Wikipedia:Reference desk/Computing

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September 3

C++ functions

Hello! I have three questions:

1. First of all, I'd like to know if I'm allowed to ask someone to write a C++ function for me, provided it's reasonably short, of course!
2. If the answer to the first question is yes, then could somebody write me a function that counts how many lines a file has? (I imagine you would have to count the newline characters, '\n' )
3. If the answer to the first question is no, then could anyone tell me where I might find a function that counts the lines of text in a given file? (like in stdlib.h, for example)

--Thor Waldsen 01:27, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

hi i dont know too much but basically the gist is, you call a filereader function and open the file or whatever (i dont know if youre a student or what but your book should explain this, or just check a website for opening text files in c++), and then im sure thers some sort of function that gets the next line, and some function that sees if it has a next function... so something in a psuedo codejava would be:

int n = 0;

blah = open file(file.txt);

while(blah.hasNext())

{

n++;

blah.Next();

}

return n;

good luck Modesty84 01:44, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

here is a text file reading program. you just need to swap out the while statement to something like what i wrote above. http://www.fredosaurus.com/notes-cpp/io/readtextfile.html Modesty84 01:48, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

I'll look into it. Thanks a lot!! --Thor Waldsen 02:04, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

Look for the source for the wc Unix utility, it must count lines, characters, words; other implementations may add extra things. This will be in C, you could try porting it to C++ if you're knowledgeable in both languages. Dysprosia 02:09, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

I suspect that that may be a little too elaborate for our friend's current state of knowledge about C++. wc, simple though it is, contains extra functionality of little interest. I think he needs to read up on the "iostream" library, as well as while loops in C++. --Robert Merkel 02:23, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps, but it would be a good pedagogical exercise, if Thor was well acquainted with C. Dysprosia 10:44, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

If using an fstream you can just getline (counting each time) until end of file (eof). - Rainwarrior 04:33, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

Real Player for Mac

How can I create a playlist and maintain a library in Real Player for Mac? I have the latest version.--202.161.131.76 02:31, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

Very simple solution, get a real (no pun intended) media player, such as MPlayer.--Frenchman113 on wheels! 16:05, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

PROCESSOR

Hi, I have an AMD GA-K8VM800M motherboard with an AMD Athlon64 2800+ 1.8GHZ (Socket 754). I'm thinking of upgrading the processor with an AMD Sempron 3300+. I would like to know how fast and how this pro. will perform as a media/gaming PC. I would like to know your opinions. Can u recommend any other processor that will perform well with this m/b for gaming/media? THANKS JON.

what game(s) and what kind of video card and ram do you have? dont know mucha bout that processor but seems like anythin could be a upgrade. Modesty84 07:49, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

I have 1GB DDR400 ram, 120GB SATA HDD, a 256MB Sapphire ATI 9550 “AGP” VGA Card. JON--203.122.73.26 07:59, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

yea i dont relaly know enough about hardware to give you any real advice. i guess the processor would be the weakest link in that equation. maybe someone else can help you, good luck with it :> Modesty84 08:02, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

To me,this configuration looks not that bad to suffice most of the any game needs these days....A friend of mine has the same series as yours,but with a different M\B model.He could hit through all sort of games.Tried any 3d bench marks?...Do it first and look for an upgrade if ever needed before investing money..or try playing any high graphics demanding games and check out for a decent frame rates....All the Best

I'm not sure if it would be worth upgrading - the Semperon is a cut-down version of an Athlon 64 and while the clock rate is higher there's probably less cache. Robmods 15:46, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

I have a AMD Athlon 64 3000+, which coupled with a good graphics card can run just about current game. I'd be wary about getting a Sempron: you might well be better off with your slower Althon 64, because it will outperform it in highly demanding apps like games and media software (probably, I haven't checked the numbers). Either way, it's not going to be a big perfomance leap. I'd recommend you save your money to get a Athlon 64 between 3400-4000, which is an increase you'll notice. Also, while your memory and hard drive are fine, you will benefit a lot more from a newer graphics card. Personally I'd recommend an AGP Geforce 6600GT or 6800 if you want to upgrade. If money is no object, then the Geforce 7800GS is the fastest AGP card available. Sum0 11:14, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Various navigational issues.

I am using an IBM T30 laptop with WinXP pro. The trackpad broke a while back and is disabled. My first inclination is to suspect hardware problems with the trackpoint. Anyhow, mouse clicking does not work, but mouse movement (via trackpoint) does work. The keyboard seems to work, but the top menubars in programs, when selected via alt+option, don't open. I tried tabbing over to the start menu to fiddle with the control panel but, though I was able to navigate to the options in the control panel, attempting to open the options themselves with the enter key failed to work. Any guesses as to what is wrong?

--128.113.107.52 07:48, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

does the enter key work in other situations? Modesty84 07:51, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

-- Yes.

do you have anything important saved on the computer? i would just reformat it and see if that helps Modesty84 07:59, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

-- That's something I reserve for a last resort.

Odd side note: When navigating the file system, the top menus all open via alt, but using the down/up keys to navigate the options works only in the case of the favorites menu. The items in the favorites menu cannot be opened with the enter key, though. Strange.

could be a worm maybe try start->search-> *.cpl results are the control panel options Modesty84 08:09, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

My original suspicion about hardware problems were correct. Somehow my trackpad re-enabled itself. Thanks for pointing out the file extension of the control panel options. Disabling the trackpad again fixed everything.

Get a new laptop man, t30 is old! --Froth 23:02, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Google results not the same for everyone?

If one enters a search in Google, do the results depend on location? On the science ref desk I placed links to two searches and got 538 and 886 results respectively. When someone else clicked those links he got 362 and 348 results. Quite a big difference. I'm from the Netherlands and he is from the US. Might that explain it? DirkvdM 14:00, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

I think it's the traffic that hits...we actualy did the same sort of search from the same location,but ended up like what you experienced.But it wasn't quite common for all your searches.I'm not sure though there might be a valid reason other than this...let's wait for others....User:202.56.231.116

It might be interesting to keep some records of the differences, maybe also see if the results were different. We know the Chinese results are censored. If the requests are going to the same machines at Google HQ, the results should be the same whether they're returned to US or Europe or wherever. Rentwa 16:02, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

I got 503 and 859, respectively. I also live in the US. --Yanwen 17:16, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

I tried again and now I get 538 (same) and 823 (less). Now I can understand such small differences (after all the Google database gets updated al the time), but 362 and 348 are really different, the second one even much less than half. DirkvdM 17:43, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

I get 538 and 823 using the links. Changing '.com' to '.co.uk' in the address bar I get 538 (same) and 860 (different). Rentwa 17:50, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

Reason 1: Some results are removed due to local laws: search for a ...uh, "controversial" organization in The Netherlands vs Germany. But that's unlikely to be the cause in these searches.
Reason 2: google isn't one big computer, it's distributed and your query gets routed to the closest copy of Google. The indexes in the different copies are not completely in sync.
Reason 3: (what I'm guessing is happening here): the "someone else" looked at unique hits. Google has an algorithm that looks at two pages and if they are similar enough Google lists them as "very similar". The 886 count includes duplicates, the 348 doesn't. Keep clicking "next result page" until you come to the end or go directly here: [1], see the "omitted some results" message at the bottom of the page.
(Aside on a common misunderstanding of unique results: uniqueness only considers the first 1000 pages. If you search for "microsoft"[2] you'll be surprised that only about 130 unique web pages in the whole world contain the word "microsoft". Of course there are more. The way the duplicate remover works it takes the first 1000 results and figures out which of those are duplicates. Only 130 of the first 1000 are unique.) Weregerbil 19:31, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

I believe the "Omitted search results" are still counted in the total, just not listed individually, until you pick that link. StuRat 21:35, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

I'm the one getting the lowest number of hits, I wonder what's so different for me. I'm actually clicking on the links, not retyping them myself. I also checked to see that I have "Safe Search" turned off, so should get all result listed, right ? StuRat 21:23, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

I'm voting for Dirk anyway - dangerous looking type. Rentwa 00:33, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

In real life I've got pacifist tendencies (unless you piss me off, that is :) ), but in the virtual realm, where only argumentation counts, I can be quite vicious. My results when I look at the last page is StuRat 459 and DirkdM 550. With strict filtering on, for StuRat I get 511 on the first page and 440 on the last one (although it says 'results 301 to 396' - now which is it?). For DirkvdM I get 767 on the fist page and 523 (or 466) on the last page. So we on't use any rude language according to Google? We must try harder then. :) Also, considering the way Google works, maybe the number of hits on one page matters? I've got that maxed out at 100. DirkvdM 06:44, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Mine was set to 100, too. StuRat 07:34, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

It can also do with personalized search results. --Proficient 17:55, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

How so ? StuRat 04:54, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Odd behaviour in control panel

I'm running XP with service pack 2, and have recently noticed that the menu items in control panel (I use the 'classic' version for the start menu, so it looks like win2000) used to be in alphabetical order, but now start with 'Power options', then go in alpha aorder until 'wirelss...', then start with items beginning with 'a' etc. This isn't a problem, just curious behaviour, and I wonder if anyone else has seen anything similar? Madmath789 14:07, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

Right-clicking and selecting 'Arrange Icons by' and then 'Name' should put them back in order. Robmods 19:06, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

Thanks - that gets them back into order, but the real questions is: "why did they ever get put into a different order at all?" Madmath789 19:59, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

They might be listed in order of creation date or last modification date, which is admittedly quite a useless order for the control panel. StuRat 21:18, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

putting iPod on a new iTunes

is there anyway i could stop the iPod from losing its songs when i put it onto a new iTunes. or would it just be easier to move the songs from my old computer onto my new one?

thanks--Crab People 15:04, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

yea, crack the drm on the tunes, try... hymn for v5 and earlier, or http://hymn-project.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1553 . Remember, this is illegal in the USA, and immoral if you don't own the music.--Frenchman113 on wheels! 15:10, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

Websites hosting cracks and serials

Hi friends....I have been having this doubt for a very long time....There are some websites hosting cracks and serials for the original software which you may come across when you just google net,as you may be aware of this..Now isn't this something illegal?...Why won't they get arrested? and what still makes them to reverse engineer and release these stuffs?.Can't their websites be identified and the members hosting be traced down and arrested?....A friend of mine said that if a software release was in one country then the cracks or serials for that software would be released in a website belonging to some other country and hence it can't be arrested or banned..Is it true?...Sorry if it sounds too basic or stupid,I'm just a rookie in this....Any info?

Try Topsite (warez). Yes, this is very illegal, but the servers are well hidden and protected. Also, we have an article on reverse engineering, a lot of cracks are done with a disassembler/hex editor/debugger. On a side note (and not to be mean), you could read Wikipedia:Tutorial and learn to write legibily.--Frenchman113 on wheels! 16:04, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

"cracks" I understand, but "serials"? —Tamfang 23:50, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

I presume serial is a form obtained from cracking a software...Using a serial crack is different from other types of cracking....Correct me if I'm wrong..

Oh, silly me, to activate some software you need the serial number from the package ... —Tamfang 05:58, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Photoshop Keygen

Does anyone know a website or place where I can download a spyware, adware free Photoshop CS2 Key Generator? Jamesino 20:17, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

http://store.adobe.com/ --Kjoonlee 03:29, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

You are going to have to download a whole pacage, then just take the keygen. Try a torrent site. — [Mac Davis] (talk) (Desk|Help me improve)

before you resort to stealing, try free alternatives such as GIMPshop. Jon513 13:26, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Why would you download software illegally? --Proficient 17:57, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Aside from the legality aspects, Photoshop CS2 requires you to activate the software as well, so a keygen might not work. --Canley 07:10, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Oh it works. There's such thing as "phone activation" where you call a number, touch in a code that appears on your computer, and then listen for a returning code, which you type in a box. But instead of using the phone to transform that code, use the keygen. look for the PARADOX gen, it's clean and works --Froth 20:39, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

CMM level

who will given the certification that a company is following all the CMM levels?

Have a look at the links from Capability Maturity Model. --Robert Merkel 23:17, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

Input non-English text

I am using Windows XP and i set in the Regional and Language settings to allow me to use a Spanish keyboard setting in addition to the english one. My keyboard is labeled to the english setting, though, and I ave no way of knowing which key is which in the spanish setting other than by trying it. Is there a way to get an on-screen keyboard or something that shows which key is which for the spanish setting? Thanks! --Life 23:15, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

• You could simply use stickers to re-label your keys. Just try them and stick a sticker on them with whatever it is that pushing the key produces. I'm not sure, but Keyboard should lead you to something useful... - Mgm|^(talk) 10:16, 4 September 2006 (UTC)
• XP has an 'Onscreen Keyboard' under Accessories -> Accessability, but I don't know if it will change depending on the lanugage. Robmods 17:32, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Python: how can you use the arrow keys as a user input?

I'm writing a basic text editor as an exercise to learn python, and I need a way to position the "cursor" (where the inputted text is inserted) -- using w/a/s/d as a substitute for the arrow keys isn't an option because these are required if the user wants to type "w","a","s" or "d", obviously.

Accepting user input for text is easy -- just use raw_input(), but whenever I use raw_input() it doesn't seem to want to accept the arrow keys as a valid input.

Every time I type an arrow key in the python interpreter I get ^[[C so I wrote the following program to see if I could use this:

  variable = raw_input("Press the right arrow key: ")
  if variable == "^[[C":
      print "you pressed the right arrow key"
  elif:
      print "you didn't press the right arrow key"

but this doesn't work in practice.

Any ideas, or links? I imagine that I'll need to import a module of some kind, but with so many python modules available I couldn't find the documentation for one that I could use.

Thanks for the help.

I don't know Python, but the arrow character isn't the string consisting of characters '^', '[', '[', 'C', it's going to be a nonprintable control character, much like "^M" is used to represent the enter key. Dysprosia 01:49, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

raw_input() isn't the right thing to use anyway, as it's still "line oriented" (you won't see the keypresses, even special ones like arrow keys, until someone presses enter). You want to use the getch() function, which is part of a given platform's console package. Here's some basic code for windows:

import msvcrt

while True:
    c = msvcrt.getch()
    charcode = ord(c[0])
    print "char %c,%d" % (c,charcode)

    # if the key is 27, the ESC key, then quit
    if charcode == 27:
        break

(you'll notice some keys, like the arrow keys, send two charcodes for every keypress - so you'll need to write something to handle that).

For unix/linux/posix etc you can use the "curses" console IO package. It's a bit higher-powered (at the expense of being a bit harder to program). Here's a program that detects the left and right arrow keypresses:

def display_message(s, msg):
    s.addstr(1,0, "%-20s"%msg)

import curses
scr = curses.initscr()

# set some stuff so we get more direct access to keystrokes
curses.noecho() # don't echo the chars I type
curses.cbreak() # tell me immediately when keys are hit
scr.keypad(1) # handle fancy keypresses in curses
scr.addstr(0,0, 'hit f1 to exit')

while True:
    c = scr.getch()
    # for codes see http://docs.python.org/lib/node267.html
    if c==curses.KEY_LEFT: display_message(scr, 'left')
    elif c==curses.KEY_RIGHT: display_message(scr, 'right')
    elif c==curses.KEY_F1: break
    else: display_message(scr, 'code=0x%x' % c)

# restore the terminal to the way it was before we changed it
curses.nocbreak()
scr.keypad(0)
curses.echo()
curses.endwin() # bye

If you're planning on writing a text editor in unix, use curses for the output too (so you can put text right where you want it on the screen). For windows, you'll need to find a ANSI terminal package like this one which will move the cursor around in the way you'd want. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 11:36, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

As I note above, if you're doing a text editor then curses is the easiest way, as it does a lot of window handling and text positioning stuff for you. The flipside is that you can't use normal terminal io when you're using curses. If you just wanted to get the raw keys, but didn't want curses' other features, you can use the more basic termios system (on which curses relies). Here's a basic example using just termios:

import termios,sys

stdin_fd = sys.stdin.fileno()

# turn off echo and turn on ICANON mode
attrs = termios.tcgetattr(stdin_fd)
attrs[3] = attrs[3] & ~termios.ECHO   # disable ECHO
attrs[3] = attrs[3] & ~termios.ICANON # get chars immediately
termios.tcsetattr(stdin_fd, termios.TCSADRAIN, attrs)

while True:
    keys = sys.stdin.read(1)
    print "char %c,%d" % (keys[0],ord(keys[0]))
    if keys[0] == 'q': # exit on q
        break
    
# return terminal to normal
attrs[3] = attrs[3] | termios.ECHO   # reenable ECHO
attrs[3] = attrs[3] | termios.ICANON # disable ICANON
termios.tcsetattr(stdin_fd, termios.TCSADRAIN, attrs)

Granted, the termios lines are a tad arcane, but other than that it's much the same as the windows version. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 15:31, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

September 4

MEPIS deleted my files!

I recently used a simply mepis live cd to cut and paste files from my laptop hard drive to a usb hard drive. I finished transfering the files, but i can't see any of them. All of the folders are intact, however the files are not there. An interesting point is that whenever i check the root of the folder i copied my files too, it reads that it contains 12gb of files(the amount I transfered) leading me to believe that they are not completely deleted. Any help would be appreciated, the sooner the better. - Ridge Racer 02:48, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Sounds strange. If you use the command line to list the files at the destination, do you see them? Dysprosia 03:04, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

I havent tried that, could you give me an example of the command to run in console, today is the first day in my life that ive ever ran linux for more that an hour at a time. - Ridge Racer 03:06, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

I don't know where your USB drive is mounted, so I can't be entirely specific. The ls command lists files. If you can get a command line with the current directory at your USB drive, then you can try that. Dysprosia 03:31, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

I actually attempted to find out on google. My drive is at mnt/sda1 so i used ls and tried to display the contents of the root folder where i transfered my files. I found three containing folders, but no files. Also, for additional information, my usb hard drive and laptop hard drive are both fat32. Should I consider a file recovery utility? - Ridge Racer 03:35, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Did you properly unmount the usb drive before removing it? That could be your problem. Try fsck/chkdsk to see if it recovers the files. --Russoc4 14:30, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Now That you mention it, I believe that I removed the drive without unmounting it. I mean it wasn't being cached, but I still didn't unmount it. I'll give both of those a try. - Ridge Racer 17:27, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

I think you are wrong in saying it wasn't being cached; AFAIK, Linux quite agressively caches the content of mounted disks, and the only way to make sure everything has been written to the media is to sync it or umount the media. --cesarb 17:32, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

importence of computer

sir pls I want to know about importence of computer in chemistry

No, this couldn't be a homework question could it? — [Mac Davis] (talk) (Desk|Help me improve)

• Just have a look around a chemlab and tell me how things like electron microscopes, mass spectrometers and such would work without computers... - Mgm|^(talk) 10:13, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Or, if you're in a high school, probes, your calculator, and the textbooks are you are reading out of would not be there without computers. — [Mac Davis] (talk) (Desk|Help me improve)

Windows 98 login problems

To start with: This system is totally unsuitable for anything higher than Windows 98. Botting the system takes too long already, so I prefer suggestions on how to solve the issue rather than run away from it. Someone altered my sister's computer in such a way that she has to select a user profile before she logs in (which she finds annoying because it requires her to hit return half-way through a 5-minute startup procedure). When I go into the control panel to alter this I get a error message that says I can't delete the profile for the user that is currently using the system. How can you shut this crap off altogether so you're left without any profiles, but simply a straight login? - Mgm|^(talk) 10:23, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

I think that if you go to the network part of the control panel and delete the netbios/netbeui and/or windows-file-sharing (SMB) elements then this goes away. That's assuming you don't need windows file and printer sharing (i.e. that it's a free-standing machine); the reason it's asking who you are is that its anticipating being asked for authentication-info by network resources like file shares and printers that you might be trying to connect to later. If all you do is TCP/IP networking (web, email) then you don't need to be providing that authentication info, and deleting the SMB stuff should obviate the need for (and thus eliminate) the dialog. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 10:34, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Hibernate mode in Computers - Disadvantages

I would like to know what are the disadvantages of keeping the laptop in Hibernate mode all the time.Can I do it regularly with my Laptop without shutting it off for a faster 'Start up'?

Some versions of Windows (particularly pre-XP, but this holds true for XP as well) benefit from being properly rebooted once in a while - it clears the memory and allows the OS to do some housekeeping. How often you 'need' to reboot depends on how and how much you use your PC, as a rough estimate, for average use, once every few days should be sufficient. I'm going to assume that you're running Windows, MacOS and Linux don't need to be rebooted anywhere near as often and can run for weeks without too much trouble.

Other than that there aren't really any disadvantages to hibernation - it works quite nicely, and speeds up your startup times immensely! :) — QuantumEleven 13:18, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

One disadvantage is that it stores the internal state of all running programs on the disk. So if you had a secure program open (like an encryption program or a key storage locker) then potentially the passwords or encryption keys. Such programs are generally quite assiduous about keeping such information in special non-swappable allocations, but most OSes don't supply a special "don't swap, don't hibernate" kind of allocation, and don't supply applications with the "we just got unhibernated" message they'd need to make sensible use of that. So if you had an encryption application open and you hibernated the machine, the raw keys would likely be right there in HYBERFIL.SYS, and if your laptop was stolen at that point, someone could read that data right out. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 16:45, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

note: the filename is hiberfil.sys not hyberfil.sys. 68.32.91.159 22:35, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

What is computer education?

What is computer education? How is it defined?

In what context? Homework questions are not allowed here, but I think you might be refering to basic computer literacy. Or possibly even computer-based training. --Russoc4 14:34, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Screen resolution changed from 1024x768 to 768x1024 - how do I undo?

A couple of weeks ago, while using my computer, the screen suddenly rotated 90-degrees clockwise. Checking the Control Panel Display properties reveals my screen resolution has somehow changed from 1024x768 to 768x1024.

I restarted the computer, and before Windows loaded, the screen appeared correctly. However, once Windows loaded, the screen was in the wrong position (768x1024) again. According to the Device Manager, my monitor is working properly. Therefore, I think this is a problem with Windows' configuration, and not with my monitor.

How do I change the resolution back? My system specification: Windows XP, Home Edition, Serivce Pack 2, 3.0GHz Intel Pentium 4, 512 MB RAM. I consider myself moderately computer literate.

--J.L.W.S. The Special One 14:54, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Try pressing CTRL+ALT+Up arrow. This should rotate it back in place.

Failing that, look at the settings for your graphics card to determine the proper hotkey. You can also turn this feature off from there. --Pidgeot (t) (c) (e) 15:23, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

It works! Thanks very much! Where can I get more information about this? --J.L.W.S. The Special One 03:34, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Control Panel > Display. --Proficient 17:58, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Dual Monitors of Differing Sizes: Linux

I've got a 20-inch LCD monitor running at 1600 x 1200, and a 15-inch LCD monitor runing at 1024 x 768. My graphics card is an nVidia GeForce 6600 GT. I'd like to have both monitors running at their aforementioned resolutions in a dual-head setup. I've searched and found several solutions, all of which either want monitors with identical resolutions (TwinView), or which work, but reduce my 1600 x 1200 monitor to 1024 x 768 (Xinerama). Does anyone have any experience/suggestions? -- Braveorca 17:14, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Are you running X.org? If you are, you can try manually editing xorg.conf. Type "man xorg.conf" (without the quotation marks) into your terminal for instructions on how to do this; the section that deals with multi-head setups is "Serverlayout", but you might need to edit others. If you're using XFree86, the equivalent file is XF86Config. I haven't tried this because my computer only has one monitor, but the ServerLayout section can have multiple screens, which can have their own "Display" subsections, which can specify different video modes. (By the way, it might be a good idea to back up the configuration file before you edit it.) Hope this helps! --Cadaeib (talk) 18:57, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Posted here is the xorg.conf I came up with - it sitll doesn't work. Are there any obvious mistakes? I've tried to force the modelines into the resolutions I want, and yet it does not seem to be working. Any help's appreciated. --Braveorca 20:53, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

If you want a working dual-monitor configuration for reference (I run 1800x1350 and 1024x768), here's the relevant section of my xorg.conf:

Section "Device"
   Identifier  "nvidia0"
   Driver      "nvidia"
   BusID       "PCI:1:0:0"
   Screen     0 
EndSection

Section "Device"
   Identifier  "nvidia1"
   Driver      "nvidia"
   BusID       "PCI:1:0:0"
   Screen      1
EndSection

Section "Screen"
   Identifier  "Screen 1"
   Device      "nvidia1"
   Monitor     "Sony Triniton"
   DefaultDepth 24

   Subsection "Display"
       Depth       24
       Modes       "1024x768"
       ViewPort    0 0
   EndSubsection
EndSection

Section "Screen"
   Identifier  "Screen 2"
   Device      "nvidia0"
   Monitor     "Samsung 997MB"
   DefaultDepth 24
   Subsection "Display"
       Depth           24
       Modes           "1800x1350_68.00"
       ViewPort        0 0
   EndSubsection
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
   Identifier  "Simple Layout"

   Screen 0 "Screen 2"
   Screen 1 "Screen 1" rightOf "Screen 2"

   InputDevice "Mouse1" "CorePointer"
   InputDevice "Keyboard1" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection

The only potentially-significant differences I see are that the ServerLayout line identifying the first screen in yours has a "0 0" that I don't, and mine has "ViewPort" entries for both screens that yours doesn't.

When you say your system "doesn't work", what exactly isn't working? --Serie 23:06, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

RAIDing hd's w/ different rpms

looking to raid a 74gig (ATA150) raptor w/ a 250gig (SATA2) western digital. i've never raided a hd before, and was wondering if there are any weird compatibility issues.

WindowsXP (32) Asus A8N-32 SLI Deluxe mobo HD's ...see above

thx

One is 10000 RPM and the other is 7200 RPM, correct? I don't think it is possible because it is highly recommended that you do RAID with the same kind of hard drives. Plus it will only raid taking the lowest of the two as both -- both HDDs will only manage 74 GBs. --Proficient 18:00, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Setting processor affinity

I use VLC media player, which seems to be the de facto choice of media player here. However, I run into stability issues when I enable hyper-threading. Assigning VLC to processor #1 fixes this, so I was wondering about an automated way to do this?--Frenchman113 on wheels! 20:07, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

ya thats right; do you know a good source to check out questions like this? (The preceding comment not affiliated with Frenchman113).

Oww, my eyes

I just installed kubuntu 6.06 on my celeron 1.7ghz computer (specs at user:crazytales56297/B0x3n) and it defaulted to 60Hz screen refresh rate. I want to change it to 75Hz, as my monitor is capable of it. (it's a compaq 1024 14") But when I go to K menu -> System settings -> Display, it won't let me change to 75hz, the only option is 60hz. This is pissing me off as I already have bad eyes, and i don't need to make them any worse by using a 60hz screen. Also, it detected my graphics hardware as i810, but it's i845. Is this a problem? Many thanks, »ctails!« =hello?= 22:48, 4 September 2006 (UTC) PS: can you tell i'm a linux noob? :P

Most likely it only supports the higher refresh rate at lower resolutions. Try lowering the resolution then increasing the refresh rate. Also, the darker the screen, the less annoying a slow refresh rate becomes, so turn the lights off in the room and/or draw the shades, turn the brightness down on the monitor, and, wherever possible, change the background color to a nice dark color. StuRat 04:46, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

I solved the refresh rate problem by upgrading to a different monitor. But is it okay that it detected my graphics hardware as i810 when it's actually i845? »ctails!« =hello?= 15:23, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

If the screen looks OK, then it is OK. StuRat 04:59, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

hi a related question that probably wont be answered since it is so far up the page but, if i hav ea monitor with a 60 hz recommended setting (its the del 19 inch that came with the e510's if you know naythign about it) but i change my windows settings to 75 hz, will i see screen refresh rate improvement? Modesty84 18:06, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

September 5

SQL slammer worm

Hello all. I believe I am infected with this worm, but nothing has been able to detect it except about two weeks ago, when Norton informed me of a SQL buffer overflow. I googled it, and found it to have no false positives and caused by the SQL slammer worm. I used the Symantec tool to remove, but it found nothing, and I even used a shell command to find if it was using the SQL buffer overflow with a tool here http://www.f-secure.com/v-descs/mssqlm.shtml, and it found nothing. Now, as I've read, it randomly generates ip addresses and if a host happens to match that one, it is automatically infected if it isn't protected. It's been described as sometimes creating a Dos attack on the host because of the packets being sent, and I haven't ran into that, but I can tell my ping sky rockets when I play online games. I've been playing Battlefield 2, and I've noticed it will jump from around 50-100 ping, to 500-900 ping instantly, and returning back to normal. But while it reaches that ridiculous high ping, everything freezes, such as music playing in the back ground, but like my game, returns to normal. Now the logical thing would be that the worm is on my computer and is sending hundreds of packets in my network, and I'm not happy about that. This worm is from 2003 but it's now making my internet use problematic, and could also be infecting others.

I've patched with one of the Microsoft bulletins, but it still seems to be happening, and I'm actually confused. The links provided by Microsoft lead to others that lead to others etc., and I'd just like to download one thing and be over with it. I've scanned with Nod32 many times, and with AVG, both coming up with nothing. Such a small worm couldn't have embedded itself into something important really deep, or renamed itself. Any help would be appreciated! --Hellogoodsir 01:00, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

make sure u updated windows www.windowsupdate.com do all the priority updates and and make sure u got service pack2. u probably dont have anything. i wa getting warnings from my antivrius for awhile and i realized that it was just some dos script i downloaded that iw anted to run to screw aroudn with this server. so perhaps you tried to use a hack on someone a few months ago saved the file and its detecting that? if so you could just delete the file. i would imagine norton would tell you the infected file name if u really had one. i suspect the gaming problem is related yto something else Modesty84 00:58, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

SQL Slammer is a worm which resides only in the computer's memory, and never gets written to the disk; simply turning the computer off removes the worm, and no antivirus can find it on the disk (because it's not in the disk). However, if your computer isn't patched, it will get reinfected the next time it connects to the Internet. To fix it, simply install the fix for the vulnerability the worm depends on and reboot the computer. Since you say you are already patched and thus not vulnerable, it's possible that your firewall was crying wolf by informing you of an attempt by someone else to exploit the vulnerability on your machine. There are other explanations for the freeze you see in the game (probably some misbehaved piece of hardware or software). --cesarb 17:26, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Windows 2003 Server

I have a question that google cant answer.

I want to direct the users' folder to a centralized location. What type of folder(s) can be redirected with Win Server 2k3 and what are the advantages of making use of folder redirection? What kind of folders and what are the advantages of using this on a network?

OK i guess it a security function to have your data moved to one place for easier backup purposes.

Thanks. 165.165.189.28 06:05, 5 September 2006 (UTC)Jason

I don't use "folder redirection". I have a JBOD server (linux) running Samba. Each user has two directories on it, a private one and a public one. I map them to H: for their private one and P: goes to the list of public directories. I link "public" in their private directory to their public directory - just so they can drag/drop files from private to public easier. Then, I tell them that if they want files backed up, it better be on the H: drive. If they want to share a file without people, put it in their public and everyone else can see it in P:\\your_user_name. Of course, I could try to redirect the "My Documents" directory to their H: drive, but I don't worry about it because they are all good at using the H: drive. And - to answer the obvious question: Why Samba? None of the developers here use Windows. They use Linux. So, they map their private/public directories with NFS. --Kainaw ^(talk) 13:53, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

explain blogging

See Blogging. Harryboyles 06:53, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Does playing games in PC affect its performance or Hardware by any means?

Hi friends...I wanna know if one uses PC as a Games machine consolidatly and keeps on playing all the time continously, then does it in the mere future slow down other applications or reduce the potential of the hardware simply?..What makes me to ask is since playing games cause CPU to go 100% usage thereby generating more heat and reducing naturally CPU's lifetime fastly and so is the HDD....I confess if there's any innocense in my question,I admit though...My point is that is PC most favourable and preferable and reliable at playing games as we do all with game consoles?

Well, on the software sense i can't see much problem you'd have with slowing down of applications, maybe a little increase in fragmentation of disk, but that's easily fixed. On the hardware part, when the CPU is running at 100% it's running well within its designed operating area, that is unless you've overclocked it, i can't imagine you could cause much damage or reduce lifetime as long as your cooling is up to the job. Benbread 11:14, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

I've never heard anything about gaming damaging a PC. Theoretically, highly-demanding applications like games might reduce the lifetime of your CPU, but it's almost certainly too small to notice. Sum0 21:17, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

If you're downloaded free games off the Internet, you may well be getting spyware/malware on your computer. Try running AdAware or Spybot - Search and Destroy, to remove them, if this is the case. StuRat 02:22, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Some games install drivers (for instance StarForce) which stay running all the time and can interfere with the normal operation of the system (as well as consuming a bit of resources). You can also have HD fragmentation and junk accumulating in the registry; both slow the system down. Notice that all are software issues, and not limited to games; if you reformat and reinstall, the machine would work as new. Unless you have a defective heatsink and/or fans, the reduction of the CPU or HD lifetime should be so low as to be lost in the noise. --cesarb 17:15, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Stay away from starforce, don't download free games (if you download expensive games FOR free make sure the keygen you're using isn't a trojan), delete program files left over from uninstalls, and there will be absolutely NO degradation in system performance whatsoever. As for CPU life, it's so many centuries that cpu life never matters unless it's rediculously overclocked (like IBM's several-hundred-gigahertz test or toms hardware's 5ghz test). --Froth 23:24, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Free web domains

Can anyone recommend a good free domain that doesn't require forum posts or a certain amount of daily views ? Robmods 16:15, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

• 50megs.com does the job for me. - Mgm|^(talk) 17:40, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Here's an excellent provider with php (with gd!), perl (i think), 10mb of mysql, 1gb transfer, the works 100webspace --Froth 23:27, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

problems connecting to the Internet with Linux

I am using Red Hat Fedora Core 3, and a fairly standard 28k modem, by Multi Tech Systems. Every time I connect to the Internet, the first time I try, it connects then cuts out. The computer tells me "The PPP daemon died unexpectedly" When I try to get a report of the problem, it tells me it can't because the "debug" option is not switched on. This doesn't seem logical, because I asked this question before on Wikipedia, and someone told me how to switch it on, and I have done so. Even now, having put the debug option in the relevant file (/etc/ppp/options) it still does the same thing. After cutting out, it asks me if I wish to turn the debug option on, and I click yes, and then, when I connect for the second time, it works fine. My start up string is at&f (I have also tried at&f followed by ATZ), which is on the advice of my ISP, so I don't know if that makes any difference. Can anyone tell me what to do? The Mad Echidna 20:40, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Are you sure it connects? I think I've had the same error message when it wasn't actually connecting. If it connects OK the second time, I'd put up with it. Modems are a nightmare in Linux and I'd be grateful for any functionality, however buggy. Rentwa 21:02, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Hi, thanks for the suggestion, and thanks for lowering my expectations, because I was thinking of just dealing with it. By "connects", I meant that the phone clearly answers, and the modem makes its funny squealing noises and all that. This means it's costing me a phone call each time, which is why I'm hoping to fix the problem. 203.221.127.134 23:06, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

I don't know what else to suggest, really. Try running in console mode (you'll need to download Lynx (text only browser) if Red Hat doesn't have it, so you can be certain you're connecting) and with limited services running the logs should be simpler, and you can debug manually (there should only be about 5 - 10 relevant things running at that level). If it runs fine then I'd deduce the problem is higher level like X or your browser and I'd run a mile! Rentwa 06:18, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

By "fairly standard", do you mean a Hayes-compatible hardware modem, or do you mean a cheap "winmodem" of the sort that comes with every computer? --Serie 20:59, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

C Programming

I'm currently learning how to Program in C (using K&R ). I wrote a calculator program which uses command line parameters to specify the operations to perform; (exercise 5-10 in K&R) this involves having argc and argv[] as parmmeters of main(). However on testing the program I discovered than when "*" is used as a command-line parameter the index of the directory the .exe is in (i.e. a list of the files in the directory) is passed to the program in argv[]. ("^" is reserved also, but instead it causes the string "More?" to appear at the command prompt!) I'm using the command promt of windows XP to execute my programs and my compiler is the one used by Dev-C++. My question is: is this a "feature" of MS-DOS/windowsXP command prompt or some strange thing my complier does or is it some feature of C or what? Also: any suggestons to stop it happening? I can use "'s around the offending characters to have them be passed correctly but this is ugly for a calculator! Thanks Tomgreeny 21:13, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

It sure sounds like that * is being expanded into a list of all files in the directory (just as j* would expand to all the files in the directory that begin with a j). This is a process called "globbing". Now, normally DOS/Windows and Unix handle globbing very differently. On unix the shell (bash or whatever) will glob the * (create the list of files) before it calls a child program; but dos and its descendents won't (at least they didn't the last time I wrote a windows program, which was some time ago) - they just pass * as one of the arguments. Now, some C compilers on DOS/windows try to help you out by adding in a globbing library - for comparision, here's info about how DJGPP did globbing, and how you'd disable it here. I don't know how Dev-C++ works, but it looks like it's really gcc on mingw, so I'll bet it does things the same (or similar) way. I found this page which discusses how to disable globbing in that environment - give that a shot. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 21:29, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, adding the int _CRT_glob = 0; line at the top fixes the * globbing thing. But you're right about ^, it doesn't work either way. That's not the compiler's fault, I think - perhaps it's some weird windows shellism. You can always pass args in like this mycalc.exe "1 * 2 ^ 3". In that case arg[1] is the single string 1 * 2 ^ 3, which you'd need to parse (strtok) - but that doesn't suffer from the ^ issue. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 23:00, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Thanks alot dude, very informative, the int_CRT_glob =0; code works fine. ^ seems to be used to insert extra paramers (not sure why you'd want to do this). Thanks again Tomgreeny 15:54, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

September 6

RAZR V3m

I recently switched to Verizon Wireless as my provider, and I got a RAZR V3m phone with the contract. I want to upload some songs to my phone via my pc, but none of my USB cables fit in the phone. The manual says I can put songs on my phone if they are in the wma format, so I assume if I convert them to it I will be able to use them as ringtones and have them on my phone, right? But, the manual doesn't specify how to connect it to the computer. Does the phone come with something to connect it to the computer, or do I have to purchase it seperately? Is wma the correct format to put it on the phone? I am feeling rather dull right now. --71.98.26.114 02:56, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

1) If your phone didnt come with a cable you'll have to buy one seperatly. You'll need 'mini-usb' cable. That means that the one side (the side that fits into your phone)is tiny and the other side is regular sized usb. My suggestion is when you go buy the cable take your phone with you because as far as I know, there are two types of mini usb. You have to find out what kind your phone supports.

2) I have just a plain RAZR V3 and mine plays Mp3s. So assuming that you already have mp3s, youll have no need to convert them. — and actually, I've never tried playing a WMA on mine so I cant comment but if the manual says it will play WMA's then it will play WMA's.

Hope that helps.. 165.165.189.28 04:57, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

yellow stuff on word

I let someone edit my word doc and they sent it back with all their yellow changes. That's fine and all, but how do I get rid of the yello!? Jasbutal 03:55, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Yellow journalism ? But seriously, use Tools + Revisions to set whether revisions are shown at all. You can also use Tools + Options + Revisions tab to change how revisions are shown. StuRat 04:07, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

In my version of Word, it's called Track Changes, not Revisions. To get rid of the yellow (which highlights the changes made), you can set Word to either accept the changes, i.e. you say you're happy with them, or you can just view the document with the changes made, but not marked up. To do both these, you first of all need to open the Reviewing toolbar, which you do by going View, Toolbars, Reviewing. Then use the pull-down menu on the left of this toolbar to select Final, which shows the changes without marking them up. To accept the changes, click the little down arrow to the right of the icon with a tick in it, and then click Accept All Changes. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 15:54, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Fair enough, I didn't realize they had changed it in later versions. My comments were for Word for Windows 95 version 7.0a. StuRat 00:31, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

You have a pre-Office msword? O_o ebay it man --Froth 23:29, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

BLUETOOTH argg!!!

For two weeks I've been trying to find bluetooth drivers for my ACER Aspire 1652wlmi laptop.

I've looked on acers website and cant find them. Ive tried many driver sites and cant find them. I've even logged onto acers ftp and downloaded *all* bluetooth drivers on the ftp but doesnt help. I've lost the driver CD that came with the laptop.

Please if somebody could point me out to a website with the drivers or knows who the manufacturer is of the bluetooth device in the laptop. You can have my first born child.

Thanks. Jason

Please explain why drivers from Acer's ftp (*all* bluetooth drivers) don't work? Errors when installing? Not compatible? Is the bluetooth device listed as missing a driver? Tried to install the 1650 series drivers? feydey 23:05, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

After a few quick searches, I would have to conclude; That model does not appear to have any built in BlueTooth hardware. It does have built-in 802.11b/g, however these wireless specs are not compatible. If you require BlueTooth capabilty, you may want to look into some of the many USB BlueTooth radios that are available. Srice13 01:23, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Apple's Boot Camp

If I have Boot Camp on a Mac, and install Windows XP, can I acces files like music, presentations etc that they are created when using MAC OS X? I mean, what does partitioning the Hard Disk Drive actually mean? Is it like having one disk to use only with OS X and another only to use with XP and it is impossible to view the one while using the other system?

Thanks, Alexignatiou 16:00, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

I dont realy know what im talking about and i never even used apple mac os thingy before but if its any help, if you meen disc as in CD, you can use windows versions discs eg: windows 98, nt, me ect on any other windows version. I dont know about installing a version of windows bit of the CD but when i put in the windows 98 CD in my comp with windows XP it comes up with the files and things. Also if your wanting to install a new windows onto your comp then im pretty sure that it compleatly erases your hard drive and all info you have! This might be wrong but if its right then just put all the stuff you want onto discs and usb storage thingys, includeing this boot camp thing, oh no ive just realised what it probably is! Oh well forget most of what i said and I would doubt this is of any help to you and i would advise you to read the stuff below as it is probably by a intelligent person who knows what they are talking about.

Alexignatiou, partitioning is the process of splitting a physical hard drive into different sections, which most operating systems detect as different devices. If you use boot camp, XP will not be able to read data on your OS X partition because the file system format is not supported. I would recommend you create a FAT32 format partition to keep your music files and other stuff on, since both OS X and XP can read/write to it.

That I know of, there are two commercial programs which allow you to open paritions with the HFS+ filesystem (the one OS X uses) in Windows. They're MacOpener and MacDrive. Linux has open source drivers to do it, but none seem to exist for Windows. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 02:40, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Games

Hi, Im just wondering if you can get any of the Zelda games on anything but ninetendo platformes, partically playstaion!. I know that as it is a ninetendo game and Sony, which do playstation, are a rival company but you can get the Age of Empires game which is created by Microsoft, who i suppose will be rivals with Sony, on PS2 so i was just wondering. Well if you can't is there a way, without purchaseing any expensive stuff, to get the game onto a disc and making a ps2 compatible disc to work on playstation and/or pc???

Thankyou...--William dady 18:48, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

it seems that the answer is no. Jon513 19:05, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

The only way to play Zelda games on anything other than a Nintendo console is by using an emulator and ROM images. An emulator is a program which lets you run games for a particular platform on another (usually PC, but these days there are emulators for PS2, Xbox, mobile phones, etc. A few PS2 emulators can be found here:[3]). A ROM image is the data from a game's cartridge contained in one file, required to play the game with an emulator, and is technically illegal unless you own the original game. I'm not sure what your chances of getting a Zelda game to work on a PS2 though, but it's possible with some work. There's very little chance of getting N64 games working on a PS2 (there's no emulator, for one thing), and absolutely no chance of getting Wii or Gamecube games working. But NES and SNES games might work. Sum0 19:14, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Using a copy of Phantasy Star Online, a Nintendo broadband adapter, and a router, you can dump the data of a GameCube disc. A reasonably powerful computer should be able to emulate things from the GC, PS2, XBOX generation fairly well. For the PS3, XBOX360, and Wii, you can give up on emulation as it'll be several generations before those can be emulated. I can't point you to a emulator/ROM download site since I don't know one, and it's kind of illegal. For future reference though, Alcohol 120% can backup PS2 and XBOX discs. It's not free, so you have to either pay or warez it (can't tell you how to do that, User:Kjoonlee would kill me).--Frenchman113 on wheels! 21:56, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

Sadly, I don't have a link to the Phantasy Star Online exploit, but Google should be able to find it for you.--Frenchman113 on wheels! 21:58, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

As far as I know, you can't emulate GC/PS2/XBOX games "fairly well". As far as I've seen, the PS2 is probably the one with the most emulator progress, and it still doesn't work well. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 02:33, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

There was a Zelda for Phillips CD-i (read about it here), but it was very strange and not very popular. - Rainwarrior 02:20, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

The last working emulator generation was super nintendo, after that the custom GPUs and poor platform-specific hackjob programming made it too awkward --Froth 23:33, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

September 7

Visual Basic Compiler

i'm looking for a freeware VB6 compiler for Windows. One that's decent and not from Microsoft. --Russoc4 00:22, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

I don't think one exists for VB6, but you can try SharpDevelop. Google it. --Abnerian 02:14, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

There's KBasic, which has an ad-supported version, runs on Windows, Mac OS-X and Linux, and claims to be source-compatible with VB6.

I can think of several more, but none seem to be free, run on Windows, and not come from Microsoft. If you drop one of those requirements, I can add at least one more to the list. I can't comment on whether any are decent, since I don't program in VB6. SharpDevelop appears to be an IDE, not a compiler.-gadfium 06:01, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

VB is interpreted, not compiled. ColourBurst 16:37, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Problem with Firefox

Hi!
I've recently noticed a problem with my Firefox. For some reason, whenever I bring up the windows explorer dialog box to save a file or (and this is how I noticed it) upload a file, the files are unsorted. I can't see any kind of sort the files are ordered under. I would REALLY like to get it back to a standard alphabetically ordered system. In case you don't get what I'm trying to say, here's a screenshot. Thank you very much for any help --Fir0002 08:32, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Click on the icon to the far right and choose detailed view, a view which lists the names of the columns. Click on the Names column. Switch back to small icons or simple view. YMMV. --Kjoonlee 09:13, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Multiple Monitors

Hi again!
I've got another question, namely is there a free alternative to Ultramon? I want something that can easily disable the secondary monitor (without needing to got through display options) and send folders/applications to the secondary monitor. Thanks, --Fir0002 08:48, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Subversion

I discovered on Wikipedia something called Subversion the other day, and I would like to experiment a little bit with the software. What's a good front end GUI for it, suitable for running on Windows XP? And for that matter, Unix? --HappyCamper 12:42, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Mabye you knew it already, but you don't really need a GUI. I never used one, command line works very fine for me. That said, I think there are GUIs out there, but I don't know much about them. In any case, SVN is a really neat thing! —Bromskloss 13:07, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Nice to hear SVN is good. Command line works well for me, but I'm also working in a group where others are less adept at using the command line. I guess, they like all the visual stuff. --HappyCamper 16:23, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Have you looked at Subversion – GUI front-ends/clients? —Bromskloss 22:04, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Yup. I've installed maybe half of them, but I hope I don't have to install all of them to find which is the best. --HappyCamper 22:06, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

audio drivers and directsound

I can't seem to get any audio out of my computer. I have the latest version of DirectX installed, but my computer does not have a dedicated sound card. From what I'm seeing in the encyclopedia a sound card is essential but a friend of mine that knows computers tells me that my computer should still have basic audio without a card. If this is true then I should only need drivers to get it working, but then I have no idea how to find out exactly what driver I need. If this isn't true then I suppose I just need a card. Just in case, in my Sounds, Speech, and Audio Devices menu it says that I have no audio device, but I do have audio codecs, legacy audio drivers, media control devices, legacy video capture devices, and video codecs. So the question is, what do I need to do to get my audio going? -- Bigwitt

Many modern motherboards do include a basic sound chip, however not all of them do. If yours does not, then you need a sound card. Without knowing the specifics of your computer, it's hard to be more precise. --LarryMac 13:45, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

I'm guessing that if it did include a sound chip it would be working already. Crap. Thank you. -- Bigwitt

If there are sound connectors on the back (mini-jack connections), particularly a green one, then your PC has a sound chip (whether it's on a card or, as Larry says, as a built in part of the chipset). If it doesn't, your PC will probably still have a little speaker (through which it beeps when the system starts up, long before windows or any drivers have loaded). In olden times (windows 98 et al) you could pick up the "pc speaker driver", which was an elementary sound driver that allowed general sound (not just beeps) to be played through that speaker. But that speaker is invariably the cheapest that it's possible to get (it's often just a piezoelectric transducer, someones soldered directly to the motherboard); so the sound quality was so bad it generally made Edith Piaf sound like a bad-tempered Dalek. From what I can tell they no longer make a driver for this for XP, but it's no great loss. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 16:39, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

There's a reason playing sound (other than simple beeps or pure tones) via the PC speaker is not usually done, and it's not the horrible quality. The PC speaker hardware can be used in two ways: either via the PIT, which generates a square wave with a specified frequency (used for "pure" tones), or via a single bit output, which can be used only by bit banging. The only way to play an arbitrary waveform on the PC speaker is the second one, which consumes a lot of CPU, usually requires a high-frequency timer, and glitches if something else is using up its timeslice — all that for a very low quality sound. It's much easier to just require the user to buy a cheap sound card. --cesarb 16:58, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Hmm, that's fascinating - you should add it (the bit-banging part in particular) into PC speaker (which mentions the modulation, but rather skirts the issue of there being no hardware to make timing the modulation a pleasant experience). Horrible thought of the day: with a decent DAC card and a fast CPU, I wonder if you could do bit banged video now. Yuck :) -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 17:15, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

It's all already there, except about the PIT (which I just added), and in more detail than I gave above. It doesn't mention bit-banging by that name, but other than that it says the same thing. --cesarb 17:49, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

im just a little bit confused... if you dont know if you have an audio card or not, just what have you plugged your speakers into? Modesty84 18:02, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

monitoring software

hey. I am the administrator of my network at home. i have a feeling some people on my network are doing the "wrong thing" on the internet. I was wondering if anyone knows any free, easy to use software that i can use to monitor there screens from my computer. Also they cannot know i am monitoring them thanks for your help

You might want to try an implementation of VNC. I'm not certain about how "stealthy" it can be however. --LarryMac 13:43, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

At least with RealVNC the little white VNC icon at the bottom changes to black when someone is connected via VNC. I don't think there's a property to disable that feature, to make it hard to use as a spy tool. Original poster: beware that in some jurisdictions, particularly in Europe, observing someone's work in this manner without their knowledge can be illegal (even if you own the computer and employ the person). -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 16:45, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

install a keylogger and theny ou can see everythign they type Modesty84 17:58, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Weird unix file permissions

Some files on my linux box show up with file permission lines (in ls -al) that look like this:

-rwxrwx---+ 1 dave admin  12345 etc...

What does that plus symbol mean? Moreover how does one manipulate it - it's not something I've set or unset with chmod. Middenface 16:16, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

It means an access control list is set for that file. Use getfacl and setfacl to manipulate the list. If you didn't set one (you'd remember) then either some program is doing it, or maybe the file was touched by Samba, which tries to map NTFS's byzantine permissions scheme onto unix using ACLs if they're available. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 16:42, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

(edit conflict) The plus sign means the file has a POSIX ACL. Use getfacl to see it or setfacl to modify it. --cesarb 16:45, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

September 8

AOL IM

A couple of quick questions about AOL Instant Messenger, google did not return the answers I was searching for, and of course aol's faqs didn't help. I'm using Trillian over the Aim protocol. 1. Is there a way to know who's buddy list your account is on? 2. If you remove a person from your buddy list, is there a way for that person to know? 3. If you are on somebody's buddy list, but they are not on your's, can they still know your status (i.e. 'brb', 'offline', etc)? Thanks in advance. 70.16.141.217 02:22, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

1. no

2. not usually, but if someone has an away message up, and you message them, they by default will ahve a "blah has sent you a message. display it?" dialogue, and not send their away message back to you. so you would know you are not on someones buddly list if you message them and dont get their away message. but if you disable that dialogue (its not even there in trillian i dont think) theres no way. short answer: no 3. yes Modesty84 02:56, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Ook

I hope this is the right forum for this question; if it's not, I'm sorry, and would appreciate a pointer to the right place!

At the end of March this year there was a Vote for Deletion for the article on the Ook programming language. I voted to keep, and the decision, I thought, was "no consensus to delete, so keep". Stupidly, I thought that was the end of it, so I didn't keep watching the page. Now I need the article and it's gone. Has there been another VfD while I wasn't paying attention? Any information on what's going on would be much appreciated. Thank you. WMMartin 06:19, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Looking at the deletion log there was this AfD. Ook! was one of the four or five of those languages I'd had heard of... Weregerbil 07:57, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Yes there were a large number of AFDs on esoteric programming languages recently, one of which was on Ook! Personally I don't think it should have been deleted, and will probably take it to Deletion review. Meanwhile I posted the content of the article at User:The wub/Ook! for you to look at if you need it. the wub "?!" 11:38, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

VNCviewer

Hi, I use real VNC to monitor computers on my local network. Its only problem is it makes it obvious to the person that am monitoring that i am monitoring them......is there any way i can make it annonymus...... example.. get rid of it from the all programs section and in the taskbar... and make it run a server whenever they log on etc...

If not does anyone know of a better software i can use that doesent require me to install anything on the computer i am monitoring???????

Thankyou

It would probably be possible, if not in the program than with an external app, to hide the software. To remove it from all programs, just delete it. There's probably an option in the program to disable to tray icon. To frustrate tech-savvy users, run it as a service with firedaemon so it doesn't show up in processes (you can set services to start on startup). And no it's not possible to monitor an external computer without installing something on it ... you can monitor its network traffic (which can tell you a lot about whats running) if you control the network server but as for direct client "spying" you'll have to find an unpatched hole somewhere in windows.. it's been done --Froth 22:42, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Downloading Music

Ok - bottom line...is it legal to download mp3s from sites such as Ares or Kaza? Am I breaking any laws? If so which ones? Is it legal (or different) in Canada vs the U.S.? I had heard that the U.S. had such laws on record and that Canada did not. I am being transferred to Colorado for 2-3 years and would like to understand the ramifications (if any) of such a practice.

      seriously dude..... even if it is illigal WHO CARES

Why worry? If you like a band, don't buy the CD. Just steal the music. That's what keeps them in the studio writing more music. --Kainaw ^(talk) 14:43, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Yes it's technically illegal. No you won't ever get caught- especially if you're not uploading like 500GB a day or something --Froth 22:48, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

a product like wikipedia

Does anyone know if there are software products like wikipedia that you can put information on line and then search for key topics? Thank you. egd

Are you talking about software encyclopedias like Microsoft Encarta or are you talking about knowledge bases? Or maybe you're talking about wikis? ColourBurst 20:09, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Click on the "Powered by WikiMedia" icon at the bottom of the page. WikiMedia is free. You can make your own Wiki. Personally, I wrote my own webpad to store information online. --Kainaw ^(talk) 20:23, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Reducing PCI-E video card shared mem usage to nothing

I have an Asus M2N-SLI Deluxe motherboard with a PCI-E Sapphire ATI Radeon X300SE with 64MB onboard VRAM. On the video card's box it says "256MB HyperMemory", which means it grabs it from system memory. This is a server machine, so I'd like to have that memory back. I run Ubuntu Dapper (Server) 6.06 and the reported memory in Linux is about 256MB less than it should be (I have 4G of RAM). Even the BIOS reports two numbers for RAM, 4G installed, and 3.8G (or so) "available". Is there any way I can reclaim this memory through jumpers/BIOS settings/software (without taking out the video card, just in case), since this is going to be a mostly headless machine? --Silvaran 21:28, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

You're probably going to have to go through your card drivers - I think windows integrates this seamlessly for some vendors, but ubuntu won't. I've never had an shared memory graphics card. It could be messy - just unplug the card and leave it in the box "just in case". I think you can also configure it through the BIOS, especially if it's an on-mobo card (which yours isn't but you never know). Could save you a few cents in power too --Froth 22:51, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

OK I'll give it a shot. I'm not a hardware guy. Software I can do. :) I'll take the video card out and boot. Thanks for the tip. --Silvaran 23:47, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Compressing a filesystem?

I've heard bad things about compressed filesystems back in the days of DOS and Windows 3.1 (DriveSpace and that sort of thing), but are they really that bad nowadays? I would like to compress my file system (or portions of it) to give myself more space. --Zemyla^t 21:45, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Disk space is so cheap these days that compressing seems like a questionable choice to me, since additional CPU time is incurred during both compression and decompression. StuRat 21:48, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Don't use some $20 shareware solution.. if you do go for compression (and you're on windows) just play it safe and use ntfs compression (right click a folder > properties > advanced > Compress contents to save disk space) --Froth 22:55, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

StuRat is right, compression is outdated nowadays with the advent of cheap hard drive storage. The danger is an increased risk of loss of data in cases of corruption. ColourBurst 00:49, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Chemical, Molecular, and DNA Computers

Are chemical computers and molecular computers the same thing? If not, then what's the difference between them? Are all molecular computers DNA computers? If not, then apart from DNA computers, what other types of molecular computers are there (or will there be)?

(I've read the articles on them but I still don't understand.)

September 9

what is the biggest country in the western hemisphere

what country has the largest area of land in the western hemisphere?

Depends on what "western hemisphere" means (west has no meaning in the context of a sphere rotating on its north/south axis.) If you mean the Western world as in the geopolitical sense of the term, it also has several meanings. What do you mean, and why does this question sound like homework? For that matter, what is this question doing in the computing section? ColourBurst 00:47, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

By western hemisphere I think you are talking about the countries west of the prime meridian. The biggest country would be Canada.--Taida 01:27, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

ColourBurst, "western hemisphere" means what Taida said. Always. And this is clearly a computer problem. — [Mac Davis] (talk) (Desk|Help me improve)

"Net" Commands

Does anyone know the windows dos command to list all the computers on a network with their ip addresses? I remember doing it once before, but have no idea how I did it. Thanks --Russoc4 02:39, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

netstat — [Mac Davis] (talk) (Desk|Help me improve)

Changing Start......

Hii..

There is way to change the Start on the taskbar. By changing Start I mean the text on the Start button so that it displays my name or something else. Anyone know how to do it? And also is there a way to display text at the spot where the clock usually is in the taskbar? Thanks a lot. Jayant,17 Years, India • contribs 05:54, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Sounds like you really should try the freely downloadable TClock Light software, which includes the ability to change the Start button text and alter the clock display. For the button text alone, on Windows XP you can use these instructions, and on other systems these may work. However, the manual adjustments are for experts only; you can seriously damage your system if you make a mistake. See also the "Start menu" article. --KSmrq^T 07:09, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Thanks a lot for that. BTW, I have Windows Xp. Thanks again. Jayant,17 Years, India • contribs 07:18, 9 September 2006 (UTC)