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The LangaList
Standard Edition

2005-02-24

A Free Email Newsletter from Fred Langa
That Helps You Get More From Your Hardware, 
Software, and Time Online

Please visit our sponsors and help keep the LangaList S.E. free!

1) Changed Cable Setup = No Connection

Fred: Just started getting your "Plus" edition and it's great. I recently bought a new Vaio computer and have access to the internet using a cable modem.  I decided that  I would get a network card for my old PC and get a router so that I could have 2 pcs with access to the internet. My old computer has an upgrade from Windows 95 to Windows 98. I've tried numerous times to access the internet and I get nothing.  I've even reformatted my harddrive and re-installed 95, did the 98 upgrade and even loaded IE 6.0 but every time I try to log into the internet I get "Nothing."  Just so you know I also loaded AOL 7.0 and I am able to get into the internet under a dial up arrangement but when I try to connect using the cable modem I get absolutely nothing other than the screen message not connected to the internet. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. ---George

Here's my guess as to what's going on: Your prior cable modem setup probably was configured to allow connections from your original network card, but the cable system now sees your new router and/or other new cards as unauthorized intruders.

You see, every network card (or network device) in the world is assigned a supposedly-unique MAC or "media access control" number at the factory when it's built; the MAC number is burned into the firmware of the networking circuitry; a kind of permanent hardware identifier code that exists independently of whatever network the card or device is attached to. The MAC can be used as a kind of password to allow or disallow network access to any given card or device.

Indeed, that's how many cable modems are setup--- they're associated with a specific network card or circuitry. The cable company checks the MAC number of any networked device requesting access to make sure it's registered to a valid, paid subscriber on the cable network. If the MAC is unrecognized, nothing happens--- no connection is allowed.

So, because your setup worked before, and still works on dial-up, I'm betting your hardware's probably fine; it just needs to be allowed access to the cable system.

Call the cable company and tell them what you're doing. Depending on your setup, they'll either need the MAC number of whatever device is now directly connected to the cable modem (the new router?), or the MAC numbers from all the devices you want to connect via the router.

Often the MAC is printed somewhere on the device's case, or is included with the documentation; and often is printed right on network circuit boards or cards. On PCs and laptops, Win98 users can use "ipconfig" or "winipcfg" to display the MAC address. (See http://www.google.com/search?q=ipconfig  and http://www.google.com/search?q=winipcfg ). NT/2K/XP users can use the simple GETMAC command or employ the free wntipcfg tool to the same effect (see http://www.google.com/search?q=getmac and http://langa.com/u/3u.htm and http://www.google.com/search?q=wntipcfg ).

But confusingly, some software calls the MAC the "adapter address" and other software calls it the "hardware address," but it's not really an address in the same sense as an IP address or email address: Again, it's really a kind of hardware identifier code that exists independently of whatever network the card is attached to.

Once you tell the cable company the new MAC number(s), they'll enter the MAC number(s) into their system as "allowed,", and you'll be all set.

More info:
http://langa.com/u/7v.htm

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2) Cooking His Hard Drive To Death

Fred, I searched your archives and didn't find much about hard disk temperatures. I've use Motherboard Monitor ( http://mbm.livewiredev.com/ ) for years thanks to you, and won't run a computer without it, but only recently thought about hard disk temperatures. I recently downloaded 2 programs to monitor hard disk temperatures: HDD Temperature ( http://www.hddtemp.com )and HDD Thermometer ( http://www.rsdsoft.com ), and was alarmed (no pun intended) when the default settings triggered an alarm. My hard drive was reporting 136F/58C. I went to the Maxtor website ( http://tinyurl.com/577rj ) and found that "Reliability will be compromised when the drive is exposed to temperatures above 131F/55C" according to the website. My motherboard and CPU temperatures are fine, it's just my hard drive. The computer is 2 years old and I haven't had any problems, but now I'm a little worried, although my computer supplier says I shouldn't be. What do you think? Thanks! ---Joe Davis, Plus! Subscriber

That 136F/58C hard drive temperature is downright scary, Joe. I'd get that fixed right away, if I were you: It's *very* warm for a desktop system's hard drive.

We did cover hard drive cooling as part of our series here:
http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=18400732 . When I started that project, my hard drive was getting too toasty, too, running much warmer than the rest of the PC because there was too little air movement in the front of the case, where the drive was mounted. So, I installed a small, quiet secondary fan to blow air across the drive. Now, the drive is usually within a degree or two of the case temperature. Right now, for example, my drive is at a very comfortable 91F/33C.

Incidentally, in many instances, MBM *can* monitor hard drive temperatures for you: Look for the hard drive thermal sensors listed in the "Should display board sensor" pull-down of the "Temperatures" dialog: If your hard drive thermal sensor shows up there, you can associate it with any unused "MBM 5 sensor" in the pulldown menu above it, and then set that sensor to display in the system tray, sound alarms when temps are high, and so on, just as with the other sensors.

I have three MBM temperature displays in my system tray: CPU, Case, and Hard Drive. Each is set to sound an alarm if the temperatures climb to the high end of the allowable ranges; and to trigger an automatic system shutdown if the temperatures exceed the recommended maximums. (I use Wizmo to trigger the automatic forced shutdown: http://langa.com/u/7x.htm ) With the cooling enhancements described in http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=18400732 , my system probably never will try to cook itself to death in the first place; but if something goes wrong and temps do spike, the system will shut itself down--- even if I'm not there!--- before any permanent damage is done.

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3) Where'd The DMA Go?

Fred, I did the http://PCPitStop.com checkup and all was well except a notation that I do not have DMA enabled and I'm running way underspeed.  I did a Google search and came up with the instructions: right-click my computer> manage> device manager> etc., but when I got there, there wasn't any 'enable DMA' available. I have three SCSI drives and twin Xeon 2.4 ghz CPU's that I use mainly for digital video editing.  I then tried HP support, I have a Compaq W6000 workstation, and after spending half an hour on hold I was told that enabling DMA was a tweak and they couldn't help me.  I also did a boot interrupt and went through everything one line at a time and didn't see anything related to DMA there either. Could you head me in the right direction or possibly cover this in one of your articles. Thanks, Doug

DMA, or "direct memory access," in this context is a way that your hard drive can exchange data with the system at much higher rates of speed than otherwise. It's not uncommon for systems with DMA enabled to perform disk operations 15-40% faster than otherwise; and with a significant reduction in CPU load too. DMA makes a *huge* difference in performance!

Most newer systems and current OSes are set up with DMA "on" as a default now, so it's much less an issue than it used to be. But when something goes awry, or in trying to get DMA enabled on older systems, it can be messy.

But here's help. First, let's get up to speed on DMA basics with these older articles. [Note: we'll update the info in those older articles in a moment.]
http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=12802750
http://langa.com/newsletters/1999/nov-26-99.htm#dma
http://langa.com/newsletters/1999/nov-29-99.htm#dma

When those articles were written, Win98 was the dominant OS. It handled DMA settings on a drive by drive basis. But this could cause more trouble than it cured because you really couldn't mix different DMA settings for devices attached to a given drive controller: If you did specify different DMA settings, then, at worst, you'd get erratic drive failures, or outright trouble. At best, the controller would drop to the speed of the slowest device that was attached to it--- a "lowest common denominator" approach to try to ensure that all drives would work.

In Win2K and XP, the DMA settings were moved to the controllers, which is simpler and does make more sense (since that's where the real DMA action is anyway). But it's confusing to Win98 users who go hunting for the settings at the drive level, and can't find them.

Likewise, people used to the XP way of setting DMA may have trouble with Win9x systems' methods.

Here's a succinct page with info on "How To Enable Direct Memory Access (DMA)
For Windows 98, Windows Me and Windows XP:"
http://www.real-knowledge.com/dma.htm

If the above is too telegraphic, here are preconfigured searches for information about enabling DMA (or making sure it's enabled) for each major version of Windows:
http://www.google.com/search?q=dma+enable+xp
http://www.google.com/search?q=dma+enable+2000
http://www.google.com/search?q=dma+enable+me
http://www.google.com/search?q=dma+enable+98

But even with the proper methods, you still can run into snags, especially with older systems. Here's help for those common problems:

What To Do If Your Drive Does Not Have a DMA Check Box
http://support.microsoft.com/directory/article.asp?ID=KB;EN-US;Q229085

What To Do If The DMA Check Box Does Not Remain Checked
http://support.microsoft.com/directory/article.asp?ID=KB;EN-US;Q159560

Soup Up Your Hard Drive with DMA http://content.techweb.com/winmag/columns/explorer/1999/1206.htm

and still more:
http://www.google.com/search?as_q=dma&as_sitesearch=langa.com

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4) Update On Eder; and A Sponsored-Kid Reporting Change

Remember Eder, from Guatemala? He's one of the group of 11 kids sponsored on an ongoing basis by LangaList Plus! subscribers:

Eder comes from an indigenous family that speaks only the Spanish language and wears westernized clothes. Eder has two brothers. Both parents are literate. His father works as a merchant, and his mother does the house chores. The family's monthly income is below US$100.00. Their salary is not enough to provide their basic needs. They live in their own three-room dwelling, built of adobe walls, tile roof, and cement floor.

Previous Info:
http://www.freetune.com/newsletters/meet_eder.htm
http://www.freetune.com/kids/eder200403.htm

Since that last report, we've gotten irregular updates on his progress (he's still doing fine!); and I've collected those updates into an "Eder" folder. To see how LangaList Plus! subscription funds have helped Eder this last year, click here:

Private Plus! Subscriber Site:
http://www.langalist.com/plus/kids/eder/eder2005.asp
Public site:
http://www.freetune.com/kids/eder/eder2005.htm

Here's what this is all about: Those of us with computers and Internet access are vastly better off than most of the world's population.

Because of this, I decided that a portion of the LangaList Plus! subscription fees would be donated to registered/legitimate charities helping the underprivileged around the world. The contribution does not increase the cost of a Plus! subscription in any way; the donation is taken "off the top" of any profits. (This is described in the pages at http://langa.com/plus.htm )

Eder is one of many children sponsored on an ongoing basis--- week in, week out--- by the collective generosity of LangaList subscribers. To see all the donations so far, click to http://langa.com/plus2.htm#kids

As more readers sign up for Plus! subscriptions, I hope we'll be able to sponsor more children and assist other charities around the world. In fact, we'll soon be adding the 12th child to our roster, and that happy moment will occasion a change in how we report on "our" kids: Rather than bring you each child's progress reports as they arrive (an erratic an unpredictable process) we'll focus on one child each month, and I'll present all the new info we've received on that child. In other words, we'll handle it the same way he handled today's report on Eder. This way, we should get to read about all the kids more or less equally, regardless of how often we hear from them or their aid agencies.

If you're already a LangaList Plus! subscriber, thank you! You can feel good about giving back a little to those less fortunate, and opening a door to the future for a child in otherwise-desperate circumstances.

If you're not yet a Plus! subscriber check it out: With a Plus! subscription, you can not only help yourself make the most of your hardware, software and time online--- but you also can help those less fortunate (like Eder) make the most of their very lives. Thanks for your help!

New Subscriptions:
http://langa.com/plus.htm

Or, Give A Gift Subscription:
http://langa.com/plus_gift.htm

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5) Controlling "Command" or "DOS-like" Screens In XP/2K

From the mail we've gotten recently on taming older software under XP, it appears that many readers who held off in making the upgrade from older versions of Windows are now doing so. And most are finding that XP can handle the older software just fine, but perhaps with some tweaking.

We've covered various components of that tweaking on a case-by-case basis as questions have arisen. The most general tip is in using XP's "compatibility mode:" It's pretty easy to get to, and (as usual) the XP help file contains excellent information on it. Click Start/Help, and enter "compatibility mode" without the quotes as the search term. There's also a version of the Compatibility Mode in Windows 2000 (see http://www.google.com/search?q=enable+compatibility+tab+2000 ); and Plus! edition subscribers can grab a free tool that, with a click, enables the Win2K Compatibility Tab for them: See item #12 in http://www.langalist.com/plus/newsletters/2004/2004-07-15plus.asp

But here's a question that arises when older software runs fine, but displays improperly:

Hi Fred, I never thought I would come across a problem that would stump everyone I know since I have been doing this for over 30 years.

My problem is that I have an old Dbase program that we have been using for over 20 years on all operating systems including Win2000 Pro. On the new XP machine I can get the program to run and it works well except for the screen. In either the full screen or window mode the program only fills the upper half of the screen. I remember back somewhere that I had to make a screen line or buffer change in the PIF file but I cannot find anything that will solve the problem. I have asked this question to the experts exchange and they have not been able to solve the problem either....--- Bill Meyer

XP's (and Win2K's) Command window actually is far more flexible than the "DOS Box" or "DOS window" of old. Here's how to get at its features:

Go to Start/Run and type the word "command" (without the quotes) in the Run box; click OK, and an ordinary command window will open.

Now, to change the behavior/appearance of the command window, right-click the command window's menu bar, and select either the "Defaults" item, if you wish to change *all* command windows (ie the way they *all* look and feel); or "Properties" if you wish to change just the command window you currently have open.

Next, explore the tabs and selections offered:

"Options" = cursor size; command history (number of commands the system will remember, to save you retyping long command lines); windowed vs full screen operation; and various editing options

"Font" = changes the font, size and legibility of the text in the windows

"Layout" = lets you set the command windows size and position; the "screen buffer" tells the system to store any textual data that scrolls off-screen, so you can scroll back to see it later.

"Colors" = command windows don't have to be white on black; you can make your command window look very much like a normal black-on-white "Windows window" if you wish, or use any other color combo you want.

When you're done, close the window you're in; the settings changes you just made will apply to the next command window you open. If you were working with the Default settings, then all future command windows will inherit the changes you made, until and unless you make further changes to the default settings.

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6) Is This Information Useful?

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://langa.com/recommend.htm . Thanks for recommending the LangaList--- and good luck!

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7) Adding Win98 To An Existing XP Setup

Fred: First off, I want to thank you for the work you do.  Your tips and advice have helped all of us subscribers to your newsletter.

Here is my question. I recently purchased a brand new laptop (E-machines running XP home) and as we all know, most do not come with a normal Windows cd, they have a recovery cd. What I want to do is run W98 on the laptop in addition to the Windows XP. I've read several articles on the internet and most of them state to install W98 before XP. If you only have a recovery cd, is it possible to set my laptop up with dual booting? Ofc M. Crum

Yes, but it'll be ugly if you want to use XP's built-in boot manager. As you read online, that tool requires that you install the multiple OSes in a very specific order: First, you format the drive or partition and install any or all Win9x-class OSes you want to run (Win95, 98, ME); then you install any/all NT-class OSes you want to run (NT,2K, XP). And within each class, the installation order must be as shown.

Not only is this a pain, but--- as you suggest--- it's anywhere from difficult to well-nigh impossible when all you have to work with is a recovery cd, which is usually a kind of whole-disk "image" of the factory installation.

Instead, it's much faster, easier, and more flexible to (1) make a complete backup/image of your entire system as it now is, and (2) install a third-party boot manager, like BootIt, to create a new, empty partition, format it, and make it bootable. This approach lets you add, remove, or alter bootable OSes at any time to almost any system, without having to worry about things like which order you put them in.

In your case, you'd use a tool like BootIt to create a new partition; you'd install Win98 on the new partition; and then let BootIt do its thing: Each time you start the PC, BootIt will run, giving you a choice of which OS to start. Neither OS will "know" of the other OS: they'll live quite happily independent of each other.

But note: I've stopped dual-booting on my system because I find a "virtual PC" approach is even more flexible: Not only can I choose which OSes to run, but I can run them *at the same time* rather than in either/or fashion. I still use Bootit for partition management and imaging/backups, but I almost never boot to anything besides XP now. When I want to run another OS--- any of the other versions of Windows, any of several Linuxes, pure DOS, etc--- I run them from inside XP, in their own, segregated virtual PC.

Lots more info:

Official Microsoft screeds on Multibooting:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q217210
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/learnmore/multiboot.mspx

BootIt and other third-party options:
http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q=bootit&sp-a=0008002a-sp00000000
http://www.google.com/search?q=dual+boot+xp
http://langa.com/u/7y.htm

Virtual PC:
http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml;?articleID=18600449
http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q=VPC&sp-a=0008002a-sp00000000

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8) More Reader Sites!

Do you have a home page or website? (It doesn't matter what size.) Please click over to http://langa.com/code.htm , and maybe you can join the hundreds and hundreds of LangaList readers who have "Loaded the Code!" (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://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 From Among All Listed
http://langa.com/randomlink.htm

Manually Browse All Posted-to-Date Sites Starting At
http://langa.com/readersites.htm

Gammaw Geek
http://www.gammawgeek.us

A&CNet Inc. (a.k.a. Arts and Crafts Net Canada)
http://www.artsandcraftsnet.ca/

utilities for Microsoft Office
http://www.soldaat.com/mswizards/

"opportunities etc."
http://www.geocities.com/businessempire2/

A Life on the Konza Prairie
http://www.julienet.atfreeweb.com/retreat/

Koolfilm Indonesia
http://www.geocities.com/koolfilm_asli/index.html

Rick Henkel
http://frameuser.docspages.com/

Tompas Homesite
http://hem.passagen.se/tompas11/

"MWAuto for dialup users of Mailwasher Spam Filter"
http://home.earthlink.net/~mwauto/

Tech News
http://www.techtofu.com/Index.aspx

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9) Knoppix For Knewbies

Hi Fred: you might like this--- do not recall where it came from but enjoy:
http://www.pjls16812.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/knowing-knoppix/index.html
---Stephen

Although Knoppix is a specialty distribution of Linux, it shares many basic features with all the major, full-blown distributions, and as such is a great way to learn Linux. We've written about Knoppix many times before, so I won't repeat that previous info: http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q=knoppix&sp-a=0008002a-sp00000000

The page Stephen suggests is "Knowing Knoppix--- The first guide to Knoppix for the complete beginner." If you're interest in Knoppix in particular, or in getting started with Linux in general, you can learn a lot from the info there. Thanks, Stephen!

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10) Just For Grins

My sister Susan in Pittsburgh sends along this list of mangled measurements:

1. Ratio of an igloo's circumference to its diameter = Eskimo Pi
2. 2000 pounds of Chinese soup = Won ton
3. 1 millionth of a mouthwash = 1 microscope
4. Time between slipping on a peel and smacking the pavement= 1 bananosecond
5. Weight an evangelist carries with God = 1 billigram
6. Time it takes to sail 220 yards at 1 nautical mile perhour = Knotfurlong
7. 365.25 days of drinking low calorie beer = 1 Lite year
8. 16.5 feet in the Twilight Zone = 1 Rod Serling
9. Half a large intestine = 1 semicolon
10. 1,000,000 aches = 1 megahurtz
11. Basic unit of laryngitis - 1 hoarsepower
12. Shortest distance between two jokes - a straight line
13. 453.6 graham crackers = 1 pound cake
14. 1 million microphones = 1 megaphone
15. 1 million bicycles = 1 megacycles
16. 365.25 days = 1 unicycle
17. 2000 mockingbirds = two kilomockingbirds
18. 10 cards = 1 decacard
19. 52 cards = 1 deckacard
20. 1 kilogram of falling figs = 1 fig Newton
21. 1000 grams of wet socks = 1 literhosen
22. 1 millionth of a fish = 1 microfiche
23. 1 trillion pins = 1 terrapin
24. 10 rations = 1 decaration
25. 100 rations = 1 C-ration
26. 2 monograms = 1 diagram
27. 8 nickels = 2 paradigms
28. 2.4 statute miles of intravenous surgical tubing at Yale University Hospital = 1 I.V. League

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11) Plus! Edition Highlights:

• More On "A Lean, Mean Game Mode" (Pt. 1)
     (reader tips on making your games *fly*)
• More On "A Lean, Mean Game Mode" (Pt. 2)
     (incredible detail on making your games play *great*)
• Forgot the Administrator's Password?
     (you can still get in; here's how)

Access to over 100,000 additional words in special features, extra content and private links, all on a private web site--- plus 30% more content in every issue--- for about a dollar a month!

Full Plus! Edition info: http://langa.com/plus.htm

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(Give a gift subscription to the LangaList Plus edition!
Click <a href= " http://langa.com/plus_gift.htm ">here</a>)

See you next issue, 2005-02-28!

Best,

Fred
( Editor@Langa.Com )

Please recommend the LangaList to a friend! (And maybe win a prize!)

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