computer help

The ultimate tweaker's guide to Windows

2008-04-08T09:31:00.000-07:00

The ultimate tweaker's guide to Windows
Don't like the way Windows works? Who does?
But just because the operating system doesn't look and work the way you want doesn't mean that you're stuck with it as is. Windows is extremely tweakable; if you dig a little, you'll find that you can customize it in almost any way you want.
To help you out, we've put together this guide to tweaking Windows. It covers both XP and Vista and lets you do all kinds of things you might have thought were impossible -- replacing your boot screen, tweaking the Control Panel, speeding up Windows Flip 3D and more. Look for the XP logo and Vista logo icons to see which tips work in which OS.
The tweaks vary in the expertise you'll need. In some cases you'll get down and dirty with the Registry, so if you're not certain you know how to make a DWORD value, for example, read "The tweaker's guide to the Windows Registry" first. (Be sure to read the instructions for backing up the Registry before you attempt any Registry edits whatsoever.) .
In other cases, you'll just have to dig into hidden corners of menus and folders. But in all cases, you'll tell Windows exactly how you want it to behave ... and it will bow down to you, the master.
Editor's note: We're assuming that any system settings you change will be on your own computer. Always check with your IT department before altering a company-owned machine.
1. Speed up Windows Flip 3D
Windows Flip 3D, which gives you a pop-up preview of all your open windows, is one of Windows Vista's coolest new features -- but if your hardware isn't up to snuff, its operation can be jagged and sluggish.
With a Registry tweak, you can speed it up and smooth its animations by limiting the number of windows it will display.
1. Launch the Registry Editor by typing regedit at the Start Search box or a command prompt.
2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM
3. Create a new DWORD value and name it Max3Dwindows.
4. Set the value to the maximum number of windows you want displayed. If you have severe performance problems, set it at 4; you can always re-edit and up the number later.
5. Exit the Registry Editor.
For the change to take effect, you'll need to either restart your PC or restart Vista's Desktop Windows Manager (DWM). To do the latter, launch an elevated command prompt (which means you're operating the command prompt with administrator rights) by typing cmd in the search box and pressing Ctrl-Shift-Enter. Type net stop uxsms and press Enter. Then type net startuxsms and press Enter. Windows Flip 3D will now be sped up.
With the new settings in effect, Windows Flip 3D will display only the number of windows you've told it to. If you have six windows open and your set maximum is four, only four will be displayed at a time. As you scroll through your windows, each new one will replace an old one.
2. Improve Explorer's Send To menu
When you right-click a file or folder in Windows Explorer, a menu that lets you take a variety of actions pops up. One of these is Send To, which allows you to send the file to any one of a list of locations -- for example, to a drive, a program or a folder.
But the programs and destinations that appear in the list by default may not be the ones you want to send things to. It's simple to add destinations or programs and to take away others. You'll merely add or take away shortcuts from a special Windows folder.
In Windows Vista, go to C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo where username is your username.
In Windows XP, go to C:\Documents and Settings\username\SendTo where username is your username.

In both cases, the folder will be filled with shortcuts to all the locations you find on your Send To context menu.
To remove an item from the Send To menu, delete the shortcut from the folder. To add an item to the menu, add a shortcut to the folder by highlighting the folder, choosing File --> New --> Shortcut (on Vista, you'll need to press Alt to get the File menu to appear) and following the instructions for creating a shortcut.
The new setting will take effect immediately; you don't have to exit Windows Explorer for it to go into effect.
3. Open the command prompt from the right-click menu
For accomplishing certain tasks, such as the mass deleting or renaming of files, the command prompt is the ideal tool. Often, you'll combine its use with Windows Explorer, and so you may want to open the command prompt at the folder that's your current location in Explorer.
Wouldn't it be nice to add an option to the right-click context menu that would open a command prompt at your current folder? For example, if you were to right-click the C:\My Stuff folder, you could then open a command prompt at C:\My Stuff.
In Vista, it's easy to do. Hold down Shift when you right-click in a folder window, and a new option appears on the context menu: Open Command Window Here. Select it and there you are in an appropriately located command prompt.
In XP, that option doesn't appear, but you can add it with a Registry tweak.
1. Launch the Registry Editor by typing regedit at the Start Search box or a command prompt, then go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Classes\Folder\shell
2. Create a new key called Command Prompt. For the default value, enter whatever text you want to appear when you right-click a folder -- for example, Open Command Prompt.
3. Create a new subkey beneath the Command Prompt key called Command. Set the default value to Cmd.exe /k pushd %L
4. Exit the Registry. The new menu option will show up immediately. Note that it won't appear when you right-click a file; it shows up only when you right-click a folder.
4. Resize desktop icons
Not happy with the size of the icons on the desktop or in Windows Explorer? It's a snap to change their size in Vista. Press the Ctrl key and scroll your mouse wheel (or trackpad equivalent) forward to enlarge the icons, or toward you to shrink them. You'll have many degrees of size to choose from, and they'll stay at the new size until you change them again.
If you don't have a wheel on your mouse or trackpad, there are still several ways you can change the size of the icons. For a quick way, but with few choices for icon sizes, right-click the desktop and select View. You can now choose small, medium or large icons.
If you want more choices, right-click the desktop and choose Personalization. Click Open classic appearance properties for more color options, click the Advanced button, choose Icon from the drop-down list, and use the Size control to change the size. Click OK, then keep clicking OK until all menus disappear.
In Windows XP, right-click the desktop and choose Properties. Click the Appearance tab, then the Advanced button. Choose Icon from the drop-down list, and use the Size control to change the size of the icons. Click OK, then keep clicking OK until all menus disappear.
5. Remove shortcut arrows from your icons
Do the large shortcut arrows on your desktop icons offend your aesthetic sensibility? Then remove them. Get rid of them in Windows Vista using the free Vista Overlay Remover (also called FxVisor). Run it, and you can choose to either make the shortcut arrow smaller and lighter or remove it altogether.
As you might suspect, Vista Shortcut Overlay Remover won't work with Windows XP, but XP users can use Microsoft's free TweakUI PowerToy to accomplish the same thing. Run it and choose Explorer --> Shortcut. Choose Light arrow if you want the arrows to be smaller and lighter, or None to remove them completely. You'll have to log off and then log on again for your changes to take effect.
6. Unclutter the XP Control Panel
Windows XP's Control Panel isn't exactly a model of simplicity -- it's cluttered with many applets that you rarely, if ever, use. You can tweak it, however, to hide many applets.
To hide unused applets in Windows XP, launch the Registry Editor by typing regedit at the Start Search box or a command prompt. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ControlPanel\don't load
(If the don't load key does not exist, create it by choosing Edit --> New --> Key and naming it don't load.) The key, as its name implies, determines which Control Panel applet icons will not be loaded into the Control Panel.
To hide an applet, create a new string value whose name is the file name of the applet you want to hide. For example, to hide the Mouse icon, the string value would be main.cpl. To create a string value, have your cursor on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Control Panel\don't load then select Edit --> New --> String Value, and for the value, give it the file name of the applet you want to hide.

You'll still be able to run those applets from the command line (and they may also appear in other places, such as XP's Common Tasks list shown on the left side of the Control Panel window) after you hide them; you just won't be able to see their icons in the Control Panel.
Note, though, that you won't be able to hide every single Control Panel applet you find. Underlying the Control Panel is chaos; although many applets are .cpl files, some are links to folders, and others are controlled by .dll files. You'll be able to hide only the applets that are controlled by .cpl files.
Create a separate string value for each applet you want to hide, then exit the Registry. The applets will vanish from the Control Panel. To make a hidden applet appear again, delete its string value from this same Registry key.
The ultimate tweaker's guide to Windows
By: Preston Gralla
IT World Canada

All the While, we wait

SharePoint deployments made easy

MacBook Air, Google get Microsoft CEO talking

Vista goes on sale a little early

Knowledge management as CGI sees it

7. Display Control Panel applets in a cascading menu
Maybe you'd like to bypass the Control Panel altogether. If so, you can force Windows to display Control Panel applets in a cascading menu when you choose Control Panel from the Start button.
To do this in Windows XP, right-click the taskbar and choose Properties --> Start Menu. Choose the Start menu radio button, click the Customize button next to it, and choose the Advanced tab. Under the Control Panel heading, choose Display as a menu. Click OK twice.
In Windows Vista, right-click the taskbar and choose Properties --> Start Menu. Then click the Customize button next to the Start menu item, scroll down to the Control Panel heading, and select Display as a menu. Click OK twice.
8. Animate Vista's network icon
Here's a quick way to see if you're sending or receiving data over your network or the Internet on a Vista PC: Animate the network icon that sits in the system tray. Right-click the icon and select Turn on activity animation. Whenever data is being sent or received, the icon will subtly light up. To turn off the animation, right-click the icon and select Turn off activity animation.
9. Change your Windows boot screen
Tired of seeing the same old Windows logo every time you start Windows? Dedicated tweakers can easily change the logo to whatever they want. There are two different processes for changing the boot screen in Vista and in XP.
Vista
First, you have to create or find a graphic for your new boot screen. You'll need two versions of the graphic, one 1024 by 768 pixels, and one 800 by 600 pixels. They have to be in .bmp format and must be 24-bit.
If you can't create them yourself, use Google image search. In your search results, under each image, you'll see the dimensions of the graphic, so you'll know whether it's the right size. If you add the word "wallpaper" to the subject of your search, you're more likely to find images of the right sizes.
Note that if you come across a graphic in .jpg format, you can still use it, because Internet Explorer can save it as a .bmp -- just right-click the image in IE, select Save Picture As, and in the Save As Type drop-down, select Bitmap (*.bmp) and click Save.
You can save time by finding just one file, a 1024-by-768-pixel image, and then using graphics software to resize it and make a copy of it as an 800-by-600-pixel file in addition to its original 1024-by-768 size. A great tool for doing this is the free IrfanView. (See a comment from one our readers below for a caveat on what "free" means to Irfanview.)
After you have both files ready, download, install and run the free Vista Boot Logo Generator. Click each of the Browse for Image buttons and select your two graphics.
Select File --> Save Boot Screen As, and save the file to any location on your hard disk. The program will not save the files as graphics but instead will save them both as a single file, winload.exe.mui.
Now that the file is saved, copy it to C:\Windows\System32\en-US. There will already be a file in that folder named winload.exe.mui, so make sure that you make a copy of the original before you replace it with this new one.

Now run the MSCONFIG utility by typing msconfig at the Search box or command prompt and pressing Enter. Click the Boot tab, select No GUI boot, and click OK. You'll be asked to restart Windows. Click Restart, and you'll see your new boot screen in living, full-color glory.
Note that depending on your configuration, Windows Vista may not allow you to overwrite the winload.exe.mui file. If that's the case, you'll need to do some extra work.
1. Run the command prompt as an administrator, by typing cmd at the Search box and pressing Ctrl-Shift-Enter.
2. Type the following command and press Enter: takeown /f C:\Windows\System32\en-US\winload.exe.mui. You'll get a message that you now have ownership of C:\Windows\System32\en-US\winload.exe.mui.
3. Type this at the command prompt and press Enter: cacls C:\Windows\System32\en-US\winload.exe.mui /G username:F where username is your username. You'll be asked whether you want to proceed.
4. Press the y key and then press Enter. You'll get this message: processed file: C:\Windows\System32\en-US\winload.exe.mui
You can now go ahead and copy winload.exe.mui to C:\Windows\System32\en-US, and then proceed with the rest of the tweak.
XP
With the help of a third-party app, Windows XP users can change their boot screens as well. Download, install and run the free program BootSkin. Scroll to any boot screen and click Preview to see a larger view of it. Once you've found one you want to use as your boot screen, click Apply.
The next time you boot, it will use your new boot screen. But you're not limited to just the boot screens in the program. Click Browse boot screen library, and you'll be brought to a page from the WinCustomize BootSkins Gallery that has literally thousands of boot skins. Choose one (or create your own), and you'll be set with a new boot screen.
10. Speed up Vista search
Windows Vista's search can bog down if you've got a lot of files, e-mails, contacts and more on your hard disk. But there's a simple way to make searching zippy again.
Most of the time when you do searches, you use the Search box on the Start menu, and those are most likely the times when you're looking for fast results. So I'll show you how to speed up searches launched from the Start menu.
First, decide what type of information you're usually looking for when you do a search from the Start menu's search box. Are you always looking to run a program? For a file? For an e-mail message?
After you decide that, right-click the Start button and choose Properties. Click Customize next to the Start menu entry, and the Customize Start Menu dialog box appears.
Uncheck the boxes next to any type of content you don't want to search. For example, if you only want to search for programs, uncheck the boxes next to Search communications and Search favoritesand history and select Don't search for files.
If you only want to search for files, uncheck the boxes next to Search programs, Search communications and Search favorites and history. Click OK when you're done, and OK again. Search will be sped up considerably.
11. Have Windows warn you when you hit Caps Lock
One of the more annoying computing experiences is accidentally hitting the Caps Lock key and typing all capital letters. There's a simple way that you can have Windows beep at you when you've accidentally hit it.
In Windows XP, select Control Panel --> Accessibility Options, and at the bottom of the screen, check the box next to Use ToggleKeys and click OK.
In Windows Vista, select Control Panel --> Ease of Access --> Change how your keyboard works. Then check the box next to Use ToggleKeys and click Save.
12. Use your own user account graphic
Don't want your user account picture to be a rubber ducky, a snowflake, a goldfish or a pair of horses? No problem -- you're not stuck with what Windows offers. You can use any picture you want, as long as the picture is in .gif, .jpg, .png or .bmp format.

Vista
In Windows Vista, choose Control Panel --> User Accounts and Family Safety --> Change your account picture. You'll see a screen presenting a few preset options. To bypass these, click Browse for more pictures, then navigate to the picture you want to use and click OK.
XP
From the Control Panel, choose User Accounts, then pick the account you want to change and choose Change my picture --> Browse for more pictures. Navigate to the picture you want to use and click OK.
For those interested in saving keystrokes, there's a quicker way to get to the screen that lets you customize your picture. Click your account picture in either Windows XP or Windows Vista, and a screen appears that lets you change your user account.

2008-02-03T07:37:00.000-08:00

Broadband Internet
Broadband Internet access, often shortened to just "broadband", is high-speed Internet access—typically contrasted with dial-up access over a modem.
Dial-up modems are generally only capable of a maximum bitrate of 56 kbit/s (kilobits per second) and require the full use of a telephone line—whereas broadband technologies supply at least double this speed and generally without disrupting telephone use.
Although various minimum speeds have been used in definitions of broadband, ranging up from 64 kbit/s up to 1.0 Mbit/s, the OECD report[1] is typical in counting only download speeds equal to or faster than 256 kbit/s as broadband, and the US FCC use 200 kbit/s in their definition.
Speeds are defined in terms of maximum download because several common consumer broadband technologies such as ADSL are "asymmetric"—supporting much slower maximum upload speeds than download.
economic indicator"Broadband penetration" is now treated as a key

Broadband is often called high-speed Internet, because it usually has a high rate of data transmission. In general, any connection to the customer of 256 kbit/s (0.256 Mbit/s) or more is considered broadband Internet. The International Telecommunication Union Standardization Sector (ITU-T) recommendation I.113 has defined broadband as a transmission capacity that is faster than primary rate ISDN, at 1.5 to 2 Mbit/s. The FCC definition of broadband is 200 kbit/s (0.2 Mbit/s) in one direction, and advanced broadband is at least 200 kbit/s in both directions. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has defined broadband as 256 kbit/s in at least one direction and this bit rate is the most common baseline that is marketed as "broadband" around the world. There is no specific bitrate defined by the industry, however, and "broadband" can mean lower-bitrate transmission methods. Some Internet Service Providers (ISPs) use this to their advantage in marketing lower-bitrate connections as broadband.
In practice, the advertised bandwidth is not always reliably available to the customer; ISPs often allow a greater number of subscribers than their backbone connection can handle, under the assumption that most users will not be using their full connection capacity very frequently. This aggregation strategy works more often than not, so users can typically burst to their full bandwidth most of the time; however, peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing systems, often requiring extended durations of high bandwidth, stress these assumptions, and can cause major problems for ISPs who have excessively overbooked their capacity. For more on this topic, see traffic shaping. As takeup for these introductory products increases, telcos are starting to offer higher bit rate services. For existing connections, this most of the time simply involves reconfiguring the existing equipment at each end of the connection.
As the bandwidth delivered to end users increases, the market expects that video on demand services streamed over the Internet will become more popular, though at the present time such services generally require specialized networks. The data rates on most broadband services still do not suffice to provide good quality video, as MPEG-2 video requires about 6 Mbit/s for good results. Adequate video for some purposes becomes possible at lower data rates, with rates of 768 kbit/s and 384 kbit/s used for some video conferencing applications, and rates as low as 100 kbit/s used for videophones using H.264/MPEG-4 AVC. The MPEG-4 format delivers high-quality video at 2 Mbit/s, at the high end of cable modem and ADSL performance.
Increased bandwidth has already made an impact on newsgroups: postings to groups such as alt.binaries.* have grown from JPEG files to entire CD and DVD images. According to NTL, the level of traffic on their network increased from a daily inbound news feed of 150 gigabytes of data per day and 1 terabyte of data out each day in 2001 to 500 gigabytes of data inbound and over 4 terabytes out each day in 2002.[citation needed]
Technology
The standard broadband technologies in most areas are DSL and cable modems. Newer technologies in use include VDSL and pushing optical fiber connections closer to the subscriber in both telephone and cable plants. Fiber-optic communication, while only recently being used in fiber to the premises and fiber to the curb schemes, has played a crucial role in enabling Broadband Internet access by making transmission of information over larger distances much more cost-effective than copper wire technology. In a few areas not served by cable or ADSL, community organizations have begun to install Wi-Fi networks, and in some cities and towns local governments are installing municipal Wi-Fi networks. As of 2006, high speed mobile Internet access has become available at the consumer level in some countries, using the HSDPA and EV-DO technologies. The newest technology being deployed for mobile and stationary broadband access is WiMAX.
Multilinking Modems
It is possible to roughly double dial-up capability with multilinking technology. What is required are two modems, two phone lines, two dial-up accounts, and ISP support for multilinking, or special software at the user end. This option was popular with some high-end users before ISDN, DSL and other technologies became available.
Diamond and other vendors had created dual phone line modems with bonding capability. The speed of dual line modems is faster than 90 kbit/s. To use this modem, the ISP should support line bonding. The Internet and phone charge will be twice the ordinary dial-up charge.
Load Balancing
Load Balancing takes two internet connections and feeds them into your network as one double speed, more resilient internet connection. By choosing two independent internet providers the load balancing hardware will automatically use the line with least load which means should one line fail, the second one automatically takes up the slack.
ISDN
Integrated Service Digital Network (ISDN) is one of the oldest high-speed digital access methods for consumers and businesses to connect to the Internet. It is a telephone data service standard. Its use in the United States peaked in the late 1990s prior to the availability of DSL and cable modem technologies. Broadband service is usually compared to ISDN-BRI because this was the standard high-speed access technology that formed a baseline for the challenges faced by the early broadband providers. These providers sought to compete against ISDN by offering faster and cheaper services to consumers.
A basic rate ISDN line (known as ISDN-BRI) is an ISDN line with 2 data "bearer" channels (DS0 - 64 kbit/s each). Using ISDN terminal adapters (erroneously called modems), it is possible to bond together 2 or more separate ISDN-BRI lines to reach speeds of 256 kbit/s or more. The ISDN channel bonding technology has been used for video conference applications and high-speed data transmission.
Primary rate ISDN, known as ISDN-PRI, is an ISDN line with 23 DS0 channels and total speed of 1,544 kbit/s (US standard). ISDN E1 (European standard) line is an ISDN lines with 30 DS0 channels and total speed of 2,048 kbit/s. Because ISDN is a telephone-based product, a lot of the terminology and physical aspects of the line are shared by the ISDN-PRI used for voice services. An ISDN line can therefore be "provisioned" for voice or data and many different options, depending on the equipment being used at any particular installation, and depending on the offerings of the telephone company's central office switch. Most ISDN-PRI's are used for telephone voice communication using large PBX systems, rather than for data. One obvious exception is that ISP's usually have ISDN-PRI's for handling ISDN data and modem calls.
It is mainly of historical interest that many of the earlier ISDN data lines used 56 kbit/s rather than 64 kbit/s "B" channels of data. This caused ISDN-BRI to be offered at both 128 kbit/s and 112 kbit/s rates, depending on the central office's switching equipment.
Advantages:
1. Constant data speed at 64 kbit/s for each DS0 channel.
2. Two way high speed symmetric data transmission, unlike ADSL.
3. One of the data channels can be used for phone conversation without disturbing the data transmission through the other data channel. When a phone call is ended, the bearer channel can immediately dial and re-connect itself to the data call.
4. Call setup is very quick.
5. Low latency
6. ISDN Voice clarity is unmatched by other phone services.
7. Caller ID is almost always available for no additional fee.
8. Maximum distance from the central office is much greater than it is for DSL.
9. When using ISDN-BRI, there is the possibility of using the low-bandwidth 16 kbit/s "D" channel for packet data and for always on capabilities.
Disadvantages:
1. ISDN offerings are dwindling in the marketplace due to the widespread use of faster and cheaper alternatives.
2. ISDN routers, terminal adapters ("modems"), and telephones are more expensive than ordinary POTS equipment, like dial-up modems.
3. ISDN provisioning can be complicated due to the great number of options available.
4. ISDN users must dial in to a provider that offers ISDN Internet service, which means that the call could be disconnected.
5. ISDN is billed as a phone line, to which is added the bill for Internet ISDN access.
6. "Always on" data connections are not available in all locations.
7. Some telephone companies charge unusual fees for ISDN, including call setup fees, per minute fees, and higher rates than normal for other services.
T-1/DS-1
These are highly-regulated services traditionally intended for businesses, that are managed through Public Service Commissions (PSCs) in each state, must be fully defined in PSC tariff documents, and have management rules dating back to the early 1980s which still refer to teletypes as potential connection devices. As such, T-1 services have very strict and rigid service requirements which drive up the provider's maintenance costs and may require them to have a technician on standby 24 hours a day to repair the line if it malfunctions. (In comparison, ISDN and DSL are not regulated by the PSCs at all.) Due to the expensive and regulated nature of T-1 lines, they are normally installed under the provisions of a written agreement, the contract term being typically one to three years. However, there are usually few restrictions to an end-user's use of a T-1, uptime and bandwidth speed may be guaranteed, quality of service may be supported, and blocks of static IP addresses are commonly included.
Since a T-1 was originally conceived for voice transmission, and voice T-1's are still widely used in businesses, it can be confusing to the uninitiated subscriber. It is often best to refer to the type of T-1 being considered, using the appropriate "data" or "voice" prefix to differentiate between the two. A voice T-1 would terminate at a phone company's central office (CO) for connection to the PSTN; a data T-1 terminates at a point of presence (POP) or datacenter. The T-1 line which is between a customer's premises and the POP or CO is called the local loop. The owner of the local loop need not be the owner of the network at the POP where your T-1 connects to the Internet, and so a T-1 subscriber may have contracts with these two organizations separately.
The nomenclature for a T-1 varies widely, cited in some circles a DS-1, a T1.5, a T1, or a DS1. Some of these try to distinguish amongst the different aspects of the line, considering the data standard a DS-1, and the physical structure of the trunk line a T-1 or T-1.5. They are also called leased lines, but that terminology is usually for data speeds under 1.5 Mbit/s. At times, a T-1 can be included in the term "leased line" or excluded from it. Whatever it is called, it is inherently related to other high-speed access methods, which include T-3, SONET OC-3, and other T-carrier and Optical Carriers. Additionally, a T-1 might be aggregated with more than one T-1, producing an nxT-1, such as 4xT-1 which has exactly 4 times the bandwidth of a T-1.
When a T-1 is installed, there are a number of choices to be made: in the carrier chosen, the location of the demarc, the type of channel service unit (CSU) or data service unit (DSU) used, the WAN IP router used, the types of speeds chosen, etc. Specialized WAN routers are used with T-1 lines that route Internet or VPN data onto the T-1 line from the subscriber's packet-based (TCP/IP) network using customer premises equipment (CPE). The CPE typical consists of a CSU/DSU that converts the DS-1 data stream of the T-1 to a TCP/IP packet data stream for use in the customer's Ethernet LAN. It is noteworthy that many T-1 providers optionally maintain and/or sell the CPE as part of the service contract, which can affect the demarcation point and the ownership of the router, CSU, or DSU.
Although a T-1 has a maximum of 1.544 Mbit/s, a fractional T-1 might be offered which only uses an integer multiple of 128 kbit/s for bandwidth. In this manner, a customer might only purchase 1/12th or 1/3 of a T-1, which would be 128 kbit/s and 512 kbit/s, respectively.
T-1 and fractional T-1 data lines are symmetric, meaning that their upload and download speeds are the same.
Wired Ethernet
Where available, this method of broadband connection to the Internet would indicate that the Internet access is very fast. However, just because Ethernet is offered doesn't mean that the full 10, 100, or 1000 Mbit/s connection is able to be utilized for direct Internet access. In a college dormitory for example, the 100 Mbit/s Ethernet access might be fully available to on-campus networks, but Internet access speeds might be closer to 4xT-1 speed (6 Mbit/s). If you are sharing a broadband connection with others in a building, the access speed of the leased line into the building would of course govern the end-user's speed.
However, in certain locations, true Ethernet broadband access might be available. This would most commonly be the case at a POP or a datacenter, and not at a typical residence or business. When Ethernet Internet access is offered, it could be fiber-optic or copper twisted pair, and the speed will conform to standard Ethernet speeds of up to 10 Gbit/s. The primary advantage is that no special hardware is needed for Ethernet. Ethernet also has a very low latency.
Rural broadband
One of the great challenges of broadband is to provide service to potential customers in areas of low population density, such as to farmers and ranchers. In cities where the population density is high, it is easy for a service provider to recover equipment costs, but each rural customer may require expensive equipment to get connected. A similar problem existed a century ago when electrical power was invented. Cities were the first to receive electric lighting, as early as 1880, while in the United States some remote rural areas were still not electrified until the 1940s, and even then only with the help of federally funded programs like the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).
Several rural broadband solutions exist, though each has its own pitfalls and limitations. Some choices are better than others, but are dependent on how proactive the local phone company is about upgrading their rural technology.
Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISPs) are rapidly becoming a popular broadband option for rural areas.
Satellite Internet
Main article: Satellite Internet
This employs a satellite in geostationary orbit to relay data from the satellite company to each customer. Satellite Internet is usually among the most expensive ways of gaining broadband Internet access, but in rural areas it may only compete with cellular broadband. However, costs have been coming down in recent years to the point that it is becoming more competitive with other high-speed options.
Satellite Internet also has a high latency problem caused by the signal having to travel 35,000 km (22,000 miles) out into space to the satellite and back to Earth again. The signal delay can be as much as 500 milliseconds to 900 milliseconds, which makes this service unsuitable for applications requiring real-time user input such as certain multiplayer Internet games and first-person shooters played over the connection. Despite this, it is still possible for many games to still be played, but the scope is limited to real-time strategy or turn-based games. The functionality of live interactive access to a distant computer can also be subject to the problems caused by high latency. These problems are more than tolerable for just basic email access and web browsing and in most cases are barely noticeable.
There is no simple way to get around this problem. The delay is primarily due to the speed of light being only 300,000 km/second (186,000 miles per second). Even if all other signaling delays could be eliminated it still takes the electromagnetic wave 233 milliseconds to travel from ground to the satellite and back to the ground, a total of 70,000 km (44,000 miles) to travel from you to the satellite company.
Since the satellite is usually being used for two-way communications, the total distance increases to 140,000 km (88,000 miles), which takes a radio wave 466 ms to travel. Factoring in normal delays from other network sources gives a typical connection latency of 500-700 ms. This is far worse latency than even most dial-up modem users' experience, at typically only 150-200 ms total latency.
Most satellite Internet providers also have a FAP (Fair Access Policy). Perhaps one of the largest cons against satellite Internet, these FAPs usually throttle a user's throughput to dial-up speeds after a certain "invisible wall" is hit (usually around 200 MB a day). This FAP usually lasts for 24 hours after the wall is hit, and a user's throughput is restored to whatever tier they paid for. This makes bandwidth-intensive activities nearly impossible to complete in a reasonable amount of time (examples include P2P and newsgroup binary downloading).
Advantages
1. True global broadband Internet access availability
2. Mobile connection to the Internet (with some providers)
Disadvantages
1. Very high latency compared to other broadband services, especially 2-way satellite service
2. Unreliable: drop-outs are common during travel, inclement weather, and during sunspot activity
3. The narrow-beam highly directional antenna must be accurately pointed to the satellite orbiting overhead
4. The Fair Access Policy limits heavy usage
5. VPN use is discouraged, problematic, and/or restricted with satellite broadband, although available at a price
6. One-way satellite service requires the use of a modem or other data uplink connection
7. VoIP is not supported.
8. Satellite dishes are huge. Although most of them employ plastic to reduce weight, they are typically between 80 and 120 cm (30 to 48 inches) in diameter.
Cellular Broadband
Cellular telephones are becoming more and more capable as Internet browsers. The widespread use of cellular phones in most areas has allowed cellular telephone networks to expand quickly into broadband Internet service networks. Since the cellular phone towers are already in place, cellular broadband access is rapidly becoming a popular means to access the Internet, with or without a cell phone.
Most of the cell phones sold today have some kind of support for Internet access. Broadband access is mainly concentrated in the cities at this time (2007), but all of the major U.S. carriers intend to expand the broadband offerings they have. New broadband technologies such as the 3G EVDO Rev. 0 and Rev. A are being deployed for CDMA phones, and HSDPA for GSM phones in the US. Currently (2007), GSM phones in the US are most often on a low-speed EDGE system, however, but HSDPA should catch up soon.
This means that for now, nationwide broadband cellular in the U.S. is only offered by carriers that use EVDO or HSDPA, offering customers a typical 400-700 kbit/s download speed. With cellular speed ratings, the companies always specify a range of typical speeds due to the fact that congested cellular networks mean lower data download speeds. They do not highlight the fact that the technology is capable of 2.4 Mbit/s burst download rates, because this is nowhere near what can ever be expected.
Since cellular networks often cover large areas of the nation, many traveling people prefer cellular Internet access to other technologies such as WiFi wireless and satellite. Although some satellite services allow end-users to reposition their dish antenna, there are considerable drawbacks to pointing a large satellite dish on a mobile platform (such as an automobile or vessel). Cellular service can normally be received using a small omnidirectional antenna.
Because many people need to connect computer equipment to the Internet, and not just their cell phone, cellular broadband access is available with this in mind. A user with a single computer can access the Internet by tethering their cell phone to their laptop or PC, normally using a USB connection. There are also Cardbus, ExpressCard, and USB modems available that can perform a similar function but require no cell phone. Some of these modem cards are compatible with cellular broadband routers, which allow more than one computer to be connected to the Internet using one cellular connection.
Advantages
1. The only broadband connection available on many cell phones and PDA's
2. Mobile wireless connection to the Internet
3. Available in all metropolitan areas, most large cities, and along major highways throughout the U.S. (See a map)
4. No need to aim an antenna in most cases
5. The antenna is extremely small compared to a satellite dish
6. Lower latency compared to satellite Internet
7. Higher availability than WiFi "Hot Spots"
8. A traveler who already has cellular broadband will not need to pay different WiFi Hot Spot providers for access.
Disadvantages
1. Unreliable: drop-outs are common during travel and during inclement weather
2. Not truly nationwide service
3. Speed varies widely throughout the day, sometimes falling well below the 400 kbit/s target during peak times
4. Asymmetric service: the upload rate is always much slower than the download rate.
5. High latency compared to other broadband services
Remote DSL
This allows a service provider to set up DSL hardware out in the country in a weatherproof enclosure. However, setup costs can be quite high since the service provider may need to install fiber-optic cable to the remote location. Also, the remote site has the same distance limits as the metropolitan service, and can only serve an island of customers along the trunk line within a radius of about 2 km (7000 ft).
DSL repeater
This is a very new technology which allows DSL to travel longer distances to remote customers. One version of the repeater is installed at approximately 3 km (10,000 ft) intervals along the trunk line, and strengthens and cleans up the DSL signal so it can travel another 3 km (10,000 ft).
Power-line Internet
This is a new service still in its infancy that may eventually permit broadband Internet data to travel down standard high-voltage power lines. However, the system has a number of complex issues, the primary one being that power lines are inherently a very noisy environment. Every time a device turns on or off, it introduces a pop or click into the line. Energy-saving devices often introduce noisy harmonics into the line. The system must be designed to deal with these natural signaling disruptions and work around them.
Broadband over power lines (BPL), also known as Power line communication, has developed faster in Europe than in the US due to a historical difference in power system design philosophies. Nearly all large power grids transmit power at high voltages in order to reduce transmission losses, then near the customer use step-down transformers to reduce the voltage. Since BPL signals cannot readily pass through transformers, repeaters must be attached to the transformers. In the US, it is common for a small transformer hung from a utility pole to service a single house. In Europe, it is more common for a somewhat larger transformer to service 10 or 100 houses. For delivering power to customers, this difference in design makes little difference, but it means delivering BPL over the power grid of a typical US city will require an order of magnitude more repeaters than would be required in a comparable European city.
The second major issue is signal strength and operating frequency. The system is expected to use frequencies in the 10 to 30 MHz range, which has been used for decades by licensed amateur radio operators, as well as international shortwave broadcasters and a variety of communications systems (military, aeronautical, etc.). Power lines are unshielded and will act as transmitters for the signals they carry, and have the potential to completely wipe out the usefulness of the 10 to 30 MHz range for shortwave communications purposes.
Wireless ISP
This typically employs the current low-cost 802.11 Wi-Fi radio systems to link up remote locations over great distances, but can use other higher-power radio communications systems as well.
Traditional 802.11b was licensed for omnidirectional service spanning only 100-150 meters (300-500 ft). By focusing the signal down to a narrow beam with a Yagi antenna it can instead operate reliably over a distance of many miles.
Rural Wireless-ISP installations are typically not commercial in nature and are instead a patchwork of systems built up by hobbyists mounting antennas on radio masts and towers, agricultural storage silos, very tall trees, or whatever other tall objects are available. There are currently a number of companies that provide this service. A wireless Internet access provider map for USA is publicly available for WISPS.
iBlast
iBlast was the brand name for a theoretical high-speed (7 Mbit/s), one-way digital data transmission technology from Digital TV station to users that was developed between June 2000 to October 2005.
Advantages:
1. Low cost, high speed data transmission from TV station to users. This technology can be used for transmitting website / files from Internet.
Disadvantages:
1. One way data transmission and should be combined with other method of data transmission from users to TV station.
2. Privacy/security.
3. Lack of 8VSB tuner built into many consumer electronic devices needed to receive the iBlast signal.
In the end, the disadvantages outweighed the advantages and the glut of fiberoptic capacity that ensued following the collapse of the Internet bubble drove the cost of transmission so low that an ancillary service such as this was unnecessary, and the company folded at the end of 2005. The partner television stations as well as over 500 additional television stations not part of the iBlast Network continue to transmit separate digital signals as mandated by the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
WorldSpace
WorldSpace is a digital satellite radio network based in Washington DC. It covers most of Asia and Europe plus all of Africa by satellite. Beside the digital audio, user can receive one way high speed digital data transmission (150 Kilobit/second) from the Satellite.
Advantages:
1. Low cost (US$ 100) receiver that combine digital radio receiver and data receiver. This technology can be used for transmitting website / files from Internet.
2. Access from remote places in Asia and Africa.
Disadvantages:
1. One way data transmission and should be combined with other method of data transmission from users to Worldspace HQ,
2. Privacy/security.

बूट system

2007-12-26T05:13:00.001-08:00

Boot Failure and Errors
Boot failure is the inability to locate the operating system from the storage drives. The most common reasons for boot failures are
1. A non bootable floppy in the diskette drive.
2. CMOS is not properly configured to boot from the correct device.
3. None of the devices in the CMOS are set to bootable.
4. Hardware failure.

Invalid Boot disk
The Master Boot Record (MBR) is created when the hard disk is partitioned. The MBR has master boot code, disk signature (or end of sector marker)) and a partition table for the disk. The MBR scans the partition table for the active partition and then finds the starting sector of the active partition. It then loads a copy of the boot sector from the active partition into memory and finally transfers control to the executable code in the boot sector. This means that the MBR identifies the operating system on the disk.
MBR can become corrupted due to human error, hardware problems, power fluctuations, virus attack, and other factors. An Invalid boot disk error is caused when the MBR is either corrupted or when it cannot find the partitions or the boot sector. Sometimes, it might pop an Invalid partition table or Error loading operating system or Missing operating system errors.
• Remove any floppy disks or CD-ROMs from the system & restart the system.
• Check if the Hard-disk drive is detected in the CMOS.
• Boot to the DOS prompt using a bootable floppy or CD. (Recovery Console in case of Windows XP/2000) & use the command FDISK /mbr or fixmbr.
• Reseat the Hard drive. If issue remains, replace the Hard disk dri

boot device
The error, inaccessible boot device stop error can be caused due to any of the following reasons.
• Corrupt Windows registry.
• Bad or partially connected data cables.
• Bad sectors on the hard drive.
• A boot sector virus.
• Upgrading the computer or Transferring of Hard drive from one computer to another.
• Power surge or outage.
Troubleshooting & Solution
• Try a repair or reinstallation of the operating system.
• Recreate the MBR using FDISK / mbr.
• Delete & recreate all partitions and format the drive to delete any possible viruses.
• Reseat the data cable to the hard drive, check by swapping the Hard disk drive cable with the CD-Rom drive cable.
• Replace the Hard Disk / Data cable.

ETHERNET

2007-12-24T05:32:00.000-08:00

What is Ethernet?
Ethernet is a Local Area Network (LAN) cabling and signaling specification for baseband networks. Ethernet uses a bus or star topology for connecting different nodes in a network.

To which OSI layer does Ethernet belong?
Ethernet belongs to both the Physical Layer (Layer 1) and the Data Link layer (Layer 2) in the OSI architecture.

What are the standard data rates for Ethernet? The standard data rates for Ethernet are 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps, and 1 Gbps

How two systems in an Ethernet network communicate? In a Ethernet network, a system broadcasts the data using a Ethernet frame. The destination system is specified in the Ethernet frame using its Ethernet address. All the systems in the network listen for an Ethernet frame with their Ethernet address in it. When a system receives an Ethernet frame with its address in it, it processes the frame and sends it to the higher layers (like IP) for further processing.

What is a "collision"? At any one instance, in an Ethernet network, only one device can transmit. If two devices transmit at the same instance, then the signals from both devices will collide and a "collision" will occur. When a "collision" occurs, the signals will get distorted and the frame will be lost. Collisions are very common in a Ethernet network.

How is "collision" handled in Ethernet networks? Ethernet uses the Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) media access control mechanism to detect and recover from a collision.

What is CSMA/CD? CSMA/CD is a media access control mechanism used in Ethernet to recover from frame collision. The following steps are followed to recover from a collision. Step 1: Before an Ethernet device sends a frame on the Ethernet cable, it listens to find if another device is already transmitting a frame (Carrier Sense). Step 2: Once the device finds that other devices are not transmitting any frame, it starts transmitting the frame. If two devices detect that the Ethernet cable is free at the same time, then both will start transmitting the frames (Multiple Access). This will result in collision. Step 3: The Ethernet devices while transmitting the frames, also listen for the collision. (Collision Detect). Step 4: If they detect a collision, both the devices stop sending the frame (back off). Step 5: They retry the transmission after a logarithmic time-out period. This process is repeated till the frame is transmitted successfully, for a maximum of 16 times. The frame is discarded after the 16th retry.

What is "late collision"? An Ethernet device will detect a collision, while it is transmitting, only if the collision reaches it before it completes transmitting the entire frame. If the collision reaches the transmitter, after it completed sending the entire frame, then the transmitter will not detect the collision, it will assume the collision occurred because of some other frame. This is called "late collision". Late collision will occur, if the length of the Ethernet network segment is greater than the standard allowed length.

How "late collision" is avoided in Ethernet? Late collision can be avoided, if the maximum length of the Ethernet network segment is restricted, such that if a collision occurs, it will reach the transmitter before the transmitter completed transmitting the entire frame. In a typical 10 Mbps network, the minimum length of an Ethernet frame is 576 bits (72 bytes) and the maximum length of a single Ethernet network segment is 2.5 kms.

What is an Ethernet address? Each device in an Ethernet network is uniquely identified by a 48 bit (6 bytes) address called Ethernet address. Ethernet address is also known as Media Access Control (MAC) address. Ethernet addresses are represented as six pairs of hexadecimal digits separated by a colon. Ethernet address are buried in the network adapter by the manufacturer. A Ethernet address of a device cannot be changed. Example: 00:60:08:11:B1:AB, 00:00:c0:5e:83:0e

What is a broadcast address? The Ethernet address in which all the bits are 1 is known as a broadcast address. It is represented as FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF. A frame with this address is received and processed by all the nodes in the network.

What are the different Ethernet frame formats? The different Ethernet frame formats are listed below: Ethernet II and IEEE 802.3

Why there are different Ethernet frame formats? Xerox developed the first version of Ethernet, Ethernet I. The second version of Ethernet, Ethernet II, was developed by DEC, Intel and Xerox. After this the Ethernet was standardized by IEEE and the new format is known as 802.3 format. To provide backward compatibility with Ethernet II, 802.2 SNAP format was developed.

How is the length of an Ethernet II frame calculated? The length of an Ethernet II frame is not present in the frame itself. It depends on the Ethernet network interface used. When the interface sends a frame to the network device driver, it supplies the length of the received frame.

What is the minimum and maximum size of an Ethernet frame? The minimum size of an Ethernet frame is 64 bytes. The breakup of this size between the fields is: Destination Address (6 bytes) + Source Address (6 bytes) + Frame Type (2 bytes) + Data (46 bytes) + CRC Checksum (4 bytes). The minimum number of bytes passed as data in a frame must be 46 bytes. If the size of the data to be passed is less than this, then padding bytes are added. The maximum size of an Ethernet frame is 1518 bytes. The breakup of this size between the fields is: Destination Address (6 bytes) + Source Address (6 bytes) + Frame Type (2 bytes) + Data (1500 bytes) + CRC Checksum (4 bytes). The maximum number of bytes of data that can be passed in a single frame is 1500 bytes.

What is a SAP? SAP, Service Access Point, is the logical point at which services are provided by an OSI layer. Typically, the protocols in the network layer (like IP) bind at specific SAP in the Logical Link Control Layer( LLC) for accessing the services provided by it.

Why Sub Network Access Protocol (SNAP) header is required?The 802.2 LLC header replaces the 'protocol type' of the Ethernet II format with two SAP fields, Source SAP and Destination SAP. The value of the SAP field in the 802.2 header is equivalent to the 'protocol type' field in the Ethernet II header. The value of the SAP field will be between 1 and 255, since it is an 8 bit field. On the other hand, the 'protocol type' value for the standard protocols like IP, ARP, etc is grater than 1500. Obviosuly, these values cannot be represented in the SAP fields. So to provide compatibility with Ethernet II, SNAP header was added to the 802.2 LLC header. In a SNAP frame, both the SAP values will be 0xAA and the first 5 bytes of the data will give the protocol ID. Out of the 5 bytes of data, the last 2 bytes are same as the protocol type field of the Ethernet II frame. The first 3 bytes are called as 'Organizationally Unique Identifer' (OUI) and are allocated as a vendor identifier. Typically, OUI will be zero.

What are the values for SSAP, DSAP, control and org fields in a 802.2 SNAP frame? +-------+-----+ Field Value +-------+-----+ SSAP 0xAA DSAP 0xAA Control3 OUI 0 +-------+-----+

How to differentiate between an 802.3 frame and an Ethernet II frame?The value of 'length' field in an 802.3 frame must be less than 1500 and in a Ethernet II frame the value of 'type' field must be more than 1500. Since the 802.3 frame 'length' field and the Ethernet II frame 'type' field are at the same offset from the header, depending on the value present, the frame can be differentiated.

What is promiscuous mode?Normally, a Ethernet network interface will pass a frame to the above network layers only if it is addressed to that interface. If the network interface is put in the promiscuous mode, the Ethernet network interface will send all the frames (frames addressed to any host in the network), regardless of their destination address to the above network layers. This mode is used by network analyzers to capture all the frames.

What is MTU?Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) is the maximum number of bytes that can be transmitted in a single transmission unit. Every communication medium has a MTU. For Ethernet, the MTU of a frame is 1500.

Troubleshooting problems opening PDF files in Internet Explorer window

2007-12-19T08:52:00.000-08:00

Troubleshooting problems opening PDF files in Internet Explorer window
( Applies to Acrobat Reader version 6.0 )
When you click a .PDF link in a web page, the PDF document may not open and you see a image placeholder icon or a Red X in the browser window. To resolve the problem, follow the checklist mentioned in this article.
Checklist
• If your system has two versions of Adobe Acrobat Reader, uninstall both the versions and then install the latest version and the latest update. If you have earlier builds, update to 6.0.1 or above. Click Help menu and choose Update. BTW, updating to 6.0.1 also fixes another problem explained here
• Open Adobe Acrobat Reader and click Edit, Preferences. Choose Internet in the Preferences window. Uncheck Display PDF in browser option and close the dialog. Repeat the same and this time, enable the Display PDF in browser option.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader v6.x has Detect and Repair feature under the Help menu. See if repairing Adobe Reader helps you resolve the problem.
Steps specific to Windows XP Service Pack 2
• Open Internet Explorer, Tools menu, Manage Add-ons
• In the Manage Add-ons dialog, select Add-ons that have been used by Internet Explorer
• Make sure Adobe Acrobat Control for ActiveX (pdf.ocx) is Enabled. If it's disabled, enable the add-on and restart Internet Explorer.

Troubleshooting File System Problems

2007-04-05T09:10:00.000-07:00

Troubleshooting File System Problems

This article presents a systematic approach to troubleshooting file system problems on servers running Windows Server 2003. Various tools for troubleshooting disk problems are examined and best practices for using them are explained.

A corrupt or damaged file system can result in various effects ranging from data loss to rendering your system unbootable. Smart IT pros will therefore take steps to maintain their servers' file systems and will know how to systematically troubleshoot disks when things go wrong. This article discusses both preventive disk maintenance and provides some tips for using various tools to maintain and troubleshoot file systems on Windows servers.
Seven Golden Rules for Disk Maintenance
Let's begin with a proactive approach to file system maintenance. What steps should an administrator take to help prevent file system problems from happening in the first place? Here are my seven golden rules on the subject, in no particular order:
1. Upgrade your servers to Windows Server 2003. There's real value in doing this as far as disk maintenance is concerned, for example:
• The chkdsk command in Windows Server 2003 runs a lot faster than the Windows 2000 version of this utility, plus it can fix things like a corrupt Master File Table (MFT) that the previous version of the utility would choke on.
• Powerful new command-line tools like DiskPart.exe, Fsutil.exe and Defrag.exe give you more flexibility for managing disks from the command-line instead of the GUI. These tools can be scripted to automate common disk management tasks you need to perform on a regular basis.
• The new Automated System Recovery (ASR) feature greatly simplifies the task of restoring your system/boot volume in the event of catastrophic disk failure.
2. Use hardware redundancy. RAID 1 disk mirroring lets you recover from catastrophic system volume failure with zero downtime, while RAID 5 is a great way of protecting your data volumes. Windows servers include support for built-in software RAID but you'll get better performance and true hot-swap redundancy by investing more money and buying a hardware RAID controller for your system instead. Don't forget though, keep a few spare drives handy so you can swap them during an emergency—redundancy is useless if you don't have the redundant hardware around to use it. Note that if you do choose to go with the software RAID provided by Windows, mirroring your boot and system volumes requires that these volumes be one and the same i.e. one volume is both your boot volume (contains operating system files) and your system volume (contains hardware-specific boot files).
3. Use a good antivirus program. Viruses can be nasty, and one of the things they can do when they infect a machine is to corrupt the Master Boot Record (MBR) and other critical portions of your hard drives. Not only should you have AV installed on your servers, you should also avoid risky behaviors such as running scripts from untrusted sources, browsing the web, and so on. These are just the kinds of behavior that can lead to infecting your system, so avoid doing things like this on your production servers.
4. Defragment your file systems on a regular basis. This is especially important on servers on which a high number of transactional operations occur as the file systems can quickly become fragmented, dragging down the performance of applications running on your server. To perform a successful defrag you should really have at least 15% free space left on your disk, so make sure you don't let critical system or data disks fill up too much or they'll be harder to maintain. The new command-line Defrag.exe tool of Windows Server 2003 is useful here since you can schedule regular running of this tool during off-hours using the Schtasks.exe command instead of having to defrag manually or buy a third-party defrag tool.
5. Run chkdsk /r on a regular basis. This command finds bad sectors on your disk and tries to fix them by recovering data from them and moving it elsewhere. You can run this command either from a command-prompt window or from the Recovery Console if you can't boot your system normally. Remember that when you try and run chkdsk.exe on your system or boot volume, Windows configures autochk.exe (the boot version of chkdsk.exe) to run at your next reboot. This means you'll need to schedule downtime for your server when you perform this kind of maintenance so that autochk.exe can run.
6. Check your event logs regularly for any disk-related events. Windows sometimes determines on its own when a disk is "dirty" i.e. there are file system errors present on it. In that case, Windows automatically schedules autochk.exe to run at the next reboot, but it also writes an event to the Application log using either the source name "Chkdsk" or "Winlogon". So filter your Application log to view these kinds of events on a regular basis or collect them using Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) or whatever other systems management tool you use on your network.
7. Back up all your volumes regularly. As a last recourse in the event of a disaster, having working backups of both your system/boot volume and data volumes is critical. ASR in Windows Server 2003 makes backing up the boot/system volume easier, while backing up your data volumes can be done using the Windows Backup (ntbackup.exe) tool or any other backup tool such as one from a third-party vendor. Whatever way you choose to back up your system, do it regularly and verify your backups to ensure you can recover your system using them.
I should also add an eighth and final rule as well:
8. (the Platinum rule) If your disk starts to make funny sounds, don't ignore them—do something. Disk failure is often preceded by funny sounds emanating from your computer. These clicking, scraping, screeching, or other types of sounds mean trouble, so when you hear them it's time to make sure you've got a recent backup and a spare disk handy just in case. And it's also time to check your event logs, run chkdsk –r, and use other maintenance and troubleshooting tools to check the health of your disks. Don't ignore these funny sounds!
Tips for Troubleshooting
While a proactive approach to maintaining disks and their file systems is important, it's also inevitable that disasters will occur and you'll need to react to them appropriately. Here are some tips to using one of the key maintenance tools for disk and file systems that is included with Windows Server 2003, namely Chkdsk.exe:
• Make sure you know you have a good recent backup before you run chkdsk.exe.
• Never interrupt Chkdsk.exe while it's doing its job.
• Make sure you have enough time during your maintenance downtime window to run Chkdsk.exe—on very large volumes this command can take a long time to finish its work. To speed up the operation of Chkdsk.exe on very large volumes, you can run it in a "light" form by specifying chkdsk drive_letter /f /c /i before you try running the slower chkdsk /r.
• Chkdsk.exe can't run on the boot/system volume when Windows is running, and it also can't run on data volumes when file handles are open on the volume. The reason being that in both of these situations Chkdsk.exe is unable to lock the volume for its exclusive use. In these cases, Chkdsk.exe will be scheduled to run at the next system restart.
• If you think your volume may be dirty but you don't want Autochk.exe to run when it reboots—for instance, if your server is heavily used and you can't afford the downtime while Autochk.exe runs—you can use the Chkntfs.exe command to first determine whether the volume is dirty or not, and second to find out whether Autochk.exe is currently schedule to run at the next restart. If you determine that the volume is dirty and Autochk.exe is scheduled to run at next restart, you can delay running Autochk.exe using the chkntfs /d command. Note however that doing this is risky—if your volume is dirty you should deal with it as soon as possible and not procrastinate.
Conclusion
Proper disk maintenance requires both proactive actions and knowledge of how to properly use file system troubleshooting tools. Make sure you become familiar with the tools included in Windows Server 2003, and be sure to follow the seven (or eight) rules outlined in this article so you can keep your disks humming (but not screeching) along.

2007-04-04T08:33:00.000-07:00

The Importance of Backup Systems
Hope for the Best ... But Prepare for the Worst

Even though most of us know that we need to do regular backups, the fact is that many us don't. In part 1 of a two-part series, we review why it's important to perform these backups on a regular basis.

Earlier this week a client contacted me with a rather severe problem. When I arrived on the scene, I discovered that the problem was far worse then I had originally thought. Originally, I thought that the server's hard drive had crashed and would need to be replaced. While this is without question a serious problem, I knew that the server was equipped with a RAID [define] system that replicated [define] the data across multiple hard drives.
A RAID system provides redundancy for your data. So in the event that one of the hard drives fails, as was the case here, all you need to do is replace the crashed hard drive with a new one and let the RAID array rebuild the data onto the new drive.
Unfortunately, the problem was even more severe than I had originally feared. It turns out that the entire RAID array was damaged. This means that all of the hard drives that made up the array needed to be replaced and the data had to be restored from backups before the server could be brought back online.
This is where the nightmare begins. The client had a problem with their tape backup drive about two months earlier and, as a result, did not have any current backups of the data. This meant that once the RAID array was back online and the tape drive was functional, I would have to find the last complete backup they had (which in this case was Feb 7), perform a restore, and then visit each PC to get that data copied back to the server.
This meant that it could take weeks before getting fully restored. Even then, some missing data would never be recovered.
When they first informed me of their tape problems, I tried to impart on them the seriousness of the situation and how important it was that the tape drive be repaired or replaced as quickly as possible. They failed to heed the warning. Now they're paying the price.
Don't Let It Happen to You
You don't have to suffer the same outcome. Despite the fact that my client was negligent in getting the tape drive repaired, this problem was not unique to them. In fact, this problem has affected many of us &#mdash; particularly those users who spend a lot of their time working on the road or from a home office.
And this problem certainly isn't exclusive to non-technical people. Even some of the most experienced techies I know have often fallen into this trap. As a matter of fact, an associate of mine just recently had the hard drive in his laptop crash. He didn't have a current backup and, as a result, lost six months worth of work!
The point of all this is that even though most of us know that we need to do regular backups, the fact is that many, if not most of us, don't.
So let's take a moment to review why it's important to perform these backups on a regular basis. Here are six of the more popular ones:
1. The Human Eraser – Have you ever reformatted a hard disk when you meant to format a floppy? Have you ever typed "Y" when you meant "N" and then it was too late? Have you ever overwritten a file by mistake? How about installing software you later found you really did not want? Today's computers can do a lot of damage in a very short period of time.
The fastest erasers known consist of a fast computer combined with an unprepared or tired brain. Backup systems can save you hours, days, or months of trying to reconstruct your valuable data. Before you do any important system change, such as adding hardware or software, remember to perform a backup before you proceed.
2. Hard disk failure – MTBFs (Mean Times Between Failure) [define] have improved dramatically in the past several years for all peripherals. But so have data capacity — and the amount you could lose if your disk fails.
The problem is you never know when a failure will occur. And, according to the Murphy's Law, the loss will occur at the worst possible time. Backup systems give you immediate and automatic protection from unpredictable disk failures.
3. Virus protection and spyware protection – Some unscrupulous individuals continue to write viruses that innocently hide in shareware [define] programs and all throughout the Internet. These programs have the capability to copy themselves and load into your system along with the software you think you are getting.
Once loaded, they proceed to wreak havoc with your system, causing errors, lockups and loss of data. A reliable backup system can restore data lost through virus infection when used in conjunction with good virus detection software and an earlier backup.
4. Free up disk space – While we can't stop the steady growth of application software and related data, we can help you do something about it by allowing you to offload some of the less-used files from your hard disk to a secondary storage medium like tape or DVDs. Removing those inactive files can open up your hard disk for new programs or growing data files.
Inexpensive DVD or tape cartridges are a sure way to archive your programs and data while still keeping them accessible when you do need them. It could even enable you to put off buying a larger disk.
5. Events beyond your control – Both natural and manmade disasters inject a disconcerting variability into any application that requires large amounts of data storage. These include fire, floods, lightning and outright theft.
After such an occurrence, how will your business survive? Many don't, according to statistics. Regenerating vital billing or customer information would be very difficult from paper records, if not impossible. Backup systems protect your data against such calamity.
Besides doing daily backups, plan to do an extra backup weekly. Then store the backup either in a fireproof safe or at an offsite location. If your system goes, your data stays — and that may mean the difference between business as usual and bankruptcy.
6. Large file transfers — Transferring large volumes of data can be time consuming. Tape backup drives in particular have the capacity for very high data transfer rates, making them ideal for moving large quantities of data between systems. Tapes are also compact, inexpensive and have a long shelf life.
So your data will be archived and accessible for years to come. And with a tape backup system you can conveniently send a tape cartridge across the country, through the mail, or across the office in your shirt pocket.
Now that we have been reacquainted ourselves with the reasons why backing up our systems is so important, we need to figure out how best to go about doing it so that it happens consistently and reliably. In our next installment, we'll discuss some of the different backup methods available and take a look at some of the different backup mediums now available. Till next time.

2007-03-04T09:03:00.000-08:00

What is a Loopback Adapter?
The Microsoft Loopback adapter is a testing tool for a virtual network environment where network access is not available. Also, you must use the Loopback adapter if there are conflicts with a network adapter or with a network adapter driver. You can bind network clients, protocols, and other network configuration items to the Loopback adapter, and you can install the network adapter driver or network adapter later while retaining the network configuration information.
Manual installation
To manually install the Microsoft Loopback adapter in Windows XP, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel. Because this is XP, you may have it set up this way, or you may have your interface set up in Classic view. Either way, navigate your way to ‘Add Hardware’, or ‘Printers and Other Hardware’

2. Launch the Wizard to Add Hardware to your system. Do not be confused because you are not actually installing any new hardware, just simply adding a ‘network adapter’ which is acting as a virtual adapter.
3. Click next, once you have launched the Wizard. You will see a series of dialog boxes open to ask you about scanning for hardware changes, etc – you will want to do everything manually in this exercise. There will be no automatic scanning for any reason because you have not installed anything, the installation will immediately fail.

4. You will next be asked if the hardware is connected. You can select Yes from the options and click Next.

5. Now, select *from the bottom of the list* the ‘Add a new hardware device’ option, and then click Next.

6. Click Install the hardware that I manually select from a list, and then click Next.

7. Select ‘Network adapters’ from the Common hardware types section within the dialog box. Click Next.

8. Select Microsoft and then the Microsoft Loopback Adapater, and then click Next.

Lastly, you will be prompted to Finish up the installation.
Viewing and Configuring the Loopback Adapter
Once you have finished the installation, you will have a brand new loopback interface configured on your PC. There are a few things that you should know about the use of the loopback adapter.
• First, it will appear as a new interface connection in the properties of My Network Places. It will also show up with you view IPCONFIG from the command line.
• Second, you will be confused about it when you see it because if you have multiple adapters set up as most do, you will see Local Area Connection, Local Area Connection 2, Local Area Connection 3 and so on. A trick to seeing what is what is to hover your mouse over the connections until you find the right one as seen in the illustration here:

• It is recommended that you rename the connection to something like ‘LOOPBACK’ so you can differentiate what it is quicker, and if you use IPCONFIG, check out the output below, you will know it’s the LOOPBACK.
C:\>ipconfig
<>
Ethernet adapter LOOPBACK:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Autoconfiguration IP Address. . . : 169.254.25.129
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :
C:\>
• Lastly, notice that the address given to the adapter is on the APIPA subnet. APIPA, which is Automatic Private IP Addressing, is a way for the PC to put itself on the network if DHCP is configured but not available. You can keep this on the APIPA range or hard code a static IP address in to use and test with.
• Unless you disable the interface, it will always appear as up because it cannot go down from a hardware failure as there is no hardware to fail.
Now you can test with this IP address, it will always remain stable and so on.

2007-03-02T08:47:00.000-08:00

HOW TO FIND THE IP ADDRESS OF THE SENDER IN GMAIL
When you receive an email, you receive more than just the message. The email comes with headers that carry important information that can tell where the email was sent from and possibly who sent it. For that, you would need to find the IP address of the sender. The tutorial below can help you find the IP address of the sender.

Log into your Gmail account with your username and password.
Open the mail.
To display the headers,
Click on More options corresponding to that thread. You should get a bunch of links. Click on Show original

You should get headers like this:
Gmail headers : Mastitrain
Look for Received: from followed by a few hostnames and an IP address between square brackets. In this case, it is 65.119.112.245.

That is be the IP address of the sender!!
NOTE:=
This will not work if the sender uses anonymous proxy servers.

2007-02-19T08:55:00.000-08:00

Why Learning The OSI Model Is Important
There's nothing I enjoy more than teaching Cisco technologies, especially CCNA candidates. Whether it's in-person or online, everyone's excited to be there. There's a sense of anticipation in the air, and everyone is ready to work hard, get their hands on the racks of Cisco routers and switches I have available... ... and then I break out the OSI model chart. Chins slump. People sigh, or at least wish they hadn't ordered decaf that morning. Okay, it's not that bad. But it does temper the excitement a little. I always get a sense of "why can't we just hurry up and get on the routers and switches? Why do we have to learn this dry stuff?" One reason is that Cisco demands you know the OSI model inside and out for both the Intro and ICND exams. You have to admit that's a pretty good reason, but still, students find the OSI model information to be very dry. I understand that, because I've been there. My first exposure to the OSI model was actually in a Novell "Networking Technologies" class, and man, was that chart ever dry. They crammed every known protocol (and some unknown ones, I think) into the OSI model. It looked like a giant jigsaw puzzle, and the real problem is that I didn't know what the heck most of that stuff was. So I dutifully attempted to memorize this massive chart. I managed to pass the exam, but I wondered what all that effort had really been for. It's not like you sit around in a server room or wiring closet and discuss the OSI model. As a CCNA candidate, you don't have to worry about all the protocols I memorized way back when, but you do have to know what happens at each layer. Which leads to this question: "If I work with routers and switches, why do I have to know about all the other layers? Don't routers and switches just work at layer 2 and 3?" Yes, switches work at Layer 2 and routers at Layer 3. But to truly understand networking, you've got to understand what happens at the other layers. Why? Most network administrators and engineers are going to spend a lot more time troubleshooting than installing. That's just the way it is. And to troubleshoot effectively, you've got to know what's going on at all layers of the OSI model, not just layers 2 and 3. As someone who's done a lot of hiring and conducted a great many job interviews, I can tell you that the ability to troubleshoot is the number one quality I look for. That's why I tell CCNA and CCNP candidates that they've got to get all the hands-on practice they can; while I understand the importance of theory, the only way to develop troubleshooting ability is to work on the real deal. No simulator program is going to teach you how to troubleshoot. Additionally, the only way to truly develop your troubleshooting abilities is to know what's going on over the entire network, not just the routers and switches. Troubleshooting always starts at Layer 1; if you don't find a problem at the Physical layer, and everything's fine with your routers and switches, how are you going to continue troubleshooting if you don't know what the next steps are as data moves closer to the end user? So when it comes to the OSI model, don't just give it a quick once-over and move on to the fun stuff in your CCNA studies. The tangible benefit of passing your exams is great, but it's the hidden benefit of developing your own troubleshooting methodology that makes mastering the OSI model worthwhile.