Computer Hardware Software Download Center and Hot news

Snipping Tool

2011-12-10T16:28:00.001+05:30

Snipping Tool

A feature introduced inWindows 7 that allows the user to take all or part of a screen shot and save that image. For example, if you wanted to send a recipe to a friend, but didn't want to send the whole web page to him/her, you would use this tool to crop out just the recipe and send it to them. Above is an image of what this tool looks like. To use this tool, follow the instructions below. NOTE - This feature is not available on Windows 7 Starter edition.

Click Start
Type in Snipping Tool.
Under New, choose whether you would like to Free-form snip, Rectangle Snip, Window snip, or Full Screen snip.
Once you have highlighted the Snip you wish to save, a new menu will appear on your toolbar. You can choose from Save, Copy, or Send the file. You will also be able to write your own message on the Snip, or Highlight the Snip.

Denial Of Service (DoS) Attacks

2011-12-02T09:55:00.005+05:30

Denial Of Service (DoS) Attacks :-

A denial of service (DoS) attack is an attack that clogs up so much memory on the target system that it can not serve it's users, or it causes the target system to crash, reboot, or otherwise deny services to legitimate users.There are several different kinds of dos attacks as discussed below:-

1) Ping Of Death :- The ping of death attack sends oversized ICMP datagrams (encapsulated in IP packets) to the victim.The Ping command makes use of the ICMP echo request and echo reply messages and it's commonly used to determine whether the remote host is alive. In a ping of death attack, however, ping causes the remote system to hang, reboot or crash. To do so the attacker uses, the ping command in conjuction with -l argument (used to specify the size of the packet sent) to ping the target system that exceeds the maximum bytes allowed by TCP/IP (65,536).
example:- c:/>ping -l 65540 hostname
Fortunately, nearly all operating systems these days are not vulnerable to the ping of death attack.

2) Teardrop Attack :- Whenever data is sent over the internet, it is broken into fragments at the source system and reassembled at the destination system. For example you need to send 3,000 bytes of data from one system to another. Rather than sending the entire chunk in asingle packet, the data is broken down into smaller packets as given below:
* packet 1 will carry bytes 1-1000.
* packet 2 will carry bytes 1001-2000.
* packet 3 will carry bytes 2001-3000.
In teardrop attack, however, the data packets sent to the target computer contais bytes that overlaps with each other.
(bytes 1-1500) (bytes 1001-2000) (bytes 1500-2500)
When the target system receives such a series of packets, it can not reassemble the data and therefore will crash, hang, or reboot.
Old Linux systems, Windows NT/95 are vulnerable.

3) SYN - Flood Attack :- In SYN flooding attack, several SYN packets are sent to the target host, all with an invalid source IP address. When the target system receives these SYN packets, it tries to respond to each one with a SYN/ACK packet but as all the source IP addresses are invalid the target system goes into wait state for ACK message to receive from source. Eventually, due to large number of connection requests, the target systems' memory is consumed. In order to actually affect the target system, a large number of SYN packets with invalid IP addresses must be sent.

4) Land Attack :- A land attack is similar to SYN attack, the only difference being that instead of including an invalid IP address, the SYN packet include the IP address of the target sysetm itself. As a result an infinite loop is created within the target system, which ultimately hangs and crashes.Windows NT before Service Pack 4 are vulnerable to this attack.

5) Smurf Attack :- There are 3 players in the smurf attack–the attacker,the intermediary (which can also be a victim) and the victim. In most scenarios the attacker spoofs the IP source address as the IP of the intended victim to the intermediary network broadcast address. Every host on the intermediary network replies, flooding the victim and the intermediary network with network traffic.
Result:- Performance may be degraded such that the victim, the victim and intermediary networks become congested and unusable, i.e. clogging the network and preventing legitimate users from obtaining network services.

6) UDP - Flood Attack :- Two UDP services: echo (which echos back any character received) and chargen (which generates character) were used in the past for network testing and are enabled by default on most systems. These services can be used to launch a DOS by connecting the chargen to echo ports on the same or another machine and generating large amounts of network traffic.

HACKING- Dos Attacks

2011-12-02T09:49:00.002+05:30

A denial of service (DoS) attack is an attack that clogs up so much memory on the target system that it can not serve it's users, or it causes the target system to crash, reboot, or otherwise deny services to legitimate users.There are several different kinds of dos attacks as discussed below:-

1) Ping Of Death :- The ping of death attack sends oversized ICMP datagrams (encapsulated in IP packets) to the victim.The Ping command makes use of the ICMP echo request and echo reply messages and it's commonly used to determine whether the remote host is alive. In a ping of death attack, however, ping causes the remote system to hang, reboot or crash. To do so the attacker uses, the ping command in conjuction with -l argument (used to specify the size of the packet sent) to ping the target system that exceeds the maximum bytes allowed by TCP/IP (65,536).
example:- c:/>ping -l 65540 hostname
Fortunately, nearly all operating systems these days are not vulnerable to the ping of death attack.

2) Teardrop Attack :- Whenever data is sent over the internet, it is broken into fragments at the source system and reassembled at the destination system. For example you need to send 3,000 bytes of data from one system to another. Rather than sending the entire chunk in asingle packet, the data is broken down into smaller packets as given below:
* packet 1 will carry bytes 1-1000.
* packet 2 will carry bytes 1001-2000.
* packet 3 will carry bytes 2001-3000.
In teardrop attack, however, the data packets sent to the target computer contais bytes that overlaps with each other.
(bytes 1-1500) (bytes 1001-2000) (bytes 1500-2500)
When the target system receives such a series of packets, it can not reassemble the data and therefore will crash, hang, or reboot.
Old Linux systems, Windows NT/95 are vulnerable.

3) SYN - Flood Attack :- In SYN flooding attack, several SYN packets are sent to the target host, all with an invalid source IP address. When the target system receives these SYN packets, it tries to respond to each one with a SYN/ACK packet but as all the source IP addresses are invalid the target system goes into wait state for ACK message to receive from source. Eventually, due to large number of connection requests, the target systems' memory is consumed. In order to actually affect the target system, a large number of SYN packets with invalid IP addresses must be sent.

4) Land Attack :- A land attack is similar to SYN attack, the only difference being that instead of including an invalid IP address, the SYN packet include the IP address of the target sysetm itself. As a result an infinite loop is created within the target system, which ultimately hangs and crashes.Windows NT before Service Pack 4 are vulnerable to this attack.

5) Smurf Attack :- There are 3 players in the smurf attack–the attacker,the intermediary (which can also be a victim) and the victim. In most scenarios the attacker spoofs the IP source address as the IP of the intended victim to the intermediary network broadcast address. Every host on the intermediary network replies, flooding the victim and the intermediary network with network traffic.
Result:- Performance may be degraded such that the victim, the victim and intermediary networks become congested and unusable, i.e. clogging the network and preventing legitimate users from obtaining network services.

6) UDP - Flood Attack :- Two UDP services: echo (which echos back any character received) and chargen (which generates character) were used in the past for network testing and are enabled by default on most systems. These services can be used to launch a DOS by connecting the chargen to echo ports on the same or another machine and generating large amounts of network traffic

Monitor Color Problem-How To Repair LG 710E Monitor With A Missing Blue Color

2011-11-28T22:02:00.002+05:30

Monitor Color Problem-How To Repair LG 710E Monitor With A Missing Blue Color

If you think that electronic repair is very difficult to learn then you have to read this article where only by using a solder gun could solve a Monitor problem. Of course there were many tough dog cases (very difficult to find out the fault) in electronic repair but at the same time there were also many cases that can be solve by some simple ways. This LG 710E LG Monitor came in with no blue color problem. How do I know if the blue color was missing? Simply run a color test (that you may also download from the internet) or from a Monitor testing program generator, you could clearly see as which of the color is missing when you run the color bar test. A missing blue color in the Monitor could cause the display to turn yellowish. Troubleshooting color problem is one of the easiest in Monitor repairing. Whether the missing color is from blue, red or green there are some areas that you need to check in order to successfully repair it. Here are some of the points that you need to check: - A bended color pin at the VGA connector. (If pin one is bend then there would be no red color) - A defective VGA signal cable. If the internal wires were broken then there would be missing colors. You can check if the signal cable is good or bad by doing a continuity test using a multimeter. - Dry joints in the CRT board such as in the CRT socket pins, video pre amp and driver IC and even at the connector pins. In fact this problem contributed about 80% of Monitor color problems. Applying fresh solder would usually solve the color problem. - A defective IC either in the Video Pre-amp or Video Driver IC. - Faulty components in the CRT board. It could be a shorted driver transistor or even electrolytic capacitors that the ESR reading had shot up! - A bad CRT socket. Sometimes decayed glue could cause the internal pins rusted and thus affecting the colors. Replacing only the CRT socket would definetely solve the problem. - A weak or a defective picture tube (CRT tube). Yes, I do came across one of the electron gun (most probably the cathode materials had used up) in the tube faulty caused a missing color in the screen. There’s no way to repair this type of problem-the only way is to replace the CRT tube. - In the newer type of Monitor, color setting is save in the EEPROM IC . Thus, if the EEprom data is corrupted, you would also get a missing color! The only way to repair it is to reprogram the IC or use a soft jig to tune it back the color setting.

Now, which one of the above is the easiest to start with first when comes to troubleshooting the color problem? I believe you would agree with me that the first, second and the third are the easiest compare to the rest. Normally I would hit the Monitor with my bare hands to see if there are any changes in color at the display (be careful not to hit too hard till the casing broken). If there is a change or flashes then I can say that the Monitor has dry joints. And if it stills the same no matter how many times I hit it, I will then starts check the VGA connector and the cable.

In the above Monitor, the problem was dry joints because when I softly hit it with my hand at the side of the Monitor, the blue color immediately appears. The aluminum shielding at the CRT board was opened and I could clearly see lots of dry joints especially in the video pre amplifier and the video driver IC. When you resolder please don’t just touch on the IC’s only, you need to resolder others area as well like the CRT socket pins. Doing this would prevent any color loss again in the future. A good job would prevent call back and to save you time and money and most of all your reputation!

After everything was done, you then need to gently knock at the CRT board again with the plastic handle of the screw driver to see if the color problem still exists. You may also knock on the main board just incase there is any dry joints there. One more thing, if you find that the Monitor is a bit dusty, you may use a vacuum cleaner and a brush to clean up the dirty area. Whether you are repairing the LG 710E or any other brand of Monitors, if you come across color problems, you can always use the procedure above to find out the fault. If the VGA signal cable is okay and there were no dry joints in the Monitor, I guess the only way is to use voltage testing method and start checking components with your tester or meter.

Paste text without formatting

2011-10-05T20:42:00.000+05:30

When copyingrich-textfrom a web page, Word document, e-mail, or other program the formatting of that text will remain with that copied text. For example, if you were to copy this paragraph of text, "This is bold" would remain bold when pasted into Word or another document that supports rich-text. Although many programs including Microsoft Word include a Paste Special feature to paste text without formatting, anyone who does this frequently finds that without a universal shortcut key, it can really slow you down.

This is where the fantastic free tool PureText can make your life easier. This tool runs in the background and can paste plain text into any program using the same shortcut key you choose, by default Windows key + V is used. PureText is capable of removing font faces, font styles (i.e. bold, italic, etc.), font colors, paragraph styles, extra spacing, bullets, tables, and pictures from any text you copy.

Beauty Tips: Five Important Beauty Tips For Women

2011-10-05T20:36:00.000+05:30

Beauty does not necessarily come from the usage of expensive cosmetics and skin treatments. You can use these easy to follow beauty tips and bring out your natural beauty with the help of these excellent beauty tips which will allow you to look stunning!

Get enough sleep:

8 hours of sleep every night is a must. The body needs this time period for the production and regeneration of many substances which cannot take place otherwise. Ample amount of sleep every night will also prevent the formation of dark circles or eye bags, which in some cases cannot be concealed even with the help of makeup. The key to looking fresh and healthy is as simple as getting a good night’s sleep.

Drink plenty of water:

For a healthy, glowing skin you must drink plenty of water. Drinking eight glasses of water daily can give you a perfect, flawless skin which will not require any artificial beauty enhancement.

Cut down on oils and fats:

A balanced diet which consists of all basic nutrients and minerals required by the body is absolutely essential, but for a perfect, acne free skin, cut down on fried and oily foods entirely. This will prevent oily skin and acne.

Wome Beauty Tips: Look Younger

Protect your skin:

Always wear sun block that suits your skin when out in the sun in order to prevent sun burns and uneven tans. Apart from looking unattractive, these tans take a considerable period of time in vanishing. Also, avoid direct exposure to dust, dirt and pollution.

Include plenty of greens in your diet:It is true that every single fruit and every single vegetable has unique benefits of its own. Fruits and vegetables are

full of important minerals and vitamins that can do you a world of good.

ICC World Cup 2015

2011-10-04T20:38:00.000+05:30

Cricketing rivals Australia and New Zealand are working closely to host the 2015 Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Equal share of matches have been allocated to both the countries. 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup will be the eleventh Cricket World Cup. The location of the stadium for the final for the 2015 Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand has not been finalized. 2015 Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand will be a fun party that wills last days.

Incidentally this is the first time since 1992 that a major international cricket tournament like World Cup, Champions Trophy or T20 World Cup is being held in Australia or New Zealand. The 2015 Cricket World Cup will be the 2nd time this tournament has been jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand, the first being the 1992 Cricket World Cup ,won by the Pakistan .
The hosting rights were awarded at the same time as those of the 2011 Cricket World Cup, which New Zealand and Australia had originally bid to host, and the 2019 Cricket World Cup. The 2011 tournament was awarded to the four Asian Test cricket playing countries India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in a 10 to 3 vote (although Pakistan has since lost its hosting rights). The International Cricket Council were sufficiently impressed with the trans-Tasman bid that it was decided to award the next world cup to them.

Castrol has recently tied up as the official ‘performance partner’ of ICC until the end of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. Castrol is the only sponsor of the forthcoming ICC World Cup 2010, which has Sachin as Brand Ambassador. This places the world’s leading lubricant company in a unique position to leverage the partnership for itself and its consumers. Ravi Kirpalani, Automotive Director & Chief Operating Officer, Castrol India Limited, said: “We are really excited about joining forces with the cricketing legend – Sachin Tendulkar, as our global brand ambassador. With Castrol as the world’s greatest lubricant brand and Sachin as the world’s greatest cricketer, we see this partnership being tremendously successful”

The ICC, the International Federation for Cricket, they have various categories of membership. Australia and New Zealand are right up the top of course, test playing nations, but then you have categories of membership underneath that and some of our island countries are in the next level down called associate members and some of our other island countries are in a further category down called affiliate members. Now to move up into one of the higher categories, you have got to actually beat somebody who is ranked higher than you and the Pacific Games will now give some of our countries an opportunity to do that in an official tournament, so here at home.

ICC has announce world cup 2015 Schedule.Teams from five continents prepare to meet in Italy next month as the truly global nature of international cricket is illustrated once again with the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division 4 (WCL Div. 4).Teams from Nepal, USA, Italy, Cayman Islands, Argentina and Tanzania will converge on Bologna to compete in the fourth step of the World Cricket League as they push ultimately towards inclusion in the next ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier (CWCQ) which is scheduled for 2013.

The top four finishers of the ICC CWCQ 2013 win themselves a place at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 to be staged in Australia and New Zealand. The top two sides at WCL Div. 4, which will be played from 14 to 21 August in Bologna, will win promotion to the WCL Div. 3 to be staged in Hong Kong in January 2011. The sides are to be hosted on three grounds for the tournament – Pianora, Medicina and Bologna.

Computer keyboard shortcut keys

2011-09-29T11:43:00.000+05:30

Shortcut keys help provide an easier and usually quicker method of navigating and using computer software programs. Shortcut keys are commonly accessed by using the Alt (on IBM compatible computers), command key (on Apple computers), Ctrl, or Shift in conjunction with a single letter. The de facto standard for listing a shortcut is listing the modifier key, a plus symbol, and the single character. Or in other words, "ALT+S" is telling you to press the Alt key and while continuing to hold the Alt key, press the S key to perform the shortcut.

In addition to the shortcuts listed on this page, users can find the shortcut keys to their most popular program by looking for underlined letters in their menus. For example, in the picture to the right you'll can notice that the "F" in File has been underlined. You will then know that you can press the Alt key and F to access the File menu (Note: Some programs require the user press and hold ALT to see the underlined characters). Finally, as can also be seen some of the common features such as Open (Ctrl+O) and Save (Ctrl+S) have shortcut keys assigned to them.

As you begin to work with shortcut keys you will notice that several applications share the same shortcut keys. We have listed many of these keys in our basic PC shortcut keys section.

Users outside the United States or users using a foreign copy of a Microsoft Windows or Microsoft application may not be able to get all the below shortcut keys to perform the function listed below.

Basic PC shortcut keys

The below basic shortcut keys are a listing of shortcut keys that will work with almost all IBM compatible computers and software programs. It is highly recommended that all users keep a good reference of the below shortcut keys or try to memorize the below keys. Doing so will dramatically increase your productivity.

Shortcut Keys	Description
Alt + F	File menu options in current program.
Alt + E	Edit options in current program
F1	Universal Help in almost every Windows program.
Ctrl + A	Select all text.
Ctrl + X	Cut selected item.
Shift + Del	Cut selected item.
Ctrl + C	Copy selected item.
Ctrl + Ins	Copy selected item
Ctrl + V	Paste
Shift + Ins	Paste
Home	Goes to beginning of current line.
Ctrl + Home	Goes to beginning of document.
End	Goes to end of current line.
Ctrl + End	Goes to end of document.
Shift + Home	Highlights from current position to beginning of line.
Shift + End	Highlights from current position to end of line.
Ctrl + Left arrow	Moves one word to the left at a time.
Ctrl + Right arrow	Moves one word to the right at a time.

Top 10 keyboard shortcuts everyone should know

2011-09-29T11:35:00.000+05:30

Using keyboard shortcuts can greatly increase your productivity, reduce repetitive strain, and help keep you focused. For example, highlighting text with the keyboard and pressing Ctrl + C is much faster than taking your hand from the keyboard, highlighting the text using the mouse, clicking copy from the file menu, and then putting your hand back in place on the keyboard. Below are our top 10 keyboard shortcuts we recommend everyone memorize and use.

Ctrl + C or Ctrl + Insert

Copy the highlighted text or selected item.

Ctrl + V or Shift + Insert

Paste the text or object that's in the clipboard.

Ctrl + Z and Ctrl + Y

Undo any change. For example, if you cut text, pressing this will undo it. This can also often be pressed multiple times to undo multiple changes. Pressing Ctrl + Y would redo the undo.

Ctrl + F

Open the Find in any program. This includes your Internet browser to find text on the current page.

Alt + Tab or Alt + Esc

Quickly switch between open programs moving forward.

Press Ctrl + Tab to switch between tabs in a program.

Adding the Shift key to Alt + Tab or Ctrl + Tab will move backwards. For example, if you are pressing Alt + Tab and pass the program you want to switch to, press Alt + Shift + Tab to move backwards to that program.

Windows Vista and 7 users can also press the Windows Key + Tab to switch through open programs in a full screenshot of the Window.

Ctrl + Back space

Pressing Ctrl + Backspace will delete a full word at a time instead of a single character.

Ctrl + Left arrow / Right arrow

Move the cursor one word at a time instead of one character at a time. If you wanted to highlight one word at a time you can hold down Ctrl + Shift and then press the left or right arrow key to move one word at a time in that direction while highlighting each word.

Ctrl + Home / End

Move the cursor to the beginning or end of a document.

Ctrl + P

Print the page being viewed. For example, the document in Microsoft Word or the web page in your Internet browser.

Page Up / Space bar and Page Down

Pressing either the page up or page down key will move that page one page at a time in that direction. When browsing the Internet pressing the space bar will also move the page down one page at a time. If you press Shift and the Space bar the page will go up a page at a time.

TRAI Regulation : Customer Can Send Only 100 SMS/Day From 27th Sep 2011

2011-09-29T11:27:00.000+05:30

The New Amendment Launched By Telecom Regulatory Authority of India On September 5th 2011 speaks about the restrictions of sending 100 SMS per day for a Prepaid User and a total of 3000 SMS for Postpaid user from September 27th 2011.

This New Policy is initiated to control the marketing SMS from Normal Numbers which is not registered in National Do Not Disturb Service. The New Policy is hit back for the youngsters who use more than 100 SMS per day for communication with their loved ones. But The Policy also states

the Authority may by direction, from time to time, specify the category of SMS which shall be excluded from the limit of one hundred SMS per day per SIM:
Provided that before permitting a customer to send specified category of SMS beyond the limit of one hundred SMS per day per SIM, the Access Provider shall obtain an undertaking from Page 3 of 8 such customer that he shall not use such telephone number for
sending any commercial communications:
Provided further that the Access Provider shall enter, in the list maintained in the National Telemarketer Register, the telephone
number, name and address of the customer, category of exempted SMS and date of permitting sending of SMS beyond limit of one
hundred SMS per day per SIM and the said list shall be updated every Monday.

Today Onwards (27th Sep) every operator have set a cap of Sending 100 sms per day will be initiated. This rule of amendment is initiated from 27th Sep Onwards customer can send only maximum 100 sms/day or else 3000 sms/month.

Will the new amendment will curb the telemarketers or else would be a just a barricade for text message lovers ? Share your comments below and post your answer in the poll to.

How to create a boot disk

2011-09-28T11:32:00.000+05:30

What is a boot disk?

A boot disk will allow you to boot off of a diskette instead of your hard drive. This diskette can be used to fix issues that may arise during the lifetime of your computer or to help load older MS-DOS games. Keep in mind this diskette is completely different than a Restore CD or Disc that may have been included with your computer.

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

Creating a MS-DOS boot disk

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

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

cd\dos

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

Creating a Windows 3.X boot disk

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

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

cd\dos

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

Creating a Windows 95 boot disk

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

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

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

cd\windows\command

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

Creating a Windows 98 / ME boot disk

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

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

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

cd\windows\command

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

Copying additional files

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

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

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

FORMAT A:/S

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

FORMAT A: /360 /S

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

FORMAT A: /4 /S

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Creating a Windows NT boot disk

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

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

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

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

Creating a Windows 2000 boot disk

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

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

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

Creating a Windows XP boot disk

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

Create MS-DOS bootable diskette

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

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

Create Windows XP Setup diskettes

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

How to or can't boot from a CD or DVD.

How to use a boot diskette

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

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

How to Remove Autorun Files in Drives

2011-09-28T11:09:00.000+05:30

Type cmd(command Prompt in RUN
c:\Documents and settings\New user>g: (g=It contains autorun file. g is like a drive or irremovable device)
G:>attrib autoun.inf -s -h -r
G:>del autorun.inf
G:>exit

Then Restart ur System

Problem Solved. If U have any problem send mail chandu.hdd@gmail.com

Checking a disk

2011-05-31T10:58:00.000+05:30

Files on your hard disk live in folders; folders can live in other folders; the whole mess lives in your disk, which might actually be a partition on a larger hard disk. On top of that, there may be security information about who is allowed to access what and in what ways they're allowed to access it.

As you can imagine, things get pretty confusing. All that you probably care about is that you get what you expect when you access a file.

The fact is that there's a lot of information on the hard disk that helps keep track of all of the data that's being stored there. CHKDSK's primary job is to make sure that all of that administrative information about the files, folders, and other stuff that's stored on the disk is correct.

Normally, all of that information is correct. The system is designed to keep it correct from startup to shutdown.

Unfortunately, a variety of errors can cause it to be incorrect; things like not shutting down your computer properly, removing USB devices without using Safely Remove, malware, or just flat out hardware errors can cause errors in the administrative information on the hard disk.

CHKDSK's job is to try and repair those errors.

What's a 'command line' tool?

Most programs in Windows appear as ... well, as or in a window.

Command line tools do not. They don't know about on-screen windows and don't display their results in them. They rely on the Windows "Command Prompt", which is nothing more than a non-windowed environment that mimics the days before Windows where all programs were "command line" tools under MS-DOS.

And it's with a Command Prompt that we'll start.

Running CHKDSK

You'll find Command Prompt in your Start menu, under All Programs - Accessories.

Click that and you'll get a new window that looks much like this:

Command line tools are run by typing in the command with any options and pressing the Return key. Any output that the tool then generates shows up in the window underneath what you've typed.

Try it now: after opening a Command Prompt window or clicking it to make it active, just type CHKDSK followed by the Enter key. You should see something similar to this:

C:\Users\LeoN>CHKDSK
Access Denied as you do not have sufficient privileges.
You have to invoke this utility running in elevated mode.

C:\Users\LeoN>

Our first problem: CHKDSK requires that you not only be administrator, but that you run the program as administrator. The two are not the same.

Type EXIT followed by Enter to close this Command Prompt. We need a new one.

Running CHKDSK as administrator

Head back to Start, All Programs, Accessories, and this time, right-click Command Prompt:

This time, click Run as administrator. You may get prompted to confirm.

After clicking OK, you'll get a Command Prompt window that's very similar to the one that you had before; except that now, not only does the window have full administrative privileges, but any program that runs within it inherits that permission.

Try that CHKDSK again.

Without any parameters (I'll describe a few in a moment), CHKDSK does nothing more than check. It won't attempt to fix anything; it'll simply report whether it finds any problems.

After displaying a fair amount of technical information about its progress, CHKDSK will finish with a report similar to this:

Windows has checked the file system and found no problems.    33449983 KB total disk space.   13811900 KB in 46164 files.      34088 KB in 12870 indexes.          0 KB in bad sectors.     255651 KB in use by the system.      65536 KB occupied by the log file.   19348344 KB available on disk.        4096 bytes in each allocation unit.    8362495 total allocation units on disk.    4837086 allocation units available on disk.

That first line is good news. If you want to see what precedes that, you can use the scroll bar to the right in the Command Prompt window.

CHKDSK parameters

By default, CHKDSK operates on the "current" disk, which in almost all of the cases that we're seeing here would be C:. To have CHKDSK check a different drive, simply follow the CHKDSK command with a space, and then the drive designator:

CHKDSK D:

Would check your D: drive.

To actually have CHKDSK fix any problems that it finds, you'd include the "/F" (Fix) parameter:

CHKDSK D: /F

This would check the D: drive; if any errors were found, CHKDSK would attempt to repair them. The results would be included in the on-screen output.

Finally, the next most common action for CHKDSK is to actually check for bad sectors. That's the "/R" (Repair) option:

CHKDSK D: /R

When running /R, CHKDSK will check the entire disk surface for bad sectors and attempt once again to repair or work around any that it finds, if it can. Running /R also does /F as well.

The special case of C:

C: is special. (More correctly, your system drive is special, but in most cases, that's C:.) The problem is that your system is using C:, and CHKDSK can't repair things while they're in use. Run CHKDSK /F and you're likely to see this:

The type of the file system is NTFS. Cannot lock current drive.  Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process.  Would you like to schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts? (Y/N)

The step to take is to answer with Yes and then reboot your system. CHKDSK will run before Windows starts so that it can repair the drive before Windows starts using it.

Most common usage

The most common ways to use CHKDSK are:

CHKDSK /F - to check and fix the current drive (a reboot might be required)
CHKDSK D: /F - to check and fix a specific drive
CHKDSK D: /R - to check and fix and look for bad sectors on a specific drive

You can also run CHKDSK /? to get a list of additional options.

My computer locks up and won't boot. What do I do?

2011-05-22T11:24:00.000+05:30

Your computer locks up, crashes, stalls or otherwise fails to completely boot up into Windows. That's particularly painful, since most all of our diagnostic tools require that Windows be running. Diagnosing the problem with a computer that won't boot can be difficult.

In this article we'll look at some of the resources that you do have available, and try to gather a little information about the type of problem you might be experiencing.

I'll start at a successfully booting Windows, and work backwards to a completely dead machine.

•

• Loading User Settings

One of the last steps that Windows takes before being ready for use is to load the personal settings for the user logging in. That includes settings within the Windows Registry, saved network connections, and the security settings for the account. This step exercises a lot of different areas on the machine, so if it hangs, or is exceptionally slow here, it could be for many reasons. Things to check include disk space and fragmentation, physical errors on the disk holding the swap file, and network connectivity that might impact restoring those saved connections. In particular, in a Domain based environment, network connectivity can be a particular problem as the system tries to contact the domain controller. (Domains are common in business settings as opposed to a Workgroup, more common in small business and home).
"Diagnosing the problem with a computer that won't boot can be difficult."

• Blue Screens and Other Hangs

A "Blue Screen" is the name given to the blue screen of strange numbers and information that can sometimes come up if your machine crashes. Essentially any blue screen, hang, crash or lock-up that happens after the Windows logo is displayed falls into this category. If that happens repeatedly during boot, it could be anything from a bad device driver to spyware to a virus.

The best first step to take is to attempt to boot in what's called "Safe Mode". Safe mode disables a number of operating system components, possibly avoiding the component that might be causing the problem. Once in safe mode you can try running the system file checker, your anti-virus software, anti-spyware software, and possibly get Windows updates. The Microsoft Knowledgebase has an article on A description of the Safe Mode Boot options in Windows XP that details how to start Safe Mode, and its options.

If Safe Mode itself won't work, the next step back is something called the Recover Console. You can install it on your machine before problems happen, as described in this Knowledgebase article How to Install and Use the Recovery Console in Windows XP.

• Hangs before the Windows Logo

If you can't actually get anything to come up - by that I mean that you never even see the initial Windows logo, you can run the Recovery Console from your Windows XP Installation CD. This article: Windows XP Crashed? Here's Help gives a step-by-step overview of the process. This also applies if you didn't install the recovery console beforehand.

Regardless of how you got there, the recovery console will allow you to copy files, undo a recent installation, or fix the master boot record should that have become corrupt.

• Operating System? What Operating System?

One of the scarier messages is "Operating System Not Found". It implies that the operating system on your hard disk isn't there any more.

First, remove any floppy from the machine. It's a common error - when you reboot, the computer will try to boot from it, not find an operating system and halt.

Assuming that wasn't the problem, get out and boot from your Windows XP Installation CD. You can try the Recovery Console I just discussed - sometimes fixing the MBR (Master Boot Record) is all that's needed. Other times the recovery is more involved, in which case this article by Microsoft MVP Michael Stevens - How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install can guide you.

• Hard Disk? What Hard Disk?

Things start to get a little scarier when your computer doesn't appear to even have a hard disk. When software like the Recovery Console doesn't even see that you have a hard disk in your machine, things get interesting.

The most common cause of this in a previously working machine is that the CMOS memory, which keeps your hardware and BIOS configuration settings, has lost its contents. That can happen due to anything from a power spike to errant software - but the most common cause on older machines is that the little battery that keeps the CMOS alive has worn out. The type and location will vary from machine to machine.

CMOS settings on some machines are what tell the computer what kind of hard disk you have. You'll probably want to review the settings in your BIOS to make sure they are correct. Typically most brand name computers include a print-out of their CMOS settings when they come new, or their technical support resources may be able to help. A misconfiguration can "look like" a hard disk to the BIOS, but in fact be wrong.

And, of course, there is the possibility of hardware failure of the drive itself. If that's what you suspect, it's probably time to touch base with the manufacturer or a local repair technician.

• BIOS & POST

If your computer doesn't even get so far as to try the hard disk, or perhaps not even print anything on the screen, you probably do have some type of hardware problem. For example, if the computer simply beeps a few times and then does nothing, then that's the POST telling you something is wrong. For what ever reason it might not be able to display an error message, so it simply beeps in a pattern to tell you what it's found. They vary based on the brand of your computer or BIOS, but POST beep codes can often give a technician a quick idea of exactly what might be wrong.

And finally, when you turn on the power, if your computer does nothing at all, obviously something is seriously wrong. In my experience, it's typically the power supply that has failed, however it's also possible that critical components on the motherboard have failed, or that a peripheral card has been inserted improperly or has failed in such a way as to prevent the rest of the system from working at all.

10 things you can do when Windows XP won't boot

2011-05-22T11:20:00.000+05:30

10 things you can do when Windows XP won't boot

#1: Use a Windows startup disk

One of the first things you should reach for whentroubleshooting a Windows XP boot problem is a Windows startup disk. This floppydisk can come in handy if the problem is being caused when either the startuprecord for the active partition or the files that the operating system uses tostart Windows have become corrupted.

To create a Windows startup disk, insert a floppy disk intothe drive of a similarly configured, working Windows XP system, launch MyComputer, right-click the floppy disk icon, and select the Format command fromthe context menu. When you see the Format dialog box, leave all the defaultsettings as they are and click the Start button. Once the format operation iscomplete, close the Format dialog box to return to My Computer, double-clickthe drive C icon to access the root directory, and copy the following threefiles to the floppy disk:

Boot.ini
NTLDR
Ntdetect.com

After you create the Windows startup disk, insert it intothe floppy drive on the afflicted system and press [Ctrl][Alt][Delete] toreboot the computer. When you boot from the Windows startup disk, the computerwill bypass the active partition and boot files on the hard disk and attempt tostart Windows XP normally.

#2: Use Last Known Good Configuration

You can also try to boot the operating system with the LastKnown Good Configuration feature. This feature will allow you to undo anychanges that caused problems in the CurrentControlSet registry key, whichdefines hardware and driver settings. The Last Known Good Configuration featurereplaces the contents of the CurrentControlSet registry key with a backup copythat was last used to successfully start up the operating system.

To use the Last Known Good Configuration feature, first restart the computer by pressing [Ctrl][Alt][Delete]. When you see the message Please select the operating system to start or hear the single beep, press [F8] to display the Windows Advanced Options menu. Select the Last Known Good Configuration item from the menu and press [Enter].

Keep in mind that you get only one shot with the Last KnownGood Configuration feature. In other words, if it fails to revive your WindowsXP on the first attempt, the backup copy is also corrupt.

#3: Use System Restore

Another tool that might be helpful when Windows XP won'tboot is System Restore. System Restore runs in the background as a service andcontinually monitors system-critical components for changes. When it detects animpending change, System Restore immediately makes backup copies, calledrestore points, of these critical components before the change occurs. Inaddition, System Restore is configured by default to create restore points every24 hours.

To use System Restore, first restart the computer by pressing[Ctrl][Alt][Delete]. When you see the message Please select the operating system to start or hear the singlebeep, press [F8] to display the Windows Advanced Options menu. Now, select theSafe Mode item from the menu and press [Enter].

Once Windows XP boots into Safe mode, click the Startbutton, access the All Programs | Accessories | System Tools menu, and selectSystem Restore. Because you're running in Safe mode, the only option on theopening screen of the System Restore wizard is Restore My Computer To AnEarlier Time, and it's selected by default, so just click Next. Then, followalong with the wizard to select a restore point and begin the restorationprocedure.

#4: Use Recovery Console

When a Windows XP boot problem is severe, you'll need to usea more drastic approach. The Windows XP CD is bootable and will provide youwith access to a tool called Recovery Console.

To boot from the Windows XP CD, insert it into the CD-ROMdrive on the problem system and press [Ctrl][Alt][Delete] to reboot thecomputer. Once the system begins booting from the CD, simply follow the promptsthat will allow the loading of the basic files needed to run Setup. When yousee the Welcome To Setup screen, shown in FigureA, press R to start the Recovery Console.

Figure A

You'll then see a Recovery Console menu, like the one shownin Figure B. It displays the foldercontaining the operating system's files and prompts you to choose the operatingsystem you want to log on to. Just press the menu number on the keyboard, andyou'll be prompted to enter the Administrator's password. You'll then findyourself at the main Recovery Console prompt.

Figure B

#5: Fix a corrupt Boot.ini

As the Windows XP operating system begins to load, the Ntldrprogram refers to the Boot.ini file to determine where the operating systemfiles reside and which options to enable as the operating system continues toload. So if there's a problem rooted in the Boot.ini file, it can render WindowsXP incapable of booting correctly.

If you suspect that Windows XP won't boot because Boot.inihas been corrupted, you can use the special Recovery Console version of theBootcfg tool to fix it. Of course, you must first boot the system with theWindows XP CD and access the Recovery Console as described in #4.

To use the Bootcfg tool, from the Recovery Console commandprompt, type

Bootcfg /parameter

Where /parameteris one of these required parameters:

/Add--Scans the disk for all Windowsinstallations and allows you to add any new ones to the Boot.ini file.
/Scan--Scans the disk for all Windowsinstallations.
/List--Lists each entry in the Boot.ini file.
/Default--Sets the default operating system as themain boot entry.
/Rebuild--Completely re-creates the Boot.inifile. The user must confirm each step.
/Redirect--Allows the boot operation to beredirected to a specific port when using the Headless Administration feature.The Redirect parameter takes two parameters of its own, [Port Baudrate ] | [UseBiosSettings].
/Disableredirect--Disables the redirection.

#6: Fix a corrupt partition boot sector

The partition boot sector is a small section of the harddisk partition that contains information about the operating system's filesystem (NTFS or FAT32), as well as a very small machine language program thatis crucial in assisting the operating system as it loads.

If you suspect that Windows XP won't boot because thepartition boot sector has been corrupted, you can use a special RecoveryConsole tool called Fixboot to fix it. Start by booting the system with theWindows XP CD and accessing the Recovery Console as described in #4.

To use the Fixboot tool, from the Recovery Console commandprompt, type

Fixboot [drive]:

Where [drive] is the letter of the drive towhich you want to write a new partition boot sector.

#7: Fix a corrupt master boot record

The master boot record occupies the first sector on the harddisk and is responsible for initiating the Windows boot procedure. The masterboot record contains the partition table for the disk as well as a smallprogram called the master boot code,which is responsible for locating the active, or bootable, partition, in thepartition table. Once this occurs, the partition boot sector takes over andbegins loading Windows. If the master boot record is corrupt, the partitionboot sector can't do its job and Windows won't boot.

If you suspect Windows XP won't boot because the master bootrecord has been corrupted, you can use the Recovery Console tool Fixmbr to fixit. First, boot the system with the Windows XP CD and access the RecoveryConsole as described in #4.

To use the Fixmbr tool, from the Recovery Console commandprompt, type

Fixmbr [device_name]

Where [device_name] is the devicepathname of the drive to which you want to write a new master boot record. Forexample, the device pathname format for a standard bootable drive Cconfiguration would look like this:

\Device\HardDisk0

#8: Disable automatic restart

When Windows XP encounters a fatal error, the defaultsetting for handling such an error is to automatically reboot the system. Ifthe error occurs while Windows XP is booting, the operating system will becomestuck in a reboot cycle--rebooting over and over instead of starting upnormally. In that case, you'll need to disable the option for automaticallyrestarting on system failure.

When Windows XP begins to boot up and you see the message Please select the operating system to startor hear the single beep, press [F8] to display the Windows Advanced OptionsMenu. Then, select the Disable The Automatic Restart On System Failure item andpress [Enter]. Now, Windows XP will hang up when it encounters the error and withany luck, it will display a stop message you can use to diagnose the problem.

#9: Restore from a backup

If you can't seem to repair a Windows XP system that won'tboot and you have a recent backup, you can restore the system from the backupmedia. The method you use to restore the system will depend on what backuputility you used, so you'll need to follow the utility's instructions on how toperform a restore operation.

#10: Perform an in-place upgrade

If you can't repair a Windows XP system that won't boot andyou don't have a recent backup, you can perform an in-place upgrade. Doing soreinstalls the operating system into the same folder, just as if you wereupgrading from one version of Windows to another. An in-place upgrade willusually solve most, if not all, Windows boot problems.

Performing a Windows XP in-place upgrade is prettystraightforward. To begin, insert the Windows XP CD into the drive, restartyour system, and boot from the CD. Once the initial preparation is complete,you'll see the Windows XP Setup screen (shown earlier in Figure A). Press[Enter] to launch the Windows XP Setup procedure. In a moment, you'll see theLicense Agreement page and will need to press [F8] to acknowledge that youagree. Setup will then search the hard disk looking for a previous installationof Windows XP. When it finds the previous installation, you'll see a secondWindows XP Setup screen, as shown in FigureC.

Figure C

This screen will prompt you to press R to repair theselected installation or to press [Esc] to install a fresh copy of Windows XP.In this case, initiating a repair operation is synonymous with performing anin-place upgrade, so you'll need to press R. When you do so, Setup will examinethe disk drives in the system. It will then begin performing the in-placeupgrade.

Keep in mind that after you perform an in-place upgrade orrepair installation, you must reinstall all updates to Windows.

Check Hard Disk For Problems With Check Disk Freeware

2011-05-02T09:09:00.000+05:30

Bad sectors are the part of your computer’s hard disk that cannot be used in future due to permanent damage. They should be taken care of, as the pre-installed tools like CHKDSK and SCANDISK are provided by Microsoft systems and Bablocks are provided on Unix systems. I am going to review a tool which is quite similar to the above mentioned tools, but with some extra features and this freeware is known as Check Disk.

This tool will scan the selected area of your hard disk and then it will mark the bad sectors, which will not be used by Operation system in future. It will use different types of scans to detect the errors in the hard disk. If it diagnoses any repairable error then it will repair it after the system reboot. It also has a log view in which you can see the operations being performed on the hard disk.

The tool has three types of scans namely:

Standard Scan

This scan will be performed in three stages. In the first stage, it will verify the files, so the name of first stage will be ‘verifying Files’. Second stage can be called as ‘Verifying Indexes’ and similarly the third stage can be called as ‘Verifying Security descriptors’. You can see the operations being performed in these stages in the log which will be present on the right side of the application window.

Thorough Scan

This scan will be performed in five stages. First three scans will be similar to that of Standard scan but in addition it will perform two more stages. Forth stage will be called as ‘Verifying USN Journal’ and the last will be called as ‘Verifying Free space’. If it detects any error which is repairable then it will ask you to reboot your system, as it will correct it after you reboot your system. This scan takes more time as compared to the rest of the three scans.

Check if dirty

This scan will be performed in a click. This tool will just check whether the disk space is clean or not.

You can see the status of the completion of the scan in the status bar. The size of this tool is below 500Kb and this is also portable, so you can carry it anywhere on your USB. This tool is compatible with all the versions of Windows as it has been checked with Windows 7 32-bit Ultimate edition.

Enhance Hard Disk And PC Performance By Disk Defragmentation

2011-05-02T09:06:00.000+05:30

You might be saving data over and over again in the hard disk. After a certain period of time you notice that the speed and efficiency is not as good as it was initially. This might happen due to several reasons. One of them is the fragmentation of the files. The problem can be easily resolved with freeware software Puran Defrag.

Puran Defrag is a software of 2.4 MB only. It is a very good tool which can defragment your drives and enhance the performance of your computer. It provides you a variety of options to carry out the process the way you want to. You can apply the settings to automatically defragment or in a defined way.

The tool is user friendly and can be used easily. As you can see the above snapshot, it shows the all the drives. You can select any one of them and then analyze or defrag it. It will show the result in two formats:

Cluster Map: represents which part is actually fragmented.
Last Report: shows the complete details of the last process.

The results are shown as shown in the snapshot below.

Based on the analysis, you can select to defrag the drive or some particular folders as per the requirement. There is the option for Boot Time Defrag also. And you can choose to shutdown your system after the defragmentation. The Low Priority option will set the defragmentation of the files later on if they are presently in use. This is manage the on-going tasks.

There are some additional operations also which helpful in improving the efficiency and speed of the hard disk. It also serve the purpose of excluding some files while defrag of the whole drive. You can select them manually, browse them or define a particular size range within which defragmentation is not required.

You can also carry this process with the help of UltraDefrag Tool. There are large number of options which will make the tasks easy, simple and as per requirement. They are as shown in the snapshot below.

You can select the drives you want to automatic defragment. Use the check box for various options. Mention the way, you want to carry out and choose the defragmentation. It can be based upon the screensavers, if system is idle, based upon day and date. Now, you do not have to check the drive again and again.

It is compatible with Windows XP/2003/ Vista/ 2008/7. You can download the free version which is free for personal use.

Completely Remove All Data From Hard Disk Before Discarding or Recycling

2011-05-02T08:57:00.000+05:30

Are you considering an upgrader to your computer’s Hard disk? Are you giving away your old hard disk for recycling? If yes, you might be accidentally giving away a lot of private information, confidential data and financial information in the hands of strangers. The information might be misused or leaked, even worse, you may fall prey to identity theft because someone can steal information on your discarded hard disk drive !

Before you give away your hard disk in exchange of an upgrade, or for recycling, make sure you are not doing anything to risk your. In this post, I share a tool with you which will help remove every bit of Data off your hard disk before you abandon it.

Darik’s Boot and Nuke or DBAN tool is a bootable image which you can download and use it to boot your PC. This tool can securely wipe the hard disks of most computers. It can automatically and completely delete all the content of the hard disk that it can detect. This tool is apt for emergency data destruction.

This tool is completely free for personal and business use. Before you use this tool, you much understand that all the data on the hard disk will be permanently removed by this tool. You must take any backup of your important data to come external disk or storage before you use the tool. Also, when using this tool, make sure that only that hard disk is connected to the computer which you intend to wipe. If there are more than one hard disks connected to the computer, you may accidentally select the wrong drive which may mean a disaster for your hard drive data !

The official website offers you an ISO file which you can burn to a CD or DVD and use the same disk to boot your computer. When you boot the PC using this disk, it will take you forward using a text based menu on a blue screen as seen above. Choose the options you like to use.

So First u download "DBAN Download" software

Free Hard Disk Space Effectively With DiskMax

2011-05-02T08:48:00.000+05:30

Free Hard Disk Space Effectively With DiskMax

Most of the new Operating Systems like Windows Vista And Windows 7 consume good amount of hard disk space. To add to it, heavy installation programs like games and photo-editing tools, multimedia players etc which many of us have also consume disk space. Not only this, Internet browser’s cache, temporary files, temporary installation files, restore data, recycle bin data etc. all add up to the space consumed on the hard disk.

Although there is an inbuilt Windows Disk Cleanup feature which can free most of the space occupied by the unused and unusable stuff that computer can live without, yet it does not provide a comprehensive cleaning which can clean a lot more space than what it does.

In this article I am going to review a free and highly effective disk space cleaning utility called DiskMax which provides powerful and advanced options to free up several GB of disk space in some cases. It cleaned up around 4GB space of my hard disk.

DiskMax is a powerful Disk Cleanup tool which works in several modes, which are – Quick , Standard , Detailed And Complete. Each of these mode has different level of disk cleaning. I tested the standard one.

When you launch it, it gives you a start screen like the one above, select the type of cleanup you want. Depending on which type you select and how much stuff it clean, it may take several minutes to do the job. It took about 15 minutes on my desktop machine.

The standard scan is very comprehensive and will ask you your preferences related to cleaning and will remember them so that you don’t have to set them again and again. Below are a few screenshots of many steps it goes through to ask your preferences.

It asked me option to clean Microsoft Office Install Files

It asked me option to clean Recycle Bin Files

It asked me option to clean Firefox Cache, Firefox History, Crash reports etc.

It took a while to report crash reports.

It asked me option to scan the user accounts for any unused files.

DiskMax cleans up Windows Crash reposts, Health Stat Data sets, unused installer files, repair information, windows logs, reinstall backups, tem folders etc.

Below is the report which you can see cleaned about 4GB disk space on ,my hard disk by cleaning about 5400 unused files.

The tool is compatible with all version of Windows 32bit and 64bit OS up to Windows 7. You can install it and use it once a month or few weeks to reclaim the disk space which otherwise remains occupied with useless stuff.

Why Computer Hangs?

2011-05-02T08:37:00.000+05:30

1 Overheating of processor / Motherboard. If the cooling fan is faulty, the processor gets heated up and ceases to work beyond a particular temperature.

2 Faulty hard disk drive.Hard disc problems also hangs the computers in case the important Operating System files needed to keep the computer running, become in-accessible.

3 May it be virus

4 OS or software Problem

Solutions : To Fix the PC hangs (computer hang problem),you need to follow two steps:

Step1: Check that the cooling fans on the processor is working properly or not. So ensure that the fan is working fine and is clean. If not, then get the fan replaced. Also check for the additional fans on your computer casing/cabinet(if any).

Step2: To Fix this, run a disk scan which checks for disc errors and fixes the bad sectors (some examples are scandisk and check disk utilities in windows). If there are bad sectors which can not be repaired, then you need to replace your hard disc.

step 3: Check ur Antivirus Update and scanning

Step 4: If, still ur problem continuously Format and reinstall ur OS and software

Tip for enhanced performance: Once there are no bad sectors and the disc scan is complete, do a de-fragmentation of your hard disc partition(this may take long time), it will help the computer to access files easily and computer runs better(also fast in some cases).
These three steps will fix your computer hangs considerably.

Computer Restarting Trouble

2011-05-02T08:31:00.000+05:30

In this post we will look into those reasons and the possible solutions to fix computer restart problem

Computer restart due to overheating
Computer restart due to faulty RAM
Computer restart due to faulty Hard-disk
Computer restart due to overheating up of hard-disk
Computer restart on attaching some external USB device
Computer restart due to other hardware problem
Some software causing operating system crash causes computer restart

Autorun.inf Removals Tools

2011-04-30T08:44:00.000+05:30

This is the standard procedure to delete the Autorun.inf file

Normally when a virus infects a windows system which causes a drive opening problem, it automatically creates a file named autorun.inf in the root directory of each drive.

This autorun.inf file is a read only ,hidden and a system file and the folder option is also disabled by the virus. This is deliberately done by the virus in order to protect itself. autorun.inf initiates all the activities that the virus performs when you try to open any drive.

You have to just delete this file and restart your system to correct this problem.

Follow the set of commands below to show and delete the autorun.inf

1. Go to Start then Run and type cmd and press enter. This will open a command prompt window. On this command prompt window type the following steps.

2. type cd\ press enter

3. type attrib -r -h -s autorun.inf press enter
please note the spacing: no space between the dash and the letter & a space after the r h and s

4. type del autorun.inf press enter
if the PC returns a "file not found" message - check the spelling for autorun.inf

5. if you have a d drive: type d: and press enter for d: drive partition. Now repeat steps 3 and 4. Similarly repeat step 5 for all your hard disk partition.

Restart your system and your trouble will be fixed. Except the program that caused the problem is still in your computer.

Make sure you are connected to the Internet. and download Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware program.
Double-click on Download_mbam-setup.exe to install the application.
When the installation begins, follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
When installation has finished, make sure you leave both of these checked:
Update Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
Launch Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
Then click Finish. MBAM will automatically start and you will be asked to update the program
before performing a scan. If an update is found, the program will automatically update itself.
Press the OK button to close that box and continue.

On the Scanner tab:
Make sure the "Perform Quick Scan" option is selected. Then click on the Scan button.
The next screen will ask you to select the drives to scan. Leave all the drives selected
and click on the Start Scan button. The scan will begin and "Scan in progress" will show at the
top. It may take some time to complete so please be patient. When the scan is finished, a message
box will say "The scan completed successfully. Click 'Show Results' to display all objects found".
Click OK to close the message box and continue with the removal process. Back at the main Scanner
screen, click on the Show Results button to see a list of any malware that was found. Make sure
that everything is checked, and click Remove Selected. When removal is completed, a log report
will open in Notepad and you may be prompted to restart your computer. (see Note below) The log
is automatically saved and can be viewed by clicking the Logs tab in MBAM.
Note:
If MBAM encounters a file that is difficult to remove, you will be presented with 1 of 2 prompts.
Click OK to either and let MBAM proceed with the disinfection process.
If asked to restart the computer, please do so immediately.
Failure to reboot will prevent MBAM from removing all the malware.

Thank you to XPCMAN for this solution

1 Step

1.) Open Notepad and do not write anything in it. Just go to File > Save as (save it with the name: autorun.inf)

2.) Copy the autorun.inf file that you have created in the above step and paste in your “Pen Drives”

3.) Remove your drive.

After removing the pendrive, re-insert in your PC. Now your anti-virus will not detect any virus in your PC. And Your pendrive is 100% safe to use.

2 step

There is a much simple way to remove the Autorun.inf file. Genreally when you refresh the windows explorer view a bounded virus process recreates this file. This file is attached to many events of windows explorer including OPEN, REFRESH, etc. Simple stept to remove the virus activation:
You must close opened explorer windows.

1. open up a command prompt (i.e. cmd.exe) >> to load it go to Run, type cmd, enter.
2. Now to remove virus's attributes (in order to delete it type following line by line and execute them pressing enter.
e.g.
F:\
F:\attrib -s -r -h *.* If there are any malicious EXE files those are now visible so if unnecessary delete them too.
F:\del autorun.inf

3. After finishing above, quickly remove the pen as soon as posible (just after executing del command).
4. Now your pen is without virus activation config. file. Now you can safely delete unnecessary EXE files on it.

3 step

to get rid of Autorun.inf related viruses do the following in all of your removable and local drives.
if autorun.inf already exists then,
open cmd (command prompt) and change the directory to the root of (infected) drive,
i.e C:\ has autorun.inf
C:\>del /a:rhs c:\autorun.inf | md c:\autorun.inf
this will remove autorun.inf file and will create autorun.inf directory which will prohibit viruses from creating autorun.inf files in same drive.
repeat the process for all drives.
you can also create files named Recycle, Recycler, Restore, System etc in all drive to prohibit creation of folders having these names (thoese folders are created by viruses to complete their process in every drive)
and you can also create directories of same name that of virus file i.e fbak.exe, fix.exe, sscvihhost.exe, system.exe, etc

To disable autorun.inf and autoplay just download and run disable.reg and add keys to the registry.

REGEDIT4
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\IniFileMapping\Autorun.inf]
@="@SYS:DoesNotExist"
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
"NoDriveTypeAutoRun"=dword:000000FF

Download disable.reg here: http://uploading.com/files/VXNCGZ34/disable.reg.html

MS Dos Commands

2011-04-26T08:43:00.000+05:30

Below is a listing of each of the MS-DOS commands currently listed on Computer Hope and a brief explanation of what each of the commands do. The below commands are all MS-DOS commands, which means not all the below commands will work in your version of MS-DOS or Windows command line. Clicking on the command will open the help page for that command with full details about it.

Command	Description	Type
ansi.sys	Defines functions that change display graphics, control cursor movement, and reassign keys.	File
append	Causes MS-DOS to look in other directories when editing a file or running a command.	External
arp	Displays, adds, and removes arp information from network devices.	External
assign	Assign a drive letter to an alternate letter.	External
assoc	View the file associations.	Internal
at	Schedule a time to execute commands or programs.	External
atmadm	Lists connections and addresses seen by Windows ATM call manager.	Internal
attrib	Display and change file attributes.	External
batch	Recovery console command that executes a series of commands in a file.	Recovery
bootcfg	Recovery console command that allows a user to view, modify, and rebuild the boot.ini	Recovery
break	Enable / disable CTRL + C feature.	Internal
cacls	View and modify file ACL's.	External
call	Calls a batch file from another batch file.	Internal
cd	Changes directories.	Internal
chcp	Supplement the International keyboard and character set information.	External
chdir	Changes directories.	Internal
chdsk	Check the hard disk drive running FAT for errors.	External
chkntfs	Check the hard disk drive running NTFS for errors.	External
choice	Specify a listing of multiple options within a batch file.	External
cls	Clears the screen.	Internal
cmd	Opens the command interpreter.
color	Easily change the foreground and background color of the MS-DOS window.	Internal
command	Opens the command interpreter.
comp	Compares files.	External
compact	Compresses and uncompress files.	External
control	Open Control Panel icons from the MS-DOS prompt.	External
convert	Convert FAT to NTFS.	External
copy	Copy one or more files to an alternate location.	Internal
ctty	Change the computers input/output devices.	Internal
date	View or change the systems date.	Internal
debug	Debug utility to create assembly programs to modify hardware settings.	External
defrag	Re-arrange the hard disk drive to help with loading programs.	External
del	Deletes one or more files.	Internal
delete	Recovery console command that deletes a file.	Internal
deltree	Deletes one or more files or directories.	External
dir	List the contents of one or more directory.	Internal
disable	Recovery console command that disables Windows system services or drivers.	Recovery
diskcomp	Compare a disk with another disk.	External
diskcopy	Copy the contents of one disk and place them on another disk.	External
doskey	Command to view and execute commands that have been run in the past.	External
dosshell	A GUI to help with early MS-DOS users.	External
drivparm	Enables overwrite of original device drivers.	Internal
echo	Displays messages and enables and disables echo.	Internal
edit	View and edit files.	External
edlin	View and edit files.	External
emm386	Load extended Memory Manager.	External
ename	Recovery console command to enable a disable service or driver.	Recovery
endlocal	Stops the localization of the environment changes enabled by the setlocal command.	Internal
erase	Erase files from computer.	Internal
exit	Exit from the command interpreter.	Internal
expand	Expand a Microsoft Windows file back to it's original format.	External
extract	Extract files from the Microsoft Windows cabinets.	External
fasthelp	Displays a listing of MS-DOS commands and information about them.	External
fc	Compare files.	External
fdisk	Utility used to create partitions on the hard disk drive.	External
find	Search for text within a file.	External
findstr	Searches for a string of text within a file.	External
fixboot	Writes a new boot sector.	Recovery
fixmbr	Writes a new boot record to a disk drive.	Recovery
for	Boolean used in batch files.	Internal
format	Command to erase and prepare a disk drive.	External
ftp	Command to connect and operate on a FTP server.	External
ftype	Displays or modifies file types used in file extension associations.	Recovery
goto	Moves a batch file to a specific label or location.	Internal
graftabl	Show extended characters in graphics mode.	External
help	Display a listing of commands and brief explanation.	External
if	Allows for batch files to perform conditional processing.	Internal
ifshlp.sys	32-bit file manager.	External
ipconfig	Network command to view network adapter settings and assigned values.	External
keyb	Change layout of keyboard.	External
label	Change the label of a disk drive.	External
lh	Load a device driver in to high memory.	Internal
listsvc	Recovery console command that displays the services and drivers.	Recovery
loadfix	Load a program above the first 64k.	External
loadhigh	Load a device driver in to high memory.	Internal
lock	Lock the hard disk drive.	Internal
logoff	Logoff the currently profile using the computer.	External
logon	Recovery console command to list installations and enable administrator login.	Recovery
map	Displays the device name of a drive.	Recovery
md	Command to create a new directory.	Internal
mem	Display memory on system.	External
mkdir	Command to create a new directory.	Internal
mode	Modify the port or display settings.	External
more	Display one page at a time.	External
move	Move one or more files from one directory to another directory.	Internal
msav	Early Microsoft Virus scanner.	External
msd	Diagnostics utility.	External
msdex	Utility used to load and provide access to the CD-ROM.	External
nbtstat	Displays protocol statistics and current TCP/IP connections using NBT	External
net	Update, fix, or view the network or network settings	External
netsh	Configure dynamic and static network information from MS-DOS.	External
netstat	Display the TCP/IP network protocol statistics and information.	External
nlsfunc	Load country specific information.	External
nslookup	Look up an IP address of a domain or host on a network.	External
path	View and modify the computers path location.	Internal
pathping	View and locate locations of network latency.	External
pause	Command used in batch files to stop the processing of a command.	Internal
ping	Test / send information to another network computer or network device.	External
popd	Changes to the directory or network path stored by the pushd command.	Internal
power	Conserve power with computer portables.	External
print	Prints data to a printer port.	External
prompt	View and change the MS-DOS prompt.	Internal
pushd	Stores a directory or network path in memory so it can be returned to at any time.	Internal
qbasic	Open the QBasic.	External
rd	Removes an empty directory.	Internal
ren	Renames a file or directory.	Internal
rename	Renames a file or directory.	Internal
rmdir	Removes an empty directory.	Internal
route	View and configure windows network route tables.	External
runas	Enables a user to run a program as a different user.	External
scandisk	Run the scandisk utility.	External
scanreg	Scan registry and recover registry from errors.	External
set	Change one variable or string to another.	Internal
setlocal	Enables local environments to be changed without affecting anything else.	Internal
setver	Change MS-DOS version to trick older MS-DOS programs.	External
share	Installs support for file sharing and locking capabilities.	External
shift	Changes the position of replaceable parameters in a batch program.	Internal
shutdown	Shutdown the computer from the MS-DOS prompt.	External
smartdrv	Create a disk cache in conventional memory or extended memory.	External
sort	Sorts the input and displays the output to the screen.	External
start	Start a separate window in Windows from the MS-DOS prompt.	Internal
subst	Substitute a folder on your computer for another drive letter.	External
switches	Remove add functions from MS-DOS.	Internal
sys	Transfer system files to disk drive.	External
telnet	Telnet to another computer / device from the prompt.	External
time	View or modify the system time.	Internal
title	Change the title of their MS-DOS window.	Internal
tracert	Visually view a network packets route across a network.	External
tree	View a visual tree of the hard disk drive.	External
type	Display the contents of a file.	Internal
undelete	Undelete a file that has been deleted.	External
unformat	Unformat a hard disk drive.	External
unlock	Unlock a disk drive.	Internal
ver	Display the version information.	Internal
verify	Enables or disables the feature to determine if files have been written properly.	Internal
vol	Displays the volume information about the designated drive.	Internal
xcopy	Copy multiple files, directories, or drives from one location to another.	External

MS DOS

2011-04-26T08:35:00.000+05:30

Short for Microsoft Disk operating system, MS-DOS is a non-graphical command line operating system created for IBM compatible computers that was first introduced by Microsoft in August 1981 and was last updated in 1994 when MS-DOS 6.22 was released. Today, MS-DOS is no longer used, however, the command shell more commonly known as the Windows command line is still used and recommended. In the picture to the right, is an example of what a MS-DOS window more appropriately referred to as the Windows command line looks like under Microsoft Windows

Today, most computer users are only familiar with navigating Microsoft Windows using the mouse. Unlike Windows, MS-DOS does not use a mouse and is navigated by using MS-DOS commands. For example, if you wanted to see all the files in a folder in Windows you would open the Windows Explorer, in the command line you would use the dir commant.

Video card buying tips

2011-03-09T13:36:00.000+05:30

Introduction

With the popularity of computer gaming video cards are becoming of of the most commonly upgraded components in a computer. However, purchasing a computer video card can sometimes be a very confusing and frustrating task. Before purchasing a video card, keep the below recommendations in mind.

Connection

Today, there are three bus (slots) a video card is capable of connecting to. Although with most modern computers today it'll be either PCI-E or AGP. Before buying a new video card make sure you get a video card that will be compatible with the available slots in your computer.

PCI-E or PCI-Express was approved as a standard on July 2002 and is the latest computer bus found in computers. PCI Express is designed to replacePCI and AGP and is available in several different formats: x1, x2, x4, x8, x12, x16 and x32.

AGP or Advanced Graphics Port, is a new standard available on Pentium II and later motherboards. Introduced in 1997, AGP is a 32-bit Bus designed for high demanding video cards. AGP has a direct line to the computer memory, which allows 3-D elements to be stored in the system memory instead of the video memory and is available in three different standards (1.0, 2.0, and 3.0).

PCI or Peripheral Component Interconnect, was first introduced in 1992. Although still in use most computers today will have an available AGP slot and should be used instead of PCI.

Power supply

Today's video cards are one of the must power hungry devices in your computer. Make sure that your power supply will meet the requirements of your video card. Many video cards will require a 500W or more power supply. If your computer doesn't meet the power requirements you'd need to upgrade the power supply before being able to install the new video card.

Memory

Another important consideration when purchasing a video card is the amount of video memory the card has. Like system memory, the more memory located on the computer video card in most cases the greater capability of the video card. Today, we suggest at the minimum a video card with 256MB of video memory.

Other considerations

Below are some additional considerations you may want to think about when buying a video card.

Ports - Many newer video cards will only have a DVI connection or both a VGA and DVI connection. If you're using a video card with a monitor that has a VGA connector it can still be used, but you'll need to also purchase a DVI to VGA converter if not included with your video card.

Chipset - There are dozens of different video card manufacturers. However, there are only two major chipset manufacturers; Nvidia and ATI. Although both are great manufacturers there can be great big differences between the two as far as performance. Before buying any video card it's a good idea to look up a hardware review on the video card before purchasing it if you're concerned about it's performance.

Size - If you have a smaller computer case fitting some of the new video cards in the computer many not be possible. Video cards today are much larger than older video cards because of their increased capabilities and need for cooling fans. Make sure your case is going to have room for a new video card. The only way to do this is to open the case and physically look.

Warranty - How long is the warranty and what does it cover.

Support - Is the technical support number a free number and is it open 24 hours, 7 days a week? You can find contact information for all major video card manufacturers on our Video Card.

Price range

The price range can vary depending on the brand of video card, amount of memory, the interface used, and other available options. In general prices can range from $100 to $1,000 USD.

Where to purchase

For best price we often recommend that users purchase all computer hardware online. You'll be able to look at other customer reviews and get a much lower price. If you're uncomfortable buying online or want to talk to a sales rep you can always visit a local retail store and then buy online.