even if u dont have a dos boot disk u can work ur way
to some extent.
********************************************
At c:\ prompt
type
copy con config.sys
devicehigh=c:\dos\himem.sys
device=c:\dos\setver.exe
devicehigh=c:\dos\emm386.exe ram
dos=high,umb
last drive=z
then press CTRL + z
press enter
Config.sys file will be created.
********************************************
Similarly u can create autoexec.bat
@echo off
prompt=$P$G
path=c:\dos;c:\
lh mouse
lh doskey
Press CTRL + Z
**********************************************

Dual Boot After The Fact

2007-10-02T14:18:00.002-07:00

I want to run both Windows 2000 Pro and Windows 98 SE on my computer. When I bought a new hard drive, I installed Windows 2000 on it first. But my subsequent research seems to indicate that I should have installed Windows 98 SE first and then Windows 2000 on a separate partition. How do I remove Windows 2000 from the drive so I can partition it and then install Windows 98 SE first and reinstall Windows 2000?

You don't have to remove Windows 2000. Start by installing Windows 98 SE in a different partition. When you're done, insert the Windows 2000 CD and reboot to start Windows 2000 setup. On the Welcome to Setup page, press R (for Repair). When you reach the Windows 2000 Repair Options page, press R again.

You'll then be prompted to select a repair option. Press M for Manual. Then press the Up Arrow until Verify Windows 2000 system files is highlighted; press Enter to clear this selection. Press the Down Arrow to select Continue (perform selected tasks), and then press Enter.

The system will ask whether you have an emergency repair disk. Press L, indicating it should Locate your existing installation. Once it does so, press Enter to complete the repairs. This will establish dual boot for you. (This procedure also works for Windows XP.)

*NOTE:

Don't know if this will also work for Linux. If anyone does try it, please let me know.

Discover New Music You'll Probably Love

2007-10-02T14:18:00.001-07:00

First off, I've been doing this for a long time now. I still listen to a lot of the bands I've found by doing this. It's really simple, but it works like a charm. I ALWAYS find cool new stuff -- sometimes even bands that have been around 10 years that I never heard of.

The things you need:
- (Optional) A file sharing program (I use limewire)
- A browser. :]

1.) Pick one of your favorite bands.
2.) Go to amazon.com or cdnow.com (same thing)
3.) Look up that band's name
4.) Scroll down until you see "Customers who bought this title also bought:"
5.) Browse through the artists you've never heard of in that list.
6.) Check out one of their albums, preferably the one with highest rating (in stars)
7.) Either listen to the samples on amazon or download a song by them with your filesharing app.

If you like what you hear, repeat steps 3-7 using the new band's name.

You'll find TONS of new music you never thought existed.

It's a really simple way to find stuff, and I'm sure lots of you probably already do this. But for those who don't -- you'll thank me later. It works wonders. :)

Disable Windows Logo Key

2007-10-02T14:17:00.004-07:00

I was recently playing games and this nasty windos logo key keep annoying me , cause i often accidently clicked it , and i start to search a solution to solve my problem, and found the following article in microsfot website, and it did work, hope this helps, thanks!

CODE
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=181348

or in other articles, u can copy the following messages into ur notepad and save as *.reg, and use it..

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Keyboard Layout]
"Scancode Map"=hex:00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,03,00,00,00,00,00,5b,e0,00,00,5c,e0,\
00,00,00,00

Disable The Send Error Report, to Microsoft

2007-10-02T14:17:00.003-07:00

To disable the stupid feature in WinXP which tries to send a report to microsoft every time a program crashes you will have to do this:

*************************************************************************

Open Control Panel
Click on Preformance and Maintenance.
Click on System.
Then click on the Advanced tab
Click on the error reporting button on the bottom of the windows.
Select Disable error reporting.
Click OK
Click OK

*************************************************************************

Disable Compression On Xp, NTFS partition, Disk Cleanup

2007-10-02T14:17:00.001-07:00

On an NTFS partition, Disk Cleanup can compress old files
to save space. But calculating the savings and performing
the compression often take a long time, and on some systems,
Disk Cleanup hangs during the process. If that happens, or if
you don't care to wait, use this Registry tweak to disable the
compression: Delete the key
HKEY_ LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Explorer\VolumeCaches\Compress Old Files.

DirectX explained

2007-10-02T14:16:00.002-07:00

Originally, DirectX began life as a simple toolkit: early hardware was limited and only the most basic graphical functions were required. As hardware and software has evolved in complexity, so has DirectX. It’s now much more than a graphical toolkit, and the term has come to encompass a massive selection of routines which deal with all sorts of hardware communication. For example, the DirectInput routines can deal with all sorts of input devices, from simple two-button mice to complex flight joysticks. Other parts include DirectSound for audio devices and DirectPlay provides a toolkit for online or multiplayer gaming.

DirectX versions
The current version of DirectX at time of writing is DirectX 9.0. This runs on all versions of Windows from Windows 98 up to and including Windows Server 2003 along with every revision in between. It doesn’t run on Windows 95 though: if you have a machine with Windows 95 installed, you’re stuck with the older and less capable 8.0a. Windows NT 4 also requires a specific version – in this case, it’s DirectX 3.0a.

With so many versions of DirectX available over the years, it becomes difficult to keep track of which version you need. In all but the most rare cases, all versions of DirectX are backwardly compatible – games which say they require DirectX 7 will happily run with more recent versions, but not with older copies. Many current titles explicitly state that they require DirectX 9, and won’t run without the latest version installed. This is because they make use of new features introduced with this version, although it has been known for lazy developers to specify the very latest version as a requirement when the game in question doesn’t use any of the new enhancements. Generally speaking though, if a title is version locked like this, you will need to upgrade before you can play. Improvements to the core DirectX code mean you may even see improvements in many titles when you upgrade to the latest build of DirectX. Downloading and installing DirectX need not be complex, either.

Upgrading DirectX
All available versions of Windows come with DirectX in one form or another as a core system component which cannot be removed, so you should always have at least a basic implementation of the system installed on your PC. However, many new games require the very latest version before they work properly, or even at all.

Generally, the best place to install the latest version of DirectX from is the dedicated section of the Microsoft Web site, which is found at www.microsoft.com/windows/directx. As we went to press, the most recent build available for general download was DirectX 9.0b. You can download either a simple installer which will in turn download the components your system requires as it installs, or download the complete distribution package in one go for later offline installation.

Another good source for DirectX is games themselves. If a game requires a specific version, it’ll be on the installation CD and may even be installed automatically by the game’s installer itself. You won’t find it on magazine cover discs though, thanks to Microsoft’s licensing terms.

Diagnosing problems

Diagnosing problems with a DirectX installation can be problematic, especially if you don’t know which one of the many components is causing your newly purchased game to fall over. Thankfully, Microsoft provides a useful utility called the DirectX Diagnostic Tool, although this isn’t made obvious. You won’t find this tool in the Start Menu with any version of Windows, and each tends to install it in a different place.

The easiest way to use it is to open the Start Menu’s Run dialog, type in dxdiag and then click OK. When the application first loads, it takes a few seconds to interrogate your DirectX installation and find any problems. First, the DirectX Files tab displays version information on each one of the files your installation uses. The Notes section at the bottom is worth checking, as missing or corrupted files will be flagged here.

The tabs marked Display, Sound, Music, Input and Network all relate to specific areas of DirectX, and all but the Input tab provide tools to test the correct functioning on your hardware. Finally, the More Help tab provides a useful way to start the DirectX Troubleshooter, Microsoft’s simple linear problem solving tool for many common DirectX issues.

Direct Link To Any Page You Want To In Hotmail

2007-10-02T14:16:00.001-07:00

This tutorial is for people that don't know how to direct link to .php pages on the web. If you are on a private computer, and don't mind auto-logging in, you will be able to access your folders much faster than going straight to hotmail.com

You will need a bit of information. Log into the hotmail main page. You will see a web address similar to the following:

http://by211.bay211.hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/hmhome?fti=yes&curmbox=00000000%2d0000...

It won't be exactly the same but it will be similar.

It's time to shorten this up. The only bit of information you really need is the direct web address to the server that contains your particular account. In the above example, you would just need:

CODE
http://by211.bay211.hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/

Just copy this section from your particular server addy in your browser's address bar.

Now that the explanation is over, these are the commands you can append to the above example to reach specific pages.

'hmhome' - MSN Hotmail - Today
'HoTMaiL' - Inbox
'HoTMaiL?&curmbox=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000005' - Junk E-Mail
'HoTMaiL?&curmbox=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000004' - Drafts
'HoTMaiL?&curmbox=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000003' - Sent Messages
'HoTMaiL?&curmbox=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000002' - Trash Can
'compose' - Compose Message
'addresses' - Address Book
'options' - Options, Duh
'options?section=mail' - Mail Options
'options?section=personal' - Personal Details
'protect?screen=filter' - Junkmail Filter
'options?section=contacts' - Contact Options

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

Remember, you just need to place these commands directly after 'http://.../cgi-bin/' without spaces.

If you have never tried this before, it works on many websites. So, if you don't like navigating websites, and would rather do that through your web-browser, go ahead and do it.

Digital Photo ID Cards

2007-10-02T14:15:00.003-07:00

Q: What do you need to make a Digital Photo ID Card?
A: Making digital photo ID cards typically requires several components all working together.
1. You need a computer on which you run the photo ID badge software. You cannot print the cards on a PVC card printer without a computer – the printer can't perform anything without the computer.
2. You need software and it must:
a) Offer a database to store the names and personal information of the people for whom you want to issue badges.
b) Provide a way to integrate image capture with the database – not only import images, but associate the images with specific database records.
c) Provide a way to design and edit badges.
d) Send badges from the computer to a card printer. Badging software, like other business applications, comes in a variety of "flavors" – from low-end to high-end. That is, in addition to performing the simple processes described above, the application may come with many other "features" which enhance the usability and functionality of the application. Features might include requiring a secure log-on, allowing the user to add, delete, or edit database fields and create or print reports, etc.
3. You need a PVC card printer to print the badges. PVC (polyvinylchloride) is the same material that your white plastic household plumbing pipes are made out of. It is porous enough to allow colored inks to be absorbed into the surface of the plastic using a "dye sublimation" process, yet durable enough to last years. The PVC printer allows you to print a photo ID badge directly to a plastic card. The non-digital process required cutting and pasting an instant photo and inserting it into a laminated pouch which must then be sealed by sending it through a heat laminator.
4. You need a digital camera or other "input" device. Your PC and software must allow you to:
a) Plug in a camera.
b) Capture the image through the software. More versatile systems will allow you to capture portraits through video cameras, digital cameras, scanners, or by importing from a file –an "import from file" feature allows someone to send a picture to you by email as a file attachment, which you can then import into the database.
5. Additional hardware may be required, such as a video capture board for certain video cameras, tape backup device, UPS (uninterrupted power supply), etc. Video capture boards, for example, are installed in a PCI or AGP expansion slot on your PC's motherboard. The camera usually plugs directly into these boards. Special lighting may need to be set up where you take portrait pictures. If you want to incorporate fingerprints and signatures in your database and badge, then additional image capture devices will be required for them.
6. Consumables are also part of the package. You will need blank or pre-printed PVC cards and printer ribbons (usually in rolls which print from 250-350 cards per).

Digital FAQ

2007-10-02T14:15:00.001-07:00

Capture:
VIDEO CAPTURE GUIDES
- Understanding your source
- Deciding on a capture resolution
- AVI vs. MPEG capture
- Interlaced vs. De-interlaced
- Playback hardware suggestions
- Capturing AVI with an ATI card
- Capturing AVI with others cards
- Capturing MPEG with an ATI card
- Capturing MPEG with other cards
- Mac capturing with Final Cut Pro
- PC capturing with Adobe Premiere
- DV capturing FAQ and myths
- How to avoid dropped frames
- How to do video the digitalFAQ way

Convert and Edit:
CONVERTING TO DVD MPEG
- Understanding your source
- Convert using ProCoder
- Convert using TMPGEnc Plus
- Convert VCD to DVD
VIDEO EDITING GUIDES
- Removing commercials in MPEG
- Editing DVD recorder discs on PC
- Editing a finished DVD
- Adobe Premiere guides by WVP

Restore:
VIDEO RESTORATION
- Introduction to restoring video
- TMPGEnc video filters
- ProCoder video filters
- VirtualDub and AVIsynth filters
- ATI VideoSoap
- digitalFAQ.com restoration services
AUDIO RESTORATION
- Introduction to restoring audio
- SoundForge Audio Filters
- DartPro Audio Filters

Author and Burn:
DVD AUTHORING FAQ
- Introduction and authoring FAQ
- Mixing Sources: Multiple VTS
- DVD Audio: AC3 vs. PCM vs. MP2
DVD AUTHORING & BURNING
- Author DVD: Sonic DVDit!
- Author DVD: Ulead DVD Workshop
- Author DVD: TMPGEnc DVD Author
- Author DVD: DVD Studio Pro
- Author DVD: Adobe Encore by WVP
- Burn DVD files: Nero
- Burn VCD-SVCD-CVD: Nero
- Burn VCD-SVCD-CVD: VCD Easy
DVD COPYING
- DVD9: Decrypter/DVD2one/Nero
- DVD9: Decrypter/DVDShrink
- DVD5: Decrypter
- Copy to VCD/SVCD/DVD by Sefy

Other Video Info:
VIDEO BUYER'S GUIDE
- Video equipment buying advice
- Newbie guide to DVD creation
- DVD recorder reviews and tips
- Video hardware reviews
- Video software reviews
- Sales and deals of the week
DVD MEDIA GUIDES
- Blank media and quality FAQ
- Where to buy good media
- DVD-R vs. DVD+R vs. DVD-RAM
DVD STORAGE and CASES
- Making DVD cases in Photoshop
- Where to buy DVD storage supplies
HARDWARE TROUBLESHOOTING
- DVD player problems
- DVD burner problems
- ATI video card installation

Digital Camera Guide

2007-10-02T14:13:00.000-07:00

So, it's time for a digital camera huh? Well, buying one can be more than a little difficult. What types of features should you look for? Well, this guide will tell you that plus get you a little more familiar with what these cameras are capable of.

Megapixels
When it comes to megapixels, the more the better. I recommend a minimum of 2, but 3 or 4 is great. We did a test to see if a camera with 2.3 megapixels (actually 1.92 - 1600 x 1200) could produce a good quality 8x10.

Turns out it can, if you have the right paper and printer. We used HP Premium Plus photo paper with an HP 970 series printer and made a fantastic 8 x 10. Remember, I was a professional photographer before I got into computing, so I know a good print when I see it :-)

The resolution at 8x10 (we had to crop in to make the picture proportional to 8x10) was only 150 DPI. Most printers would not make a real good 8x10 at that resolution, but this one did. So, if you want to be sure you can get good 8 x 10s, you may want to go with a 3 megapixel camera or better (that gives you around 200 DPI at 8x10 size, still not quite the optimum 300 DPI, but it looks good with the right printer).

Optical vs Digital Zoom
You've probably noticed that most digital cameras have both a specification for digital and optical zoom. Pay the most attention to the optical zoom.

The optical zoom magnifies (zooms in) using glass. The digital zoom basically crops out the edge of the picture to make the subject appear closer, causing you to lose resolution or to get an interpolated resolution (i.e. the camera adds pixels). Neither of which help image quality.

Finally, make sure you get enough (optical) zoom. A 2x zoom isn't going to do much for you. A 3x is the average you'll find in most digital cameras will probably be good for most uses. More on lenses later.

Connection
How does the camera connect to your computer? If you have a USB port in your computer, you'll want a camera that can connect via USB as opposed to a slow serial connection.

On the other hand, if your computer doesn't have a USB port, is there a serial connector available for the camera you're looking at? If so, is it a special order and how long does it take to get it?

Storage
What does the camera use to store images with? If it uses a memory stick, make sure you consider buying additional sticks when you get your camera. A typical 8 meg memory stick that comes with a 2 megapixel camera only holds 5 or 6 images at the camera's best quality.

Some cameras use a 3.5 inch disk for storage. Be careful of these!
Although it may sound like a good idea, a 3 megapixel camera at high resolution produces a 1 meg file (compressed!). That's only 1 picture per disk.

Here's a few more things to look out for when trying to make your digital camera purchase.

Picture Formats
When you're trying to decide on which digital camera to get, check and see how many different picture formats it supports.

You want something that can produce both uncompressed (usually TIFF) and compressed (usually JPEG) images. I personally use the high quality JPEG setting on my camera for most of my shooting. TIFFs are just too big and the difference in quality is not ascertainable by mere mortals.

You also want to be able to shoot at a lower resolution than the camera's maximum. That way, If you're running short on memory, you can squeeze a few more shots on your memory stick.

Auxiliary Lens / Flash
This was a biggie for me. While a 3x zoom may work for the "average" user, I needed something that allowed me to do some wide angle work as well as have a good telephoto lens.

So, the camera I purchased a few months back was a Nikon Coolpix 990 (note that this isn't the only camera that can accept lenses). It has auxiliary lenses that screw into the filter ring on the front of the lens. I now have an ultra-wide fisheye lens plus a nice telephoto.

In addition to lenses, I wanted a good flash. The flash that is built into most of these cameras gives you a top range of 15-20 feet - at best. I wanted a camera that could take a powerful auxiliary flash (again, the Nikon isn't the only camera that fits this requirement, but I liked it better than the rest). If you need more reach than the small built in flash can deliver, then make sure you can attach an external flash to any camera you consider.

As an added bonus, if you get a camera that can take an external flash, you can place that flash on a bracket and eliminate red-eye.

Flash Distance
Speaking of flashes, make sure you check the distance the built in flash is good for. You don't want a camera with a wimpy flash that only travels a few feet (well, unless you can get an external flash for it as described above).

Battery Type
This may not sound important, but it is. Anyone who owns a digital camera can tell you they eat batteries the way a sumo wrestler eats at a buffet.

Make sure the camera can run on regular (or rechargeable) "AA" type batteries. You don't want a camera that eats through expensive lithium batteries every 10 shots or so.

One thing to remember about digital cameras, they do eat through batteries. I recommend getting some Nickel Metal Hydride rechargeable for it. I have some for mine and they have saved me a fortune.

Final Notes
Choosing a digital camera isn't easy. There's a huge selection out there and only you can determine which features you need.

For instance, if you shoot wildlife photos, a small 3x zoom probably isn't going to cut it (unless you can attach auxiliary lenses to it). If you shoot lots of close-ups, make sure the camera has some sort of macro capability. If you shoot big group photos indoors, an external flash may be necessary.

My advice is to make a list of things you want to be able to do with the camera then go to somewhere that can help you make a good purchase decision.

Finally, buy the BEST camera you can possibly afford. Or wait until the price drops on one with the type of features you want.