All things computers.

iTunes to non iPod MP3

2012-05-11T14:31:00.004+01:00

Sync iTunes to any MP3

Okay so iTunes is top choice for many people when it comes to organizing and playing their music.

But it only syncs to Ipod MP3 players, but as always there's a way past that.
For all you Windows users my suggestion is using iTunes Agent,

http://download.cnet.com/iTunes-Agent/3000-2140_4-10793356.html?tag=mncol;txt

This is a great little program enabling the synchronization of any MP3 to iTunes.

For all you Mac users try this program here,

http://download.cnet.com/iTuneMyWalkman/3000-2141_4-78746.html?tag=mncol;txt

I guess you already have an iPod if you have a Mac but just in case you don't then there you go!

Remember it is a really smart idea to make a backup of your music before using any 3rd party software on your music.

As always I hope this has been useful and that you've enjoyed reading.

Please leave me a comment/suggestion on this article.

Using an Anonymous browser

2012-05-11T03:02:00.000+01:00

Beginners guide to using an Anonymous Proxy!

You are going to need 1 thing for this, Chromium.
Before we get ahead of ourselves let me explain what Chromium is.
In its most basic sense it is Google Chrome. The only difference is the RZL tracking has been removed. (The RZL tracking is what gets Chrome its reputation as a botnet from some internet users)
Its almost exactly the same as Chrome so if you like your privacy you could go ahead and replace chrome fully if that's your default browser.
Thats your choice though

Heres a link to download.
http://www.softpedia.com/get/PORTABLE-SOFTWARE/Internet/Browsers/Portable-Google-Chrome-Chromium.shtml

Extensions is the first step.
Proxy Switchy is a very nifty extension which will let you input and switch between a direct connection and whichever Proxy servers you wish
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/caehdcpeofiiigpdhbabniblemipncjj

Now you have your Chromium and your extension lets distinguish between some Proxy Servers.

Alright we have Transparent, Anonymous and Elite.

Transparent.
This is a insecure, fast and lightweight.
This can easily be detected by websites using the HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR variable.
This is not the kind of Proxy Server i'm going to recommend at this point.

Anonymous
These are more secure than transparent proxies but they too aren't hard for servers to detect.
This is also not what I am recommending at this point.

Elite
This is the one we want!
Anonymous Elite servers are much more secure than the others and won't be detected by the server.
You will simply be acknowledged under a different IP, the server wont even know that you are using a proxy.

Now we have to find these Proxy servers.
We understand the types of servers so we need to get some to use with "Proxy-Switchy"
I recommend using http://proxy-list.org but you can google your own if you wish.
Okay now we can specify what proxies we want.
Port - This can be used to help avoid Firewall issues, this is not too important for beginners.
Country - This is the location of the Proxy, which is very useful. For example if you want to watch an American TV show you can choose an American proxy. The closer the server the faster the latency generally.
SSL - This is the Secure Sockets Layer. This isn't essential but it is preferrable, it'll just add you some more protection.
Type - The type is what we mentioned earlier. Select Anonymous + Elite.
Now lets filter through these proxies!

Okay so now we have our list of proxy servers.
The proxy list will be categorized 7 different sections.
Proxy-Port, this is the proxy address and port, This is what you need to input to use the proxy so take note of this.
Latency, any servers with 0.0000 latency should be avoided as they are usually offline.
Type, we want Elite as our type.
Country, I hope you know what country means.
SSL, this was mentioned earlier.
Uptime, you should go for ones % uptime this means out of the time they have been listed theyve been up for longer.
Last work time, this too is fairly self explanitory.

Okay we are nearly there now.
First of all go into the Options page for Proxy-Switchy and create a new profile for whatever proxy you want.
Enter a name you will remember and will distinguish for this proxy (maybe location)
Now enter the IP address from the Proxy port (the first 12 characters) that I told you to take not of earlier into the HTTP Proxy box.
And enter the final 4 characters from the Proxy-port into The port box.
Check Use the same proxy server for all protocols.
Save and thats you're lot!

Now when you click on the little globe that will be next to the search bar you will be able to select the profile you created and browse anonymously!

I hope you enjoyed this guide and enjoy anonymous browsing!
If you have enjoyed this please leave a comment!

Best Windows Software

2012-05-10T20:09:00.002+01:00

Windows Software Guide.

The following is a software guide for windows, these are my own personal recommendations and most are free! I will bold any of the software that is not.

Internet.
Web browsers: Chrome, Firefox and Opera (More on these later).
Mail client: Thunderbird, Opera.
IM (instant message): Miranda, Pidgin, Skype.
IRC (relay chat): ChatZilla, mIRC, XChat.
Torrent client: uTorrent, Vuze.
FTP client (file transfer protocol): Filezilla, WinSCP.
RSS (news aggregator): RSSOwl
Download manager: jDownloader
Usenet client: SABnzbd

File Utility.
Office suite: Microsoft Office, OpenOffice
PDF viewer: PDF-XChange, SumatraPDF
Text editor: Notepad++, Notepad2, SciTE
Hex editor: HexWorkShop
Archiver: 7-Zip, IZArc, WinRAR.
Drive encryption: TrueCrypt, BitLocker
Disk burning: ImgBurn, CDBurnerXP
Virtual CD drive: Virtual CloneDrive, Daemon Tools, Daemon Tools Pro
System Search: Everything

Multimedia.
Video player: MPC-HC
Music player: WinAmp, Foobar2000
Codecs: CoreAVC
Image viewer: IrfanView, Honeyview, ACDSee Classic
Image editor: GIMP, Paint.NET, Photoshop
Video converter: Handbrake
Audio converter: Foobar2000
CD Ripping (Copier): Exact Audio Copy
DVD Ripping: DVD Decrypter, DVDFab, AnyDVD

System Utilities.
Anti-Virus: Microsoft Security Essentials, AVG, AVG (premium edition), Nod32, Eset Antivirus,
Firewall: Windows default (Your rooter will also provide a firewall)
Defragmenter: Defraggler, O&O Defrag
Cleaner: CCleaner, Revo Uninstaller, Revo Uninstaller Pro
File recovery: Recuva, TestDisk
Computer specification: CPU-Z, GPU-Z, Speccy
Hardware monitor: HWMonitor
Virutal machine: VirtualBox, VMWare
I also recommend Tuneup Utilities 2012 for a whole range of System Utility programs and Tune up software.

Chrome, Firefox or Opera?
I personally use all 3 depending on what I am doing but most people will probably use and stick to one as their default browser.

Google Chrome
Positives;
Very fast rendering and good for JavaScript.
Supports userscripts and extensions
Simple user interface
Great security when running a sandbox
Negatives
Very little configuration/personalization
Limited features compared to other browsers.
Less powerful extension system.

Mozilla Firefox.
Positives:
Very powerful extension system
Best user script engine (Greasemonkey)
A lot of default configuration (about:config in the search bar)
Adblock Plus!

Negatives:
Slow
Heavy on resources
Does not pass Acid3

Opera (My personal favourite)
Very configurable and customizable
Very large featureset
Good userscript support
Fast rendering and good Javascript.

Negatives
No extension support
Known to be prone to bugs
Some pages don't render properly (Apparently, I have no experienced this myself)

I hope this Guide to good Windows software has been of use and as always please leave a comment!
Any suggestions for software to be on this list would be much appreciated.

Maximising Windows Performance

2012-05-10T04:47:00.003+01:00

How to maximise memory management within Windows.
(Trimming the windows fat)

So a few things before we start.
If you do not have a restore point set you should set one. Especially if you are planning on changing/editing/tuning up windows.
Also this guide is not recommended for those who use their computer for anything other than personal usage, media and gaming.
Finally lets establish what bloat is;
Bloat is caused when a program through many updates and new version releases it becomes larger and larger. Unnecessary features build up and up and the end user never even notices a difference (Apart from the decrease in Windows preformance).
Windows is a very bloated OS and uses a lot of RAM, mainly due to the pre-packed crap that comes with Windows.

So lets get on removing the bloat from windows.
Usually i'd say if you want a bloat free OS then maybe consider a different OS, anyway here we go.

1. Create a system restore point in Control Panel > system & Security > System Protection.
Create the restore point on to C: or whicher driver you have the OS installed on.

2. Minimize the Windows features.
Okay so firstly lets distinguish what features you actually need or what you can replace with more memory efficient prgorams.
So lets go to Control Panel > Programs > Programs & Features and click Turn windows features on or off.

Alright at this point mine has a lot more unchecked than yours will.

Games is the first on the list, this will not effect games you install it will however disable the default Windows games.

You can go ahead and uncheck Internet Explorer with a smile on your face. Unless you use it for some reason..

Media Features should be checked but not DVD maker Media Center and Media Player. There much better alternatives to these programs you can install.

If you have an AMD GPU then ensure Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5.1. is checked. If you are using your computer for the basic tasks of a home user then Uncheck this.
Okay print and Document Services should be unchecked if you don't own a printer.

If you don't own a Tablet PC you can uncheck the Tablet PC Components.

The Windows Gaget Platform should definately be removed. If you really want a similar program try Rainmeter but there are a lot of programs out there with better function, less memory cost. I do not recommend any of those programs though.

Another good idea is to replace Windows Search with Laundry, better, faster, efficent and customizable.

3. Restart!

4. Now I have some suggestions on which programs are better than the ones included with Windows. All of them apart from Tune up are free!
Program/Feature. Alternative.
Internet Explorer Opera/Firefox/Chrome
Audio Media WinAMP/Foobar2000
Video Media VLC
DVD Media Imgburn
Gadget Platform None/Rainmeter
Search Utilitiy Laundry
Image Viewer Honeyview/irfanview
System Tools Tuneup Utilities(Not free)/CCleaner/Speccy/Defraggler/True crypt
Messenger Pidgin

4. Services, Disabling these can effect functionality so we need to be careful here.
Click run (Windows + R) and enter services.msc
Now familiarize yourself with the services. Right click on the services you wish to disable and select disabled in the startup type selection box.
The following I recommend disabling.
Application Identity, Active X Installer, BitLocker Drive Encryption Service, Background Intelligent Transfer, Bluetooth Support Service, Certificate Propagnation, HomeGroup Listener, HomeGroup Provider, Windows Backup, Adaptive Brightness, Credential Manager, Windows Process Activation Service, Diagnostic System Host, Problem Reports and Solutions, Windows Errror Reporting Service, Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service, Parental Controls.
If you recognize any of these services as something you use leave it as you found it, Otherwise it is highly likely that you'll balls it up.

5. Startup Programs, I hate Startup Programs. These programs will add themselves themselves to the startup when installed creating a longer boot time and cause that horrible period where you have to wait after logging in. As most users constantly install new things these build up fast so try and keep on top of them.
So to remove these programs from startup (not uninstall) open msconfig and select the start up tab. (Windows + R then type msconfig)
You want to take off everything that you don't want to use immediately once logging in. Mainly you should disable any programs that are in the startup excluding essential programs like the anti-virus.
You will also want to ensure you keep the drivers you use on start up.

6. Boot, In Msconfig click the boot tab and enable no GUI boot. The other option is "safe boot" which is by no means safer.
Doing this will get rid of the fancy loading screen windows has and will make for a faster boot.

7. Performance Settings.
Start by finding Performance options in Control Panel > System & Security > System > Advanced system Settings > Advanced.
Windows naturally comes with the bells and whistles of maximum appearance. This costs memory and doesn't actually add any usability.
That said I do like personalizing how windows looks and I myself have skipped this step.
For those who want a better performance though you can go straight ahead and uncheck everything apart from
Enable Destop Composititor
Show thumbnails instead of icons
Show window contents while dragging
Smooth edges of screen fonts.
Use visual styles on windows

8. Aero, For better performance you shouldn't use aero. There are plenty of Microsoft styles that don't use transparancy and still look good. A simple google search will find some great ones.

9. Apply and restart!

I hope you enjoyed this guide and that you find it useful for de-bloating the whale that is Windows.
Good luck and please comment.

How to access TPB

2012-05-10T00:31:00.000+01:00

The Pirate Bay blocked in UK by Virgin Media

Heres the offical Pirate bay announcement

TPB gets censored in the UK

The Western countries of the world all complaints about the censorship in Iran, China, Saudi Arabia and so on. But they are really the worst culprits themselves, having double morals in doing an even worse thing themselves.

Today news was out that the UK high court has decided that TPB is "massively infringing on copyright". The facts that no copyright is being infringed upon here at the site was not a welcome fact, so that was ignored apparantly.

Noone from TPB was invited to the court case, which would be normal to do in a democracy. This is not the first time this happens, it's been the same in most countries we're censored in. We have no right to speak since we're not rich.

Five ISPs got sued by the record companies to force them to block us. This is particularily interesting since music released and promoted exclusively here on TPB is currently in the brittish top charts. We are simply competitors that they just managed to squeeze out of their market, in a maffiesque way.

As usual there are easy ways to circumvent the block. Use a VPN service to be anonymous and get an uncensored internet access, you should do this anyhow. Or useTOR, I2P or some other darknet with access to the internets. Change your DNS settings with OpenDNS. Or use googles DNS servers... we could go on...

But don't forget that we can't allow this shit to happen. Next time they're coming for something else. And yes, there will be a next time if we don't stop them. Write to your ISP and tell them to appeal the case. Write to your local MPs and tell them that this is not allowed. Make sure your voice is heard. Remember, we're all the pirate bay, and we must stand united against the censorship from our opponents!

But there are easier ways for people to access TPB if they wish, use a proxy site!

http://activepolitic.com:82/cgi-bin/qrfxt/154

http://pirateparty.org.uk

http://thepiratebay.se.proxy.piratenpartij.nl

http://www.pirateproxy.net

http://iPir.at/2we39

Earn money on Superpoints

2012-05-09T23:50:00.000+01:00

Okay so maybe you have heard of superpoints?

Basically Superpoints is a site where you earn exactly that, Superpoints.
Heres the deal, Superpoints can be exchanged for Cash (Or Amazon gift certificates blah blah).
But in my opinion the cash is the best choice.
The way to earn these points is simple, watch adverts, invite people, press the superlucky button and complete offers.
Completing offers is a pain in the arse so i'll leave that one out.
Watching adverts earns you 1 point but you can shrink the window etc and still earn the points.
The superlucky button is basically something you press that might (or more likely not) give you some superpoints. Once you have upgraded your account (don't worry its all free you just need to invite some people) You earn yourself more and more presses of the button.
Here is the real deal though, inviting people. When you invite people you earn superpoints, Once you have 5 basic members invited your account becomes a gold account meaning you get the extra presses of the button I mention and you earn a point for every point that one of the members you invited gets.

So if I refer 10 people and we all earn 10 superpoints a day that means I earn 110 superpoints. 10 for me and 10 for each other my refferals! This amounts to $1.10 a day. 500 points = $5 and 50000 points = $500.
Notice that's dollars and not £ for any of my British friends unfortunately.

As for the completing offers I mentioned before these take time and sometimes seem not to pay the superpoints that you were promised. That said if you want a netflix account and create it through Superpoints you earn 1000 superpoints. Thats £10!

So I hope to see you there and any comments or questions please feel free to ask!
This site is invite only people so here's my invite code!

http://superpoints.com/refer/drunkentechnologist

Asus Lamborghini VX7-SZ058Z

2012-05-09T23:35:00.001+01:00

Asus Lamborghini VX7-SZ058Z (Good choice of random letters and numbers)
Ohhhh sweet cheese the things I would do for this.

Specifications at a glance
Asus Lamborghini VX7-SZ058Z
Display: 15.6” Full HD TFT (1920x1080, Color-Shine)
CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-7630QM (2.0GHz), can be turbo up to 2.93GHz (Fuck)
Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 460M
Storage: 1.5TB (750GBx2) (7200rpm)
Memory: 8192MB (4096x2)

Coming in at nearly £1800 it’s not surprising to see high specifications. I can only imagine how amazing sitting behind that screen would be! Sign me up for selling my soul/body or both for this Laptop.
Normally I’d gravitate towards an Alienware if I was gonna go for a over designed, over priced, over powered laptop but I hear Dell now owns them so expect crappy customer service!

ASUS Sabertooth 55i Review

2012-05-09T12:36:00.005+01:00

ASUS Sabertooth 55i

This badboy is the first in TUF (The Ultimate Force) line of motherboards by ASUS. TUF Motherboards have military standard durability meaning they can take a lot of shit, and will (most likely) not let you down. The Sabertooth board itself has a great layout and rugged features which gives it a legitimate look and the camo colour theme (not tiger theme) is sexual. Combined with some rather impressive performance results this board makes a real winner.
Anywho, Less of Aesthetics this is one of the new Socket LGA 1156 boards making it compatible with Intel’s newest baby the i5 and the i7 processors! The quality of the board is really expressed by the toughness (or TUFness) of its parts, for example the capacitors resistant to shock, vibration, temperature, moisture and salt tested. Salt tested may not seem important but for those who live on the coast your capacitors will survive even if the rest of your computer sadly does not.

Overall I’d give this Motherboard a 4/5 or a 8.5/10 as it does really float my boat.. but you do have to pay quite a bit for the extra quality. But as far as Motherboards go ASUS knocks out another high quality one! Full specifications will follow!

Here are the full specifications.
CPU
Intel® Socket 1156 Core™ i7 Processor/Core™ i5 Processor
Supports Intel® Turbo Boost Technology

Chipset
Intel® P55 Express Chipset

Memory
4 x DIMM, Max. 16 GB, DDR3 2000/1800/1600/1333/1066 Non-ECC,Un-buffered Memory
Dual Channel memory architecture
Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)
*Hyper DIMM support is subject to the physical characteristics of individual CPUs. Some hyper DIMMs only support one DIMM per channel. Refer to Memory QVL (Qualified Vendors List) for details.
**Please visit www.asus.com or refer to the user manual for the Memory QVL.

Expansion Slots
2 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (single at x16 or dual at x8/x8 mode)
3 x PCIe 2.0 x1 (2.5GT/s)
2 x PCI

Multi-GPU Support
Supports NVIDIA® Quad-GPU SLI™ Technology
Supports ATI® Quad-GPU CrossFireX™ Technology

Storage
Intel® P55 Express Chipset built-in
6 xSATA 3.0 Gb/s ports (black)
Intel Matrix Storage Technology Support RAID 0,1,5,10
JMicron® JMB363 PATA and SATA controller
1 xUltraDMA 133/100/66 for up to 2 PATA devices
1 xExternal SATA (SATA On-the-Go)
JMicron® JMB322 (DriveXpert Technology) :
- 2 x SATA 3.0 Gb/s ports (orange and white )
- Supports EZ Backup and SuperSpeed functions
*Drive Xpert function is available only when the hard disk drives are set as data drives

LAN
Realtek® 8112L PCIe Gigabit LAN controller featuring AI NET2

Audio
VIA® VT2020 10-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC
- Absolute Pitch BD192/24 featuring ENVY HD
- DTS Surround Sensation UltraPC
- Supports Jack-Detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-Retasking
- Optical S/PDIF out port at back I/O
- ASUS Noise Filter

IEEE 1394
VIA® 6308P controller supports 2 x 1394a port(s) (one at mid-board; one at back panel)

USB
14 USB 2.0/1.1 ports (6 ports at mid-board, 8 ports at back panel)

ASUS Unique Features
Exclusive TUF Features
"TUF ENGINE!" Power Design
- 12-phase CPU Power
- 2-phase Memory Power
- 2-phase VTT_CPU Power
- E.S.P. : Efficient Switching Power Design for 3VSB/1.8V/1.05V
- TUF Cap. & MOSFET (certified by military-standard)
"Ultimate COOL!" Thermal Solution
- CeraM!X Heatsink Coating Tech.
- CoolMem!
- T.Probe Technology
- ASUS Fan Xpert
"Safe & Stable!" Guardian Angel
- MemOK!
- Drive Xpert
- ESD Guards
- EMI Eliminator

Special Features
ASUS Q-Connector
ASUS Q-Shield
ASUS Q-LED (CPU, DRAM, VGA, Boot Device LED)
ASUS Q-Slot
ASUS Q-DIMM
ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3
ASUS EZ Flash 2
ASUS MyLogo 2
ASUS O.C. Profile
Multi-language BIOS
Back Panel I/O Ports
1 x PS/2 Keyboard (Purple)
1 x PS/2 mouse port (Green)
1 x Optical S/PDIF Output
1 x IEEE1394a
1 x LAN (RJ45) port
1 x External SATA port
8 x USB 2.0/1.1
10-channel Audio I/O

Internal I/O Connectors
3 x USB connectors support additional 6 USB ports
1 x IDE connector
6 x SATA connectors
1 x IEEE 1394a connector
1 x CPU Fan connector
1 x Power Fan connector
2 x Drive Xpert SATA connectors (orange and white)
2 x Chassis Fan connector (1x4-pin, 1x3-pin)
1 x Mem Fan connector
1 x COM port

Front panel audio connector
1 x S/PDIF Out Header
CD audio in
24-pin ATX Power connector
1 x 8-pin ATX 12V Power connector
System Panel(Q-Connector)
1 x MemOK! button
1 x Power on switch
1 x Reset switch

BIOS
16 Mb Flash ROM , AMI BIOS, PnP, DMI2.0, WfM2.0, SM BIOS 2.5, ACPI 2.0a,

Manageability
WfM 2.0,DMI 2.0,WOL by PME,WOR by PME,PXE

Accessories
User's manual
1 x UltraDMA 133/100/66 cable
6 x SATA cable(s)
1 x 2-port USB and eSATA module
CoolMem Fan Frame
ASUS Q-Shield
2 in 1 Q-connector
1 x ASUS SLI bridge connector
Support Disc
Drivers
Anti-virus software (OEM version)
ASUS Update
ASUS Utilities

Form Factor
ATX Form Factor
12 inch x 9.6 inch ( 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm )

NZXT Phantom Enthusiast Full Tower Case Review

2012-05-09T12:33:00.002+01:00

NZXT Phantom Enthusiast Full Tower Case Review.

Awww shit yea.
Okay so this is the NZXT Phantom Enthusiast Full Tower Case and he’s gonna set you back from £100 to £120 depending on where you get it. Okay so everyone can see its sexy but whats in the box? Heres the specs.

- High Performance Cooling Advantages
– Phantom’s extensive cooling capabilities include 7 fan cooling options with dual 200mm, single 230/200mm, triple 120mm, and front 140mm fan options
- NZXT includes dual radiator support, quad watercooling cutouts, and an integrated fan controller with up to five 20W channels.
- Simple Installation
– Phantom celebrates an array of innovative features designed to enhance every stage of the build
- Meticulous cable management is easily attainable with large spacing behind the motherboard.
- Innovative all-new 5.25” screwless rails make installing and swapping HDDs an effortless process
- Rubber grommets dampens vibration during operation.
- LED on/off button to control fan lighting (Nice for when your eyes need a rest from witnessing the fitness.
- Rubber PSU and case feet to reduce vibration (Good for when the girlfriend falls asleep and you don’t want her catching you playing WoW)
- Easily removable front and top panels
- Top mounted USB, Audio/Mic, and E-SATA ports.
– Features support for larger heat sinks, graphics cards, and E-ATX motherboards enabling enthusiasts to include any of today’s hottest components
- Vast space within the enclosure allows for 7 hard drives with SDD support and up to five 5.25” bays
This case has some vibrant pristine colours mixed with a sleek screw less design that’s sure to make the girls dig you! Nothing shows how cool and individual you are than having a case that isn’t rectangular. All levity aside though this is a 5/5 and a 9/10 for me as it is one of the few cases that I could take a photo of and carry around in my wallet.

Remember forking out for a good Motherboard and Case is the base of creating a great gaming or performance set up as these are the foundations of your set up. You need room in the case for all your shiny large performance components and room on the Motherboard to! Everything else is easily replaceable and upgraded.
Oh and don’t forget the CPU.

ThinkPads

2012-05-09T12:30:00.002+01:00

ThinkPads.

A great Operating system deserves a great laptop. Thinkpads are strong, reliable and robust laptops that are built to last.

I feel like Linux and ThinkPads were born to be together!

Debian Easy Install

2012-05-09T12:21:00.003+01:00

Debian Easy Install.

Okay so first things firstly lets run on over to the Debian site and download the installation image we want.
There are two options, small installation image and large installation image.
http://www.debian.org/distrib/
The choice really is yours, If you go for the small installation image you need to be able to configure the internet connection during the installation process. This is good for those who want a small install with only the things they specify installed as extras.
Or Large installation image which will be easier for an offline install. This will install a lot of packages and some/most of them you will never use. Although this is an easy way for first timers.

Next make back ups. No one likes to do it but its really a smart idea to create a back up especially if you are a beginner.

You can either do write the iso to a disk or to a USB, I personally prefer USB so here are the links to the software I usually use to create bootable linux USBs.
Unetbootin
http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/
or LILI
http://www.linuxliveusb.com/
Would be a great choice for creating the bootable USB.
The process of installing the iso onto the USB is very easy and I have faith that you will manage it without instruction.

If you prefer to write the iso to a disk that's fine also just choose which ether software you prefer to burn to the disk. Make sure you make the disk an image disk and not a data disk!

Now once the iso has been written to the USB/Disk its time to restart the system and boot into the USB/Disk!
Time to begin!
Now I'm going to write this article in the format of a small installation image (netinstall) as that is the better but slightly trickier way to install Debian. If you have chosen the large installation image (core) do not worry, some of the steps that follow will not appear as you are installing the OS and you can just skip straight passed them.

1. The Installer boot menu will now give you the options for your install. Now the choices will be
Install
(64 bit Install)
Graphical Install
(64 bit Graphical Install)
Advanced Options
Help
As this is a beginner guide I recommend the Graphical Install.

2. Select a Language, Easy enough choose the language you speak and read and proceed!

3. Now select your location. This too is an easy step.

4. Configure the keyboard. All you need to do is select the Keyboard configuration that matches yours.

5. Now you will be asked to configure the network.
First of all you will need to set the hostname, "Debian" would work for the unimaginative out there.
Next it will ask you to set a domain name. You may leave this blank or enter a domain name if available.

6. Set up Users and Passwords. Firstly you will need to set the root password. This password is important so don't forget it!
After you've set the root password the installer will ask you to enter your full name. Feel free not to do so if you wish.
Next you will be required to enter a username in all lower case. Anything you want will do.
Finally you will be required to enter a log in password.

7. Now you will be required to configure the clock. This is another easy step as you just need to select your time zone.

8. Okay so now its time to partition your disk. The easiest way is to select "Guided - use entire disk" but I recommend selecting manual and partitioning the disk yourself. As this is the beginner guide I will presume that Guided - use entire disk is the way to go.
Once this is selected you will need to select the hard drive for partitioning and then select which partitioning scheme to use. I recommend using the separate /home /usr /var /tmp partions scheme.

If you do wish to manually partition your drive this is how I recommend you partition the disk.
Firstly create a root (/) partition of approximately 400MB. set this as a primary partition and ext3.
Next create a usr (/usr) logical partition of about 8 to 10 GB, This should be logical and ext 3.
Create a var (/var) logical partition of about 3.0 GB which should be in ext3.
Create a swap partition this should be logical, about 1.5 GB and should be in swap.
Create a tmp (/tmp) logical partition, about 400 MB in size and ext3
Finally the home (/home) partition should be logical and ext3. This should take up whatever space is left.
If you are dual booting with windows leave the Windows partition as it is.

9. Then Simply click write changes to disk!

10. Confirm you want to write these changes to disk.

11. Now to Configure the package manager.
Choose a Debian archive mirror country. Id recommend your own county.
Now select a Debian archive mirror. Choose one which has the best internet connection for you but if in doubt just use the ftp.us. Debian.org

12. Set up a proxy, This step can be skipped and I would recommend doing so in a beginner set up.

13. You will now have the choice to help the debain community by participating in the package usage survey. It would be nice to click yes here but if you don't want to then don't.

14. Choose the software to install. Choose the software that applies to you.

15. Okay now its time to Install the GRUB boot loader to the MBR (master boot record) If you are dual booting this (should) give you the option of which OS to jump to on boot. I highly recommend clicking yes and installing the GRUB boot loader to the MBR.

16. From here the Install shall finish off and all that's left to do is to boot into your new OS!

Hope you enjoyed this article and it was of use. Please write a comment id love to hear what you have to think! Good luck with your install.

Arch Linux Easy Install

2012-05-09T12:19:00.002+01:00

Okay Arch isn't the easiest of Linux to install but with the help of this guide hopefully you will be ready and able to install Arch on your machine!

First things first download the latest iso. There is a choice of either netinstall and core images so choose what you'd prefer. (Netinstall will require an active Internet connection during the installation)
Remember they both provide only the necessary packages to create the base system. This does not include a GUI but installation shall be covered later on in the article.
http://www.archlinux.org/download/

Next choose an install medium.
The choices are either burning the iso to a CD or DVD.
Burn to CD or DVD using your preferred method but make sure you make the disk a CD image and not a data disk!
or you could choose to make a bootable usb, which is the method I prefer.
http://www.linuxliveusb.com/
This program works better than unetbootin at creating an Arch USB (In my experience)

Now the fun begins.

1. Reboot the system and boot from your chosen install medium. Select Boot Arch Linux and press Enter to begin the installation.

2. If you have a non US keyboard you can choose your keymap/console font by typing
# km
or
# loadkeys layout

3. Now type /arch/setup to start the ball rolling.

4. First stage is selecting an installation source. If you selected the Core iso then select core local.
If you selected the Netinstall image only the remote repositories will be available. (If you are a beginner core-remote, extra-remote and community-remote is my recommendation)

5. Now we need to set up the nextwork.
ftp.archlinux.org is throttled to 50KB/s so only use this if you are unsure which you should be using, otherwise try and use a local mirror.

6. Configuring your Internet connection. I recommend for beginners use a wired connection for now. Hooking up via Ethernet would be the easier route.

7. The next step is to set the editor. I highly recommend nano at this point as its behavior is more like a graphical word processor. vi is also available for more experienced linux users.

8. Set the time and date, I recommend using UTC for the hardware clock. I discourage using localtime as it can lead to several bugs that are thus far unfixable. But the choice is yours.

For dual booters.
If you are dual booting windows, which is likely, I recommend setting Arch to UTC and making windows do this too. A registry fix will be needed and a guide is here for those choosing this method.
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UbuntuTime#Make_Windows_use_UTC
Another method is to set Arch to local time and later in configure the system remove hwclock from the DAEMONS array in /etc/rc.conf Windows will take care of the hardware clock from then on.

9. Creating filesystems, I recommend ext3 as it is backward compatible with ext2 and has Journaling as an added extra. I'd say for a beginner this is best as there will be minimal chance of errors.

10. Time to prepare that hard drive.
First things first, back up your data, its not necessary but its a dam good idea.
The options are;
1: Auto-Prepare, Arch will erase the whole disk and install Arch as the main OS. Anyone considering dual booting this is not a good option as dual booting is easier if you install Windows first and then Arch along side it.
2. Manual Partitioning, this option is the best and you will need create 5 partitions.
One for the boot (/boot) Part type should be primary and FS type Linux.
One for the root (/) file system. Part type should be set as primary and FS type Linux.
One for the (/var) Part type logical and FS type Linux.
One for the swap file (/swap) Part type should be primary and FS type Linux swap / Solaris.
And one for home (/home) Part type logical and FS type linux
The root / and /swap partitions do not need to be large. Only 100MB will be required for boot, approximately 1GB should be good for the swap partion, 15GB for the root and 10GB for the /var partition. Your home partition should take up the rest of the available space. (A 10 or 20 GB unallocated space can act as a good buffer for all sorts of things, you should consider setting one but it really isn't necessary)

11. Select packages. All software packages available during install are from the core repository, these are divided into base and base-devel. Package information and descriptions for core are available here.
http://www.archlinux.org/packages/?repo=Core&arch=any&arch=i686&arch=x86_64&limit=all&sort=pkgname

12. Bootloader, I recommend GRUB especially for those dual booters. Syslinux is also available here.

13. Select the Package groups, I recommend both base and base-devel especially for new users as base-devel will find the tools available useful when expanding their new system.

14. Install packages. Local source will install the package versions from the media used for installation. Those who opted for remote installation will be able to download the most recent versions of the packages. I recommend installing sudo as an extra package at this point. Do not unselect any of the packages unless you know what you are doing.
Some installers will ask if you wish to keep the packages in the pacman cache, choose yes as this will add flexibility with the packages later on.

15. Configure the system. It is recommended you edit or at least verify these .conf files. Although for beginners you can just go ahead and edit Networking section and add a hostname (Arch would do for the unimaginative).
/etc/pacman.d/mirror list should also be edited by removing the # from mirrors that you do not want to use. The more local a mirror the faster the transfer but you should use more than one mirror. Remember that ftp.archlinux.org is throttled.

16. Set the Root password, and remember it.

17. Install the bootloader. If a linux distro already exists and you wish to keep the bootloader the same you can choose to skip this and simply run update-grub in the grub bootloader after installation. Otherwise install GRUB2, LILO and Syslinux are available but GRUB is recommended.

18. Reboot, the command is simple, reboot. And you are done, welcome to the world of Arch.
Do not confuse this for you are finished though.

19. Okay so you have a neat little package manager named pacman. This will be your new friend so get used to it.
Typing (man pacman) will bring up the manual files for pacman.
So edit the /etc/pacman.conf file and set SigLevel to Never. This disables signatures checks for packages and ignore the warnings suggested by pacman at this point.

20. Those who used a core install and not a net install will need to type
(pacman -Syu)
to update their system. This should always be preformed with care and I recommend this is read before proceeding.
https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=57205

21. Add a user. Running from root is an option but is not recommended and is bad practice so adding a user is a good idea.
The easier and interactive way is the type
(adduser)
This will follow;

Login name for new user []: dozzle

User ID ('UID') [ defaults to next available ]:

Initial group [ users ]:

Additional groups (comma separated) []: audio,lp,optical,storage,video,wheel,games,power,scanner

Home directory [ /home/dozzle]:

Shell [ /bin/bash ]:

Expiry date (YYYY-MM-DD) []:

Obviously dozzle is just an example and the other information is not mandatory so has been left blank in this example.

22. As the User has been added to the wheel group all that needs to be done is
(EDITOR=nano visudo)
and scroll down to where %wheel ALL=(ALL) ALL and delete the # from the line.

23.Install sound (or do it later) the following link will go into detail about how this is done, but for now theres bigger fish to fry.
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Advanced_Linux_Sound_Architecture

24. Installing X,
(pacman -S xorg-server xorg-xinit xorg-server-utils)
This will install the base packages
(pacman -S mesa)
this will install basic 3D support
(pacman -S mesa-demos)
extra 3D support that is not necessary for all.

25. Installing video drivers. Firstly type
(lspci | grep VGA)
will show you what chipset your machine has.

For Nvidia I recommend typing
(pacman -S xf86-video-nouveau)
for experimental 3D support also type
(pacman -S nouveau-dri)

ATI graphics card users type
(pacman -S xf86-video-ati)

Sis graphics card use
(pacman -S xf86-video-sis)
or
(pacman -S xf86-video-sisusb)
or
(pacman -S xf86-video-sisimedia)
Sis graphics cards are not supported but should work using one of the above.

26. Test X. Firstly install the default test using
(pacman -S xorg-twm xorg-xclock xterm)
Install dbus by typing
(pacman -S dbus)
then start dbus daemon with
(rc.d start dbus)
Now test x with
(startx)
If alls good in the hood and there is a very basic environment then
(pkill x)
if pkill doesn't work just type
(reboot)

27. Fonts!
(pacman -S ttf-dejavu)
I guess you understand what fonts are and such.

28. Choose your GUI.
You already have X which is a good basic starter. The following is how to install window managers and desktop environments
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Window_Manager#Window_managers
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Desktop_Environment#Desktop_environments

29. Once all thats installed you will have your fully fledged OS so enjoy it

I hope you enjoyed this and have a successful install!
This is my first article so please comment, criticize, make recommendations or get involved.

The official beginners guide is here if you would like to use that instead. But if you thought this article was long you are in for a real treat here.

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Beginners'_Guide