Technology Ask any computer tech support question here

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vinoyp said:
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--Vinoy
Oops, sorry I forgot the first step. Thanks vinoy :)

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Good guesses on the SDN servers, but we're running other beasties at this point.

Server overloads should decrease when we get 2 additional servers later this summer. They will each have specific data-processing duties that will give overall increased speed and stability to the site.

Our biggest problem is that when we get new servers, everything runs great for a few months, then SDN becomes even more popular, which overloads our new servers -- it's basically a race to keep-up with increasing demand. Right now were serving around 430 GB/month, and it goes up every month.

BTW, why does the site go down at 3:30am? I'll give you one guess. ;)
 
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Lee A Burnett said:
Good guesses on the SDN servers, but we're running other beasties at this point.

Server overloads should decrease when we get 2 additional servers later this summer. They will each have specific data-processing duties that will give overall increased speed and stability to the site.

Our biggest problem is that when we get new servers, everything runs great for a few months, then SDN becomes even more popular, which overloads our new servers -- it's basically a race to keep-up with increasing demand. Right now were serving around 430 GB/month, and it goes up every month.

BTW, why does the site go down at 3:30am? I'll give you one guess. ;)
You restart your servers daily at 0330 just so Windoze doesn't choke of memory holes that leak worse than the Hoover dam when all the sluice gates are opened?

BTW, Lee, are there plans to move the servers to *nix?

430Gig per month? How much does it cost? Is there a way to optimize/cut down on the images and the stylesheets and unnecessary HTML mark-up and make the pages skinnier?
 
TheWingThing said:
You restart your servers daily at 0330 just so Windoze doesn't choke of memory holes that leak worse than the Hoover dam when all the sluice gates are opened?

BTW, Lee, are there plans to move the servers to *nix?

430Gig per month? How much does it cost? Is there a way to optimize/cut down on the images and the stylesheets and unnecessary HTML mark-up and make the pages skinnier?
Man, I wrote a prototype for a company, to download all the front-end mark-up to the client initially (kinda like a thick-client, though in HTML and JavaScript) and just send the changing data back and forth as XML - more data first time to load the front-end, but very less data-transfer in the subsequent page views. It was just a prototype though, wish I could develop it fully and sell it for $$$

:)
 
ridicoulous as it is, broken antenna thread is like 5% of all sdn forum posts. take that out and u'll save around 5% of the forum bandwith. take out the lounge and u'll and 1/3 of the bandwith.....hehe.
 
How about taking out pre-allo? That would preserve the sanity of a lot of ppl :D :D :D
 
this is kinda unrelated...but a while ago there was a thread about google having an email service that gave a gig of space.
since it came around 4/1 i thought it was an april fools joke, but i have been invited to test out the beta version and yes they do give you a 1000MBs of space. Very sweet.

just wanted people to know that it is for real and that the complete version is on its way sometime in the future.
 
jlee9531 said:
this is kinda unrelated...but a while ago there was a thread about google having an email service that gave a gig of space.
since it came around 4/1 i thought it was an april fools joke, but i have been invited to test out the beta version and yes they do give you a 1000MBs of space. Very sweet.

just wanted people to know that it is for real and that the complete version is on its way sometime in the future.
Wow, that's awesome. How did you get invited to test them? :clappy:

It's here: http://gmail.google.com or http://www.gmail.com

It's still not open to public yet (as of april 15)
 
jlee9531 said:
i got a private invitation from a friend that is relatively high up there at google.
Aww, pick me, pick me. Can I have one too? :love:

Now you know I'm a real geek. :laugh: :laugh:
 
Thanks for your help. I got the wireless network up and running without a hitch. I bought the Microsoft wireless base station and wireless cards for our laptop and desktop. I've enabled WEP and have limited access to only 2 MAC IDs (those on our wireless cards.)

I have a question about the new latop I got. Everything works great except one time, I was using it and I closed it momentarily. It put it into standby mode but I couldn't get back to Windows. The screen just stayed dark no matter what I did so I had to hold down the power button to turn it off and reboot. What could be causing this? I changed the settings so that now when I close the notebook, it doesn't go into standby but simply turns off the screen.
 
Alexander99 said:
Thanks for your help. I got the wireless network up and running without a hitch. I bought the Microsoft wireless base station and wireless cards for our laptop and desktop. I've enabled WEP and have limited access to only 2 MAC IDs (those on our wireless cards.)

I have a question about the new latop I got. Everything works great except one time, I was using it and I closed it momentarily. It put it into standby mode but I couldn't get back to Windows. The screen just stayed dark no matter what I did so I had to hold down the power button to turn it off and reboot. What could be causing this? I changed the settings so that now when I close the notebook, it doesn't go into standby but simply turns off the screen.

Hmm, new laptop? Are you sure that the OS is completely up to date? If it's an XP machine, you should check weekly at support.microsoft.com. Also check to see that the BIOS is the latest and greatest.

What sort of machine is it?
 
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flighterdoc said:
Hmm, new laptop? Are you sure that the OS is completely up to date? If it's an XP machine, you should check weekly at support.microsoft.com. Also check to see that the BIOS is the latest and greatest.

What sort of machine is it?

It's a Dell Inspiron 9100. I just updated XP today so I don't think that's it. How do I go about checking on the bios?
 
Alexander99 said:
It's a Dell Inspiron 9100. I just updated XP today so I don't think that's it. How do I go about checking on the bios?

Its a file you download from their website, and update FOLLOWING THE DIRECTIONS CLOSELY.

Or, call their tech support - now that its not in Bangalore it should be OK.
 
Alexander99 said:
It's a Dell Inspiron 9100. I just updated XP today so I don't think that's it. How do I go about checking on the bios?
What flighterdoc said was right, if you want to download a newer BIOS from Dell's website. but to actually get *into* the BIOS, it's probably either Delete, Escape, or F2, or maybe F8 when you first power it up. It should say something like, "Press XX to Enter Setup" or something.

Did you fix your problem by changing the settings so it doesn't go into standby?
 
In the BIOS, go to Power options, and if there's and option such as "ACPI installed" or "advanced power control" or something, selected "controlled by operating system" or "plug and play operating system installed" or something to that effect. Basically, configure the BIOS so that the power options are controlled by the operating system.

OTOH, I think this would be the default configuration, so you might wanna check the power settings under Windows. Sometimes, a wireless or a bluetooth adapter interferes with the computer entering standby mode. Search either the wireless card manufacturer's website or the Dell's support pages for your model. That might give some pointers and there may be a new driver for your wireless card or a BIOS update on the Dell site, etc.
 
TheWingThing said:
In the BIOS, go to Power options, and if there's and option such as "ACPI installed" or "advanced power control" or something, selected "controlled by operating system" or "plug and play operating system installed" or something to that effect. Basically, configure the BIOS so that the power options are controlled by the operating system.

OTOH, I think this would be the default configuration, so you might wanna check the power settings under Windows. Sometimes, a wireless or a bluetooth adapter interferes with the computer entering standby mode. Search either the wireless card manufacturer's website or the Dell's support pages for your model. That might give some pointers and there may be a new driver for your wireless card or a BIOS update on the Dell site, etc.

Since everything else is working without a hitch, I think I'll just keep it the way I have now (my laptop screen turns off but the computer is on when I fold it) instead of going through all the hassle. I'm afraid that if I do what you suggest, Windows will crash more, my wireless network won't work as well, etc. The standby mode is somewhat useless for laptops anyway since you'll normally just turn it off when you put it in your bag.

In either case, thanks for your advice.
 
does anyone have any advice?

i want/need a new laptop, I would like something that runs Unix or Linux, and I need enough memory/fast enough processor to compile some epi reports, do other database functions, and *quickly* run some phylogentic programs like Clustal X and Arb, but I also need autocad & the other "fun stuff"
 
Alexander99 said:
Since everything else is working without a hitch, I think I'll just keep it the way I have now (my laptop screen turns off but the computer is on when I fold it) instead of going through all the hassle. I'm afraid that if I do what you suggest, Windows will crash more, my wireless network won't work as well, etc. The standby mode is somewhat useless for laptops anyway since you'll normally just turn it off when you put it in your bag.

In either case, thanks for your advice.

if u have a dell and u want to put it in bag, u could fress Fn+Suspend (Fn + Esc on my inspiron). that'll let u store everything in memory and load it faster (i.e. 5 seconds) vs. a 30s boot.
 
Mabye someone will know; I run linux mandrake and it takes forever to load up the wireless network card, a dlink dw650, (eth0) any ideas on how to speed it up? I'm using the correct module etc. etc.

Also another question, my backlight in my laptop seemed to go out (only 2 years old) and I don't believe its still under warranty. Can I just buy the backlight and replace it for cheap? Thanks!
 
sunni said:
does anyone have any advice?

i want/need a new laptop, I would like something that runs Unix or Linux, and I need enough memory/fast enough processor to compile some epi reports, do other database functions, and *quickly* run some phylogentic programs like Clustal X and Arb, but I also need autocad & the other "fun stuff"
I'd look for these things in a laptop:

Intel Centrino technology (less power consumption = longer battery life, twice as much L2 cache = better performance for intensive applications = yo may notice good performance for your number crunching)

512 MB or more RAM

40 GB or more HDD

Wireless - 802.11b+g (many cards dont have native linux support, so you need to run a wrapper)

Win 2K Pro (but most of them come with Win XP Pro)

Built-in bluetooth (and may be infra-red) but bluetooth support is still flaky on Windows, no idea about Linux support.

TV output,

Built-in DVD/CDRW (though removable, if I want to upgrade to DVD writer), external floppy drive.

An extra bay that can take a second battery or another device

12" screen (less power, easy to carry around) with 1280x1024 or better resolution.

Less than 4.5 lb weight (again, easy to carry. my current laptop weighs a lot, hate it)

USB 2.0 (mine currently has USB 1.1, not fast), IEEE 1394

No memory card reader slots (there are too many kinds anyway, just having one kind is just a waste of money and space on my already small laptop. I currently have a 10-in-1 card reader, that costed me $10 after rebates)

Preferably with ability for a docking station (though I won't need it immediately)

V.92 Modem/ gigabit ethernet (my research involves huge volumes of data, and I have to keep huge databases on the server)

A really sturdy construction (preferably mag-alloy)

Unfortunately, there isnt a single laptop that satisfies all these needs (except the Powerbook, but I want a x86)

The Toshiba Protege tablet laptops come close, can work as both a regular laptop or a tablet, but I still haven't found any utility for tablets, and I dont want to pay a premium for something I don't need. You might wanna look at them though.

You can see Linux compatibility of laptops at
http://www.linux-laptop.net/
http://www.linux.org/hardware/laptop.html
http://tuxmobil.org/

I think these sites will tell you better to find one, but look for some of the above features according to your preferences and requirements.

Sorry, my expectations for laptops are too high (yeah, I'm unforgiving when it comes to computers, I've never bought a desktop, built them all. The only computer I bought as one-piece from the store is my sony laptop, and it's a PoS).

I'm waiting for a x86 laptop that's better than the 12" Powerbook. Until then, I'll sadly lug my PoS Sony Vaio everywhere).
 
bgreet said:
Mabye someone will know; I run linux mandrake and it takes forever to load up the wireless network card, a dlink dw650, (eth0) any ideas on how to speed it up? I'm using the correct module etc. etc.

Also another question, my backlight in my laptop seemed to go out (only 2 years old) and I don't believe its still under warranty. Can I just buy the backlight and replace it for cheap? Thanks!
You mean the LCD's backlight or the keyboard's backlight? Either way, I'm not sure, did you look up their parts website?
 
evines said:
Exploitation time.
My mom's computer takes about 4 hours (slight exaggeration) to boot up, and runs sluggishly after boot up too. What's up with that??
It didn't use to take so long, and it seems to have been a gradual progression into computer hell (instead of an overnight good to bad kinda thing).
It's a Dell laptop, XP home ed, PIII 733, either 128 or 256 RAM (she wasn't sure).
I'm to stupid to properly troubleshoot with her, so I'm hoping for some advice. All I could think of is that the defrag might not be working. Thanks.

PS~ She said the slowdown MIGHT have started either when she installed XP or when she installed AOL HighSpeed, but it could have started slowing down before any of this also.
I'd back up all the data, partition the Hard disk in two, use C: for programs and Windows, and D: for all my data. This way, if Windows goes belly up again, and it will, I can just reformat C: and install everything again, while my data will be safe of D: :)


I'm copying this to the computer tech support thread, so that it might be of use to other members :)
 
The LCD's actual backlight, meaning that the screen is no longer lit up. It's very dark, basically unable to be seen/read. Only VERY bright white images can barely be seen.

TheWingThing said:
You mean the LCD's backlight or the keyboard's backlight? Either way, I'm not sure, did you look up their parts website?
 
bgreet said:
Also another question, my backlight in my laptop seemed to go out (only 2 years old) and I don't believe its still under warranty. Can I just buy the backlight and replace it for cheap? Thanks!
I have the feeling it won't be cheap or easy, just because that would be useful. In my experience, laptops are much harder to fix pieces of.
 
bgreet said:
The LCD's actual backlight, meaning that the screen is no longer lit up. It's very dark, basically unable to be seen/read. Only VERY bright white images can barely be seen.
Can you post the make/model specs of your laptop? I'll see if I can find out whether you can change the backlight alone or you'll have to change the whole LCD :)
 
Sure its an hp pavilion ze1230
 
I have a dell with the same issue (it's a total cheapo so I haven't fixed it). When I looked on the net, the word people were using as the backlight problem (a common problem) was the 'inverter'. And in the dell, that can be replaced.
 
Yea, I dont mean to lead anyone on, I'm very good at computers (ive done repair for the past 5 or 6 years or so) and I've worked with lcds, inverters and vga converters prior. I really wanted to know if anyone else had this problem with this laptop (I know I can get the inverter online for around $20) and my main question that I needed answered was the issue with eth0 in linux taking forever to load up (although I may be a hardware wiz, linux is still new to me).
 
Apparently, I found out that your LCD problem could be due to the inverter, inverter fuse or LCD backlight bulb. But I think you're much better than me that I need to even say anything about this.

About your wireless, is it DWL 650? I belive it uses a Intersil Prism-II chipset? I found two drivers (Sections 3.6.2 and 3.7) on this page (Section 3.6):

http://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Jean_Tourrilhes/Linux/Linux.Wireless.drivers.802.11b.html#Prism2

Can you try if an alternate driver than the one you are having will work better? Is your kernel the latest version, or is there a new one with better wi-fi support?

These guys (http://www.nongnu.org/orinoco/) also have a project page on Sourceforge.

I learnt that some people have to run dhclient manually on the interface (say, eth0), and it works seamlessly after it gets an IP address.
 
bgreet said:
my main question that I needed answered was the issue with eth0 in linux taking forever to load up (although I may be a hardware wiz, linux is still new to me).

My thought is that other ethernet drivers are probing, finding similar hardware, and attempting to initialize your ethernet card before timing out or otherwise failing. My suggestion is to rebuild your kernel and leave out all the ethernet cards except the one in your laptop. Or, if you're using modules, maybe it's trying to insert the wrong one or lots of them in some standard configuration?

What distribution are you running? Do you know if your drivers are built into your kernel or being inserted as modules? Also, as Wingy mentioned, a kernel upgrade could do the trick.
 
I was running (until the laptop bottomed out on me :/) Mandrake 9.2. Hopefully from your suggestions, after recompiling the kernel and perhaps using a different module for the DWL 650 it should boot up much better. The 5 min boot time is killing me (Well was anyway.....)
 
Just a clarification guys. bgreet said the wireless is eth0? I've only run Linux on my desktop with a single network card, but I thought the Ethernet card was always eth0, and the wireless might get eth1 or something? I'm not sure about this, but is this significant?

Dont the build-in devices initialize before the PCMCIA cards or it doesnt matter at all?
 
flighterdoc said:
A couple of simple things, and one kind of technical thing:

First, change your wireless network SSID to something non-standard (ie, "wireless" is pretty lame). Turn SSID broadcast OFF.

These two things will protect you from most of the neighbors getting into your stuff.

If you want to go an extra step, enable WEP. You have to do this both at the router and on each computer. This is fair encryption, not great but OK, and probably won't slow things down too much.

Personally, I only do the SSID stuff.

The specific steps to do this are hardware specific, but your owners manual should have the steps reequired.

Have fun!

One more security suggestion:

Configure your wireless router to filter on Ethernet MAC addresses. Enter the MAC addresses of the computers that are allowed to access the wireless router.

You will need to find out the MAC address(es) of all your computers. In a Windows XP environment, run a cmd window and enter "ipconfig /all" to determine the MAC address for your wireless and wired Ethernet connection (enter both on the wireless router).
 
I have another question for the nice tech geniuses that helped me out before. So I successfully installed a wireless network at my place. Everything's working like a charm (no loss of connection, etc) except I seem to have lost some performance.

When I had my computer plugged directly to the cable modem via an ethernet cable and ethernet card, I used to get ~3 mbits/sec download speeds according to one website. I used the same website to check my download speed and now, after switching to wireless, it's 1.3-1.4 mbits/sec and not much faster than that.

How do I get my download speeds back up to >2.5 mbits/sec? I'm on a g network so the theoretical highest speed should be way over 3mbits/sec (I think they advertise 54.) Suggestions would be appreciated.
 
Alexander99 said:
I have another question for the nice tech geniuses that helped me out before. So I successfully installed a wireless network at my place. Everything's working like a charm (no loss of connection, etc) except I seem to have lost some performance.

When I had my computer plugged directly to the cable modem via an ethernet cable and ethernet card, I used to get ~3 mbits/sec download speeds according to one website. I used the same website to check my download speed and now, after switching to wireless, it's 1.3-1.4 mbits/sec and not much faster than that.

How do I get my download speeds back up to >2.5 mbits/sec? I'm on a g network so the theoretical highest speed should be way over 3mbits/sec (I think they advertise 54.) Suggestions would be appreciated.

Is your ethernet card in your laptop 802.11g as well?

Maybe check out the settings on the WAP and see if you accidentally (or it was by default) have a max speed setting?
 
Neuronix said:
As far as I know, it's whichever driver initializes first. There are also ways of setting this manually. So, no, it shouldn't be important.

Correct, u can config all of that to be mac specific. Dont think that is interfering, if you chose that to be eth0 when mandrake is installed, thats how its configged.

Good call with the kernel recompile. The major problem with rh/mandrake/yellowdog right now though is that these distros have become so bloated that standard kernel recompiles can be a pain in the arse. :/ Standard installs ALWAYS install things you didnt want them to, etc.

Linux is in a weird place right now, imho. More and more people i know are converting to BSD, in fact my server, which got 0wn3d a few months ago, will be BSD when it is brougth back up in the next week or two.
 
if you ever need to fix something in your comp then try searching for it on the net. i fixed three of my most irritating comp problems that way and found that the ignorant people at gateway wasted tons of my time. God bless them.
 
Gleevec said:
Is your ethernet card in your laptop 802.11g as well?

Maybe check out the settings on the WAP and see if you accidentally (or it was by default) have a max speed setting?

Actually, my desktop had the ethernet card while my laptop has only had the wireless 802.11g (my router is also wireless 802.11g.) I'll try checking out the WAP settings but I have no idea why the default would set the max speed below 3 mbits/sec. What's the point of advertising a max speed of 54 mbits/sec then if you have to mess with the settings to get a speed that's way less than that?

Thanks for the info.
 
Hi TWT,
I had a question about my computer.... it has a 13 gb c:hungover:rive and a 120 gb d: drive. Where should I be installing my games, documents, pics? Should I not install anything on the c:? Or what sort of programs, if any, need to be on the the c:?

Also, I was thinking about buying a printer that can scan, copy, print, and fax? What are your thoughts on this?

Thanks! :D
 
bewitched1081 said:
if you ever need to fix something in your comp then try searching for it on the net. i fixed three of my most irritating comp problems that way and found that the ignorant people at gateway wasted tons of my time. God bless them.

On that note, check out my new thread

Stupid Qwest Telecom
 
N1DERL& said:
Hi TWT,
I had a question about my computer.... it has a 13 gb c:hungover:rive and a 120 gb d: drive. Where should I be installing my games, documents, pics? Should I not install anything on the c:? Or what sort of programs, if any, need to be on the the c:?

Also, I was thinking about buying a printer that can scan, copy, print, and fax? What are your thoughts on this?

Thanks! :D
A good way would be to keep your OS (Windows XP) and Applications on one partition (C:) and all your data on D:

This way, if your Windows screws up, you can format C: and reinstall Windows and all the Applications (aka Programs) from the CDs. All your data on D: will be safe and unaffected.

When I say data, I mean all the files you create or copy (all documents, including music, pictures, video, etc). You can also relocate your "My Documents" to D:, right click on "My Documents" and you'll see an option to select any location you want for your "My Documents".



Reg. your second question, I havent personally used any of these multifunction devices, you might wanna try these websites for the reviews:

http://www.cnet.com
http://www.zdnet.com
http://www.tomshardware.com
http://www.anandtech.com
or our old and gold http://www.epinions.com

Inkjets are cheaper, but if you want a really professional gizmo and cost is not a limiting factor, you might wanna consider a laser (color lasers are too expensive). Things to consider are: paper sizes that you might end up using, speed, availability of an auto-document feeder (you might wanna consider it at some point in the future if you want to scan a lot of pages or photos), cost per page of ink/toner, interface (USB vs Ethernet).
 
TWT: Thanks for the info on the partitions. I will do just as you say! :D
And double thanks on the websites! Those will come in handy!! :thumbup:
 
bump.

Sorry for the hiatus folks, my DSL connection is down :(

But post your questions here, I'll try to answer them from school as much as I can.
 
I have a question. I've got a wireless setup in my house, but since the router is at one corner of the house, the signal doesn't quite reach the opposite corner. This happens to be my room, which is most annoying.

I'm thinking about getting a signal repeater, but they seem costly, and at any rate, I have some no-name router pumping out signals (i.e. not Belkin or Buffalo or anything decent like that).

Any suggestions?
 
BubbleBobble said:
I have a question. I've got a wireless setup in my house, but since the router is at one corner of the house, the signal doesn't quite reach the opposite corner. This happens to be my room, which is most annoying.

I'm thinking about getting a signal repeater, but they seem costly, and at any rate, I have some no-name router pumping out signals (i.e. not Belkin or Buffalo or anything decent like that).

Any suggestions?
You can buy

1. a long network cable and put the router in the middle of your house, or
2. use a powerful omnidirectional antenna, or
3. you can actually use a pringles cantenna (directional, though)


Omni-directional antenna:
http://www.ramseyelectronics.com/cgi-bin/commerce.exe?preadd=action&key=ISM9D


Cantenna:

http://www.oreillynet.com/cs/weblog/view/wlg/448

http://linuxathome.com/files_images/cantenna.pdf

http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/accessories/666e/

http://www.techtv.com/screensavers/howto/story/0,24330,3406172,00.html

These might help you understand Wi Fi antennas:

http://www.winncom.com/html/wireless-trevormarshall.shtml


You can actuall install three cantennas (or more) in a three-pointed star fashion (a la Mercedes Benz) and get better coverage in all directions, or if you want coverage rather than range, use a parabolic reflector rather than a cantenna.






Disclaimer: I haven't built one, so I dont have any first hand experience if the FCC will knock on your door (or break in). Read the links about FCC regulations carefully, and use it at your own risk.
 
Help :scared:

I didn't spill anything on my keyboard at work, but there are a few keys that will NOT work, regardless of how hard I push into the key.

The 'zxbm and enter' buttons do not work :(

I already tried pushing in the cord to make sure it wasn't a loose connection. Is it a virus? or is my keyboard just messed up? I ran a virus check and it said I didn't have any infected files. I also tried shutting down the computer and turning it back on, and the keys still won't work.

Oh, and the only reason I can type is because I'm in a different room on a different computer. :(
 
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