Q & A

Q. I have Windows Vista but after using Photoshop for a bit the computer starts to slow down. Is there anyway I can fix this?

A. Windows Vista Memory Management is excellent. But if you are anintensive user that notices your computer running a little slow after using it for a while, you usually have to reboot to clear theproblem up. Instead, you can create a shortcut on your desktop that will allowyou to reduce resource usage and or remove idle processes whenclicked.
Here’s how:
1. Right-click on your desktop and select New > Shortcut.
2. Copy/paste the following into the box: %windir%\system32\rundll32.exe advapi32.dll,ProcessIdleTasks
3. Click Next, name it ‘Clear Memory’, and click Finish.

Give it asuitable icon so it looks nice.

Q. Is there an easy way to see the difference in quality between color bit depths for a picture?

A. When evaluating color bit depths to use for various technologies, such as a Remote Desktop Connection or mobile platform, it may be useful to actually look at a picture and see what the difference in quality would be between 16-, 18-, 12- and the original 24-bit.A neat application is available at http://windowsmobile.members.winisp.net/colordepths.zip that opens and displays the picture in all the different color depth versions, as shown below (my new puppy makes a great test subject). Click to expand. Note that while the 12-bit image looks significantly degraded in quality, there’s little difference between the 16- and 18-bit images. I have another example below with more colors (Cookie Monster was shielding my eyes from a 60-year-old lady in a nurse’s uniform that was way too short at a Halloween party). Click to expand.

Q. Can I install Windows 7 as a Virtual PC virtual machine (VM) on a Windows XP machine?

A. Windows 7 is still available as a 32-bit OS, so if you have an XP based desktop with a virtualization platform such as Virtual PC installed, it is possible to install Windows 7 in a Virtual PC environment. However, none of the enhanced desktop composition features such as Aero Glass would be available, because XP doesn’t support desktop composition. Also, the VM’s performance would be limited to the features supported by XP and the virtual platform. You certainly won’t get a full Windows 7 experience.The more common configuration would be to install Windows 7 on the desktop and run XP in a Windows Virtual PC VM, so that XP could run applications that aren’t supported on Windows 7. This configuration gives the added bonus of seamless application windows, which means the application window from the VM is displayed seamlessly on the Windows 7 desktop without a separate Start bar, notification tray, and so on.

Q. Is DirectX 11 for Windows 7 only?

A. Each new version of Windows normally brings enhancements to many areas, including DirectX. Windows Vista brought DirectX 10, which isn’t available for Windows XP, and Windows 7 brings DirectX 11. The good news is that Microsoft released an update for Windows Vista SP2 to enable DirectX 11 on Oct. 27. The Platform Update for Windows Vista, KB971644, will upgrade your Vista computer to DirectX 11—you might have already installed it without knowing. You can run dxdiag.exe to check what version of DirectX you have.

Q. Which is better: a 10Gb Ethernet connection to IP storage or an 8Gb Fibre Channel (FC) connected to a SAN?

A. More and more organizations are moving to an IP-based connectivity model for external storage, especially with the increase in iSCSI availability and Network File System (NFS) usage.

There’s no definitive right answer to this question, but there are factors to consider. Virtualization loads typically consist of lots of small, block random I/O. For this type of load, IP and FC will probably be very similar in performance, with IP potentially having a slight speed advantage. For large block I/O, however, FC will outperform IP, because the block size of FC is much larger than IP.

Also consider that IP generally has less complex hardware requirements, with only network cards and switches required, while FC requires special interface cards and connectors.

The best answer is to try and use external storage that supports both IP and FC so you can choose based on your requirements.

I had a mail From Mark Duck and he asked “I was looking at my neteork setting and saw a thing called NetBEUI. What is it and what does it do?”

Thanks Mark

Well Mark,

NetBEUI stands for NetBIOS Enhanced User Interface.

It is simple protocol that is based on local computers names (no IPs addresses like TCP/IP).

Since it does not use the IP system it is not Routable to the Internet.  In other words, you Hard Drives’ content cannot be “shared” through the Internet connection with the ret of the World.

NetBEUI has less overhead, so it is very efficient in small networks (less then 10 computers), and it is actually faster then TCP/IP.

However on large Networks it produces the opposite effect, and might “bog” down the Network.

Networking is dominated by the Professional IT people and they do not like NetBEUI as a result you will always hear negative remarks when NetBEUI is mentioned.

Because it is a problem on large Networks, and it is Not Routable, Microsoft is phasing it out.

It is included on Windows XP CD ROM, but Microsoft is Not supporting it anymore.  However there is nothing to support in NetBEUI when it used in a simple peer to peer small Network. Yeah, it will not be included with future releases of OSs, but that does not mean that we can not use it Now. Every thing that we know eventually will be phased out some time in the future.

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In many cases TCP/IP is working well with the Internet but it is not functioning for Local File/Printer Sharing.  NetBEUI might  “Bail” out and will allow Easy Local File/Printer Sharing.

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On a small Network (2-5 computers), using NetBEUI as the local default improves somewhat the local “Speed” of transfer between your LAN computers.

Method 1:   How to install NetBEUI on Windows XP (Microsoft KB)

Some people are not familiar with part of instructions as stated in Microsoft KB.

Method 2:

The NetBEUI Protocol is comprised of these two files:

NBF.SYS
NETNBF.INF

These files can be found on the original Windows XP CD ROM in directory d:\Valueadd\msft\net\netbeui

If you lost your Windows XP CD, you can download the NetBEUI protocol’s drivers from here: http://windowsxp.mvps.org/utils/NetBEUI.zip

Copy these two files to a directory of your choice on your Hard Drive.

Go to Control Panel, and then double-click Network Connections.

Right-click the Network Connection adapter you want to add NetBEUI to, and click on Properties.

Click Install.

Click Protocol, and then click Add.

Click on Have Disk, and drill down to the directory that you put NetBEUI files in.

Click OK to finish the installation.
After Installing, NetBEUI appears in the list of available protocols, there in no properties for NetBEUI since there is nothing to configure.

It should look like this: Network Properties.

To Install NetBEUI as a sharing protocol in WinXP.

Right-click on the desktop “My Network Places” and click on Properties.

If you do not have My Network Places on your Desktop.

Go to Control Panel and double click on Network Connections.

In the Network Properties Window, pull the Advance Menu, and click on advanced settings.

It looks like this: Network Advance.

Choose the Adapters, and Bindings tab.

Hi-lite Local Area Connection.

The lower part of the windows shows you the available Shares and Protocols.

NetBEUI has to be in first position in both settings, to be Default Protocol.

You make it first by Hi-lite NetBEUI, and move it up using the Arrow on the right side.

You can leave TCP/IP bound to the File sharing or Uncheck it.

It should look like this:  Binding in WinXP

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Since NetBEUI can Not Route to the Internet, using it as the only Sharing protocol might add a Security measure to your Network.

However if you have Applications that need local use of TCP/IP available for sharing, or you want to Share over the Internet, you need to check TCP/IP too.

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Note: If you have Wireless connected computers on your Network bind both TCP/IP and NetBEUI to File Sharing,  some modes of propriety Wireless might be quirky with NetBEUI.

Hope this helps Mark.

MORE………….

Helping kids to be safe online

So I have been asked several times from perants I know about keeping their kids safe online.

Here are ten top tips from web safety charity Kidsmart for parents worried about their children’s security on the net.

1. Make sure the home computer is in a shared family room where usage can be easily monitored , not tucked away in a bedroom or in a study.

2. Learn to use the same technology as your kids, otherwise there’s no way you will be able to keep tabs on what they are doing online.

3. Warn kids never to divulge personal information such as birthdays, mobile phone numbers or email addresses to strangers online.

4. The ‘Stranger Danger’ rule applies online too, that means meeting internet pals is forbidden unless a parent is present.

5. Discourage kids from accepting emails and IM messages or opening files, pictures or texts from suspect sources. They may contain viruses or inappropriate material.

6. Internet filters are a useful way to block inappropriate sites being accessed. To find out more visit getnetwise.org.

7. Teach kids to bookmark favourite sites and to use search engines such as Google carefully with precise terms and correct spellings.

8. The internet can be accessed from many devices including mobiles, so make sure kids phones are registered as such with the provider and filters are in place.

9. The internet is an amazing resource with many more pros than cons. Chat to kids about it in a positive way and encourage them to be smart online rather than giving them a list of dos and don’ts.

10. Around 22% of kids in the UK have experienced cyberbullying. Ask yours to tell you if someone makes them feel uncomfortable or worried. You can report serious online abuse to the police at thinkuknow.co.uk.

It’s all about the codec baby…..

Tom from London mailed me asking if I had any idea why his work place was getting a problem viewing video files sent to them on DVD from outside company.

Well Tom from what I can gather from your description of your company setup from your mail I would suggest the reason you can not play the DVDs is a matter of codecs.

So  lets start at the beginning. A codec is a device or software that enables video compression and/or decompression for digital video (Wikipedia) make sense?

Well if not put it this way. Computer 1 has a video recorded on it, to make the size of the video smaller it uses a video codec to compress the size, basically make it smaller.

Now you give the video from computer 1 on a DVD to someone with computer 2. However computer 2 does not have the same codec installed on it and therefore the computer does not know how to decompress it and of course it can not play it.

So lets look at ways around this problem:

First you could ask anyone that is going to send you a DVD make sure it is in MPEG-2 format this is the universally used DVD format for all DVD players.

Or falling that you could keep your own codecs upto date by installing a codec bundle like Nimo Codec.

To play back the very latest video formats at high-definition you can download DivX 7 this contains everything you need to playback all types of DivX video, including the new DivX Media Format.

Hope this helps you.

NEXT……..

So I had a mail from Ian Car from London who asked “Is there a way I can connect my Xbox 360 controller to my PC?”

Well Ian you are in luck and belave it or not Microsoft support this with their own drivers.

Follow these instructions and you will soon be kicking son on your PC with you favorite controller.

Download the Xbox 360 Controller for Windows software

If you want to use the controller from your Xbox 360 console on a computer or if you have lost the installation CD that came with the Xbox 360 Controller for Windows, you must download the software for the controller. You can download the software here.

Install the Xbox 360 Controller for Windows software on a computer

Note You must install the installation software on the computer before you attach the Xbox 360 Controller for Windows to the computer.

To install the software, follow these steps:

1. Open the software that you downloaded from the Microsoft Windows gaming Web site or insert the Xbox 360 Controller for Windows installation disc in the CD or DVD drive of the computer. If the Setup screen does not appear automatically, follow these steps:
   • Click Start, click Run, type the following command, and then click OK:
     drive_letter:setup
     For example, if the CD or DVD drive is drive E, type e:setup, and then click OK.
2. On the Setup screen, click Install.
3. Follow the Setup Wizard instructions to complete the installation.

Note You may be prompted to restart the computer.

Connect the Xbox 360 Controller for Windows to a computer

After you install the Xbox 360 Controller for Windows software, connect the controller to a powered USB 2.0 port on the computer.

To disconnect the Xbox 360 Controller, disconnect the USB connector from the computer. Make sure that you pull the USB connector, not the cable.

To verify that the computer correctly identifies the Xbox 360 Controller for Windows, see the Game Controllers item in Control Panel.

There you go have fun…

NEXT……

I had a mail from Jack Kerr who writes:

“Hope you can help. I just put an old harddisk in my new pc to take off the information on it. I can see all the folders but when I try and open them it says ‘Access Denied’
How can I fix this as I have lot of photos on it that I don’t want to lose. I am using XP sp3.
thanks”

Well here is the solusion

If you must access a file or a folder that you do not have rights to, you must take ownership of that file or folder. When you do this, you replace the security permissions that were originally created for the file or folder.

You must be logged on to Windows as an administrator in order to change security permissions for a file or a folder. If the computer is your personal computer, you are likely already logged on with an administrator account. If the computer is part of a network at work, you might have to ask the system administrator for help.

Start Windows XP Home Edition in safe mode
If you are running Windows XP Home Edition, you must start the computer in safe mode, and then log on with an account that has administrative rights in order to access the Security tab. Access to the Security tab is required in order to change security permission. If you are running Windows XP Professional, you do not have to start the computer in safe mode.

Disable Simple File Sharing in Windows XP Professional
If you are using Windows XP Professional, you must disable Simple File Sharing. By default, Windows XP Professional uses Simple File Sharing when it is not joined to a domain.

To take ownership of a file or a folder
How to take ownership of a file
You must have ownership of a protected file in order to access it. If another user has restricted access and you are the computer administrator, you can access the file by taking ownership.

To take ownership of a file, follow these steps:

1. Right-click the file that you want to take ownership of, and then click Properties.
2. Click the Security tab, and then click OK on the Security message (if one appears).
3. Click Advanced, and then click the Owner tab.
4. In the Name list, click Administrator, or click the Administrators group, and then click OK.

The administrator or the administrators group now owns the file.

To change the permissions on the file that you now own, follow these steps:

1. Click Add.
2. In the Enter the object names to select (examples) list, type the user or group account that you want to have access to the file. For example, type Administrator.
3. Click OK.
4. In the Group or user names list, click the account that you want, and then select the check boxes of the permissions that you want to assign that user.
5. When you are finished assigning permissions, click OK.
6. You can now access the file.

How to take ownership of a folder
You must have ownership of a protected folder in order to access it. If another user has restricted access and you are the computer administrator, you can access the folder by taking ownership.

To take ownership of a folder, follow these steps:

1. Right-click the folder that you want to take ownership of, and then click Properties.
2. Click the Security tab, and then click OK on the Security message (if one appears).
3. Click Advanced, and then click the Owner tab.
4. In the Name list, click your user name, or click Administrator if you are logged in as Administrator, or click the Administrators group. If you want to take ownership of the contents of the folder, select the Replace owner on subcontainers and objects check box.
5. Click OK, and then click Yes when you receive the following message:
You do not have permission to read the contents of directory folder name. Do you want to replace the directory permissions with permissions granting you Full Control?
All permissions will be replaced if you click Yes.

Note folder name is the name of the folder that you want to take ownership of.
6. Click OK, and then reapply the permissions and security settings that you want for the folder and its contents.