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The
LangaList
Standard Edition
2003-07-21
A Free Email Newsletter from
Fred Langa
That Helps You Get More From Your Hardware,
Software, and Time Online
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1) Advice From A Pro
On Video Problems
Our item on "Tracking Down Video Problems" (
http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-07-14.htm#5 ) brought some
interesting mail, including this:
Thanks for the great newsletter Fred! I have some information that your users may find useful for tracking down the type of problem described in the "video problems" section of
your newsletter.
I am an electronics technician with over 20 yrs experience. I have done a lot of computer repair at the company I work for. (I have probably repaired
around 300 computers in the last 5 years) It could be your video card, but there are some other things to check first. Here is what you need to do.
When you first turn the comp. on, what do you hear?
If no beep, the computer is not getting to it's post (Power On Self Test).
This most likely indicates 1 or more bad memory modules (most likely), or a motherboard/microprocessor failure (less likely).
If you hear 1 beep, the computer has passed it's post. However it still does not rule out memory, but it increases the
likelihood (but does not guarantee) that it is not a motherboard failure.
If you hear more than 1 beep, the computer has run it's post, and it failed. Once again, this could be due to memory or Motherboard.
If your computer has a lot of dust in it, either blow it out with compressed air, or CAREFULLY vacuum it out. (Computer unplugged for this)
Before continuing with the next steps, ALWAYS remember to unplug the computer from the power outlet before connecting, disconnecting anything or removing/installing any memory modules or boards!
You can check your memory (if you have more than one module) by removing them all, turn the computer on for a few seconds with no memory, then turn it back off. Install 1 memory module and try turning the computer on. Test each
memory module by itself like this. You may find one that is causing the system to
not boot. During the testing of each memory module, listen for the post beep(s)
and check the monitor screen for any activity. If none of them work, try to
obtain another one for test purposes and test with it. If it still doesn't work, you can pretty much rule out your memory being the problem.
Another thing you can try is removing the drive connectors for all of the drives, then turn on the computer and see of you get any response on the monitor. This can confirm/rule out a drive failure causing the problem. (It
is unusual, but I have seen a drive failure that can cause your symptom)
Next, you can try to obtain a video card that you can use for testing. In my experience, the order of
likelihood for the components I have listed being your problem is:
#1 Memory - far and away the most common culprit
#2 Motherboard/Microprocessor failure
#3 Disk drive problem (includes improper connections and jumper settings)
This runs a very close third to the #2 failure.
#4 Video card. Although it seems like this would be the most logical place to start, experience has taught me that this is rarely the problem for this kind of failure.
---Randtek
Interesting, thanks! I wouldn't have thought that memory was so common a
problem; it's literally never been an issue for me, even with the 35 or so PCs
I've personally owned or used as primary systems over the years. Maybe I was
just lucky!
In any case, the POST (power-on self test) "beep codes" can be a
very useful
diagnostic, although the meaning of the beeps' number and sequence can vary by
motherboard or BIOS type. See
http://www.computerhope.com/beep.htm or
http://www.google.com/search?q=power+on+self+test+beep+codes for info
specific to your kind of system.
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2) Wrapping Up
"Imaging" (For Now! <g>)
Whoo boy! The email on "drive imaging" options (
http://langa.com/u/5.htm ) is still
flying. But lest we beat the topic totally to death, I'll just cover a few of
the most-asked questions in this issue, and then we'll let the topic lie fallow
for a while.
This mail, from reader William Dyehouse, touches on a question I'm asked
again and again, even when we haven't recently discussed drive imaging or
backups:
I have read your article... however the information
you write in that article is far from relevant today. You mention in that
piece that you have your system partition on an 8GB drive. Well ask any gamer,
video editor, general surfer interested in new utils, high profile graphic
artist, how big his system partition is nowadays and I think it is going to say
over 8GB. In fact the PC I am writing this on was formatted not longer than 1
month ago and currently sits at only just under 8GB....and you know as well as I
how long it takes to get a system back to 'how it was' a lot longer than 6
months.
I know this takes me back to your article and I am not trying to pull it
apart I am simply trying to find another perspective. Yes, I am might be what is
called a 'power user' and have lots of apps etc that I use. In these days of P2P
though people are going to be filling up drives faster and never getting round
to clearing them down or backing them up that is why I still suggest that
backups of an image nature are all but useless within mere weeks. For those that
don't use their PC much this isn't a problem but for users who play games,
download data from P2P, are in a gaming clan, have a modular game, do a lot of
website authoring, play with new apps, customize their desktops, send a lot of
email, download newsgroups then there is a problem with ever changing backups.
Drive Image s*cks - agreed but so do most solutions - best bet is network
connected PCs and a good backup batch file or a DVD-RW for some meaty
backups.....oh and forget the OS--- you have that on a disk!
Well, I think I'd qualify as a "power user" in most anyone's book.
<g> But my XP system has been
in constant use for 2 years now, and my main partition is still only a half-full
8GB
(4GB actually in use).
It's not that I don't have tons of files--- I do: In fact, my 60MB primary
drive on this system is about 80% full. But I keep only the stuff that
MUST be backed up in the relatively-small main partition, away from the stuff that only needs
light backup protection. And I further keep the "needs only light protection" stuff
away from the easily-replaced junk that needs no backup at all.
It's just a matter of housekeeping--- rationally organizing the drive. In
contrast, if you just
toss everything you ever install or download or save or create into just one
partition (say, a gigantic C: drive) then indeed your system will become almost impossible to backup and maintain!
But it doesn't have to be that way, and it's really not that hard to organize things.
By analogy: My teenaged son can't keep his room neat, but that
doesn't mean it's an impossible task or that he needs a bigger room or that he
needs a heavy-duty professional cleaning crew to assist him. He just needs to
impose a little order in his life. <g>
Same with hard drives. I submit that anyone who thinks they *must* have a
main partition larger than, say, 8GB or so just isn't trying very hard to organize things.
A simple, rational, and--- most importantly--- *manageable* approach to
organizing large hard drives is explained in some detail at
http://www.langa.com/backups/backups.htm . There, you'll see how to
segregate your files according to backup priority, and to be selective about
what gets placed on the primary/system partition so it can remain a manageable
size and thus easily be backed up.
If you do dump everything into your C: drive, then yes, you'll have messy backups.
But the
answer isn't "don't do much with your PC," or "use an exotic backup
method" or "resign yourself to 'meaty' backups." Rather, the answer is simply "don't dump everything
into your C: drive."
Then, your backups will be fast, easy, and manageable.
Again, the above article has all the details, including what to do if you
already have a gigantic C: drive and need to gain some control over it WITHOUT
reformatting or losing your data!
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3) Other Imagers
Many readers suggested other imaging tools. A brief sampling:
Hi Fred, I have used ImageCast for a number of years now and I'm still surprised at how few people seem to have heard of it. It is written by the company that wrote Ghost but appears to get overlooked. It is approx 50MB to install on a pc but, that is because the pc then becomes a controller. You can boot two or more pc's from floppies created by this software and then image one to another or one to many ( ideal for rolling out new app on large network ! ), when imaging multiple pc's it will use multicast protocols so they are all imaged at the same time, it will change the SID and computer name etc on each pc being imaged so a single image is all that is needed. I mainly use it to keep our demo laptops up to date for the sales team, connect two laptops via a USB cable, boot each off a floppy and then image one to the other at around 40Mbps. Drives don't need to match in size providing the destination disk is equal or larger than the source. The boot disk can be configured to log onto the network so you could image to a server and then load it back ( good for disaster recovery ). See for yourself
http://www.microhouse.co.uk/bottom_imagecast.html It maybe a bit pricey but it's solid and easy to use. Regards, Pete Cross
Hi! Disk imaging and backup/restore techniques are something that I'm trying to make a specialty. Things don't always go as well as I would like. For one thing, my Compaq laptop uses a flaky power
management system that causes it to shut down in the middle of restores sometimes. I usually use Savepart,
http://perso.club-internet.fr/guiboure/en/ . This is free imaging software, includes compression, and can run from a floppy. It can skip empty sectors. It can write CD sized pieces. It can't write to an NTFS partition, so computers with only an NTFS partition need somewhere that DOS can see to send the backup files. That's a topic in itself. The other software I use for drive imaging is Linux. There are many bootable CD or floppy rescue versions that can be used. There is a program (dd) that can be used to image drives.[see http://langa.com/u/6.htm ] For those who don't take all of this imaging stuff seriously, let me say that I've restored the laptop's XP Home install in less than 30 minutes, which might be quick enough to still make a sale or do a presentation. Reinstalling was never that fast or that much fun!
Best, Bob Cortner
Thanks to all who wrote in!
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4) BootIt Password
Protection
I have not tested Bootit NG yet, but will shortly on your recommendation. I
did notice something that is confusing. Your paragraph:
"Second, there's no built-in way to password protect or encrypt your Bootit
NG image files. This means you'll need other tools or techniques if you need to
ensure that your images cannot be read by others."
And their claim in the feature bullet list on the website:
'- user id and password protection."
What's with this? Did they read your mind and add this recently? ---Chris Drew
No, there was no mind-reading involved. 8-) Bootit *itself* can be password protected
so you can control who can boot your PC, but the image files it creates
are not similarly protected: Their contents can be read by anyone with access to
the image files.
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5) New Security
Problems
Critical:
"Buffer Overrun In RPC Interface Could Allow Code Execution"
Impact of vulnerability: Run code of attacker’s choice
Affects: NT 4.0, Win2000, WinXP, WinServer2003
http://www.microsoft.com/security/security_bulletins/ms03-026.asp
Important:
"Unchecked Buffer in Windows Shell Could Enable System Compromise"
Impact of vulnerability: Run code of an attacker's choice
Affects: Microsoft Windows XP (only)
http://www.microsoft.com/security/security_bulletins/ms03-027.asp
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6)
Recommend This Newsletter And Win!
If you think the LangaList is a worthwhile read,
maybe a friend would find it useful too! Just use the following link to
recommend the LangaList---your friend may find a new source of useful
information and you just may win one of three FREE ONE YEAR SUBSCRIPTIONS to the
LangaList Plus! edition given each month. (If your name is drawn and you're
already a Plus! subscriber, your current subscription will be extended by a full
year.)
Check out the details at
http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm . Thanks for recommending the LangaList---
and good luck!
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7) Great Security
Solution!
Fred: As a Plus subscriber for over a year, I think I've
finally found something to share with your readers.
A co-worker just purchased her first home computer and asked
my help in developing a security strategy. I found the following website which
spells out basic security principles in a easy-to-understand manner. It's from
CERT, the Carnegie-Mellon Software Engineering Institute.
http://www.cert.org/homeusers/HomeComputerSecurity/ Thanks for the
great newsletter! ---Kevin Fitzpatrick
What an awesome resource, Kevin! Detailed info, well-organized worksheets and
checklists--- great stuff! Thanks!
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8)
They Just Keep Coming And Coming...
Almost three thousand of your fellow readers have "Loaded the code." Please
click over to
http://www.langa.com/code.htm , and maybe you can join them! (If you've
already "Loaded The Code" and are wondering if your site will appear here or on
the Langa.Com web site, please see
http://www.langa.com/link.txt )
Speaking of which: Here's another eclectic sample of reader sites--- some
professional, some very personal:
View A Randomly-Chosen Reader Site
http://www.langa.com/randomlink.htm
Manually Browse All Posted-to-Date Sites Starting At
http://www.langa.com/readersites.htm
Chester Microchips (Vermont)
http://www.chester-chips.com/
Lindy's Photo Albums
http://webs.lanset.com/lindenschmitt/index.html
Stitcher's Niche
http://stitchersniche.net/
Jim's Daily Bloggings
http://www.youbetnet.com/~jimhatz/
BendBlog
http://blendblog.blogspot.com/
"Knowledge Is Power"
http://www.maraband.com/
Hamlet's Handmade Knives
http://www.hamlets-handmade-knives.com/
Tuno Host
http://www.tuno.com.ar/
David Miller (Sydney Australia)
http://davidmiller.id.au/
Kent.netWorks
http://users.ev1.net/~k.noel/
New Frontier Consulting
http://www.newfrontierconsulting.net/
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9) The Universe, For Free
Check out "Celestia"--
http://www.shatters.net/celestia/ -- A very cool 3D way to tour the universe. Free, open source program with high
resolution graphics.--- Rich
See opening paragraph from the website below:
"Celestia is a free real-time space simulation that lets you
experience our universe in three dimensions. Unlike most planetarium software,
Celestia doesn't confine you to the surface of the Earth. You can travel
throughout the solar system, to any of over 100,000 stars, or even beyond the
galaxy. All travel in Celestia is seamless; the exponential zoom feature lets
you explore space across a huge range of scales, from galaxy clusters down to
spacecraft only a few meters across. A 'point-and-goto' interface makes it
simple to navigate through the universe to the object you want to visit."
Awesome stuff! The graphics are stunning, and the database is amazingly up-to
date. Thanks, Rich!
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10) Just For Grins
Brooks Hatch sends along this spoof of Linux:
If Linux was a car...Sense of
Humor required!
M: Hey Pete, Can you help me
put a radio in my Debian?
P: You're an Idiot, RTFM!
M: I need more help than that.
P: You're an idiot! I did a Google search. It's in the page referenced by the
footnote in the 37th hit. If I could find it, so can
you.
GS: (good Samaritan) You need
to rebuild the engine to add a radio.
M: Rebuild the engine?
P: You're an idiot!
GS: There's a how-to. It's
written for a "Hat", but it's mostly correct except
that engine is in the rear. It's translated from
German, but they did a pretty good job. It'll
tell you to hook the radio to the red and black
wires, but since you've got a Debian, there
won't be any red and black wires. And you still
need to write the radio driver. Don't forget to regrind the
camshaft. If you don't, you'll get an
error message that you don't have permission to
change the tire pressure, but it's the
camshaft. You'll need a lot of tools,
but you can get them for free. Most of them come
with instructions... about 900 pages in all. Read
'em all carefully and understand 'em before you
start. Should be able to figure it
all out in a couple of months.
[MUCH LATER...]
M: Hey Pete, I didn't get all
the stuff I needed to rebuild my engine. Can I borrow your Drake again?
P: The wife has the Drake, but you can borrow the Hat.
M: This is different. Where's
the steering wheel?
P: That dashboard was really
using a lot of gas. This has what is called a CLI. Just type CTRL-L to go left
and CTRL-R to go right.
M: What about the gas and
brakes?
P: That's all combined into a
single speed number. Just type ps | grep speed. The headings are in Klingon,
but the third number is the one you want. Just divide by the speed of light to
get meters/second. You'll have to parse it out, calculate the new speed and use
the nice function to change the priority of the process. That changes the speed.
If you had just read the manpage, I wouldn't have had to tell you all that.
M: Which manpage?....never
mind... What if I need to stop in a hurry?
P: Gotcha covered. There's a
script for panic stops. Just type PanicStop-3.8.63278665-HAT when=now. It will
ask you for a password. Enter the password and hang on cause you're gonna stop
real quick. I'm really proud of the deceleration optimization routine. Be
careful typing, it's case sensitive. If it gives you a cryptic error message and
doesn't stop, it's probably because you forgot to add yourself to the brakes
group. It's all in the manpage.
M: Which manpage?....never mind...
[MUCH, MUCH LATER....]
M: I wish I hadn't sold my
Gates. At least I could drive it to town and pick up Granny....
P: You're an idiot!.....
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11) Plus! Edition Highlights:
-
Linux-Friendly
Hardware Resources
(make
sure your new gear supports Windows AND Linux!)
-
Reader Tips on XP Boot
Disk
(from
Germany, reader amplifications to Fred's article)
-
Free, Automated
Add/Remove Cleanup Tool
("the most comprehensive...I have found.")
Plus! edition subscribers not only get much more
content in every issue (like the above), but also have access to a private web
site with over 100,000 words of special content and features not found in *any*
issue of the newsletter; along with dozens of private downloads and much more---
all for just $1 per month!
Check out:
http://www.langa.com/plus.htm
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Click <a href= "
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See you next issue!
Best,
Fred
( Editor@Langa.Com )
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