Recent Posts

1026

General Software Discussion / Re: gateway ta6 laptop

« Last post by Shades on December 24, 2015, 08:14 PM »

Cloning in itself isn't hard to do, there are many pieces of software that can do this (free and commercial) and if you take the time to properly identify which hard disk is which (including reading any message that software presents to you), there isn't much that can go wrong. However, if you do this wrong, you are in real trouble...that is, if you mind losing your data.

Finding someone that still has a mainboard with IDE ports that work will be harder. If you are sure the laptop uses IDE, you can even use the laptop itself, but you might need to take it apart to connect both the master-slave drives. And keep it like that for as long as the cloning procedure will take. If you do find someone with such a mainboard, you might still have a problem. Connecting both drives to the same hard disk controller will reduce the time to do the cloning considerably, so that would be the preferred option.

Connecting an IDE HD from a laptop onto the IDE hard disk controller of a desktop PC, might require you to alter the IDE cable. Had to do this on occasion when connecting laptop HD's to the IDE port of the Amiga home computer. Don't assume blindly that the IDE cable for a desktop PC is immediately usable in a laptop. Some lines in a standard IDE cable are meant to transfer power and it is not a given that those lines are in the same spot. Often I had to remove one of the IDE connectors find the cables for power, loosen them from the rest of the cable, twist that part of the cable and use a connector from the laptop IDE cable to be able to use the laptop HD in a desktop.

It is easier (and neater) to take the hit in cloning speed and use an external USB device to do the cloning. If all you want to do is making a backup, than don't do cloning. There is much more backup software available that is much simpler in use and faster too. Anyway, when you have a computer, it really is a good idea to invest in a portable hard disk to make backups on. Reliable and simple, what is not to like? 

1027

Living Room / Re: Words fail me - you'll have to read this yourself

« Last post by Shades on December 24, 2015, 07:38 PM »

The code mentioned in both vote boxes is the same. That does not inspire trust...

Anyway, I would have voted to donate it. Mainly because I don't think that anyone should destroy/mistreat art that can inspire future generations. Picasso is definitely not my style, but that shouldn't be a reason to maim his work. After all, the world is full of people that have a different view on the arts.

Honestly, you couldn't accuse me for being artsy fartsy on a good day. If someone made art that cannot stand the test of time on it's own, too bad for that piece of art and/or artist. But for pieces of art that do, keep those in shape for future generations.

We are all standing on the shoulders of giants and art/artists make that anyone enjoys the view.

1028

T-Clock / Re: Time shift...

« Last post by Shades on December 23, 2015, 06:04 PM »

You didn't specify the northern or southern hemisphere...that equator thingie really makes time behave differently

1029

General Software Discussion / Re: gateway ta6 laptop

« Last post by Shades on December 21, 2015, 06:46 AM »

That is Microsoft's virtual keyboard to help you log in to your system. This keyboard is helpful when you only have your stylus to type in your password. Looks to me like your keyboard isn't detected (fast enough) and that Windows XP is helping you out by activating its virtual keyboard instead.

I don't think your computer has the option in BIOS, but you could try to see in there if there is an option for the BIOS to wait until all USB devices have registered themselves with the BIOS before it continues booting your computer. There will be an option to select if you want to do a slow boot. That could give the keyboard also enough time to register itself properly. By doing this, Windows XP shouldn't show the virtual keyboard anymore to help you log into your Windows account.

Once you logged into Windows, check if you can change this behavior by checking the options of virtual keyboard and the Windows boot routine. The 'Control Panel' should get you access to both.

1030

DC Member Programs and Projects / Re: Calcupy! - your semantic desktop calculator

« Last post by Shades on December 19, 2015, 07:56 PM »

It is always good to see more software from a lot of different developers here at DC. However, in my opinion, a 32MByte download for a calculator is a bit on the "heavy" side. Given the very early stages of the project, there is room for forgiveness and some "trimming of the fat"?

1031

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: open mdb files

« Last post by Shades on December 19, 2015, 07:50 PM »

The extension .mdb is associated with the Access part of the Microsoft Office suite. And it is possible to transfer a virus/malware this way. It is also possible that the attached file shows up as an .mdb file, but that is a different type of file. This is much more common and your mail server (or the one from your ISP) and mail client should remove this kind of crap. Better safe than sorry.

.Mdb files are not often send by mail, usually because these files are too big to be sent by mail.

Also, if your client(s) are infected with a virus, it is easy to send mail in their name without them knowing about this. And if your clients have multiple mail addresses in common, all it takes is one virus infection with one client to have multiple clients send mail ('email spoofing' is the term) to shared addresses and if another one of them takes the bait, the problem becomes much bigger very quick.

Setting up your own cloud server or WebDAV server (or even a S-FTP server) is a better, more secure way to transfer such files. GoogleDrive, OneDrive, Dropbox and other similar services are also better, but with using those services you could be in legal trouble, depending the contractual obligations between you and your client(s). Usually this isn't a big deal, but verify this before you burn yourself.
 

1032

General Software Discussion / Re: gateway ta6 laptop

« Last post by Shades on December 18, 2015, 06:41 PM »

If the limit is 2x1GByte RAM modules, that is the limit then. if it is old, it likely only supports the DDR2 notebook version of RAM modules. This is an old hardware format, which means they are expensive, because they aren't produced anymore. Second hand RAM is likely what you will end up with. If you think there is too much crap on the laptop, download all the drivers from the manufacturers website and store these on a pen drive, get the windows key from the bottom of your laptop (if that is still readable, else find a piece of software to retrieve your Windows key), find the installers and keys from the software you want to keep, backup whatever data you already put on the laptop and re-install.

Such a "fresh" start will make the laptop more enjoyable. You won't have to bother with finding ways to get rid of crap the previous owner installed, you can use the AV solution you like, etc. etc. My advice is always to put as much RAM in your new PC/Laptop as you are able to afford. Not only will you enjoy using the PC/Laptop longer, it will have more re-sale value (especially with laptops). So, find out which model of RAM your laptop uses from its manual and find two RAM sticks of 1 GBYte, the hardware in your laptop cannot handle any other RAM memory configuration. Buy something else and you have thrown good money out of the door. Don't think it will be easy to resell the wrong memory module configuration or expect to get a decent price. Remember, it is only expensive when you buy it... 

General advice:
If you want to know what the specifications of your laptop are, look at the site of the manufacturer or manual. In the manual, you usually find which type and model of RAM will work with your laptop. The manufacturer usually has support, where you can download drivers, updates, manuals etc. Other websites will do their best effort to have all this info available, but as long as there is a manufacturers support website, why bother going somewhere else.

1033

N.A.N.Y. 2014 / Re: NANY 2014 Release - epCheck

« Last post by Shades on December 13, 2015, 10:44 PM »

By using software such as DependencyWalker and ProcessMonitor (from SysInternals) you can find out what processes are started in the background while opening epCheck. You should try this with both epCheck folders to see the difference and from there you can deduce which process is the actual troublemaker.

Working with these tools might seem daunting at first, but both software packages come with a clear and easy to follow manual.

1034

N.A.N.Y. 2016 / Re: NANY 2016 :Window resize keys (grids combi 2x2 3x3 4x4 5x5)

« Last post by Shades on December 13, 2015, 06:56 PM »

My first impressions with this tool are that it works as advertised, claiming very little RAM and hardly any other resources. 

For reference, I tried it on a Windows Server 2012 R2 PC.

1035

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Announced

« Last post by Shades on December 13, 2015, 12:48 PM »

@Stoic:
WMP is your media player of choice? Never would have guessed. As you are a biker I would surely thought that you would like the following player best: MPH (Media Player Hometheater)  but you decided to go for WiMP (Windows integrated Media Player)

More seriously, MPH has the look of Windows Media Player version 6.4 (Windows ME/Windows 2000 era), but comes with all the latest and greatest to play whatever video/audio you want. If you want lots of controls and options, PotPlayer and VideoLAN are good players as well. There are lots of other players, but as all my needs are met with this set I didn't look at any other players anymore.     

1036

Living Room / Re: Gadget WEEKENDS

« Last post by Shades on December 13, 2015, 12:27 PM »

@Tomos:
On youtube you can find a video of a modern big John Deere tractor getting humiliated by an old steam tractor in a tractor-pull. Respect your elders does sound true

1037

Living Room / Re: Merry Christmas 2015 (Feliz Navidad 2015)

« Last post by Shades on December 13, 2015, 12:26 PM »

Indeed early. Still:
Vrolijk Kerstfeest!

1038

General Software Discussion / Re: Low Audio Levels

« Last post by Shades on December 13, 2015, 12:11 PM »

I have noted something similar.

Usually I have the Windows audio device volume setting at 100% and adjust the volume setting in my media player according to my wishes. If the volume is turned down in the media player and the media player is closed the volume setting remains lower, while it appears all is maxed out in the volume control overview. This setting also survives a reboot in my case. Opening the media player again and adjusting the volume again to max is what helps. On my system Realtek HD driver 6.0.1.5859 is installed.

Do you have a plug-in/extension/add-on in your browser in which you have adjusted the volume? Streaming music player, perhaps?

Since Windows Vista/7 the volume control has become too over-engineered for simple audio set-ups. The level of of control you have is nice when you have the audio-setup to match. But in my experience most people use the standard audio ports and are confused by the audio support that comes with most video cards, USB headphones, camera's and what not. If I got a nickel each time someone asked me to fix their audio settings I would be well off by now.

There is room for improvement in this part of computing. IndieVolume and CheVolume are the only pieces of software I know of that give you much more control back over the volume settings.     

1039

N.A.N.Y. 2016 / Re: NANY 2016 Pledge: PINCode Grapher

« Last post by Shades on December 13, 2015, 10:26 AM »

While substituting the name of a number with the name of an animal is a nice idea, there might be a problem. Names of numbers often start with the same letter, so there could be some confusion.

I would like to suggest the following:
0        1         2  3  4  5  6  7  8          9
pause do(low) re mi fa so la ti do(high) (yeah) - for pop/rock fans
pause do(low) re mi fa so la ti do(high) (yoh!) - for rap fans
pause do(low) re mi fa so la ti do(high) (yeha) - for country fans

The silliness could help you remember as well.

1040

General Software Discussion / Re: What is Runtime Broker, and Why is it working so pathetically bad?

« Last post by Shades on December 13, 2015, 10:05 AM »

I have Windows 10 32-bit installed on my Netbook. It runs like molasses, but so did/does Windows XP/7 and pretty much every Linux distro I've tried on it.

-Deozaan (December 11, 2015, 05:59 PM)

The only common denominator in your endevours is the hardware you run each OS on. With that in mind, it is very likely that your hard disk is a very big contributor to the slowness.

-Shades (December 11, 2015, 07:51 PM)

I put an SSD in there about a year ago. It's still awfully slow.

-Deozaan (December 12, 2015, 12:42 AM)

Usually you can get software that measures the speed of a SSD from its manufacturer. You should check the read/write speeds of that SSD in the netbook and preferably in another computer you own. If there is a big difference, it is quite safe to assume that the SATA controller in the netbook is not functioning as it is supposed to. While repairable, costs of parts and labor will quickly go over the price of a new netbook. Exchanging the mainboard of the netbook with another one is also an option.

@Curt:
Depending on the version of Windows you used to upgrade to Windows 10, you might have access to security policy manager (Windows key + R and type: secpol.msc). If you do, you can make an additional rule in 'Software Restriction Policies' (Path or Hash) for the file that you don't want (any type of user account in) Windows to execute.

Be careful with this, you could mess things up if you are overzealous.

4wd's solution is the more elegant solution, but if you are in a pinch, the solution above might prove useful until you find a more elegant one. 

1041

General Software Discussion / Re: Email Remover - An Auto-Responder Loop Solution

« Last post by Shades on December 13, 2015, 09:11 AM »

About not having an Exchange Server: ignorance==bliss

Now I am not familiar with the software from Network Solutions, but do run my own Postfix mail server on a "headless" Linux machine (with Webmin) for years. Before that vPOP3 (Windows) and even then it was already easy to delete mail directly on the server. That left with me the impression that all mail server software makers have this functionality built-in.

Postfix is a mature and battle hardened mail server with lots(!) of options to configure if you want to. Making a policy to get rid of such messages is no problem. There are a lot of add-ons that make the creation of such a policy much easier if you are not a fan of command-line configuration.   

1042

General Software Discussion / Re: What is Runtime Broker, and Why is it working so pathetically bad?

« Last post by Shades on December 11, 2015, 07:51 PM »

I have Windows 10 32-bit installed on my Netbook. It runs like molasses, but so did/does Windows XP/7 and pretty much every Linux distro I've tried on it.

-Deozaan (December 11, 2015, 05:59 PM)

The only common denominator in your endevours is the hardware you run each OS on. With that in mind, it is very likely that your hard disk is a very big contributor to the slowness. Check your HD to see if it aligned properly. Don't use Windows to check for this, better use 3rd party software like Minitool's Partition Wizard (available as both freeware and commercial). But there are more free and commercial software packages similar in function as PW.

Check each partition on that HD for this, because I have noted on several occasions (anecdotal, I know) that it isn't certain that every partition is actually aligned. Aligning is very intense and can take very long to complete, so make sure your computer is deprived from electricity during this procedure.

However, once done you will notice a speed increase. Defragging afterwards with a tool such as Auslogics Defrag (free and commercial) can add more of a speed increase. The tools that come with Windows 7 and up are quite good at what they do, so most don't bother to look further. Still, 3rd party tools do have a valid reason for existing.

When you use Linux on the HD, the defragging should not be necessary as the file systems Ext2 and Ext3 (most common ones) do not fragment files as much as the NTFS file system from Windows does. Caused by different mentality during the design of these file systems mainly.

Anyhow, that still leaves the uncertainty of (the partitions of) your HD not being aligned. Simply stated: this negatively affects any OS more or less in equal amounts.

Most netbooks come with a SATA interface, so if the above sounds as too much work, clone the HD onto an SSD (completely!) and see the netbook making strides you didn't take it could...ever...going downhill...with gusting wind in its back...eating icecream!    

1043

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Announced

« Last post by Shades on December 08, 2015, 06:13 AM »

@Stoic:
Do you use the same editions of Windows in your office and home before you upgraded these Windows installations to Windows 10?
If not, (for example: at home you used Windows 7 Home and in your Office Win 8.1 Enterprise) then that could be the reason, as MS tends to use (very) different mindsets between different editions of Windows.

1044

Living Room / Re: CAT5 splitter?

« Last post by Shades on December 04, 2015, 07:30 AM »

If we are pedantic...

1000Base-T uses indeed all 8 wires in CAT-5, CAT-5e, CAT-6 and CAT-7 types of cable.
1000Base-TX again uses only 4 wires of CAT-6 type cable.

That is according to the defined standards of the IEEE (1000BASE-T) and the Telecommunications Industry Association (1000BASE-TX). Word to the wise, reading the IEEE pdf from the first link will make you know much more than you ever wanted to about UTP cables...

If that isn't already confusing enough...marketing departments deemed it wise to add TX to the names from (some of) their NICs, while those only support the 1000Base-T standard.

1045

Living Room / Re: CAT5 splitter?

« Last post by Shades on December 03, 2015, 05:58 PM »

Aren't you gaining a lot of interference this way?

Because any wire that carries an electric signal will act as a antenna. And the internal wires of a cat 5 cable are pretty densely twisted...which is done on purpose, as there are only 4 wires that carry signals while the other 4 act as "dummies", catching as much external interference as possible, so the signal carrying wires have a better chance of getting their signals through.

1046

Living Room / Re: Recommend some music videos to me!

« Last post by Shades on November 29, 2015, 07:04 PM »

The only explanation for these is that some AI from the future created this cybernetic human and sent them back in time to make people cry:

-mouser (November 23, 2015, 09:49 PM)

The song 'Someone like you' is a great song with the ability to move you. Her rendition of that song in the Royal Albert Hall is even better still.

Ooops...Tomos already made the same comment, sorry about that. 

1047

N.A.N.Y. 2015 / Re: NANY 2015 Release - Splat (Simple Program Launching and Termination)

« Last post by Shades on November 29, 2015, 06:41 PM »

The PDF's have a very positive tone and explain how to use the application with text and images (I do know the Dutch language ).

'Computer idee' isn't the most technical magazine out there, but it is read by a lot of enthusiasts, so if there isn't already a lot of traffic coming from the Netherlands, expect it soon.

If there could be an option to make Splat support multiple languages, it would be an even greater hit. If that is an option, then it isn't a problem for me to do the Dutch translation. 

1048

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by Shades on November 29, 2015, 04:17 AM »

This is an amazing card trick:

1049

Living Room / Re: Smart agents like Cortana will replace the web browser

« Last post by Shades on November 27, 2015, 05:34 AM »

There is one difference though. Siri/Cortana do not mind to be upgraded...

1050

General Software Discussion / Re: Alert on File/Folder Access

« Last post by Shades on November 26, 2015, 08:47 AM »

For inspiration... 
http://leelusoft.altervista.org/watch-4-folder.html
https://blogs.manageengine.com/it-security/eventloganalyzer/2012/06/20/object-access-auditing-simplified-find-the-who-what-where-when-of-file-folder-access.html
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc771070.aspx
http://venussoftcorporation.blogspot.com/2010/05/thefolderspy.html
https://directorymonitor.com/
http://trackfolderchanges.codeplex.com/
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/folder_changes_view.html
http://www.isdecisions.com/products/fileaudit/file-folder-access-alert.htm