2008 December | Livetechzone

Dec 29 2008

Revolution of Microsoft Windows 1.0 to Vista Boot Up Screen

Category: Microsoft — admin @ 10:14 am

Windows Boot Up Screens

Let’s go through the Windows boot up screens history. It may remind some of our hard learning memories.

1985.11.20 – Windows1.01 —— The earliest “Blue Screen”

1987.11.1 – Windows 2.03 —— Official “Microsoft” Logo

1990.5.22 – Windows 3.0

1992.3.18 – Windows 3.1 —— Windows flag exist for the first time

1993.11.1 – Windows for Workgroups 3.11

1993.7.27 – Windows NT 3.1

1993.7.27 – Windows NT 3.1 Advanced Server

1994.9.21 – Windows NT Workstation 3.5

1995.9.21 – Windows NT Server 3.5

1995.5.30 – Windows NT Server 3.51 — The first Windows Server I have worked on

1995.8.24 – Windows 95 —— Blue cloudy sky comes with Internet Explorer

1996.8.24 – Windows NT Workstation 4.0

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1996.8.24 – Windows NT Server 4.0

1998.6.25 – Windows 98

2000.2.17 – Windows 2000 Professional —— Progress bar in boot up screen for first time

2000.9.14 – Windows Millennium Edition

2001.10.25 – Windows XP Home Edition —— Progress bar change to scrolling style

2001.10.25 – Windows XP Professional Edition

2003.3.28 – Windows XP 64-Bit Edition

2003.4.24 – Windows Server 2003

2004.8.6 – Windows XP SP2 —— No more “Professional” word

2007.1.30 – Windows Vista —— After the “Black screen” follow by an animated Vista icon (2nd part)

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Dec 28 2008

How To Turn An Old Router Into A Wireless Bridge

Category: Wi-Fi — admin @ 9:58 am

You may some day encounter a situation in which you will require a wireless internet connection for a desktop computer. Perhaps you have decided to move your office from one room to another in your home. However, the new room does not have the cable or telephone connection you need to bring that computer online.

Before you go out and buy a wireless network card or attempt to run wire through your attic, you might be able to save yourself time and money if you have an old wireless router lying around. You may be able to upgrade your old router with a different firmware that will allow it to act as a wireless bridge. That is, turn your old router into wireless bridge. A wireless bridge allows you to connect one network to another over the airwaves, rather than having to run wire from one room to another.

The free firmware that makes this possible is called DD-WRT. Before reading further, check the DD-WRT supported device list to see if your router is supported. If it is supported, be sure to check out the notes for running DD-WRT on the supported device page. You’ll need to refer to the recommended installation method later.

Requirements

- Broadband internet connection.
- Two wireless routers:

One connected to your broadband internet connection to serve as the access point.
One connected to other machine(s) that need to connect to web. This one will need to support DD-WRT.

Initial Setup

1. Make sure your main internet router is working properly. Verify the wireless connection is working properly by connecting a laptop or some other device.

2. Set up the remote computer at the remote location.

3. Connect the remote computer to the router you will be installing DD-WRT onto. Just plug it into one of the ports on the hub (i.e. not the internet port or uplink port).

4. Open your browser and connect to the router’s web configuration page.

If you’re not sure what the address is, you may need to refer to the router’s manual. If the router is running DHCP, it is likely to be the address of the computer’s gateway. In Windows XP, go to the Control Panel and then Network Connections. There Double-click on your LAN connection and go to the Support tab. The default gateway will be listed there. You can also check it on CIRT.net along with other details such default username and password for the router.

Download DD-WRT

Now, you need to download the DD-WRT.

1. Go to the DD-WRT download page and Navigate to the stable directory.

2. Navigate to the latest version (you can sort by date descending).

3. Navigate to the Consumer directory.

4. Navigate to the proper directory for your router’s manufacturer and then the model/version of the router. You should be able to find the model and version number printed somewhere on the router.

6. Download the .bin file of your choice.

The notes for running DD-WRT on the supported device list may mandate you use a specific version. If not, I recommend you select either the mini or the standard. If you want to know the differences between the different versions, check out the File Versions section of the What is DD-WRT? page of the DD-WRT wiki.

Install DD-WRT

If you downloaded DD-WRT from your main internet connection, you may need to copy it to a USB drive to install it on the remote router from the remote computer. The remaining instructions are to be run from the remote computer connected to the remote router where DD-WRT is to be installed.

Install DD-WRT according to the installation instructions on the wiki. Use the installation method recommended for your device in the notes on the supported device page (if applicable).

Warning: It is possible to brick your router when you install the new firmware (i.e. render it useless). Please take caution in reading the installation instructions carefully. I recommend you install DD-WRT on an old router that you are currently not using, so that if something does go awry there is no major loss.

Configuring DD-WRT as a Client Bridge

1. Once you have DD-WRT installed, open your browser to http://192.168.1.1 and log into the router. In older versions of DD-WRT, the default username is root and the default password is admin. Be sure to change the default password to secure your router.

2. Next, click on the Wireless tab at the top.

3. Set the Wireless Mode to Client Bridge. Then click Apply.

4. Set the SSID to that of your main wireless router that is connected to the Internet. In my case, my main wireless router SSID is sierra. Then click Apply.

5. Click on the Wireless Security tab in the second row of tabs, and configure the router to match the security settings as your main router. In my case, my main wireless router has WPA security mode with TKIP shared key, so I set up DD-WRT to match it.

6. Click Apply.

7. Click the Setup (very first tab in the upper left) to configure the LAN settings.

8. Assign the router a Local IP Address on the same subnet as your main router, but give it a different address. That means that all the numbers for the address will be the same as the main router except for the numbers in the fourth box. For example, the address of my main router is 192.168.1.1 so I gave my DD-WRT router an IP of 192.168.1.2.

9. Set the Subnet Mask to 255.255.255.0.

10. Set the Gateway and Local DNS to the address of the main router.

11. Click Apply.

Your DD-WRT router should now allow you to connect your remote computer to your main internet router through the air
waves! If you ever need to reconfigure the DD-WRT router, just be sure to remember the new IP address that you assigned in step number 8. You could always use a nice label maker and slap it right onto the router.

Thanks:Makeuseof

Tags: Wi-Fi

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Dec 26 2008

Launch Any Windows App using Keyboard Shortcuts

Category: Tips and Tricks, Welcome — admin @ 9:54 pm

You can use keyboard shortcuts to launch any application . This feature is built right into Windows, but many people do not take advantage of it simply because they are unaware of it.Setting up a keyboard shortcut for any application in your start menu is fast and simple. Steps below explain how to create program shortcuts in Windows:

Navigate the start menu to the application you want to shortcut. In this example, we will create a shortcut for the Calculator (one that I use all the time).

Right-click on the application, and click on Properties.

In the Properties window, you’ll see a field titled Shortcut key. Go to that field and type the letter C (or any other key you wish to use to launch the Calculator).
Click OK

Now, whenever you want to quickly launch Calculator, just hit Ctrl-Alt-C (or whatever key you chose).

Tags: Using Shortcuts Keys

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Dec 25 2008

Change your Plasma TV as a Computer Monitor

Category: Monitor, Tips and Tricks — admin @ 9:22 pm

There are many times when I would like to share pictures, video, or games from my laptop or PC with my friends and family. The problem is that its quite hard to get everyone around a small computer screen let alone keep them interested for very long. Wouldn’t it be much better if you could connect your computer to your TV so everyone could view your media with ease and comfort?

It is indeed a much better solution and can be a lot of fun for everyone. So I will explain everything you need to do in order to connect your laptop or PC to your television.

There are a variety of different ways you can connect your computer to your TV. All will involve the use of different types of cables. Which cable you use will depend on a couple of different factors:

What type of connections your laptop/PC has
What type of connections your television has

The following is a list of the different types of cables/connections you will have to choose from with picture quality ranging from highest to lowest:

HDMI
DVI
VGA
S-Video
Composite/RCA

1. “High Definition Multimedia Interface” or HDMI is the highest quality connection now. All HDTVs will have this connection though chances are your laptop or computer will not. If you do happen to have an HDMI connection on your computer then by all means, use this connection. If you do not have HDMI on your computer you can use an adapter to convert HDMI to DVI.

2. DVI stands for “Digital Video Interface” and has pretty much been the standard for connecting computer monitors since about 2003. Your computer will most likely have this connection. HDTVs should also have this connection. If you wish to use audio with a DVI connection you must use a seperate audio cable. A cable from phones output connected to red and white audio in on your TV will work great!

3. VGA or “Video Graphics Array” connections are the most common video connections found on laptops and PC’s. HDTVs may have a VGA connection which means you simply need to connect the cable between your computer and televsion. However, older televisions will not have a VGA connection and will require a PC to television converter. There are USB converters that allow you to use this method. Just like DVI, VGA does not carry a audio signal. Just use the same method from above for connecting audio from your phones output.

4. S-Video or “Super Video” has been around for quite some time now. Some laptops and computer graphics cards will have a S-Video connection. Most televisions will also have a S-Video connection. This isn’t the best quality connection but its also not the lowest quality. S-video has the same audio limitation as the above two examples. Again, just use your phones output and a phones to RCA cable or adapter.

5. Composite connections, sometimes referred to as RCA connections, are the yellow, red, and white connections that most people will be familiar with. Red is right analog audio, and white is left analog audio. Yellow is composite video. This will be the lowest quality connection to use. If your computer has no RCA connections, you can use an RCA to S-Video cable.

Connecting your laptop or PC to your television is pretty simple. Just check both your computer and television to find out what connections they have in common. If by some chance you have no connections matching up, you can always buy adapters to make your connection types match.

Once you’ve passed the stage of physically connecting your computer to your television you’ll have to select the correct input on your TV. Just like when using your DVD player, select the input that your computer is connected to using your remote. This input might be called something like AV1 or AV2. You should see this on the television screen.

If your picture seems distorted, play around with the pixel settings on your TV or change the resolution. New HDTVs will have a few different resolution settings. Older TVs may only have one resolution setting. In this case, adjust your computer resolution until the picture looks good.

Following the steps above will have you sharing media on your TV in no time. There’s nothing better than a 50″ plasma picture frame in the middle of your living room.

Tags: TV AS MONITOR

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Dec 24 2008

HP Firebird 803 tower with Voodoo-DNA

Category: Desktop, New Arrival, Product Details, Technology — admin @ 8:20 pm

The all-new HP Firebird PC 803 that just fell in our lap, a gaming tower which flips the disc drive and most other components on their sides to save on space. The resulting kit seems to have more in common with gaming consoles than desktop PCs in terms of design, with very little configurability or expansion available, but the leaked specs are still quite palatable to the modern PC gamer:

· NVIDIA nForce 760i SLI chipset

· Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83GHz processor

· 4GB of RAM

· Dual NVIDIA GeForce 9800S cards

· Two 320GB SATA drives

· Blu-ray

· 5-in-1 card reader

· 6 USB, 1 FireWire, 2 eSATA, 1 S/PDIF and 1 DVI dual-link

· Bluetooth

· 802.11n WiFi

To save on space (and heat), the Firebird actually uses an external power supply, but we suppose the included wireless keyboard and mouse should help to make up for that clutter.

Tags: HP Firebird 803 tower

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Dec 24 2008

In Dual XP BOOT Menu Modify or Disable an Incorrect or Duplicate Entry

Category: Tips and Tricks — admin @ 5:59 am

Have you ever inherited a computer that has more than one entry on the Windows XP boot menu screen? Most of the time one of the entries doesn’t even work in the first place, and then you’re forced to either hit a key or wait 30 seconds every time.

There are two options to get around this: You can remove the offending boot menu item, or you can just turn off the boot menu from being displayed. If you aren’t tech savvy, you’ll want to just use the second option.

Thanks to my friend Shawn for forgetting how to do this and prompting me to write this article. =)

Removing an Incorrect Boot Menu Option on XP

Note: This method involves modifying a very important boot configuration file. You should proceed with caution and always make sure you have backups of your files just in case something goes wrong.

All of the boot menu options in Windows XP are stored in the boot.ini file in the root of your boot drive, usually the C: drive. You’ll need to first set the file to be writeable by using the attrib command from the command prompt:

attrib -r boot.ini

Now you can open up the boot.ini file in Notepad by going to Start \ Run and typing in the following:

notepad c:\boot.ini

In this file you’ll see the same options that you normally see in the boot menu. Take special note of the default= item, as that should be pointing to one of the items in the list (normally the top one).

Tip: Everything after the "=" character in the default line should match everything before the "=" character in the [operating systems] section. Remember this when making edits.

If you want to remove the second item in the list, and the first one is set to the default, you can just delete that line from the file: (you should really backup the boot.ini file before you make any changes)

If the problem is that the first line is set to default, but the second line is the one that works, you’ll want to remove the offending line from the [operating systems] section, and then MODIFY the DEFAULT= line to match the correct one. In this example, I set the partition to (2) instead of (1) in the default line.

Again, you should be very careful when manually editing this file.

Disable the Boot Menu the Easy Way

Instead of risking screwing something up by manually editing the file, you can just disable the boot menu entirely, which is much safer. There’s no reason to show the menu if you only make one choice, and not really any good reason to edit the file manually.

You can either right-click on My Computer and choose Properties, or type sysdm.cpl into the Start \ Run box to bring up the System Properties window. Once there, go to Advanced \ Startup and Recovery \ Settings as shown below:

In the Startup and Recovery dialog, make sure the default operating system is correct, and then uncheck the option for "Time to display list of operating systems", and close the dialog.

At this point you should be able to reboot, and the menu should be gone.

Extra Credit: You’ll notice the Edit button in this dialog… this opens up boot.ini in Notepad, just like in the first method above.

Next week we’ll cover how to deal with incorrect items in your Vista boot menu.

Tags: Xp DUAL Boot

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Dec 23 2008

Disable Delete Browsing History in IE

Category: Tips and Tricks — admin @ 11:05 pm

If you are using a public shared PC among your family or friends who have Administrator privileges and if you like to trace out the websites visited by your friend or family members.

You can trace out history through Internet Options in tools menu. If your friend or family member knows how to delete Internet Explorer history then it is tough to trace the history. But you can disable Delete Browsing history, so that next time when ever your friend or family members try to delete history they cant view delete button enabled.

Steps to Disable Delete Browsing History in IE.(Windows XP)

1. Go to Start—>Run type gpedit.msc (Group policy).

2. Select Computer Configuration –> Administrative Templates

3. Select Administrative Templates–>Internet Explorer

4. Go to Delete Browsing History select Turn Off “Delete Browsing History” Functionality in right side.

5. Now Enable Turn Off “Delete Browsing History” Functionality

6. Open IE go to Tools –> Internet Options
you can see Delete button is disabled

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Dec 22 2008

Pinnacle PCTV HD Mini Stick Review, Specs

Category: New Arrival, Technology — admin @ 10:45 pm

Pinnacle PCTV HD Mini Stick is an Ultra-compact. Pinnacle PCTV HD USB-powered TV tuner that’s the perfect match for super-slim laptops. PCTV HD Mini Stick comes with a mini remote control and high-gain telescopic antenna. you can edit recording to the desired length.

PCTV HD Mini Stick Specifications: Pinnacle PCTV HD Mini Stick is a Brilliant HDTV and 100% DIGITAL. You can enjoy TV in full-screen mode or in a scalable window while using other applications.

Watch free HDTV on your PC – no service fees
Stereo sound
Electronic Program Guide
Turns your PC into a PVR with Time Shifting: pause, rewind TV
Ultra-compact HDTV tuner stick with super-strong reception
New: built-in slide-cap to protect the USB connector
Bonus: Video Spin video editing software
Includes mini-remote control and high-gain telescopic antenna

Pinnacle PCTV HD Mini Stick Review: Pinnacle PCTV HD Mini Stick is a USB powered HDTV tuner designed with travel in mind. Pinnacle just released the PCTV HD Mini Stick.The PCTV HD mini Stick is also a PVR or DVR, that includes pause, rewind and time shifting as well along with an electronic program guide so you can know what’s on TV and record it if you want to. Featuring ATSC and Clear QAM tuning, direct to DIVX or DVD recording, and around the size of a typical flash drive, I test the capabilities of Pinnacles newest ultra-compact HDTV tuner.

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Dec 21 2008

Internet Explorer security update available now.

Category: Microsoft — admin @ 6:29 am

Most of the Internet users use Internet Explorer Or Firefox for Browsing . Both the browsers have released their update patches.

Internet Explorer serious security update available now.

Internet Explorer security patch fixes the “remote code execution” vulnerability.

Microsoft Support released the MS08-078 security updates for all Internet Explorer versions.

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer Security update available via Automatic updates and Manual updates via this link.

If you are using IE8 beta 2 then there is no manual update, Automatic updates via Windows is available. After installing security update it is recommended to restart your computer to take effect of the security update.

Firefox Update :

Firefox released critical update for security issues found in Firefox 3.0.4.

By default Firefox browser will update automatically. Just confirm whether your Firefox browser is upgraded to Firefox 3.0.5

You can check by pulling Help About Firefox. If it is not upgraded select “check for updates” in Help menu and restart your Firefox browser.

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Dec 20 2008