jaclaz

Hmmm. There are quite a bit (I would say the large majority) of very nice and honest peeps on e-bay, so let us NOT generalize, OK? But there are records of tens or hundreds of other far less ethical peeps that sold (or sell still) "fake" large capacity USB sticks. This is NOT necessarily the case at hand, and until we have some tests made the way they should be done (which does not include using NTFS under an OS that has a crappy support for NTFS) it is easy to jump to a wrong conclusion. However for the record the scam is as following: a legit, perfectly working 128, 256 or 512 Mb (and more recently 1 or 2 Gb) stick is used (but not necessarily a "good quality " one) through the manufactirer production tool the controller firmware is set to show a much larger size, typically 16,32, 64 or even 128 Gb most OS utilities will "trust" the USB stick firmware and detect the device with the set bigger size *any* "normal" partitioning/formatting utility will work normally with one of these "fake" sticks when you start writing data exceeding the "real" size of the device, you may have all sorts of queer behaviours, including data wriiten to "thin air" and the kind of "recursive" issues you previously described (but that given the conditions of the test do not justify - yet - assuming that the stick is a fake one) jaclaz

If the HD boots allright, you could add to your BOOT.INI an entry for grub4dos and from the latter try booting the CD (either by chainloading the CD bootsector or by-passing it and directly load the actual loader on the CD/DVD. At least this way we could undestand if the actual optical drive is allright. jaclaz

Wait a minute. A flashing cursor is traditionally a problem with either the MBR/partition table or the bootsector. In other words it is very possible that *nothing* except a handful of bytes in MBR or in the bootsector is wrong (and the actual install/system files are perfectly functional). If I were you I would boot from CD/DVD or USB and check (and save current MBR and bootsector, so USB would be better). Parted Magic would do if you don't have a PE of some kind. Then check status of the disk with TESTDISK, most pobably it can be fixed with no or very little effort. It is NOT advised to use tools like bootsect.exe, MBRFIX or the like because often laptops have "special" MBR code and by restoring "normal" Vista code you may loose access to the Recovery partition (it greatly depends on the actual OEM, model and what not), DELL used to have a "custom" recovery option, and later they migrated it to the "standard" way): http://www.goodells.net/dellrestore/ http://www.goodells.net/dellrestore/vista/ If you are sure that the PC uses this last approach you can replace allright the MBR code (if damaged) with *any* PE. If you have a USB stick handy (and the laptop - as I presume - is capable of booting from USB) we could try using grub4dos to boot the laptop bypassing the MBR and bootsector code (of course if the actual data or filesystem is corrupted there is no way). Another thing that you could attempt doing, once verified MBR and bootsector would be run CHKDSK /R from a recovery console, the normal,. downloadable XP one would do as well on a Vista NTFS. jaclaz

As often happen OT (but not much ) a small app that is useful to do WQL Queries to WMI: WMI tester http://www.paessler.com/tools/wmitester (unlike the Wbemtest that is - to say the least - terrible in usage) jaclaz

To get to that screen you need to press F8 repeatedly and as quicky as possible when booting, like you know: Alternatively, if you can boot another instance of the OS or a PE or a Recovery Console, edit a key in the Registry: http://tweaks.com/windows/36885/disable-automatic-restart/ Until you cannot get the actual BSOD and it's STOP ERROR data, there is very little (please read as "nothing") we can do to help you. jaclaz

Actually, and for the record, IMHO it was Vista that was so many lightyears behind *anything* that Windows 7 in comparison is light years ahead (though actually it is just a few kilometers - maybe - ahead of previous NT based systems). But more generally I fail to see any "lightyear" scale progresses. Let's forget for one moment "professional work" (I mean peeps using as a profession top graphical apps, CAD, animation and video editing programs or rendering, etc.). Let's forget also the eye candy. What has changed in 2011 as compared to 2001 (ten years) for "normal" office or home use? You have an e-mail program, a word processor and a spreadsheet + a .pdf viewer of some kind and an internet browser. You compose e-mails and reply to them, write a letter to be printed and sent via snail mail or faxed, you do some (crappy ) spreadsheet tables, you go on the internet to find something useful or fun. Then at the office you have some vertical accounting program, very often a port of a COBOL program that existed and worked since the dawn of time, or a database of some kind. Additionally you may have some crappy and slow "platform portable" java-based program. (not hat they are particularly bad, only they are just a different way to "deliver" a "same" functionality that has been there since years) I am not a gamer, but from what I can see there hasn't been any "revolution" connected to the actual OS is booted. The hardware is what ? 10 times faster (but in the meantime the OS and, for example, the Office suite has grown in size and complexity with a similar rate), see here: http://www.oooninja.com/2008/05/openofficeorg-microsoft-office-moores.html We still have basically (in most cases) the same way of interaction with the hardware (keyboard/mouse/screen/audio). The only real enhancement is IMHO the "web experience" but this has very little to do with the actual OS, it is a combination of the faster hardware (comprising the actual DSL or however much faster than dialup connection) and of the increased amount of contents the web has to offer. Sure, we have nice graphical effects, Aero and what not, but this is mainly eye-candy, nothing that has changed the usage paradigm IMHO. jaclaz

And additionally (and WITHOUT ANY actual data to back up this statement ) jaclaz's absolutely random observations tend to lead to the conclusion that the more dense (pardon me the pun ) the magnetic media is, the more it will be prone to some kind of failure. Seriously, anyone remember the BIGFOOT drives? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_Bigfoot_(hard_drive) And as a matter of fact they weren0t even particularly reliable.... The industry is currently "jamming" (I don't think there is a better term for it) increasingly huge quantities of data in the same space (the 3.5" form factor). It is quite natural that with Tb hard disk the precision of mechanical parts needs to be very very high and even the smaller unbalance or tolerance due to wear is more likely to produce a problem. http://www.forensicfocus.com/index.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=7552 http://www.forensicfocus.com/index.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=7552&start=16 Usual sound advice: http://www.storagedepot.co.uk/buying_guides/drive_reliability.aspx jaclaz

Yes, there is a general issue with "tutorials" which is the "scope". If the scope is very narrow and no options are given, the "path" is linear, but of course the result is also "fixed". On the other hand when you add options or choices you create "forks" that make the path more complex, and as such less easy to follow. I do understand how difficult it is to find a valid compromise between the need to keep it as simple as possible and that of giving the most options. jaclaz

My crystal ball tells me that it is a 0x0000007b. @infotronix This is EXPECTED as any NT based system needs a boot time drive to hook the .vhd mapped (temporarily and in real mode only) by grub4dos. There are both Freeware and Commercial such drivers, again you need to read and study before, here it is a good place to start: http://reboot.pro/forum/94/ jaclaz

But the question is, it is in any way "better" or "faster" than the 32 bit one? Or apart the (debatable) disadvantage of not having silverlight, which added features it has over the 32 bit version? jaclaz

Very good Only item remaining: Well, NO . Since the Windows 7 setup already ate up TWO partition entries, by adding the Win2 (and the Extended one) you fill to the brim the available space in the MBR. This will prevent most users to do a whole range of "tricks"or anyway obstacle future tests/uses. I will agree that in a "starting from scratch" situation you can do very little about Windows 7 default install "eating" two entries, but the WIN2 coul be well created as a Volume inside Extended. This would leave an entry in the MBR "free" for future use. Compare with (you remember ): I mean, if someone else (like the MS or HP guys) is putting you in the corner the problem is getting out of it swiftly, but if you put yourself, with your own actions, in that same corner, maybe it can be prevented . jaclaz

If the scope for the site is (as it should ALWAYS be) to be seen and appreciated by *all* users, you need to use "standard" formats and contents. There is a commonly accepted set of standard which is given by W3C: http://www.w3.org/ If your intention is to have the most happy people when visiting your site you should keep it as simple as possible, as adherent to such standards as you can and test it under several browsers. I may be an "extremely grumpy user" (and I usually am one ), but whenever I find a site that for BASIC operations (I don't care much about the eyecandy) requires me to download a plugin or access it with a specific browser I use to write them, both to the technical service if available and to the commercial one, to tell them how I was p|§§€d off by their site and by their arrogance in attempting to impose me the use of one given browser over another one and notifying them how they had just lost a potential customer. So, if your scope is having something that only fanboys of a given OS or browser will access or that however is aimed to a "niche" of internet users you are "free", other wise use the KISS principle as much as you can: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KISS_principle and make sure the site is accessible user by the most browsers. And NO, silverlight is not exactly "popular" right now (and there are serious doubts that it will ever become poppular ). JFYI: http://trends.builtwith.com/framework/Silverlight http://www.statowl.com/silverlight.php and http://www.riastats.com/ play a bit with the last one to get the idea jaclaz

I am not at all familiar with CentOS, but this could be a limitation of some kind in it's driver or a BIOS limit (IF CentOS somehow relies on BIOS info). If I were you, as said, I would install a filter driver in the Windows OS and do thinmgs as plain as possible. The driverspack issue sounds like having a different origin. Now that you have the 8 Gb partition on the HD can you try copying form the Ext3 partition to the NTFS one and then from the NTFS one to the USB stick? jaclaz

Pinout is the same for 10base-T or 100base-T, as said the speed depends on the actual cable and what interferences it may get (internal or external). The note is of the kind: "Since you are going to make a cable and you have anyway a 4 pairs cable, instead of leaving 2 pairs not connected, connect them so that this cable will be useful for 100baseT, having the additional pairs in the right place". Only pins 1,2,3 and 6 are used anyway in BOTH 10BaseT and 100BaseT and the pins 4,5,7 and 8 can be used for other things like POE, or for telephony, see the actual note for 100BaseT and linked to FAQ/article: http://www.zytrax.com/tech/layer_1/cables/cables_faq.htm#q16 http://www.zytrax.com/tech/layer_1/cables/mixed.html So, forget everything else, use this (already given as reference): http://www.nullmodem.com/RJ-45.htm You have: White Blue White Red Brown You will break colour coding anyway, so simply: White -> Pretend this is white/orange and connect it to pin 1 Blue -> Pretend this is orange and connect it to pin 2 White Red -> Pretend this is white/green and connect it to pin 3 Brown -> Pretend this is green and connect it to pin 6 jaclaz

You need: anything that works with a 9 V battery a couple pieces of wire (maybe even not needed) You connect in one room one of the Whites with the Blue wire. You remove partially the battery from the device, leaving only one contact clipped. You go in the other room and connect the "free" battery contact to Blue and and the "free" device contact to the White (NO! not that White, the other one! ) When the device powers up you know you have found the "right" white wire, and you apply to it (in both rooms) a sticker with "I seem white but I am actually red at heart!" or "Pretend I am red!" to identify it. Of course if you have a multimeter it is even easier. jaclaz

OT, and just to be picky, I've often seen {reboot} taking effect, but rarely affect. jaclaz

You don't actually *need* any "third party" tool. Disk Management will do allright, problem is that it won't work on a USB flash that is set as "Removable". There are two ways out: Complex - find the manufacturer tool for your stick controller (if avaialble) and flip the "Removable" bit (if available option) Easy - install a filter driver See here for reference: If you want to make a bootable USB stick with just one partition NTFS formatted (+ a hidden fake one that helps in some cases), the "right" tool is RMPREPUSB: http://sites.google.com/site/rmprepusb/ If you actually want a Free (for personal use) Partition Magic replacement, this could do: http://www.extend-partition.com/download.html jaclaz

With all due respect , I don't think that you are making a "fair" comparison. Get an earlier Opera (last one that works without KernelEx should be 10.10 or 10.63 ) Try disabling javascript in it. Do the comparison again. jaclaz

You don't really *need* 8 wires, it is the kind of cable that makes a (big) difference. The "normal" CAT 5 cable has 4 twisted pairs. Of these ONLY 2 pairs are needed for 100 Mb networking (all four pairs are needed for 1 Gb one). In a CAT 5 cable each twisted pair is twisted with a different space between twists (to reduce "cross talk"): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category_5_cable The good news are that this particular cable is intended for "professional use", with *any* length, to be crammed together with (say) another 15 cables in a small duct, etc. etc. So it is possible that given the small legth of the cable you have, the fact that it is "alone", IF the "telephone cable" is of a "good quality" and a number of other factors, you may get the full 100 Mbit speed. Problem might be the reliability of this connection. Since there are no "intermediate" speeds, IF your cabling has problems (lost/corrupted packets) at 100 Mbit, you will need to "step down" to 10 Mbit. Most probably IF there are problems they will be "intermittent" in the sense that "now it works", someone powers a vacuum cleaner or a neon light in the room and suddenly it won't work reliably anymore. Depending on the uses you want to do (as an example to check e-mail 10 Mbit is good enough, to transfer files far less so) you may live with the lower speed allright. Use this as a reference to see which actual wires are needed (pins 1,2,3,6): http://www.nullmodem.com/RJ-45.htm jaclaz

If I may, this is not "perfect": CurrentControlSet is normally a "hardlink" to either ControlSet001 or ControlSet002, so one of the lines is normally redundant. These two lines will yeld the same result as the previous three ones: Point is that there may be more than two controlsets. Ideally a check should be made on key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Select and select the actual xyz of ControlSetxyz based on contents of values Current, Default and LastknownGood. Also, it should be added that one needs to shutdown the Windows 7 immediately after having modified the mentioned key. Some other considerations in no apparent order..... Another point that IMHO you should make clearer is that this approach ONLY works for those "from scratch" installs of Windows 7 that create the "protected" 100 Mb partition (where BOOTMGR and the \boot\BCD are) since there are not particularly complex "added operations" for a more "traditional" install, you may want to add a point explaining these needed operations. There is no actual "need" that the Windows 7 partition (BOTH "Win1" and "Win2") is a Primary (if the 100 Mb protected partition is used). There is no actual *need* to image the whole 100 Mb partition, you could add instructions to create a "boot floppy": http://www.multibooters.co.uk/floppy.html (such an image, if stored on external device, such as USB stick or HD, can be mounted and booted by grub4dos allright) or, if Primary partitions are used, copy anyway the BOOTMGR and \boot\BCD inside the "Win1" and "Win2" partitions, this way in case of problems you only need to make the "Win1" or "Win2" partition the Active one. Finally (and IMHO) EasyBCD is not the "best" tool to simply add an entry to the BCD, there are simpler tools: http://reboot.pro/7476/ on 32 bit, I find this: http://reboot.pro/10003/ the straighter one, but also Bellavista (both 32 and 64 bit exist): http://www.zezula.net/en/fstools/bellavista.html and BOOTICE (cannot say if 64 bit working) could be a nice tool to use as it has many more useful features, very handy when doing this kind of mods, latest version is here: http://www.ipauly.com/bootice/bootice_0.9.rar Keep up the good work! jaclaz

Hmmm. Actually it was not created at all, they took some good 2K system and added to it some eyecandy, some completely uneeded things and quite a bit of vulnerabilities. It was released for the first time around ten years ago, right . jaclaz

This is coming dangerously near the NTFS vs. FAT32 flame war I am trying to avoid starting (again). As you might know (or completely ignore) I like Win2K the most among the mentioned OS as it is a good compromise IMHO between usability (NT 4.00 is actually for geeks only) and effectiveness. (and yes I have a "mirror" machine to the one with NT4.0 I described with more or less the same stats, though for unponderable reasons - not connected I hope with the OS - over the years in two different occasions a lightning fell near the building and in BOTH cases the damaged machine was the one running 2K) But as said before it is simply the OS that can better do a number of things I need to do or that can do it (or that I know how to make it do) with the less fuss or without unneeded eye-candy. To give you an idea of the kind of "unusual" user I am, the first thing I do when I get a PC is disable sound (or where possible directly remove the card). This does deprive me of some entertaining experiences, such as: http://www.unknown.it/materiale/titipa/tititipa.html but all in all I prefer my silent room. jaclaz

You really don't know that you are pointing to the "Show inactive icons" arrow ("chevron") button? http://www.techf5.com/904/unhide-view-hidden-icons-on-taskbar/ http://malektips.com/xp_taskbar_start_0038.html Or are you having an issue? Check here: http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_n.htm you want to look for "notification area". jaclaz

Well this is not at all fair. First thing "NT systems" are not XP, just for the record I have a NT 4.00 machine running 24/7 since march 2003, only switched off/on for power outages or replacement of failed hardware/update of software/drivers/ordinary maintenance, let's say that on average it has been rebooted 15 times per year and NEVER had a BSOD and yes, it is connected to the internet and is also used as mail client and for (limited) Internet browsing. Second thing, you are comparing you (whom I would call a particularly knowledgeable 98 user) to any of the most common XP users that lets MS and Windows Updates manage their PC instead of themselves. XP just like Vista and 7 is botched in it's design because the good MS guys thought they could "export" their good OS (NT4.00/Win2k - reserved and aimed to corporate/professional use) to the masses by changing a few graphical aspects and automating some other ones. An OS is a very complex thing and a more complex OS (like the NT family OS's undoubtedly are) need MORE maintenance/attention than a simpler one. Point is how many people using XP in the last 10 years are capable of this (and actually are using ANY of the actual features of the OS, like authentication, group policies, permissions, quotas and what not). Most "normal" users have "normal" needs, in most cases machines have one single user, and do very basic things. So, as I see it the problem is that these OS were first "forced" into being usable by the masses, and then largely used by masses that had no idea waht they were doing (mind you the fault is not that of the masses, it is still of the good MS guys that provided them an unsuitable OS). jaclaz

If I may, if there is a "main" PC and a less used one, easiest would be to buy a couple network-over-power-lines adapters, principles: http://computer.howstuffworks.com/power-network.htm Examples: http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=294&name=Powerline-Networking If you can live with a slightly slower network, two of these (example): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833122259 may fit the bill, if you want a speed comparable to an ordinary 100 Mbit lan, this (other example): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833146001 should do within a still reasonable price. (and you get anyway two hubs that ay come handy to connect a NAS or a notebook) jaclaz