Esto se traduce en un desempeño que desesperaría a la mayoría de nosotros en tareas como descargar archivos, mientras escuchamos un playlist en iTunes y editamos un documento en Word.

Sin embargo, hay personas que sólo hacen una cosa a la vez o no están interesados en actualizarse por alguna razón completamente desconocida e incomprensible para mí. Por lo que, después de

Un disco duro dañado,
Una unidad de CD que sólo lee por 10 segundos y
Un floppy que da lecturas de menos de 10KB por segundo,

sólo quedó realizar la locura que aquí describo. En un principio, parecía algo sencillo y directo, pero derivó en una labor por más tediosa y larga, pero que al final se tradujo en un éxito :)

Ingredientes:

- Un adaptador de interfaz IDE a USB 2.0.

Éste se acompaña con una fuente con interfaz PATA y un adaptador para SATA. Permite conectar discos duros de 2.5" y 3.5" y unidades ópticas o de discos externos (ZIP, Jazz) de 5.25"
Precio $ 350 aproximadamente

- El disco duro en cuestión

- Desatornillador de precisión de #0 o de 2.4m/m

- Un floppy de inicio de Windows 98 que tenga SMARTDRV.EXE

- Un CD de Windows XP en cualquier sabor (XP Professional, Home, SP1, SP2, SP3)

- Un equipo adicional con interfaz USB 2.0 y lector óptico para el CD de instalación.

- Fuente ininterrumpida de energía (UPS) de al menos 1000VAs.

- Toneladas de paciencia para esperar el proceso de 30hrs promedio.

Receta:

1. Sacar el disco duro de la laptop usando el desatornillador. Es importante que sea del tamaño que acepte el tornillo ya que se corre el riesgo de que se dañe y quede inservible.
t = 5 minutos

2. Conectar el disco duro al adaptador USB y si se requiere a la fuente externa de energía (sólo en el caso de discos SATA)
t = 1 minuto

3.  Conectar el adaptador USB en uno de los puertos USB 2.0 del equipo adicional. Se puede conectar en un puerto 1.1 pero Windows nos presentará un mensaje respecto a que el dispositivo puede ser más rápido bla bla bla... además de que necesitamos aumentar el tiempo promedio total en al menos 2 horas. El equipo detectará y presentará el disco como una unidad adicional en el explorador de Windows.
Usando puerto USB 2.0 t = 2 minutos para la detección
Usando puerto USB 1.1 t = hasta 15 minutos para la detección

4.  Ubicar el disco de la laptop (HDLap) en el Explorador de Windows y renombrar las siguientes carpetas:
Windows ---> Win
Documents and Settings ---> Docs
Archivos de Programa ---> Arch
t = 1 minuto

5. Del disco de Windows XP ubicar la carpeta I386 y copiarla al HDLap
Usando puerto USB 2.0 t = 12 minutos
Usando puerto USB 1.1 t = hasta 90 minutos

6. Quitar de forma segura el HDLap (Haciendo clic en el ícono de "Quitar Hardware con seguridad" 

7. Volver a colocar el HDLap en el equipo portátil e introducir el Floppy de inicio. Conectar la laptop en el UPS para que tengamos pila adicional y nos dé, de 6 a 8 horas de funcionamiento en caso de una falla eléctrica importante.
t = 5 minutos

8. Encender el equipo y seleccionar en el BIOS el booteo desde Floppy (se accede al BIOS apretando una tecla de función (F1, F2, F10, F12, Supr, Esc) dependiendo de la marca y modelo del equipo. Esperar a que se cargue MS-DOS 6.0 y aparezca el prompt 
Teclear lo siguiente:

A:\> smartdrv 

Cargará el cache de memoria extendida, esto quiere decir que en vez de usar sólo la memoria base de 640KB, usará el total de la memoria extendida (lo que se tiene en RAM). No habrá confirmación, pero el comando fue efectivo. 

A:\> C:

Cambiará a la unidad de disco duro

C:\> cd i386

Cambiará a la carpeta de instalación de Windows XP

C:\i386> winnt

Iniciará la instalación de Windows XP.
t = 5 minutos

Las ya conocidas pantallas de selección de partición, tipo de formato de sistema de archivos etc. Aquí es dónde empieza la pesadilla.
Si se ejecuta antes SMARTDRV t = 8 horas
Sin ejecutar antes SMARTDRV t = 20 horas

Según Microsoft se debe ejecutar SMARTDRV sin parámetros para lograr una instalación de fugaces 45mins y que en caso contrario serían 4 horas. En mi caso fueron más de 8 horas que tardó la primera fase de instalación.

9. El equipo se reinciará  en el modo "gráfico" y automáticamente continuará la instalación.
t =  8 horas

Al comienzo de la instalación se despliega una cuenta regresiva que promete 39 minutos aproximadamente. Pero cada minuto Microsoft es aproximadamente 15 minutos del mundo real.

10. Ya dentro de Windows XP, instalar los controladores dando como ruta C:\Win y C:\Win\inf Copiar los usuarios desde C:\Docs a C:\Documents and Settings

Obviamente este proceso es un tanto más complejo para restaurar Outlook, Outlook express, favoritos, configuración personal, etc. Pero es sólo a grosso modo.

Al final y después de tanto tiempo de "reflexión" obligada visualicé y probé algunas alternativas para cargar el sistema básico.

Posibles alternativas dependiendo de los recursos a la mano

a)  Haber conectado un CD externo -> ejecutar un Windows Live CD -> Copiar las carpetas del Live CD -> Generar un script para bootear desde el Live HD (ahora) -> Una vez en Windows y con la unidad de CD libre, insertar el disco de Windows XP e iniciar la instalación desde ambiente gráfico.
Tiempo estimado = 2 horas

b)  Tomar un equipo previamente instalado con XP -> Arrancar el equipo con un Live CD -> Conectar por USB el disco HDLap y copiar los archivos de sistema -> Volver a conectar a la laptop y realizar el paso 10. en adelante.
Tiempo estimado = 1 hora

Continuará...

Maybe this is just a sign of age (i'm only 22) or maybe I just grew too attached to XP.  I'm guessing its the latter of the two.  But once I got l the ittle things ironed out, like installing the correct flash package through synaptic package manager (I originally downloaded a flash package that blocked all flash objects on webpages, which pissed me off!), Ubuntu began to grow on me. For the record, I'm am still using XP on my XPS410 desktop mainly for compatibility and as a reference (I'm a computer tech).
It ran smoothly, quickly and rarely froze.  Some of the features that I liked:

Graying out of windows

When a program freezes or takes longer to respond than normal, the window will turn gray.  I find this to be a nice feature mainly because it lets you know that something is hung-up in the program.  Whereas in Windows when you click something you and it takes a while to load, you're not sure whether it froze or is running slowly.  And I know from experience if you try to click a frozen window it just whites out and you have a hell of a time closing it.

Synaptic Package Manager

This handy little tool pretty much allows you to download and install almost every program, plugin, etc... that is meant for Ubuntu.  Its really simple, just open it up, search for what you want, download, and install.  Its a pretty sweet deal!

FREE $$$$$

Everything is free!  For you who do not know, Ubuntu can be downloaded free of charge here!  Simply download the ISO file and burn it to a CD and viola! You're good to go.

If you're still weary about whether or not you want to make the switch to Ubuntu, you can try it out without installing it on your computer.  Just put the Ubuntu CD into your computer and restart and boot from the CD.  Ubuntu will then ask you for a language and whether or not you want to try it out or install it.

"No defragmentation tool is currently installed"

You might need to manually install Disk Defragmenter. You should still be able to get to the Disk Clean-up by going to My Computer, right-click on the drive, Properties. On the General tab, (near the pie chart) there should be a button for "Disk Clean-up". Just create a shortcut under C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Accessories\System Tools to C:\windows\system32\cleanmgr.exe and call it Disk Clean-up.

To install Disk Defragmenter, simply open My Computer and browse to C:\Windows\inf.
You may need to turn on hidden folders and file extensions to find this folder and the files.

In the C:\Windows\inf directory browse to find the dfrg.inf file. Simply right-click and select install. (Right-click C:\Windows\inf\dfrg.inf and choose Install.)

The install happens very quickly, so you might not see anything but a flash on the screen. Go to the Start Menu, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and see that Disk Defragmenter is now there.

Anyway, to the point: I'm sure you've all heard hilarious stories of idiotic tech support people not knowing what they're doing or the idiotic customers who call tech support but don't have clue what they need to tell them to fix their problem.

Well, here's my story, in short: I recently purchased a new video card for my PC, the HIS Radeon HD 4850 1GB - if you don't know what any of that means, just know it is a very decent card to own as of the date of this posting. Anyway, I also use Windows Vista 64 bit (aka Windows Vista x64) which still has some kinks to be worked out.

So I install the card, install the drivers, and things seem to be hunky dory for the first day or so. Then I get a series of BSODs (blue screens of death; error windows that all versions of windows are infamous for displaying), culminating in a error window that says my display adapter failed and was successfully restarted, at which point my PC cycles indefinitely between that error screen, a blank black screen, and my desktop. Only rebooting my PC stops the madness, but it comes back eventually.

Peturbed that I cannot yet use my video card with ease of mind, I went to the AMD/ATI support website and submitted a ticket, during the course of which, I was asked specifically for information like my operating system and type of video card and variety.

Right off the bat, I noticed their drop down selection for operating system included Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows XP 64 bit, but did not include my Windows Vista 64 bit OS as an option. So I chose the closest match (Windows Vista).

Then I see that they don't have my exact video card in the drop down selection for video card variety. So I choose "Other Card" and type in my problem, then submit the ticket.

About an hour later, Thunderbird throws out its tone for notifying me of a new email and I promptly open it up and follow a link in an email from ATI tech support, thinking, "wow, that was fast."

I am sent to an informational support page for my problem that is not helpful at all for two major reasons: First, it for Windows XP users, not Windows Vista users. Secondly, it is for those with AGP video cards, not those like me using PCI Express video cards.

So after all that, they linked me to an online support page that has absolutely no relevance to my PC configuration whatsoever. I immediately email them to inform them of their inaptitude in responding to my request, and well, the rest is history.

It's just amazingly crazy how stupid things like this can happen on such a regular basis...

The DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) is in place protect all people regarding the use and misuse of their original works by others. The particular violation of copyright that I plan to discuss and provide information on is blog scraping. While blog scraping is primarily of concern to bloggers, it also has diverse effects on everyday users and readers. Blog scraping, or feed scraping, is the act of a site subscribing to your RSS feed and reposting your content. Most often, and the point of blog scraping, is that your content will now be surrounded with ads. By stealing your content, the scammer behind this has attempted to make their blog look legitimate and increased the range of individuals that they can reach through search engine results.

This hurts the end-user, a blog reader, because it fails to establish community. If someone performs a web search and gets a result to a site pilfering your content, they may be able to read what they need and move on. That's not such a bad thing, in fact, that's what I hope I am able to provide to many people that end up here searching for support to a technical problem. I hope they are able to find their solution and get on with their life. The problem arises when my post only tangentially solves your problem and you want to ask a question in the comments to see if I might be able to help. If you're on my blog (http://404techsupport.wordpress.com) then feel free and I will reply to any comments and try to help. However, if you're on a scammer's site mirroring my content with ads all over the place, then:
A) If you post a comment, you won't get a reply from me and your problem won't get assistance. Even sending a 'Thanks' encourages a blogger to continue writing, but instead you would be thanking a scammer for stealing content.
B) If you click on a link or an ad on the scammer's site, you are allowing them to profit through advertisement and stolen content.
C) My (blog's) reputation will decrease because there are ads within the content, which makes pages harder to read and may link to inappropriate or unrelated sites.
D) You do not get the community from related articles and other readers with similar interests who may post in comments to assist further.

Unfortunately, my blog (http://404techsupport.wordpress.com) has been scraped. This means my content, many articles that I feel proud of and would refer people to, was showing up on other sites and largely attributing credit to someone else. It's been pilfered before by other illegitimate sites, but in those instances it only contained excerpts of a few articles and linked directly to the full link. These sites posted the excerpts, which were still a violation of copyright and intellectual property, but headed them with "404 tech support wrote:" which linked back to the full article on my page. These were of less concern to me.

Today, however, I became painfully aware of a site that was fully copying my entries and other entries from around the blog-o-sphere. As I looked around this site, searching for contact info, I saw some of these posts were getting comments. People were actually posting "Thanks" to the scammer for the posts that he had merely stolen instead of what they had created and taken the time to put down in words and share* with the world. (*Share does not imply that rights and permissions to material's usage have been given up.)

Due to this blog scraping, you may notice a few things different with the site (http://404techsupport.wordpress.com). I have added a disclaimer under the RSS feed in the right-column. This specifies that you may freely subscribe to my blog to be notified that there is a new post. You may certainly read the new posts through the RSS feed as it is intended. In fact, I encourage as many people that want to subscribe to the RSS feed. (You may also want to update your subscription as feed addresses have changed recently. Trying things out through Feedburner, which was then bought out by Google...) You may not use the RSS feed to repost my articles on another website. You may certainly post links to my articles from your site. I would be grateful for that and honored that you think I offer something worth your recommendation. You may also add-on to my posts if you have further steps, recommendations, or comments to add. You may also disagree with my posts and post a rebuttal on your own blog. I welcome all dialog regarding anything I write. If you wish to repost an article or parts of one, you should ask first. Unfortunately, this is one of those many cases where a few ruin it for the rest. I will most likely respond to you very quickly and grant permission if you are a legitimate blogger (anyone but a scammer/spammer/bot). I'll also link to your post with the original post.

Another addition to my site is the logo for MyFreeCopyright in the left column. This service allows you to timestamp your original content as a public record so it can be undeniably claimed as your own should legal ramifications be necessary for disputing Intellectual Property ownership. MyFreeCopyright subscribes to your feed and hashes the content of your posts (or other works) and creates a timestamp of creation verifying that the work is yours.

Neither the Terms of Service or the MyFreeCopyright are required to be posted thanks to the DMCA and the Berne Convention. Even if you don't have written anywhere that you hold the copyright to this original material, as the creator you hold this copyright regardless. I have posted this information, even though it is not necessary, because it strengthens the copyright claims, reaches to other countries that have strict requirements like the phrase "All Rights Reserved" or "Copyright [date]" must be visibly posted. This also helps act as a Terms of Service so that you can point any person running the ISP or the domain registration inbetween and say, yes this guy is violating my intellectual property rights, my copyright, and even here the visibly posted Terms of Service and copyright notice. MyFreeCopyright can then be used (by showing proof of the e-mail containing the title, excerpt, date, and hash of the article) to establish ownership.

I learned a lot researching the DMCA issues and what I might do and hope to provide some directions to point you in if your blog has been scraped or you are facing similar issues with stolen Intellectual Property.

Learn about the DMCA, Intellectual Property, and your rights:

• A brief intro to Copyright
• 10 Myths (actually 11) about enforcing copyright
• Links to plenty of resources to support your rights by the University of Texas
• University at Albany provides another source of resources.
• Public clearinghouse for Cease and Desist orders at Chilling Effects Clearinghouse.
• PlagiarismToday.com

Find out what to do and about others confronting similar problems:

• What Do You Do When Someone Steals Your Content
• How to Fight Feed Scrapers
• CNET News article
• Sock money's report of a DMCA violation for their blog.
• Lorelle On Wordpress accounts and offers pro-active suggestions to defend your intellectual property.

Take action:

• Find a good formletter to send to specify your violations to those involved.
• Perform a WHOIS to look up contact and hosting information. (Send an e-mail to the ISP hosting the content and webmaster@[violatingsite'sdomain.com] if you can't find a better way of getting a hold of the person running the website.)
• Search for sites copying your content with CopyScape.
• Contact Google AdSense to report their ads on a page stealing your Intellectual Property. (more info)
• If you use WordPress, submit a Tip, to get WordPress's help with this infringement.
• Submit your work through MyFreeCopyright.com.
• Report it to Yahoo! if they host the violating page.
• Report it to the advertising networks and hosting networks.
• Reconsider a Creative Commons license if you have it anywhere listed on your blog. If you are concerned about blog scraping, you will want to remove your Creative Commons license.

A big thanks to all the sites above as they helped me take control of my Intellectual Property.

Update: The site pilfering my content has now voluntarily removed it from their site after I sent them a DMCA notification e-mail. There are many blogs still "contributing" to the site however. Take action to help other bloggers!

The ALC882 series 7.1+2 Channel High Definition Audio codecs with UAA (Universal Audio Architecture), featuring five 24-bit stereo DACs and three 20-bit stereo ADCs, are designed for high performance multimedia PC systems.
The ALC882 series incorporates proprietary converter technology to achieve over 100dB Signal-to-Noise ratio playback quality; easily meeting PC2001 requirements and also bringing PC sound quality closer to consumer electronic devices.

The ALC882 series provide 10 channels of DAC that simultaneously support 7.1 sound playback, plus 2 channels of independent stereo sound output (multiple streaming) through the Front-Out-Left and Front-Out-Right channels. Flexible mixing, mute, and fine gain control functions provide a complete integrated audio solution for next generation multimedia PCs.

Features of Realtek High Definition Audio Driver :
- High-performance DACs with 103dB SNR are ideal for Dolby Master Studio
- ADCs with 90dBA SNR
- Meets performance requirements for audio on PC2001 systems
- 10 DAC channels support 16/20/24-bit PCM format for 7.1 sound playback, plus 2 channels of independent stereo sound output (multiple streaming) through the - Front-Out-Left and Front-Out-Right channels
- 3 stereo ADCs support 16/20-bit PCM format, two for microphone array, one for legacy mixer recording
- All DACs support 44.1k/48k/96k/192kHz sample rate
- All ADCs support 44.1k/48k/96kHz sample rate
- Applicable for DVD-Audio solutions
- 16/20/24-bit S/PDIF-OUT supports 44.1k/48k/96k/192kHz sample rate
- 16/20/24-bit S/PDIF-IN supports 44.1k/48k/96k/192kHz sample rate
- Up to four channels of microphone input are supported for AEC/BF application
- High-quality analog differential CD input
- Supports external PCBEEP input and built-in digital BEEP generator
- Software selectable 2.5V/3.75V VREFOUT
- Six VREFOUTs are supported by default, with additional four VREFOUTs available by sharing unused analog I/O pins
- Two jack detection pins each designed to detect up to 4 jacks
- Reserve analog mixer architecture for backward compatibility with AC'97
- Wide range (–80dB ~ +42dB) volume control with 1.5dB resolution of analog to analog mixer gain
- All analog jacks are stereo input and output re-tasking for analog plug & play
- Built-in headphone amplifiers for each re-tasking jack
- Supports both analog DC volume control and GPI digital volume control
- 2 GPIOs (General Purpose Input/Output) for customized applications
- Optional EAPD (External Amplifier Power Down) is supported
- Power support: Digital: 3.3V; Analog: 5.0V (Minimum AVDD is 3.6V)
- Power management and enhanced power saving features
- 48-pin LQFP lead (Pb)-free package
- Meets Microsoft WHQL/WLP 2.0 audio requirements
- EAX 1.0 & 2.0 compatible
- Direct Sound 3D compatible
- A3D compatible
- I3DL2 compatible
- HRTF 3D Positional Audio
- Emulation of 26 sound environments to enhance gaming experience
- 10 Software Equalizer Bands
- Voice Cancellation and Key Shifting in Karaoke mode
- Realtek Media Player
- Enhanced Configuration Panel and device sensing wizard to improve user experience
- Microphone Acoustic Echo Cancellation (AEC), Noise Suppression (NS) and Beam Forming (BF) technology for voice application
- ALC882D features Dolby Digital Live output for consumer equipment
- ALC882H features Dolby Home Theater software
- ALC882M features Dolby Master Studio software

Changes in Driver Package R2.05:
Realtek HD Audio Driver support all of Realtek HD Audio Codec in Vista/WinXP/Win2000/Win2003 .
1. Vista WHQL Supporting: ALC882, ALC883, ALC885, ALC888, ALC889, ALC861VD, ALC660, ALC662, ALC663, ALC260, ALC262,ALC267, ALC268, ALC269, ALC272, ALC273, ALC887
2. Windows 2000/XP WHQL Supporting: ALC880, ALC882, ALC883, ALC885, ALC888, ALC889, ALC861VC, ALC861VD, ALC660, ALC662, ALC663, ALC260, ALC262, ALC267,ALC268, ALC269, ALC272, ALC273, ALC887
3. HDMI Device WHQL Support: ATI HDMI Devices
4. OS Supporting: Microsoft WindowsXP, Widnows2000, Vista x86/x64
5. Pack with Microsoft High Definition Audio UAAV1.0a(5013)
6. Add/Fix
1.) Driver :
1. Customizations.
2. Meet Microsoft OEM Ready program requirements.
2.) Package :
1. Meet Microsoft OEM Ready program requirements.

Homepage

Size: 27.6 MB

Download Driver for Windows 2000, Windows XP/2003 (32/64 bits)

Download Driver for Vista (32/64 bits)

All Downloads from Page

-

Realtek HD Vista Driver MediaFire Mirror

-

This inspired me to create an affordable level of support for home and small business. I invite you all to visit our new project, www.leveluno.net. It will be our best effort to fix your issues remotely and via chat session for a flat fee. If we fail, we'll give you a refund or you can choose to escalate it further, onsite support if necessary. Beyond the remote support would incur a new hourly rate based on the severity of the issue, but we will discuss this with you if it gets that far. I wanted to create options and flexibility, and I think this is as close as it comes.

We are also featuring a new technology for bad XP issues. Instead of re-installing, we can fix it remotely, and you keep all of your data and files. You can learn more by visiting www.reimage.com or you can ask me about it.

The per incident level one support is being offered for an introductory rate of just $24.99 per incident. The site is simple and basic, but I want your feedback to make it even easier. Please throw your ideas at me, good or bad... I can take it

I hope all is well out there.

http://downloads.imsidesign.com/Updates/TurboCAD-Professional-15-2-Update.exe

TurboCAD Mac v4 Designer

http://downloads.imsidesign.com/TCMAC/TurboCAD-Mac-Designer-v4-Build-908.dmg

TurobCAD Mac v4 Deluxe

http://downloads.imsidesign.com/TCMAC/TurboCAD-Mac-V4-Deluxe-Build-908.dmg

Just amazing . . . and oh so frustrating.

Tweaky Geek

Now don't get me wrong. I'm generally very happy about the field I'm in. I love technology and don't see that interest going away any time soon. I like trying to figure shit out. However, just like any kind of maintenance job, it's not a job for those looking for recognition or praise really. Working the HD is mostly a thankless job.

TheProgrammer was merry as usual when I called him to rant before I went to class. He does such a good job of pretending to listen and care when I rant about my job. It's nice being able to chat about it with him. He's generally very empathetic because he used to work in HD. I heart him.

I really do have to do a better job of not bringing work home with me. It's almost 10 o'clock and I'm still thinking about work. Maybe a nice late dinner and some wine will do the trick until TheProgrammer calls.

Microsoft has extended the availability of Windows XP on new PCs by six months, the company confirmed today.

Computer makers that "downgrade" machines from Windows Vista Business or Vista Ultimate to Windows XP Professional will be able to obtain media for the latter through the end of July 2009, a Microsoft spokeswoman said Friday.

The new date is a change in policy. Previously, Microsoft had planned to halt XP Professional media shipments to major computer makers after Jan. 31, 2009.

"As more customers make the move to Windows Vista, we want to make sure that they are making that transition with confidence and that it is as smooth as possible. Providing downgrade media for a few more months is part of that commitment," the spokeswoman said in an e-mail.

The Jan. 31 date is also the last day when smaller companies, dubbed "system builders," will be allowed to purchase Windows XP licenses to install on the machines they assemble. The system-builder deadline has not changed, the spokeswoman added. It remains Jan. 31.

To confuse matters, some PC makers have long claimed that they would provide XP downgrades on new computers past the Jan. 31 deadline. Last June, for example, Hewlett-Packard Co. talked of a July 2009 cutoff. "HP...will continue to offer this option on its business systems through at least July 30, 2009," a company spokesman said almost four months ago.

The Microsoft spokeswoman clarified the situation. "The [downgrade] rights don't go away," she said via instant messaging in response to follow-up questions. "It's all about having the media on hand. It's always been OK to use what you've got."

Microsoft sent Windows XP into semiretirement last June when it stopped selling the aged operating system at retail, withdrew Windows XP Home from use on new PCs and allowed XP Professional to be installed as a Vista downgrade.

The latter tactic takes advantage of Vista's end-user licensing agreement, which allows users -- and in their stead, computer makers -- to install Windows XP Professional while also providing media for Vista for a possible upgrade later. More than a third of all new PCs are being downgraded to Windows XP, according to data from a Florida company that operates a community-based performance testing network.

It's also possible that XP will be widely available long after July 31, 2009. "Downgrade rights do not expire," Microsoft's spokeswoman said Friday.

The longer availability puts Microsoft in an unusual position; the new time line will make it possible for users to purchase XP-powered PCs through next July, just months before Microsoft plans to roll out Windows 7, the successor to Vista.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

To summarize the "feature" and problem: Any time Vista recognizes that you're on a new network (say the router changed or you're connecting to a new wireless access point) it prompts you to know whether the network is Private or Public. If it's Public, it locks down the firewall and removes exceptions for security reasons. That is not my problem with it however. That's fine. I have Vista installed on my desktop machine, it is never venturing out on public wifi or anything like that.

My problem is that the feature does not work. I have had multiple hang-ups with my network where it will just go as an "Unidentified" network. It is able to see my local network but will not allow connections to the Internet. When I look at "Manage network connections" (or at my Local Area Connection) it reads: Network 2, Network 4. I only have one NIC and it's plugged into a Linksys router. If I disable and re-enable the connection, it only picks up Network 2 and goes about its merry way allowing me to connect to the Internet and everything else just fine.

A smaller complaint is that I have to manually tell whether this network is public or private. It's hardly Network Identification, it's Network Dictation. I'm telling the computer what it is.

I was able to find that the computer stores the information in the following registry keys. It distinguishes one network from another by the MAC address of the default gateway. If you need to get down to the root of the problem you can carefully tinker around with these keys in the registry.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\NetworkList\Signatures\Unmanaged

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\NetworkList\Profiles

There is also a way to configure, rename, delete, and merge networks through the GUI. In the Network and Sharing Center, if you click the 'Customize' link to the right of the network name you'll see this window. You can clearly see at the bottom the option to Merge or delete network locations.

The Pirate City

There is a new web site called The Pirate City and its a preaty big deal. Apparently its got streaming full lenght movies. Some are cams, some are DVD rips, they are from all over it seems but the biggest thing here is that they are there and you dont have to download a thing to view them.

I am not sure how this works in that most torrent sites work the idea that they are not atcually distributeing the files. Its a fine line to walk but its a line.

Think of it like this.

If I go to a local dead head shop and buy a tobbaco pipe its all legal. If I then take my tobbaco pipe and out weed in it, then it becomes a bong and thats not legeal. The dead head shop didnt break any rules to sell me the pipe. I did when I use it in the wrong manner. 

The Pirate Bay, Mininova, Demonoid, Scenes.FZ, ISO Hunt, and so many more are not actually breaking any laws. Its when I use the torrent file to go get the material that I would be breaking the law.

So here is the problem I see with this site. They have to host these files someplace. And that means that they are distributeing the files. So how does that work? If thats the case you can bet that the MPAA will be all over them like white on rice to burn them as fast as they can.

I have been keeping an eye on Torrent Freak and File Share Freak but as of yet I have heard nothing from them as far as actual post on the subject.

I wonder if this is part of The Pirate Bay or if they are just useing the name to get traffic. What ever the answers are i know that I am already signed up for the site and waiting to see how things develope.

Mr. Nova

Option 1:
Inside of each Firefox and Thunderbird extension (.xpi) is two particular settings. One is minVersion and the other is, you guessed it, maxVersion. These simply state which versions of Firefox and Thunderbird their developers recommend will work with this extension. It doesn't mean it's been tested with those versions specifically; it's just a recommendation. If you'd like to test out the extension and see if it still works for Firefox even though the extension developers haven't signed off on it, you can edit the files to make Firefox load it. This isn't the best option as you create a branch from the original developer's work and you might miss out on new features that they would implement with new versions. I'd recommend using this only as a spare tire to get you by until the developer releases and updated version that works with a newer Firefox.

You can download the .xpi file to get access to the files. Rename the FileName.xpi to FileName.zip and then open the .zip file and extract the contents using any extracting program: Windows Explorer, WinZip, WinRAR, 7-zip, etc.

The Extension Developer's extension can be used to easily edit the Install.rdf to increase the version limit.

You can also use McCoy to sign your Install.rdf and Update.rdf to resolve the "does not provide secure updates" error message.

Once you're done, just copy these files back into the .zip file replacing the originals. Then rename the FileName.zip to FileName.xpi. Then do a File, Open... to install the extension in Firefox.

Option 2:
Option 2 is a better alternative for end-users who just want a quick remedy to their Firefox extension woes. It, again, doesn't guarantee that the extension will work, but it bypasses two checks that Firefox runs before enabling an extension.

Open a new tab and type 'about:config' in the address bar and hit enter. Click the 'I'll be careful, I promise!' and proceed.

Right click in a blank area of the about:config page and go to New -> Boolean.

Enter the text for the preference name: 'extensions.checkCompatibility' and hit OK.

Next, set the value to False.

Add another boolean value as you just did for 'extensions.checkUpdateSecurity' and also set it to False.

Once you have these two settings, restart Firefox and your extensions will at least get past the Firefox checks to let these extensions run. You can test for yourself to see if they work. If they don't and you have problems with them that crash Firefox, start Firefox in Safe Mode (shortcut in the Start Menu or right-click the special shortcut on the desktop) and toggle these settings to True in the about:config page.

With these settings enabled, you want to be wary regarding any extensions you install. You just opened a small window for malicious add-ons to get in by disabling Firefox's own checks.

I've seen Google search results redirect to these pages, meaning even well-intentioned users can stumble onto these pages. You'll want to cancel out of everything, not download anything, and closing your browser as soon as possible seems to be the easiest way to get out of this.

You'll certainly know if you're affected because your computer will misbehave and webpages will look different. For example:

A lot of times, after the legitimate page loads in Internet Explorer, it will redirect you to about:blank which has links to download AntiVirus 2009. Using Firefox will prevent you from these repurcussions, but you don't want this malware on your machine doing who knows what in the background even if you're not visually affronted by it.

We want to do two things at this point: Remove the malware from our machine and prevent ourselves and our users from stumbling on to these malware ridden sites.

Running a legitimate antivirus scan should remove the majority of things but there are still some slippery things that get by. Reboot in Safe Mode and run your virus scan for even better results.

Unfortunately my virus scan missed a few things left by this little bugger. Specifically, it missed the about:blank redirector and the additions made to Google. There is a browser helper object in IE that is allowing it to do this.

You have to take a guess, but it seems like this unnamed, random letters BHO is to blame. If you disable it, it just seems to come back enabled again next time you start up IE, very malware like behavior. It also shows it uses winsrc.dll. Doing a quick search for that file, finds that it is located in C:\Windows\System32. Checking the properties. It was created the same time as the initial incident occurred. Delete this file.

Deleting this file will prevent it from working. You can also find the entries in Internet Explorer's add-on menu in the registry. Open the registry and do a search for the random letter names. I found three entries and safely deleted them. The specific one that tied it to the Browser Helper Objects is seen below and removed its entry from the IE menu.

Delete the matching named key from HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Browser Helper Objects\{random letters}.

Also, run Spybot Search and Destroy. It turned up two results related to Antivirus XP 2009 on this machine.

That should remove the AntiVirus Xp 2009 threat from your machine. To prevent users from getting to the page where they might download the file or have it run for them we'll use an old trick of editting the HOSTS file. The HOSTS file is where your computer first looks to see how to resolve a URL to an IP. If there is no entry in the HOSTS file, it looks to the DNS server. In most cases these days, the HOSTS file contains a bunch of comments and one line: 127.0.0.1   localhost

This tells the machine that if the word localhost resolves to the IP address 127.0.0.1, which is your machine's local IP address (different than the IP address you'll get from your router or modem). We're going to add a few lines here to tell the computer that the domain name that is serving up these malicious programs actually lives on our machine. It doesn't so, it will just break the links instead.

Do not go to these sites! They are live and host malicious software!

Go to C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc\ and edit the HOSTS (no extension) with Notepad or Notepad++.

Add the following lines under the '127.0.0.1   localhost' entry:

127.0.0.1    av-check-online-scan.com
127.0.0.1    best-downloads-arch.com
127.0.0.1    masterspitetds09.com
127.0.0.1    onlineprivatescan.com
127.0.0.1    antispyware-free-scanner.com
127.0.0.1    scanner.ms-scan.com
127.0.0.1    scanner.micro-antivir-2009.com

It should look like the following screenshot. If you immunize with Spybot (recommended) you'll also notice a lot more websites listed.

You can save this file (remember, no file extension) and copy to your users' computers. This will prevent them from being accidentally redirected to a known site with malicious content. If you find more sites, simply add the URL to this same file in the same fashion and push it out to your users again.

The above sites were a compilation of the URLs I encountered while researching and trying to clean up an infected machine. If you know any other sites related to AntiVirus 2009 that should be filtered, I'd be very grateful to hear them to further reduce the likelihood of my users getting tricked into this site.

Update: I will add more addresses to the list to block as I unfortunately stumble upon them.

source not to be named\, but thank u sir you know who you are! LOL

Guest was trying to login to computer

Guest is very incoherent and not exlaining himself

He is speaking english fine, but not really forming full sentences, very hard to understand

At this point I only know that he is trying to login to something

I asked if he's trying to get on the internet but only get a grumbled response in reply, I have no idea what he actually said

He's mentioned the word Thinkpad and Windows XP but not in any kind of substantial context with anything else recognizable

He is just going back and forth with me now, really not accomplishing anything

He now mentions that he is trying CRTL-ALT-DELETE but I have no idea why or what for

After a few seconds of silence he says he is working now and then says goodbye

He has put the phone down but has not hung it up

I'm trying for several seconds to get him to hang up but to no avail

I finally just manually released the call

cc

AMAZING! I can't believe this is an actual ticket! I love it. Ballsy to say the least.

Target Health realizes how vitally important your clinical study support demands are. You can expect more from Target Health to ensure your experience with the Target Document document sharing system (DSS) is always a positive one.

In order for us to serve you better - you can contact our professional technical support staff using any of the support options below:

When you call or write - please include your: name, telephone number, email address, best time to call you, and a description of your Target Document problem.

E-mail: support@targethealth.com

Technical Support: (800) 381-5123, Fax: (212) 681-2105

Mailing Address:  Target Health^® Inc.  261 Madison Avenue, 24th fl.  New York, N.Y. 10016

Web site:  http://www.targethealth.com/

Next day, I get a nice reply back that tells me that the PC I have, while compatible for actual game play, cannot read the CD because the game is a DVD 3D direct draw type game and therefore will not read on a normal CD drive. No problem, I just happen to have a DVD ROM drive from an old PC laying around so, boom, I install that drive and prepare to install the game.

Game installs fine and I get  the opening menu and get to snoop around in it for a while. The day progresses as most days do and this thing known as work rears it's ugly head. Returning from the salt mines, I decide to look some more into this game now that its picked my interest. The game will now not load beyond the initial start up screen and I get this error message  'Conflict with emulation software detected'.

Not having a clue what emulation software is, I do some research and find out that basically its a program that allows a PC to play a game without the actual game CD inserted into the drive.

I'm a bit put off by this as to the best of my knowledge, there is no software like that installed on my PC. I notify tech support about the error and they tell me how to disable and/or remove said suspect software. Gleefully digging through the files and programs in my hard drive and hoping that I can find this suspect program and destroy it, my search turns up nothing.

I notify tech support again that my search was fruitless and the game will still not play. Wonders never cease as I get another message back from them only this time they tell me that the onboard video isn't capable of reading the game and suggest that the problem might go away with a simple upgrade. The stress on their part is the might. I search my favorite online auction site and find a video card that fits the requirements and uses AGP. (I'm not up to speed yet with the whole PCI-E).

Tech support comes back to me with a recap of a previous message telling me how to remove and disable any emulation software. Different tech support person and apparently they didn't read all the previous messages.(7 total spanning just short of a week.) I reply back that the issue of emulation software has been looked into and to be able to disable and remove said software, one has to have it in their system first. I ask about the video upgrade again to see if anyone  wants to take a stab at it.

No takers.

Video card arrives and I attempt to install it only to find out that I have a low profile tower and the card is not made for low profile towers. The air was a bit blue for a few minutes. By this time, the birthday has come, been celebrated and the game shown with 'sorry honey, daddy's trying to make this $&*%#@ thing work' comment.

A week passes and no response from tech support at all. I search the web for any way to resolve this issue and as luck would have it, I find a person getting rid of their old computer(s). We meet and I end up getting a trunk full of goodies like wireless keyboards, mice, network CAT-5 cables, monitors, speakers, surround sound systems for gameplay and the piece de' resistance, an HP Vectra upright tower (fullsize).

I immediately take my booty home and root through it like a homeless man digging through a Marie Calendar's dumpster. I remove the motherboard from the low profile and install the entire guts into the Vectra case. A couple hours of putting Tab A into Slot B, some creative engineering with the power switches and so forth and, Wa-La! We have a video card installed into the AGP port of a motherboard now inside a full size tower.

Game now plays, daughter is happy, life is good.

Still no reply back from tech support on whether a video upgrade would have solved the problem.

In the recent history I sent Sharky an email with some questions about file sharing I had. And guess what. HE ACTUALLY RESPONDED!! I have sent a number of emails to my local government with not so much as a thank for the email. But I send one email to this guy and not only do I get a response I get a whole written response and break down of things for my reading pleasure. 

How awesome is this. I know I seem like a giddy little girl but then again maybe its because I am giddy as a little girl!!

I have posted on here before about torrents and how I feel that what the MPAA and IFPI are doing is wrong and much of this is through the hard work that Filesharefreak and Torrentfreak put forth to bring the news to me.

So in recap while my elected officials ignore me. The guys over at File Share Freak have had no problem talking openly with me. And people wonder why torrent and P2P is so popular.

So if any of the readers want a great place to go check out a wealth of knowledge those two sites will keep you reading for days on end.

Thanks again Sharky for talking with me.

Mr. Nova