Computer Export Solutions Windows ,Linnux,CCNA,MCSE,MCITP,JAVA,.NET Tutorial

How to Pick the Right Motherboard for Your Custom-Built PC

2011-05-12T00:02:00.000-07:00

Motherboards are the most complex component in your computer. Fitted with hundreds of components and dozens of options it can be difficult to choose. Let’s look at the most important factors to help you decide before building your next computer.

Motherboards are the central nervous system of your computer. They are responsible for connecting and communicating between all of the important components inside. Knowing what to look for is key when comparing boards.

Motherboard Sizes
Motherboards come in different shapes and sizes, but luckily there are some standards set in place so that a lot of motherboards and cases can work together.

For the most part these sizes apply to all desktop computers but some computers you buy from manufacturers don’t follow all the rules. This is usually fine when you buy the whole computer as a unit, but it becomes tricky if you want to swap a new motherboard into the case or build one from scratch.

The most common motherboard size is Intel’s Advanced Technology Extended (ATX) and its derivatives. The chart below has some of the most common ATX sizes, but there are plenty more options than just the few shown here.

Motherboard sizes not only indicate the size of the board and placement of mounting screws, but it also dictates the general layout of the major components on the board. Have you ever noticed that almost all motherboards have the CPU, RAM, and I/O ports in the same place? That is because they are determined by the board standard. The components have to be in the same place otherwise case and power supply manufacturers wouldn’t easily be able to sell you something that works with with your motherboard no matter who makes it.

For ATX motherboards the general layout of the board is shown in the picture below.

Intel’s second attempt at standardizing motherboards was with Balanced Technology Extended (BTX). The main focus of BTX was to solve airflow and component placement limitations of ATX. Although BTX was supposed to be the successor to the ATX form factor, it didn’t gain enough traction to take off in the consumer market. Some large computer manufacturers such as HP, Dell, and Apple still use BTX, or proprietary variations of it. The main layout differences can be seen in the picture below.

Because BTX has been abandoned by Intel since 2007, you will just need to focus on which ATX size best suits your needs. Typically the main difference between small ATX boards and larger boards are expansion slots and CPU support.

Processor Sockets

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How To Edit Your Hosts File block websites

2011-05-11T23:52:00.000-07:00

On occasion you will need to edit the hosts file on your machine. Sometimes because of an attack or prank, and others so that you can simply and freely control access to websites and network traffic.

hosts files have been in use since ARPANET. They were used to resolve hosts names before DNS. hosts files would be massive documents used to aide the network name resolution.

Microsoft kept the hosts file alive in Windows networking which is why it varies very little whether used in Windows, OS X or Linux. The syntax stays mostly the same across all platforms. Most hosts files will have several entries for loopback. We can use that for the basic example for the typical syntax.

The first part will be the location to redirect the address to, the second part will be the address that you will want to redirect, and the third part is the comment. They can be separated by a space, but for ease of reading are typically separated by one or two tabs.

127.0.0.1 localhosts #loopback

Now let’s look at accessing the hosts files in the different operating systems…

Windows 7
To access the hosts file in Windows 7 you can use the following command in the Run Line to open notepad and the file.

notepad c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts

Once notepad is open you can edit the file. In this example we will block Facebook. To do this just enter in the following after the # mark.

0.0.0.0 www.facebook.com

Now that you have edited your Hosts file make sure to save it.

Now notice if we try to access Facebook in IE we can’t get to the page.

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4 Ways to Make UAC Less Annoying on Windows 7 / Vista

2011-05-11T23:40:00.000-07:00

The single biggest irritation in Windows 7 and Vista is the UAC (User Account Control) system, especially for people that do a lot of tweaking. When you are trying to make configuration changes, it seems like every couple of seconds you are hitting another UAC prompt. Sure, it’s more secure… but what options do we have to make it less annoying?

There are at least 4 different ways that we can tweak UAC to be less annoying, most of which I’ve written about before.

Note: Disabling or modifying UAC is a security risk. If you want to be as secure as possible, you should likely leave things alone.

1) Disable UAC Entirely

The first thing that you can always do is completely disable UAC… the only problem with this is that you’ll end up making the system less secure if you are also the type of person that downloads and tests a lot of software. I can’t recommend that you do this, but at least you know that you have the option to.

2) Auto-Accept UAC Prompts for Administrators Only
If you want to leave UAC enabled, but disable the prompts from showing up under your administrator account, you can tweak a setting that will “Elevate without prompting”, so you never see the prompt show up. This is more secure than disabling UAC entirely, because an application started as a regular user can’t perform an action that is meant for administrators. For instance, Internet Explorer can still run in protected mode this way.

3) Disable the Blackout Screen (Secure Desktop)

The most annoying part of UAC for me is the screen that blacks out everything other than the UAC prompt… because it usually takes forever to show up, and depending on your video card it can do weird things with your desktop. You can disable the secure desktop feature but leave the UAC prompts the way they are… of course this is potentially a security hole as well, since an application could fraudulently “click” the prompt for you. (Secure desktop prevents applications from doing this)

4) Create Administrator Mode Shortcuts Without UAC Prompts
Instead of disabling UAC in any way, what we can do is setup a few shortcuts that bypass UAC entirely. This is especially useful if you open a particular administrator-mode application a dozen times per day. The trick to this is using task scheduler to launch the applications, and then telling task scheduler to run the task. This is more secure than the other options, since only our special shortcut will bypass UAC.

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20 Windows Keyboard Shortcuts You Might Not Know

2011-05-11T23:21:00.000-07:00

Mastering the keyboard will not only increase your navigation speed but it can also help with wrist fatigue. Here are some lesser known Windows shortcuts to help you become a keyboard ninja.

Global Windows Shortcuts
Win+1, 2, 3, 4, etc. will launch each program in your taskbar. It is helpful then to keep your most used programs at the beginning of your task bar so you can open them one right after another. This also works in Windows Vista for the quick launch icons.

Win+Alt+1, 2, 3, etc. will open the jump list for each program in the taskbar. You can then use your arrows to select which jump list option you want to open.

Win+T will cycle through taskbar programs. This is similar to just hovering over the item with your mouse but you can launch the program with Space or Enter.

Win+Home minimizes all programs except current the window. This is similar to the Aero shake and can be disabled with the same registry key.

Win+B selects the system tray which isn’t always useful but can come in very handy if your mouse stops working.

Win+Up/Down maximizes and restores down the current window so long as that window has the option to be maximized. It is exactly the same as clicking on the middle button on your windows.

Alt+Esc is like Alt+Tab but switches windows in the order they were opened and does not have the fancy window preview overlay.

Win+Pause/Break will open your system properties window. This can be helpful if you need to see the name of a computer or simple system statistics.

Ctrl+Esc can be used to open the start menu but will not work as a Windows key replacement for other shortcuts.

Ctrl+Shift+Esc will open the task manager without needing to hit Ctrl+Alt+Del first.

Alt+Space will open the window system menu which can be used to maximize (x), minimize (n), close (c), or move (m) the window which can be especially helpful if your window is somehow off-screen. This shortcut can also be helpful with windows that don’t close with the Alt+F4 shortcut such as the command window.

Windows Explorer Shortcuts
Here are handy shortcuts built into Windows Explorer which may have similar features in other programs too.

Alt+Up will navigate up one folder level since the up arrow on the menu bar was removed in Windows Vista. Alternatively, you can also make Backspace go up one folder level with a handy AutoHotKey script.

Shift+F10 opens the contextual or “right click” menu for a file/folder. This can be very handy for speed especially if you know which option you want to select. Look for an underlined letter in each option to know which letter you can press for faster access.

Shift+Del deletes a file without sending it to the recycle bin because who wants to empty their recycle bin anyway?

Ctrl+Shift+N creates a new folder in your current directory.

Alt+Enter opens the file properties so you can view file size, sharing settings, and creation date.

F2 renames a file or folder.

F3 will open explorer and select the search bar. If you already have an explorer window open it will highlight the search bar. In some programs it will also open the search dialog to search within that program.

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Redhat KickStart Installation step by step guide

2011-03-08T09:19:00.000-08:00

1. Create a kickstart file.
2. Create a boot media with the kickstart file or make the kickstart file available on the network.
3. Make the installation tree available.
4. Start the kickstart installation.

Genral Installation and automatic creation of kickstart file

step 1 : Connect system to DHCP network
Step 2 : Boot your system using Redhat boot media.
Step 3 : Enter command "linux askmethod" at boot prompt and press enter.
step 4 : Follow the installation process till it asks for Installation Method.

The options for installation method incude.

Local CDROM
Hard Drive
NFS Image ( Network installation )
FTP ( Network installation )
HTTP ( Network installation )

Select your method and install accordingly.

After installation /root/anaconda-ks.cfg file is automatically created during Install.

/root/anaconda-ks.cfg can be used as a template for future installation.

It is a scripted installation process.

we can manually configure with System-Config-Kickstart

Check systax of Kickstart file with : ksvalidator

Once you are ready with Kickstart file lets start installation with Kickstart file.

for installation with kickstart we should give following command at boot prompt

linux ks= Url

Ks will queries DHCP for kickstart location
URl gets file via HTTP or FTP or NFS.

we can also give local address like

KS=floppy; ks=Cdrom or ks= hd:device:/path of the file.

Using a NFS Server

Verify that the first two lines of the file look like this or else you may be prompted for NFS ISO file location information.

install
nfs --server=192.16.1.100 --dir=/data/network-install/ISO

example : linux ks=nfs:192.168.1.100:/kickstart/ks.cfg

Run this at boot prompt with your settings for NFS ks installation

Using a Web Server

Verify that the first two lines of the file look like this or else you may be prompted for RPM base file location information.

install
url --url http://192.168.1.100/network-install/

example : linux ks=http://192.168.1.100/network-install/kickstart/ks.cfg

Run this at boot prompt with your settings for http ks installation

Comming to Kickstart file it consists of three sections

1 command section
2 packages section
3 scripts section

Note 1: Do not change the order of the entries in the kickstart configuration file.
Note 2: The IP address you assign must be on the same subnet as that of the DHCP server for kickstart to work. If the server is going to reside on a different network after the installation, then you have to run a separate script to change the IP addressing information after the installation is complete.

50 COMMON INTERVIEW QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

2011-02-13T09:31:00.000-08:00

1. Tell me about yourself:
The most often asked question in interviews. You need to have a short statement prepared in your mind. Be careful that it does not sound rehearsed. Limit it to work-related items unless instructed otherwise. Talk about things you have done and jobs you have held that relate to the position you are interviewing for. Start with the item farthest back and work up
to the present.

2. Why did you leave your last job?
Stay positive regardless of the circumstances. Never refer to a major problem with management and never speak ill of supervisors, co-workers or the organization. If you do,you will be the one looking bad. Keep smiling and talk about leaving for a positive reason such as an opportunity, a chance to do something special or other forward-looking reasons.

3. What experience do you have in this field?
Speak about specifics that relate to the position you are applying for. If you do not have specific experience, get as close as you can.

4. Do you consider yourself successful?
You should always answer yes and briefly explain why. A good explanation is that you have set goals, and you have met some and are on track to achieve the others.

5. What do co-workers say about you?
Be prepared with a quote or two from co-workers. Either a specific statement or a paraphrase will work. Jill Clark, a co-worker at Smith Company, always said I was the hardest workers she had ever known. It is as powerful as Jill having said it at the interview herself.

6. What do you know about this organization?
This question is one reason to do some research on the organization before the interview. Find out where they have been and where they are going. What are the current issues and who are the major players?

7. What have you done to improve your knowledge in the last year?
Try to include improvement activities that relate to the job. A wide variety of activities can be mentioned as positive self-improvement. Have some good ones handy to mention.

8. Are you applying for other jobs?
Be honest but do not spend a lot of time in this area. Keep the focus on this job and what you can do for this organization. Anything else is a distraction.

9. Why do you want to work for this organization? This may take some thought and certainly, should be based on the research you have done on the organization. Sincerity is extremely important here and will easily be sensed. Relate it to your long-term career goals.

10. Do you know anyone who works for us?
Be aware of the policy on relatives working for the organization. This can affect your answer even though they asked about friends not relatives. Be careful to mention a friend only if they are well thought of.

11. What kind of salary do you need?
A loaded question. A nasty little game that you will probably lose if you answer first. So, do not answer it. Instead, say something like, That’s a tough question. Can you tell me the range for this position? In most cases, the interviewer, taken off guard, will tell you. If not, say that it can depend on the details of the job. Then give a wide range.

12. Are you a team player?
You are, of course, a team player. Be sure to have examples ready. Specifics that show you often perform for the good of the team rather than for yourself are good evidence of your team attitude. Do not brag, just say it in a matter-of-fact tone. This is a key point.

13. How long would you expect to work for us if hired?
Specifics here are not good. Something like this should work: I’d like it to be a long time. Or As long as we both feel I’m doing a good job.

14. Have you ever had to fire anyone? How did you feel about that?
This is serious. Do not make light of it or in any way seem like you like to fire people. At the same time, you will do it when it is the right thing to do. When it comes to the organization versus the individual who has created a harmful situation, you will protect the organization. Remember firing is not the same as layoff or reduction in force.

15. What is your philosophy towards work?
The interviewer is not looking for a long or flowery dissertation here. Do you have strong feelings that the job gets done? Yes. That’s the type of answer that works best here. Short and positive, showing a benefit to the organization.

16. If you had enough money to retire right now, would you?
Answer yes if you would. But since you need to work, this is the type of work you prefer. Do not say yes if you do not mean it.

17. Have you ever been asked to leave a position?
If you have not, say no. If you have, be honest, brief and avoid saying negative things about the people or organization involved.

18. Explain how you would be an asset to this organization -
You should be anxious for this question. It gives you a chance to highlight your best points as they relate to the position being discussed. Give a little advance thought to this relationship.

19. Why should we hire you?
Point out how your assets meet what the organization needs. Do not mention any other candidates to make a comparison.

20. Tell me about a suggestion you have made -
Have a good one ready. Be sure and use a suggestion that was accepted and was then considered successful. One related to the type of work applied for is a real plus.

21. What irritates you about co-workers?
This is a trap question. Think real hard but fail to come up with anything that irritates you. A short statement that you seem to get along with folks is great.

22. What is your greatest strength?
Numerous answers are good, just stay positive. A few good examples:
Your ability to prioritize, Your problem-solving skills, Your ability to work under pressure, Your ability to focus on projects, Your professional expertise, Your leadership skills, Your
positive attitude .

23. Tell me about your dream job.
Stay away from a specific job. You cannot win. If you say the job you are contending for is it, you strain credibility. If you say another job is it, you plant the suspicion that you will be dissatisfied with this position if hired. The best is to stay genetic and say something like: A job where I love the work, like the people, can contribute and can’t wait to get to work.

24. Why do you think you would do well at this job?
Give several reasons and include skills, experience and interest.

25. What are you looking for in a job?
See answer # 23

26. What kind of person would you refuse to work with?
Do not be trivial. It would take disloyalty to the organization, violence or lawbreaking to get you to object. Minor objections will label you as a whiner.

27. What is more important to you: the money or the work?
Money is always important, but the work is the most important. There is no better answer.

28. What would your previous supervisor say your strongest point is?
There are numerous good possibilities: Loyalty, Energy, Positive attitude, Leadership, Team player, Expertise, Initiative, Patience,
Hard work, Creativity, Problem solver

29. Tell me about a problem you had with a supervisor -
Biggest trap of all. This is a test to see if you will speak ill of your boss. If you fall for it and tell about a problem with a former boss, you may well below the interview right there. Stay
positive and develop a poor memory about any trouble with a supervisor.

30. What has disappointed you about a job?
Don’t get trivial or negative. Safe areas are few but can include:
Not enough of a challenge. You were laid off in a reduction Company did not win a contract, which would have given you more responsibility.

31. Tell me about your ability to work under pressure.- You may say that you thrive under certain types of pressure. Give an example that relates to the type of position applied for.

32. Do your skills match this job or another job more closely?
Probably this one. Do not give fuel to the suspicion that you may want another job more than this one.

33. What motivates you to do your best on the job?
This is a personal trait that only you can say, but good examples are:
Challenge, Achievement, Recognition

34. Are you willing to work overtime? Nights? Weekends?
This is up to you. Be totally honest.

35. How would you know you were successful on this job?
Several ways are good measures: You set high standards for yourself and meet them. Your outcomes are a success.Your boss tell you that you are successful

36. Would you be willing to relocate if required?
You should be clear on this with your family prior to the interview if you think there is a chance it may come up. Do not say yes just to get the job if the real answer is no. This can create a lot of problems later on in your career. Be honest at this point and save yourself future grief.

37. Are you willing to put the interests of the organization ahead of your own?
This is a straight loyalty and dedication question. Do not worry about the deep ethical and philosophical implications. Just say yes.

38. Describe your management style.
Try to avoid labels. Some of the more common labels, like progressive, salesman or consensus, can have several meanings or descriptions depending on which management expert you listen to. The situational style is safe, because it says you will manage according to the situation, instead of one size fits all.

39. What have you learned from mistakes on the job?
Here you have to come up with something or you strain credibility. Make it small, well intentioned mistake with a positive lesson learned. An example would be working too far ahead of colleagues on a project and thus throwing coordination off.

40. Do you have any blind spots?
Trick question. If you know about blind spots, they are no longer blind spots. Do not reveal any personal areas of concern here. Let them do their own discovery on your bad points. Do not hand it to them.

41. If you were hiring a person for this job, what would you look for?
Be careful to mention traits that are needed and that you have.

42. Do you think you are overqualified for this position?
Regardless of your qualifications, state that you are very well qualified for the position.

43. How do you propose to compensate for your lack of experience?
First, if you have experience that the interviewer does not know about, bring that up: Then, point out (if true) that you are a hard working quick learner.

44. What qualities do you look for in a boss?
Be generic and positive. Safe qualities are knowledgeable, a sense of humor, fair, loyal to subordinates and holder of high standards. All bosses think they have these traits.

45. Tell me about a time when you helped resolve a dispute between others.
Pick a specific incident. Concentrate on your problem solving technique and not the dispute you settled.

46. What position do you prefer on a team working on a project?
Be honest. If you are comfortable in different roles, point that out.

47. Describe your work ethic.
Emphasize benefits to the organization. Things like, determination to get the job done and work hard but enjoy your work are good.

48. What has been your biggest professional disappointment?
Be sure that you refer to something that was beyond your control. Show acceptance and no negative feelings.

49. Tell me about the most fun you have had on the job.
Talk about having fun by accomplishing something for the organization.

50. Do you have any questions for me?
Always have some questions prepared. Questions prepared where you will be an asset to the organization are good. How soon will I be able to be productive? and What type of projects will I be able to assist on? are examples.

101 Google tips, tricks and hacks

2011-02-12T08:52:00.000-08:00

Looking for the ultimate tips for Google searching? You've just found the only guide to Google you need. Let's get started:
1. The best way to begin searching harder with Google is by clicking the Advanced Search link.
2. This lets you search for exact phrases, "all these words", or one of the specified keywords by entering search terms into the appropriate box.
3. You can also define how many results you want on the page, what language and what file type you're looking for, all with menus.
4. Advanced Search lets you type in a Top Level Domain (like .co.uk) in the "Search within site of domain" box to restrict results.
5. And you can click the "Date, usage rights, numeric range and more" link to access more advanced features.
6. Save time – most of these advanced features are also available in Google's front page search box, as command line parameters.
7. Google's main search invisibly combines search terms with the Boolean construct "AND". When you enter smoke fire – it looks for smoke AND fire.
8. To make Google search for smoke or fire, just type smoke OR fire
9. Instead of OR you can type the | symbol, like this: smoke | fire
10. Boolean connectors like AND and OR are case sensitive. They must be upper case.
11. Search for a specific term, then one keyword OR another by grouping them with parentheses, like this: water (smoke OR fire)
12. To look for phrases, put them in quotes: "there's no smoke without fire"
13. Synonym search looks for words that mean similar things. Use the tilde symbol before your keyword, like this: ~eggplant
14. Exclude specific key words with the minus operator. new pram -ebay excludes all results from eBay.
15. Common words, like I, and, then and if are ignored by Google. These are called "stop words".
16. The plus operator makes sure stop words are included. Like: fish +and chips
17. If a stop word is included in a phrase between quote marks as a phrase, the word is searched for.
18. You can also ask Google to fill in a blank. Try: Christopher Columbus discovered *
19. Search for a numerical range using the numrange operator. For example, search for Sony TV between £300 and £500 with the string Sony TV £300..£500
20. Google recognises 13 main file types through advanced search, including all Microsoft Office Document types, Lotus, PostScript, Shockwave Flash and plain text files.
21. Search for any filetype directly using the modifier filetype:[filetype extension]. For example: soccer filetype:pdf
22. Exclude entire file types, using the same Boolean syntax we used to exclude key words earlier: rugby -filetype:doc
23, In fact, you can combine any Boolean search operators, as long as your syntax is correct. An example: "sausage and mash" -onions filetype:doc
24. Google has some very powerful, hidden search parameters, too. For example "intitle" only searches page titles. Try intitle:herbs
25. If you're looking for files rather than pages – give index of as the intitle: parameter. It helps you find web and FTP directories.
26. The modifier inurl only searches the web address of a page: give inurl:spices a go.
27. Find live webcams by searching for: inurl:view/view.shtml
28. The modifier inanchor is very specific, only finding results in text used in page links.
29. Want to know how many links there are to a site? Try link:sitename – for example link:www.mozilla.org
30. Similarly, you can find pages that Google thinks are related in content, using the related: modifier. Use it like this: related:www.microsoft.com
31. The modifier info:site_name returns information about the specified page.
32. Alternatively, do a normal search then click the "Similar Pages" link next to a result.
33. Specify a site to search with the site: modifier – like this: search tips site:www.techradar.com
34. The above tip works with directory sites like www.dmoz.org and dynamically generated sites.
35. Access Google Directory – a database of handpicked and rated sites – at directory.google.com
36. The Boolean operators intitle and inurl work in Google directory, as does OR.
37. Use the site: modifier when searching Google Images, at images.google.com. For example: dvd recorder site:www.amazon.co.uk
38. Similar, using "site:.com" will only return results from .com domains.
39. Google News (news.google.com) has its own Boolean parameters. For example "intext" pulls terms from the body of a story.
40. If you use the operator "source:" in Google News, you can pick specific archives. For example: heather mills source:daily_mail
41. Using the "location:" filter enables you to return news from a chosen country. location:uk for example.
42. Similarly, Google Blogsearch (blogsearch.google.com) has its own syntax. You can search for a blog title, for example, using inblogtitle:
43. The general search engine can get very specific indeed. Try movie: to look for movie reviews.
44. The modifier film: works just as well!
45. Enter showtimes and Google will prompt you for your postcode. Enter it and it'll tell you when and where local films are showing.
46. For a dedicated film search page, go to www.google.co.uk/movies
47. If you ticked "Remember this Location" when you searched for show times, the next time you can enter the name of a current film instead.
48. Google really likes movies. Try typing director: The Dark Knight into the main search box.
49. For cast lists, try cast: name_of_film
50. The modifier music: followed by a band, song or album returns music reviews.
51. Try searching for weather London – you'll get a full 4-day forecast.
52. There's also a built-in dictionary. Try define: in the search box.
53. Google stores the content of old sites. You can search this cache direct with the syntax keyword cache:site_url
54. Alternatively, enter cache:site_url into Google's search box to be taken direct to the stored site.
55. No calculator handy? Use Google's built in features. Try typing 12*15 and hitting "Google Search".
56. Google's calculator converts measurements and understands natural language. Type in 14 stones in kilos, for example.
57. It does currency conversion too. Try 200 pounds in euros
58. If you know the currency code you can type 200 GBP in EUR instead for more reliable results.
59. And temperature! Just type: 98 f to c to convert Fahrenheit to Centigrade.
60. Want to know how clever Google really is? Type 2476 in roman numerals, then hit "Google Search"...
61. You can personalise your Google experience by creating a Google account. Go to www.google.com/account/ then click "Create Account".
62. With a Google account there are lots more extras available. You'll get a free Gmail email account for one...
63. With your Google account, you can also personalise your front page. Click "iGoogle" to add blog and site feeds.
64. Click "Add a Tab" in iGoogle to add custom tabs. Google automatically populates them with suitable site suggestions.
65. iGoogle allows you to theme your page too. Click "Select Theme" to change the default look.
66. Some iGoogle themes change with time..."Sweet Dreams" is a theme that turns from day to night as you browse.
67. Click "More" under "Try something new" to access a full list of Google sites and new features.
68. "Custom Search" enables you to create a branded Google search for your own site.
69. An active, useful service missing from the list is "Personalised Search" – but you can access it via www.google.com/psearch when you're logged in.
70. This page lists searches you have recently made – and is divided into categories. Clicking "pause" stops Google from recording your history.
71. Click "Trends" to see the sites you visit most, the terms you enter most often and links you've clicked on!
72. Personalised Search also includes a bookmark facility – which enables you to save bookmarks online and access them from anywhere.
73. You can add bookmarks or access your bookmarks using the iGoogle Bookmarks gadget.
74. Did you know you can search within your returned results? Scroll down to the bottom of the search results page to find the link.
75. Search locally by appending your postcode to the end of query. For example Indian food BA1 2BW finds restaurants in Bath, with addresses and phone numbers!
76. Looking for a map? Just add map to the end of your query, like this: Leeds map
77. Google finds images just as easily and lists them at the top, when you add image to the end of your search.
78. Google Image Search recognises faces... add &imgtype=face to the end of the returned URL in the location bar, then hit enter to filter out pictures that aren't people.
79. Keeping an eye on stocks? Type stocks: followed by market ticker for the company and Google returns the data from Google Finance.
80. Enter the carrier and flight number in Google's main search box to return flight tracking information.
81. What time is it? Find out anywhere by typing time then the name of a place.
82. You may have noticed Google suggests alternate spellings for search terms – that's the built in spell checker!
83. You can invoke the spell checker directly by using spell: followed by your keyword.
84. Click "I'm Feeling Lucky" to be taken straight to the first page Google finds for your keyword.
85. Enter a statistics-based query like population of Britain into Google, and it will show you the answer at the top of its results.
86. If your search has none-English results, click "Translate this Page" to see it in English.
87. You can search foreign sites specifically by clicking "Language Tools", then choosing which countries sites to translate your query to.
88. Other features on the language tools page include a translator for blocks of text you can type or cut and paste.
89. There's also a box that you can enter a direct URL into, translating to the chosen language.
90. Near the language tools link, you'll see the "Search Preferences". This handy page is full of secret functionality.
91. You can specify which languages Google returns results in, ticking as many (or few) boxes as you like.
92. Google's Safe Search protects you from explicit sexual content. You can choose to filter results more stringently or switch it off completely.
93. Google's default of 10 results a page can be increased to up to 100 in Search Preferences, too.
94. You can also set Google to open your search results in a new window.
95. Want to see what others are searching for or improve your page rank? Go to www.google.com/zeitgeist
96. Another useful, experimental search can be found at www.google.com/trends – where you can find the hottest search terms.
97. To compare the performance of two or more terms, enter them into the trends search box separated by commas.
98. Fancy searching Google in Klingon? Go to www.google.com/intl/xx-klingon
99. Perhaps the Swedish chef from the muppets is your role model instead? Check www.google.com/intl/xx-bork
100. Type answer to life, the universe and everything into Google. You may be surprised by the result...
101. It will also tell you the number of horns on a unicorn

How To Remove CPALead Surveys 100% Working (Revealed)

2011-02-09T23:18:00.000-08:00

How To Remove CPALead Surveys 100% Working (Revealed)

In this tutorial I will show you how to remove CPALead surveys. Sometimes if you search on google for something, and you find it it may require to do a survey, but it may not be avaible. So here's a way to remove it and continue browsing.
1) Find a website which requires to do CPALead in order to browse the website.

http://www.youserials.com/serial/adobephotoshopcs4/189664

2) Paste the following code in your address bar (you must have enabled javascript in order this to work):

javascript:(function(){(function(){var z=["Timeout","Interval"];for(var i=0;i<1;i++){var x=window["set"+z[i]]("null",1);for(var j=x;j>0&&x-j<99;j--)window["clear"+z[i]](j);}})();var gn=function(){var q=function(min,max){return Math.floor(Math.random()*(max-min+1))+min;};var n="";for(var r=0;r

3) The CPALead survey has been removed. Smile

Tip:

You could add the javascript into your bookmarks for faster and easily use. If you find a website which require CPALead survey, just open the bookmard and it's gone.

Enjoy.......

See The Passwords Behind Asterisk !

2011-02-09T23:15:00.000-08:00

am going to show you in a short tutorial how to read out a password of a web browser.

Example:

http://www.gmail.com

Username: example@gmail.com
Password: **

What's my password?

Alright, now you could read out the *** stuff with a simple javascript code.

javascript:(function(){var s,F,j,f,i; s = ""; F = document.forms; for(j=0; j

Add a Network printer to Windows Vista or Windows XP

2011-02-01T22:41:00.000-08:00

Now days the average household has more than one computer and share available resources over a home network. No-ones wants their house cluttered up with unnecessary office equipment, and this is exactly the reason why we need to use a network printer. For example if you have three computers on your home network you would only need one printer for them all. Windows XP and Vista allow you to use computer hardware that is connected to another computer on your Network. Here’s how to add a Network Printer.
What do you need to add a network printer?

1. A network printer can be a printer that is already installed on one computer in your home or office network. It does not have to be anything special.
2. You need to know the actual computer name that the printer is installed on. How to find the Computer Name?
3. Printer Sharing has to be enabled. (Go to Control Panel>Printers Settings Icon>right click on the printer icon and choose sharing. Also create a simple name for your printer here.)
4. The share name of you shared printer. It usually is the brand of the printer which could be cannon bj3000, however I like to rename it just printer.

How to add a network printer onto your home network:

1. Go to the control panel which can be found by clicking the start button.
2. In the left bar click on switch to classic view.
3. Then click on the Printer and Faxes Icon.
4. Choose to Add Printer in the left sidebar.
5. A dialog box will appear. You can choose to add a network Printer. Then ask the computer to find it. If it does find it your done.
6. When the computer does not find your network printer manually type it in yourself.

1. I have written \\server\printer$ then I pressed Next. Server is the name of the computer that has the printer installed on it, and Printer$ is the name I gave my printer when I enabled sharing.

Advantages and disadvantages to having a network printer?
Advantages:

* You only need one printer for your entire network.
* You save money on office equipment.
* You save space.

Disadvantages:

* If another user is printing hundreds of pages on the network printer you will have to wait for them to finish printing.
* The computer the network printer is attached to must be on for the printer to function.

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Is Laptop Hard Drive Recovery Possible?

2011-02-01T22:38:00.001-08:00

These days’ laptops are being used because of its portability, which is not possible with the PC. A laptop computer enables people or a business professional to carry his office with him, and enables him to work and also stay in business also whenever he isn’t at home or in his or her work place. Thus, it is obvious that a laptop would generally be stored with vital business and official data. But, it’d be rather frustrating just in case your significant data is lost associated with the laptop and at the same time you don’t have a back up of the significant data files.

There may be many reasons of data loss in laptop computers. Some of them are accidental deletion, human error, virus act, corruption and many other problems may lead to loss of valuable data from your laptop.

The worst thing that can occur to most laptop computer users, apart from the loss of the whole laptop computer, is disk drive failure. The disk drive keeps your entire information, data files, and all your emails and contacts when you utilize Outlook, or any other information. To put it briefly, any wrong motility may often damage the laptop computer and in addition information held in it, and therefore is certainly treated with utmost caution.

When you erase the information, that component of your hard disk, where your information was stored gets totally free to store some new information, but the pattern proceeds to persist, until it is recycled. Indeed let’s come down to the three golden rules you ought to pursue, after you realize that you still have lost information.

A laptop computer hard drive information retrieval could be proficient adequate to regain information from a lot of the types of laptop computer hard drives for instance parallel ATA (PATA), Serial ATA (SATA), SCSI (SCSI), and Solid State Drives (SSD). As well as in house service, some companies even interpret onsite laptop computer hard drive information retrieval services nevertheless much like the reason for information loss. There are similar companies that interpret professional messenger and pick up services.

A leading laptop hard drive recovery is provided by many softwares that are available in the market. It is one of the quick, trustworthy, and straightforward ways to rescue your lost data from your laptop. They also provide services that assist you to restore lost data which is lost as a result of several reasons, from logical and physical damages to natural disasters such as earthquake, flood, and cyclone.

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How to install Linux operating system

2011-02-01T22:36:00.000-08:00

To install using one of these methods, you must create a boot CD or USB boot. You do this by downloading an image file from a Mandrill mirror site and copying it to disk or USB key. These files are located in / or i586/install/images/x86_64/install/images depending on the version you want to install. The image for the CD boot boot.iso call’d, and one for the USB all.img.

Thus, for example, the image file to a CD from the i586 version of Mandriva Linux 2007 is in / on any MandrivaLinux/official/2007.0/i586/install/images/boot.iso Mandriva mirror site.

To boot from the CD image, burn the iso as an image (not as a file) on a CD or DVD recordable / rewritable using your favorite burning software, then reboot with the CD in the drive. if the installation does not start, refer to # Mandriva Linux installation does not start when the system starts with the CD or DVD in the player above.

To boot from a USB key, use the dd command (on Linux) to write the image on the key. You must know the correct device node for USB key – usually / dev/sda1, but it may be different if you use other USB storage devices, SCSI or SATA on your system. Be very careful in copying the image on a SCSI or SATA hard disk you’ll make it unbootable and destroy data. The command to use is:

dd if = all.img of = / dev/sda1

by replacing the device node with the correct value. After writing the image, reboot the system with the USB connected. To write the image file on the USB drive in Windows, see WinImage.

If the installation does not start, refer to # Mandriva Linux installation does not start when the system starts with the CD or DVD in the player above and select the USB as first boot device. Please note that some systems cannot boot from a USB storage device, and the boot device USB floppy drive is different from the boot device to USB. If your system can not boot from a USB key, you must use another method of installation.

In all cases, you are now entering the process of installing Mandriva Linux and the choice is given to the installation method to use.

There are two main ways to install on the hard drive: you can either install from a local mirror of the tree of Mandriva Linux (which you previously recreated by downloading the entire tree from a public mirror, using for example rsync), or you can install directly from the images to CD / DVD format. ISO of Mandriva Linux without burning them to disc.

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Fast Ethernet

2011-02-01T22:34:00.001-08:00

Fast Ethernet is traditional CSMA/CD (carrier sense multiple access/collision detection) access control at 100 Mbits/sec over twisted-pair wire. The original Ethernet data rate was 10 Mbits/sec.

During the early development of Fast Ethernet, two different groups worked out standards proposals-and both were finally approved, but under different IEEE committees. One standard became IEEE 802.3u Fast Ethernet and the other became 100VG-AnyLAN, which is now governed by the IEEE 802.12 committee. The latter uses the “demand priority” medium access method instead of CSMA/CD.

100VG-AnyLAN has not caught on, while Fast Ethernet enjoyed great success in enterprise LAN environments. At about the same time, switching technologies came on the scene to further improve network performance. More recently, Gigabit Ethernet has come on the scene to provide a high-speed upgrade path for Fast Ethernet users. It provides high-speed backbones that interconnect Fast Ethernet LANs. See “Gigabit Ethernet.”

Fast Ethernet takes advantage of the scalability of CSMA/CD hierarchical networking. It is designed after the 10Base-T standard and can be built into hierarchical networking topologies like that shown in Figure F-1. This type of configuration is compatible with structured wiring strategies, as discussed under “TIA/EIA Structured Cabling Standards.”

The primary concern of Fast Ethernet developers was to preserve the CSMA/CD medium access method of 802.3 Ethernet while boosting the data rate. In addition, the developers kept the frame format. Because of this, Fast Ethernet fits in well with traditional Ethernet installations. One version of the Fast Ethernet standard will run on older Category 3 cable installations. Multiple Ethernet types (10 and 100 Mbits/sec) may coexist. A Fast Ethernet-compatible hub simply needs to perform speed matching when exchanging frames. An autonegotiate feature allows devices to detect the speed of incoming transmissions and adjust appropriately.

There are four Fast Ethernet schemes:

* · 100Base-TX Runs on two pairs of Category 5 data-grade twisted-pair wire with a maximum distance of 100 meters between hub and workstation.
* · 100Base-T4 Runs on four pairs of cable, including Category 3 cable, with a maximum distance of 100 meters between hub and workstation.
* · 100Base-FX Runs on optical cable at distances up to 2 kilometers, and is used to connect hubs over long distances in a backbone configuration (e.g., a building in a campus environment).
* · 100Base-SX Called Short Wavelength Fast Ethernet, this is a proposed standard (as of this writing) for a Fast Ethernet over fiber-optic cable using 850 nm wavelength optics. Refer to FOLS (Fiber Optics LAN Section) of the TIA at http://www.fols.org/.

The higher frequency used in the Fast Ethernet standard is prone to attenuation, so cable distance is more limited than in the Ethernet 10Base-T specification. If the encoding scheme of traditional Ethernet were used with Fast Ethernet, the high-end frequency would be above 200 Mhz. That is double the maximum frequency rating of Category 5 cable. To get around this, new encoding schemes were implemented to allow higher-frequency transmissions. Refer to the paper called “Specifications for Data Encoding in Fast Ethernet” at the Optimized Engineering Web site. See the related entries and Web links page.

Note that the collision domain is 1/10th the size of the collision domain in 10-Mbit/sec Ethernet. This is because of the 10-times increase in speed of the network. It also means that Fast Ethernet networks can only be one-tenth the physical size of a 10Base-T network.

Fast Ethernet can support full-duplex switched networking modes to provide even better performance. A full-duplex nonshared link (i.e., workstations are attached to switches, not hubs) doesn’t even need CSMA/CD, because no other stations are trying to use the link, and each end system has its own channel to transmit on. Collision detection and loopback functions can be disabled. This arrangement is especially useful for backbone connections. If both end systems are transmitting at the same time, the combined data rate is 200 Mbits/sec.

100Base-TX

100Base-TX works with two pairs of UTP (unshielded twisted pair) or STP (shielded twisted pair). Transmission takes place on one pair of wires and collision detection takes place on the other pair of wires. Two types of cable can be used with this specification: Category 5 UTP and IBM’s Type 1 STP. Category 5 cable has four pairs of wire. Since only two of the pairs are used, the other two are available for other uses or future expansion. However, it is not recommended that another high-speed network be used on the pairs.

Category 5 cable is designed to cancel out the effects of EMI and, therefore, has very stringent installation requirements. All the components in the cabling system must be Category 5 compliant, including connectors, patch panels, punchdown blocks, and hubs/switches. The twists in the cable must be maintained all the way up to within 1/2 inch of a connector. The twists in the cable help maintain proper signaling, especially at high data rates. Other 100Base-TX requirements are

* · Cable distance A link segment is the connection between a workstation and a hub or switch. The maximum link segment distance is 100 meters; but if faceplates are used, the specification recommends not exceeding 90 meters from hub to faceplate. This allows 10 meters for the faceplate-to-station connection.
* · Maximum collision domain size First, understand that a collision domain is a segment of a network in which all the stations on that segment hear the same broadcast. The maximum end-to-end distance between two systems within a 100Base-TX twisted-pair broadcast/collision domain segment is approximately 205 meters. This is illustrated in Figure F-2. These distances are flexible as long as the maximum is not exceeded. For example, the inter-repeater distance could be increased if the workstation-to-repeater distance is decreased.
* · Repeater hubs Fast Ethernet repeaters are relatively sophisticated devices compared to standard Ethernet repeaters. They detect improper signals, perform data translations between different types of Fast Ethernet, monitor the network for faults, disconnect faulty ports, and partition off part of a network that is having problems so that the network can continue running. There are two types of repeater hubs in the 100Base-TX scheme:
* · Class I repeaters should be used if the network has mixed Fast Ethernet types (100Base-TX, 100Base-FX, and 100Base-T4) because they will change the data encoding between network types on different ports. One class I repeater is allowed per collisions domain (see “Collisions and Collision Domains” for an explanation).
* · Class II repeaters are strictly devices that send all incoming signals to all other ports without translation. They should be used when all the ports are supporting the same network type. Two class II repeaters are allowed per collision domain, but the link between the repeaters cannot exceed 5 meters.
* · Switching hubs To get around the hub count limitation just described, you can install switching hubs, which basically segment the network as a bridge would segment a network. Refer to “Ethernet” and “Switching and Switched Networks” for a discussion of switches and network design. Beyond plain switching is multilayer routing, which builds high-speed inexpensive routing right into the switches and allows network managers great flexibility in designing their networks. See “Multilayer Switching.”
* · Full-Duplex mode Full-duplex mode allows simultaneous data transmission between two end nodes without collisions. A 100Base-TX link operating in full-duplex mode has an effective bandwidth of 100 Mbits/sec. All components, including the hubs, must be full-duplex capable.

100Base-T4

The 100Base-T4 standard has the same cabling specifications as 100Base-TX in terms of distances and hub configuration. The difference is that 100Base-T4 uses all four wires in a half-duplex signaling scheme. Three pairs are used to either transmit or receive data, and the other pair is used for collision detection. 100Base-T4 also uses a special three-level encoding scheme (as opposed to two levels in other media) to reduce the clock rate. Spreading the 100-Mbit/sec signal over three pairs reduces the signal frequency and allows it to run on older Category 3 cable. Basically, 33.33 Mbits/sec is transmitted over each of the three pairs.

Higher-grade cable such as Category 5 is recommended for future expansion. Like 100Base-TX, the 100Base-T4 specification has a maximum hub-to-station cable length of 100 meters and an end-to-end maximum of 250 meters. 100Base-T4 also uses the same repeater classing scheme as 100Base-TX. Class I hubs allow a mix of different Fast Ethernet network types, and class II hubs allow only one scheme (refer to the description in the previous section).

100Base-FX

100Base-FX is the fiber-optic cable implementation of the Fast Ethernet standard. It is ideal for building backbone connections. Cable distance is limited to 412 meters; but if full-duplex mode is used, cable runs may be as long as 2 km. While fiber-optic cable can span longer distances, the limit is imposed to account for packet round-trip timing.

Fiber-optic cable is not prone to interference. It does not emanate a signal, so it is more secure (especially for wiring across public areas). In addition, fiber-optic cable can scale up to higher transmission rates for future expansion.

100Base-FX requires a cable with two strands of 62.5/125-micron fiber. One strand is used for signal transmission while the other is used to receive and detect collisions. 100Base-FX also uses the same repeater classing scheme as 100Base-TX. Class I hubs allow mixed Fast Ethernet networks, and class II hubs allow only one scheme (refer to the description in the previous section).

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RRAS Remote Access Policy

2011-02-01T22:33:00.000-08:00

hat is remote access policy? What is its usage?

Remote access policies are an ordered set of rules that define whether remote access connection attempts are either authorized or rejected. Each rule includes one or more conditions (which identifies the criteria), a set of profile settings (to be applied on the connection attempt), and a permission setting (grant or deny) for remote access.

This can be compared like a brain of the door-keeper (VPN server) which allows entry to your network from outside . Remote access policy decides who can access what resources from where using what tunnel settings. So configuring proper set of policies are important.

What are some common examples?

You may want to have different policies based upon one or more factors in different conditions:

1) Who is accessing the network(Windows-Groups)

2) What tunnel type is getting used (Tunnel-Type)

3) What authentication type is getting used

4) What is the client’s IP address (useful for site-to-site scenarios where the IP address of calling router remains same)

5) What time of day client is accessing (like you may want to block access at particular times)

6) etc

You may want to enforce following profile on a given policy:

1) Idle time after which the connection should be disconnected

2) Session time after which the connection should be disconnected

3) Inbound/Outbound filters that can be applied per PPP connection (or per user connection) – to restrict access of a given client/site to a given network (IP address, port number)

4) Encryption Type

5) Authentication Algorith Type

6) etc

How to configure the remote access policies?

It may look complicated at the start, but is pretty simple.

You need to first decide where the remote access policies reside – locally on RRAS server (called as Windows authentication in RRAS terminology) or remotely on a radius server (like IAS server on Windows 2000, 2003 server or any 3rd party radius server).

Then you need to decide what are the policy conditions and profile you need to segregate your users into. And then create different policies (note policies are ordered set of rules - try avoiding conflicts and if there is any first one will be selected).

Then create a test client, test your connection against different policies – it is better to test connections as you add/delete different policies – this way troubleshooting is simple.

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Backup MBR in Linux

2011-01-27T22:51:00.001-08:00

MBR is short for Master Boot Record. It is a very small program which is located in your hard disk and executes when a computer boots up, before the operating system. Typically, it is at the first sector on your hard disk and the size is 512 bytes. The MBR maintains the DPT (Disk Partition Table), which can contains 4 primary partitions, and start the operating system. If the MBR is damaged, your operating system wouldn't be able to boot up.
Why should you backup the MBR?

Since the MBR records some information about your hard disk partitions and it loads the operating system, it is very important for a computer. Some virus can damage the MBR. They can modify the MBR so that they can start before the operating system. Or it makes your computer not to be able to run. Reinstall the operating system can solve this problem but it takes too long time. In fact, if you backup the MBR, the solution is very easy: just restore it.
How to backup MBR in Linux?

Linux or Unix provides "dd" tool to backup any file. Usually, you must be "root" so that you can use it. Before you try it, you must know it is a dangerous command, any mistake may damage your hard disk. BE CAREFUL! To backup the MBR, open the terminal and execute the following command:

dd if=/dev/sda of=~/mbr.img bs=512 count=1

Here, I suppose your hard disk is /dev/sda. It means that copy 1 block (count=1) from /dev/sda (if=/dev/sda) to ~/mbr.img (of=~/mbr.img) and the block size is 512 bytes (bs=512). After that, you can see "mbr.img" in your home directory. Its content is MBR.

Notes: Since the MBR doesn't belong to any partition, you should use if=/dev/sda, or /dev/sdb, /dev/hda, etc, instead of /dev/sda1, /dev/sdb1... You must pay attention to the "of" and "if" arguments. For example, if you type this:

dd of=/dev/sda if=~/yourfile bs=512 count=1 (DON'T try it!)

It means reading 512 bytes of ~/yourfile and writing it to /dev/sda. If ~/yourfile is a normal file instead of MBR, your MBR will be damaged. In fact, it will covers the MBR with ~/yourfile. You will find the operating system can't start next time.
How to restore MBR in Linux?

Since if the MBR is damaged, the operating system can't boot up. You need a Linux live CD to start your computer. Linux live CD is a CD that contains Linux operating system. It doesn't need to be installed on your hard disk an can be run from CDROM directly. For example, Puppy Linux. I strongly advise you to make a live CD in advance. To boot from a live CD, insert the CD into your CDROM and make sure the first boot device is the CDROM (you can change the order of boot devices in BIOS). Then restart the computer. After a while, you will enter Linux environment. For example, if the MBR image file (mbr.img) was at /home/admin/mbr.img and /dev/sda5 was mounted as /home. You should mount /dev/sda5 at first.

Step 1. Open terminal and execute the following command to make a directory:

mkdir tmp

Step 2. Mount /dev/sda5 to the "tmp" directory:

mount /dev/sda5 tmp

Step 3. Change the current directory to tmp/admin:

cd tmp/admin

Step 4. Restore the MBR:

dd of=/dev/sda if=mbr.img bs=512 count=1

After that you can reject the live CD and restart your computer. If there are not other problems, your computer will work again.

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Backup Your Files with 'tar' in Linux

2011-01-27T22:50:00.001-08:00

The easiest way to back up your files is just copying. But if you have too many files to backup, copying and restoring may take too long time and it is not convenient. If there is a tool that can put many files into one file, the world will be better. Fortunately, 'tar' is used to create archive files. It can pack files or directories into a 'tar' file. It is like WinZip in Windows, but without compression.
How to create an archive file?

The most simple way to create an archive file with 'tar' is: tar -cf foo.tar file1 file2 ... Here, foo.tar is the name of the tar file you want and file1, file2... are the files you want to back up. The argument 'c' means 'create' and 'f' means 'filename'. After that, tar will generate foo.tar which contains file1, file2....

By the way, the suffix '.tar' is not necessary, it is just a good habit. Although you can specify the files you want to backup, the more usual usage of 'tar' is packing a directory, including its sub-directories and files: tar -cf foo.tar directory_name. So put your files into a directory before using tar is a good habit.

If you have installed gzip and bzip2 (almost all Unix/Linux include them), tar can call them directly to compress. i.e. create a '.tar.gz' or '.tar.bz2' file. The argument 'z' stands for 'gzip': tar -czf foo.tar.gz directory_name and 'j' means 'bzip2': tar -cjf foo.tar.bz2 directory_name. Since compression is a hard task for CPU, this will take more time. But it can save much disk space indeed.
Restoring

Restoring means extracting files from a tar file. To extract files into the current directory from a normal tar file (without compression), just use 'x' argument. For example: tar -xf foo.tar. If you want to extract to another directory, you need '-C' (uppercase) argument. For example, tar -xf foo.tar -C /opt/foo will put the files into /opt/foo directory (make sure you have enough permission to write /opt/foo).

If the tar file is compressed, you need know its format, gzip or bzip2. Usually you can know it through the file's suffix. To extract from '.tar.gz' file, use 'z' argument and to extract from '.tar.bz2', use 'j'. 'tar' will call gunzip or bunzip2 automatically.

tar -zxf foo.tar.gz
tar -jxf foo.tar.bz2
How to view a tar file?

For some reasons, you want to know what a tar file includes but you don't want to extract files from it. What you need is 't' argument. It will list the files and directories that a tar file contains:

tar -tzf foo.tar.gz
Some tricks

If the files you want to backup is too large or too many, it may take very long time. You can add '&' to make tar run in the background, so you can continue to do other work.

tar -czf foo.tar.gz foo &

If you like to print the file that tar is processing currently, you can use 'v' argument:

tar -xzvf foo.tar.gz

It will show a list of files on the screen.

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How to Backup Your Files Automatically (for Linux users)

2011-01-27T22:48:00.000-08:00

In the two previous articles I introduced two common used utilities in Linux operating system, tar and cron. "tar" is used for creating archive files and "cron" is a time-based scheduling utility. In this article, I will combine "tar" with "cron" to solve the problem: how to backup your files automatically?

Some people think that "backing up" is a boring work. I agree with them. But when an accidence happens, the backup files is very important. So for lazy users, it would be better to let the computer do the boring work.

Have you remembered how to use "tar" to create an archive file?

Tips: tar -cf ... or tar -czf ... to create a compressed archive file.

The task is: Dobby (a Linux user) is a writer and all his documents are located in /home/dobby/documents. He wants to backup his documents to /mnt/disk2 every day. And the backup files' name should be "document_MM-DD-YYYY.tar.gz".

For example, if a backup file's name is "document_08_31_2008.tar.gz", that means it was created in August 31st, 2008.

However, the second problem is that it will generate lots of files. So he wants to delete the old backup files automatically.

Let's solve the problem step by step.

Step 1. You should get the current date. You can use "date" command to do it. The command is:

date '+%m-%d-%Y'

You can test it in the terminal window. The result may be "08-31-2008". Here '+%m-%d-%Y' is a format string. A format string's first character must be '+'. '%m' means the month in two-digits format, '%d' and '%Y' means 'date of month' and 'year' respectively.

Step 2. Combine "date" with "tar". Lets create an archive file using "date" and "tar". "date" is used for getting the current date, which is a part of the archive file name.

tar czf /mnt/disk2/documents_`date '+%m-%d-%Y'`.tar.gz /home/dobby/documents

You see that I put the "date" command into a pair of backslashes '`' which means using its result to replace itself. In this way we can construct the archive file name.

Step 3. Edit /etc/crontab to let "cron" execute the command on time. Use your favorite text editor to open /etc/crontab. Add this line:

0 15 * * * root tar czf /mnt/disk2/documents_`date '+%m-%d-%Y'`.tar.gz /home/dobby/documents

Save it and quit. "cron" will execute this command as root account at 15:00 every day. If you want "cron" to read its configure file immediately, you should restart cron:

/etc/init.d/cron restart (be sure you have enough permissions)

Otherwise, cron will know this task after you reboot the computer.

Step 4. Solve "how to delete old files automatically". To delete the old files, first you should know which files is old, and what the "old" means. For example, if a file was created in one week ago, we think it's "old". You can use "find" to find the old archive files and delete them.

find /mnt/disk2 -name 'document_*.tar.gz' -mtime -7 -delete

It means finding the files whose names match the pattern 'document_*.tar.gz' in /mnt/disk2 directory and they were last modified 7 days ago. Then delete them.

Now add the command to /etc/crontab, let "cron" execute this command at 15:30 everyday:

30 15 * * * root find /mnt/disk2 -name 'document_*.tar.gz' -mtime -7 -delete

All things done. From now on, I think Dobby won't hate "backing up" any more.

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Backing Up Files with "rsync" (for Linux users)

2011-01-27T22:45:00.001-08:00

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Backing Up Files with "rsync" (for Linux users)
By Wang Jinbo - Posted on September 15th, 2008
Tagged:

* Backup How-tos
* linux
* rsync

"rsync" is a simple but powerful backup utility in Linux. Although the traditional archive tool "tar" can make a backup, "rsync" supports more functions, for example, saving the backup on a remote machine. For incremental backups, rsync provides a better method than "tar".
How to Use "rsync"

The basic usage is:

rsync -a src/ dest/

This command will copy all the files and directories in the "src" to the "dest" directory. In fact, it is equivalent to "cp -a src/ dest/". But if there has been many files in "dest" and there are only a few differences between "src" and "dest". "rsync" runs much faster. It makes "rsync" more suitable for creating incremental backups.

Notice: For most of software, the trailing slash after a directory name isn't important, but it is not for rsync. Let's see two example (suppose there is a file "foo" in the "src" directory):

rsync -a src dest

This will produce dest/src/foo. However, if I add the slash after the directories:

rsync -a src/ dest/

This will produce dest/foo. As you see, rsync doesn't care of the trailing slash after the destination directory. But it is different between "src" and "src/". So you must know about it.
Option: --delete

"rsync" can make a completely same backup from the source directory. However, if I used "rsync" before and just now I deleted a file from the source directory, "rsync -a src/ dest/" won't delete the file from the destination (backup) directory. The option "--delete" can solve the problem. For example:

rsync -a --delete src/ dest/

It will check all the files and directores in "dest" and if rsync finds a file or a directory in the "dest" which is not it the "src" directory, rsync will delete it. In this way, rsync keeps the "src" and the "dest" completely same.
Use "cron" to execute rsync on time

"cron" is a time-based utility for executing some commands automatically. It can run some programmes at a specific time. If you are lazy enough, you can add "rsync" into the cron configure file: /etc/crontab.

Use a text editor to open /etc/crontab and add the following line into it:

20 4 * * * root rsync -a --delete src/ dest/

When the time is 04:20, cron will run "rsync -a --delete src/ dest/" to make a backup and delete the unused files. By the way, "cron" is a very useful utility in Linux/Unix operating system. If you want to learn more, you can read its manual page.

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Linux Backup: Hard Disk Clone with "dd"

2011-01-27T22:43:00.000-08:00

Most of Windows users may know "Norton Ghost". Norton Ghost is a backup software for hard disks. It can backup a whole hard disk or a partition to an image file. Also, Norton Ghost can copy all the contents from a hard disk to another exactly. However, Norton Ghost is a Windows software, users on other operating system (such as Linux) can not enjoy its powerful function. Fortunately, most of Unix/Linux operating system provides a command line whose function is similar to Norton Ghost, it is called "dd".

In fact, "dd" is much powerful than Norton Ghost. You can use many arguments to control it. In this short article, we only concern on how to backup a whole hard disk or a partition.

Hard Disk Clone

Suppose you have a 40GB hard disk and a removable hard disk whose capacity is 60GB, and you want to backup all the files from the hard disk to the removable disk. With "dd", it is a very easy task. Again, suppose your hard disk's Unix device name is /dev/sda and the removable disk is /dev/sdb. The following command can copy all the content from /dev/sda to /dev/sdb:

dd if=/dev/sda of=/dev/sdb

Here, if=... sets the source and of=... sets the destination. "dd" doesn't care of the contents of the hard disk. It just reads bytes from /dev/sda and writes them into /dev/sdb. It doesn't know what are files. So, the hard disk file system and how many partitions it has are not important. For example, if /dev/sda is splitted into three partitions, the /dev/sdb will have the same partitions. i.e. "destination" is completely same with "source".

Notice: to execute "dd" you should login as "root" or switch to "root" using "su" command. And you must be careful, a small mistake may cause a serious problem!
Making a Hard Disk Image File

Most of time you don't want to make a complete duplication of your hard disk. You may prefer to creating an image file of the hard disk and save it in other storage devices. The following command will create an image file "disk1.img" in your user's directory from /dev/sda:

dd if=/dev/sda of=~/disk1.img

Since you have created an image file, you can compress it with "gzip" or "bzip2":

gzip disk1.img #generates disk1.img.gz or

bzip2 disk1.img #generates disk1.img.bz2

You can save much storage space with compression. But it will take very long time.
Partition Clone

Backing up a hard disk partition is much similar to backing up a whole hard disk. The reason is that Unix/Linux uses device name, such as /dev/sda1, /dev/sda5... to indicate the partitions. For example, if you want to create an image file from the first partition of /dev/sda, use "dd" like this:

dd if=/dev/sda1 of=~/disk2.img

Also, you can compress the image file:

gzip disk2.img

By the way, you can copy a partition to another partition completely, just set "of" to the partition's device name. For example:

dd if=/dev/sda1 of=/dev/sdb5

This command will copy all the contents from /dev/sda1 to /dev/sdb5. You must be sure that the capacity of /dev/sdb5 is larger than /dev/sda1.
Restoring from an Image File

To restore a partition or a hard disk from an image file, just exchange the arguments "if" and "of". For example, restore the whole hard disk from the image file "disk1.img":

dd if=disk1.img of=/dev/sda

Restore the first partition of /dev/sda from the image file "disk2.img":

dd if=disk2.img of=/dev/sda1

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How to backup registry in Windows 7?

2011-01-27T22:36:00.000-08:00

Why you should backup registry? Every time you install a new application or game to your computer you risk. You risk the incompatibility with the current registry keys made by other applications. The same applies for running some cleaning software. Since the registry backup is very easy in Windows 7, you are a step away from keeping your system in a good condition.

Of course, the registry backup is not helpful itself. You should remember to backing up your data, creating a whole backup of the disc and keep it on safe place. However the registry backup could be useful because:

* it is very easy
* it is very fast
* prevents your system from crash after using some “cleaners”
* prevents your system from crash after (un)installing an application

I would like to highlight the two latest items from the list above, especially using the cleaning applications. The cleaners scan the registry database and remove some items. They think these items are not useful or needed yet. However the cleaning software could be wrong. I saw hundreds computers which lost their stability because the cleaning software removes needed registry entries.

You can use cleaning software, it is no problem. But don’t forget, that you should create a registry backup before running them. No matter if you are using the newest Windows 7 or the Windows Vista/XP.

I expect you are running the Windows 7. However the registry backup is very similar in other Windows versions. So how you could create registry backup in Windows 7?
Registry backup in Windows 7

Close your running applications and go with me:

1. Click the Start button and open the menu.
2. Start typing the regedit. The Windows 7 should find the application, so click the shortcut to run it.
3. Alternatively you can hit Win+R keys, type the regedit word and hit the Enter key. This will result to run the Registry Editor too.
4. The Registry Editor in Windows 7 shows some branches you can expand and collapse. To back up the whole registry database you will work with the root item – Computer.
5. Right click the Computer item and select the Export function from the context menu.
6. The saving dialog will appear. Select the folder and type the name of the backup.
7. Make sure you have the All option selected and then click the Save button.
8. Voila, your Windows 7 registry database is backed up.

Now you can run the cleaners without any worries. After they are done with their job, reboot the Windows 7 and check the functionality of your applications and the system itself. If anything will go wrong, just double click the saved backup. Windows 7 will ask you to confirm the registry import. Do it, reboot the computer and you will have all your registry entries back.

Windows Server 2008 Network load-balancing (NLB) explained

2011-01-25T19:10:00.000-08:00

Network load-balancing (NLB)
Best for: Application Servers
Examples: Web Servers, VPN Servers, Exchange 2003 Front-end servers, Exchange 2007 CAS Servers

NLB provides a simple solution that allows high TCP/IP availability for application servers. NLB distribute the load among servers in the cluster group. When using NLB It is very important that Server OS and applications patch level are the identical to provide best user experience. You can install Server 2008 Network load-balancing (NLB) from Server Manager > “Add Features”.

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Windows 7 Enterprise Deployment Guide

2011-01-25T10:10:00.001-08:00

This article demonstrates how to perform unattended installation of windows 7 and how to create an image. It explains everything you need deploy Windows 7 in enterprise environment.
Tools for successful Windows 7 deployment

- Windows AIK DVD (can be downloaded from Microsoft)
- Windows 7 DVD
- A computer to install Windows AIK
- USB flash drive
- bank CD
Start by installing Windows AIK on your computer. Windows AIK can be installed on Server 2003 or Windows Vista.
Windows 7 unattended installation

I. Create a Reference Answer file for unattended installation
Windows 7 installation answer file allows installation to be automatic while using custom settings.
1. Install Microsoft Windows AIK if you haven't done so.
2. Copy Install.wim from \Sources folder in Windows 7 DVD to local drive
3. Launch Windows System Image Manager, Start > All programs > Microsoft Windows AIK > Windows System Image Manager
4. In Windows SIM, click File and choose Select Windows Image
5. Select the wim image copied in step 2, choose YES to generate a catalog file
6. Click File, choose New Answer File.
Customize Windows 7 Image Settings

You can define custom configuration through Components menu in Windows SIM
1. On Windows SIM, click Components to expend the menu. Configure settings as needed.
2. Once settings are configured, click Tools > Validate Answer File.
3. Click File > Save Answer File. save it as autounattend.xml
4. Copy autounattend.xml to the root of the USB flash drive.
III. Create Reference Windows 7 image
1. Insert Windows 7 DVD in DVD drive and plug in the USB flash drive that contains autounattend.xml.
2. Once the PC boots from Windows 7 DVD, it will use the autounattend.xml to install Windows 7.
Create Windows 7 image

1. Configure Windows 7 OS with desired configuration
2. run sysprep /generalize /oobe /shutdown command from command line
/generalize - resets SID
/oobe - allows you to reseal windows and give you out of the box experience.
3. Now, use imaging software to take a snapshot of this image. For free solution, You can use ImageX to take
Create Bootable ImageX CD

This CD will allow you to boot from the CD to capture the Windows 7 image.
1. On computer where Windows AIK is installed, go to Start > All Programs > Windows AIK > Deployment tools Command Prompt
2. type "copype.cmd amdx86 c:\winpe"
3. type "copy "c:\program files\Windows AIK\Tools\x86\imagex.exe" c:\winpe\iso\", press enter
4. type "oscdimg -n -bc:\winpe_x86\etfsboot.com c:\winpe_x86\ISO c:\winpe\winpe.iso", press enter
5. Burn the winpe.iso onto the CD. Now we can use this CD boot and capture Windows 7 image.
Capture Windows 7 image

1. Boot the reference computer where you ran sysprep.exe
2. Boot into Windows PE with the CD created earlier.
3. In WinPE, open Command Prompt
4. Type "e:\imagex.exe /capture d: d:\Win7image.wim "Win7 Image" /compress fast /verify ", press enter
5. This will capture the image
Deploy Windows 7 image

1. Boot the reference computer where you ran sysprep.exe
2. Boot into Windows PE with the CD created earlier.
3. In WinPE, open Command Prompt
4. e:\imagex.exe /apply d:\myimage.wim 1 d:

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How to dual boot Windows 7 and Windows Vista

2011-01-25T10:09:00.000-08:00

Windows Vista can manage partition without party software. This will allow you to resize your existing volume and installation of Windows 7.

Assuming Vista is your main OS:
Create a second partition on your hard disk

1. "START" > right click "Computer" > select "Manage"
2. On the left, browse to Storage > Disk management
3. Right click on the Volume you want to use and choose "Shrink Volume"
4. In put the size of the volume and click "Shrink"
5. Right click on "Free space" and choose "New Simple Volume.."
Install Windows 7

1. Boot your computer from Windows 7 DVD (on Dell computers, press F12 to choose boot menu)
2. On Windows 7 installation screen, choose "Install Now"
3. On "Where do you want to install Windows?" screen, Choose the Volume we created earlier.
4. Once the installation is completed, you will have the option boot Windows Vista or Windows 7 at start up.

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How to create Windows 7 system recovery Disc

2011-01-25T10:07:00.002-08:00

Windows 7 system recovery Disc can be used to fix most common issues that prevents Windows 7 to boot.

1. go to START > type in "Backup" and enter
2. choose "Backup and Restore"
3. on the left, choose "Create a system recovery disc"
4. choose your CD drive and click "Create disc"

Now you can use this disc in case of emergency when you have problem booting into to Windows

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Setting up home network with Windows 7

2011-01-25T10:07:00.000-08:00

Windows 7 simplifies windows networking with Windows 7 HomeGroup. This feature work with Network Location Awareness to determine the network you are connected to and configure security accordingly. This allows simple file sharing at home while protecting the PC from attacks on public networks.

1. When connecting to an unknown network, Windows 7 will prompt "Select a location for the network"
2. Choose "Home network"
3. Choose files that you would like to share
4. Choose "Create now"
5. Type password for your homegroup
Once you connect new Windows 7 computers to the network, you will be asked to join the homegroup.

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