Set Default Booting OS - Disable Boot option menu

Have you installed multiple OS on your computer and tired with multiple OS menu while booting your computer. In my friend's computer he partitioned his hardidsk in to 5 different partitions and installed Windows XP on all 5 different partitions. Actually 3 of them are corrupted and only 2 of the installed OS works. Every day while booting his computer he is so confused as which Windows XP should be selected from the OS list. It was actually fun watching him while he is selecting the right OS from the boot menu after starting his computer.

We can change the boot menu in any computer and select a default Operating System from the list of installed OS in few simple steps. To perform this we need to change some settings in boot.ini file stored on your computer. The steps to change boot menu option and select default OS follow the steps below.

Edit Boot menu option - Change default OS settings

To change boot menu option in Windows XP follow the steps below.

1. Right click on My Computer icon and click on Properties


2. Click on Advanced tab


3. Click on Settings button under Startup and Recovery



Now we can select the default OS from the list of installed OS in our computer. After selecting the default Operating System we should set the Time to Display list of Operating Systems to 0 seconds. Now we need to click on OK.

On next reboot onwards we will not see the list of all installed OS in our computer. We will directly log on to the default OS which we set here.


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12 core processor from AMD - AMD Opteron 6100 series

I think the old furious processor war between Intel and AMD resume soon. In AMD official blog they claim ,they on the way to deliver new 8- and 12-core processors with high performance. If it is right let us wait and see another episode of processor war which held few years back. They says AMD 6100 series (12 core processor) processor for cloud environments and a little expensive as more than $1000.

It is announced that Acer will be the pioneer using AMD's Opteron 6100 serious in their systems. Technically speaking Opteron 6100 series consist of 10 chips with either eight or 12 cores. Each core offering clock speeds ranging from 1.7GHz to 2.4GHz. John Fruehe, AMD's Director of Product Marketing is very optimistic about the new product.He is saying "The big thing we will be doing is delivering more cores and more memory for less money". AMD claims their Direct Connect Architecture 2.0 can support up to 16 cores per CPU. Any way let us wait for the release of new 12 core processor from AMD and its equivalent competitor from Intel family.


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Green IT Exam for Environmental Friendly Technologies

Are you an IT professional and a Friend of Environment ? Do you want to know how to reduce environmental pollutions by simply changing some of our technologies ? If your answer is yes ,there is a training program which covers new technologies which protects our environment from further pollution. Computer Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) introduces Green IT Exam which teaches all about Eco friendly technologies and policies for IT professionals.


This exam covers following topics (From their web page)

1. Current IT methodologies

2. How to implement and keep-up green IT initiatives

3. Cost-cutting power management and IT virtualization techniques

4. What is environmentally-sound waste disposal

5. Global organizations mandating standards and regulations

To know more about CompTIA's Strata Green IT certificate click on the link below.

http://www.comptia.org/certifications/strata/greenit.aspx


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Use Flash Memory (USB) as Virtual RAM in Windows 7 and Vista

Using the ReadyBoost technology from Microsoft we are allowed to increase the main memory of our computer by converting flash memory(USB memory) as virtual primary memory. This feature is available in Windows Vista and Windows 7. Using this feature we can speedup our computer with the help of this additional virtual primary memory. We cannot use ReadyBoost in our computer with all kinds of USB memories. It should meet some minimum requirements to enable ReadyBoost technology.


System requirements to use USB memory as virtual system memory

* USB memory should be at least 256 MB

* USB memory should have access time of 1 ms or less.

* It should have atleast 2.5 MB/s read speeds and 1.75 MB/s write speeds

Steps to convert USB memory to virtual RAM memory

Steps to convert USB memory in to virual RAM memory follow the steps below.

1. Connect USB memory to the computer (Vista or Windows 7)

2. Right click on USB drive and take properties


3. Click on tab ReadyBoost and apply


Now if your USB memory meet all the requirements of ReadyBoost , it will be converted to virtual RAM and you can see a considerable performance increase for your computer.


Points to Remember while using ReadyBoost

In Windows Vista it is limited to 4 GB while in Windows 7 it is upto 256 GB of additional memory by connecting maximum 8 different USB memories. Windows OS older than Vista don't support ReadyBoost technology. Currently Windows Server 2008 is also not supporting ReadyBoost technology.

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How to fix MBR (Master Boot Record ) damages and issues - Fdisk commands

MBR (Master Boot Record ) is the first sector(512-byte) in your hard disk where the the primary partition table and instructions for BIOS to boot the computer are stored. Any corruption to MBR is fatal as it can even stop our computer from booting. This MBR damage can occur in different ways:

1. Possible Virus attack

2. Hard disk errors

3. Multiple OS installation


Possible Reasons of MBR Damage

There are some kind of viruses called MBR viruse can damage the Master Boot Record of your computer by replacing the original MBR with new one created by them. Original MBR sector will be moved to some other locations in the hard disk. These MBR viruses can start when the system boot-ups (ie: Even before Operating System loaded). Other possible reasons are hard disk errors and improper installation of multiple operating systems.

The effects of corrupted MBR is difficulty in starting computer , cannot boot computer in safe mode and other available safe mode options etc. The worst cause is not booting computer.

To fix MBR we have some tools which operates in recovery mode. We cannot
actually change the MBR while Windows is running.

commands to Fix MBR issues

Fdisk /mbr

The MS-DOS command Fdisk /mbr rewrites the MBR on the hard disk, to resolve MBR
corruptions. This command is useless if your computer is infected with MBR viruses ,they will again reinfect the new MBR sector and the issue persists. Hardware specialists are not recommending this command to fix MBR issues and they recommend the second Fdisk command - Fixmbr.


Fixmbr - command to fix MBR in Recovery Console


It is another DOS command to fix MBR corruptions. It also work as the Fdisk /mbr command.The fixmbr command is only available from within the Recovery Console in Windows 2000 and above. In fixmrb command we can specify the location of master boot record if we are not going to fix the mbr of master boot device. The the command look like:

fixmbr (device_name)


You need to boot your computer using Windows disk in order to use fixmbr command.

Steps to run Fixmbr on your computer

1. Restart computer

Restart your computer with Windows CD where DVD/CD drive is the primary boot device.


2. Recovery console

Press the R key to start the Recovery Console when it prompts.

3. In Recovery Console command prompt, type fixmbr and follow the instructions



Note: It is dangerous to play with MBR without proper knowledge about it. Any mistakes can make your computer non-bootable.

Related Topics

1. Data Error: Cyclic Redundancy Check

2. 16 Useful Windows 7 Tips and Tricks - Tweak Windows 7

3. How to View Saved passwords in Opera browser

4. Configure Netopia Wi-Fi Router

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Samsung NB30 netbook - Samsung New Mini Laptop Features

Latest netbook from Samsung is Samsung NB30. Compared to previous netbook models Samsung improves some features in this netbook. Some of them are increased battery life ,hard disk drive (HDD) freefall sensor,water-tight seal around the netbook ,built in software etc. This particular netbook comes with pre-installed Operating System. Windows 7 Starter Edition is the pre-installed OS. If you like to read my reviews about other Samsung Netbooks click on the link below.

Samsung Netbook Reviews


The out look and configuration of Samsung NB30 netbook is:






Configuration of Samsung NB30 netbook


Processor : Intel ATOM N450 Processor with 1.66 GHz

RAM : 1GB DDR2 RAM

Harddisk : 160 GB SATA HDD (5400RPM) with Free Fall Sensor

Display: 10.1" WSVGA (1024 x 600), Non-Gloss, LED Back Light

Diemension : 18.8cm X 26.4cm X 2.7 cm

OS : Windows 7 Starter Edition

Graphic Processor : Intel GMA3150 (Int. Graphic)

It includes a 0.3 Mega Pixel inbuilt webcam, Wi-fi (Support wireless G ,B and N standards), Bluetooth (Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR) and Fast Ethernet port.


Available Ports and connectors in Samsung NB30 Mini Laptop:

1. 3 USB 2.0 ports,

2. VGA out,

3. DC power-in,

4. RJ-45/Ethernet (10/100),

5. Stereo headphone/line out,

6. Stereo microphone in,

7. VGA webcam,

8. 3-in-1 card reader

Battery Life of Samsung NB30

Samsung claims the battery life of Samsung NB30 is 11 hours with some conditions. 11 hour battery life is possible by cutting down the energy consumption of NB30 by energy efficient LED display and the netbook's optimized processing performance. In addition to this Samsung’s proprietary Enhanced Battery Life solution helped them to achieve this 11 hour battery life. But in some NB30 reviews they says this 11 hour battery life is possible only if we are not running many processes at the same time.

NB30 is covered with water tight and scratch-resistant system and it assure the minimum damage in accidents compared to other models. Another nice feature of NB30 netbook is hard disk drive (HDD) freefall sensor. It lets the netbook to save data by automatically parking the HDD if the power is very low. The built in tools includes AnyPC( remote PC access application) and Phoenix FailSafe ( tool for tracking your PC when it’s stolen).

Related Netbook Reviews

1. Samsung N128 Netbook Review

2. Asus 1005P Netbook Review

3. Latest Netbook Reviews

Technology blog

Internet Explorer 9(IE 9) support HTML5 and CSS3

Microsoft seems again serious about browser war. They offer Internet Explorer Platform Preview download for web developers and programmers to check how Internet Explorer 9 satisfies their needs of new web standards like HTML5 and CSS3. The main attractions of HTML5 is embedded video and audio though many other features like better performance with JavaSript , text, and graphics. In one of my older post I wrote about the built in video feature of HTML5.

No Flash player to view Youtube videos At that time the major browsers which support HTML5 were Firefox 3.5,google chrome and safari 4. Now if MS keep its word we will get one more browser which support HTML5 , IE9.

With the introduction of IE9 Microsoft aim to compete with the booming popularity of Firefox and retain its browser market share. Now itself the market share of Firefox is near to the Internet Explorer. The statics is given in this blog post.
Browser Choice and Browser market share in EU

Though the final version of Internet Explorer 9 is waiting for its release , we can download and check IE Platform Preview. To download Internet Explorer 9 Platform Preview and check the new Web platform capabilities of Internet Explorer 9 ,click on the download link below.

http://ie.microsoft.com/testdrive/

Related Articles

1. 16 Useful Windows 7 Tips and Tricks - Tweak Windows 7

2. How to View Saved passwords in Opera browser
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3D tab management add-on for Firefox - FoxTab

Today I found a new addon for Firefox browser which helps to manage firefox tabs in a 3D effect. Name of the addon is FoxTab and I think this addon will be interesting for you. This 3D tab management addon help you to:

1. Easily access your favorite websites

2. Easily manage opened Firefox browser tabs

3. Re-open recently closed browser tabs

FoxTab will open your tabs as shown below.


Install FoxTab

1. To install FoxTab on your computer go to the following link.

http://www.foxtab.com/

2. Click on Download Now button.


3. Follow the installation directions by click Allow

4. Click on Install Now

5. Restart Firefox

6. To launch FoxTab click on the FoxTab icon in Firefox toolbar




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Hard Disk SMART Command Failed - Reason and Fix

Yesterday night I saw one interesting error in my computer. It is like I cannot boot my computer properly and instead of OS window I am stuck in an error page. It says hard disk smart command failed and the only key which work is tab key. First of all I just confused in the situation like even if I reboot my computer ,I am going back to the same error page "hard disk smart command failed ". I started counting the possible reasons for this particular error. The major possibilities came in my mind were :

1. Hard disk failure

2. BIOS / Mother board issue

In the error page I am getting an alert like press Del to enter BIOS. But pressing Delete button was not working. So I decided to check the hard drive ,so I opened the cabinet and disconnect power and Bus from the hard drive. Then I reconnect it. Surprisingly my computer started work again and no more smart command failure message. Then after I started checking the actual reason for this hard disk smart command failed error message and the possible solutions of this error message. By going through different message boards I got an over all idea of this error message.

hard disk S.M.A.R.T command failed - Possible reasons and solutions

The main reason for this error message is hard disk failure and when the SMART BIOS feature detect this issue we will get the hard disk smart command failed error message.

SMART stands for Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology for monitoring the hard drive for any kind of malfunctioning. If S.M.A.R.T detect any problems with computer hard disk it will return the hard disk smart command failed error message.

solutions for hard disk smart command failed error message

The permanent solution for hard disk smart command failed error message is replace your hard disk with a new one. But there are some other workarounds for this error. They are:

1. Disable S.M.A.R.T feature in BIOS

It will avoid the chance of detecting the computer hard disk failures and you will not get any more SMART error message. We know it is not a perfect solution for long term.

2. Disconnect the power and Bus of hard disk and reconnect

It will let you reboot your computer without any issue and back to booting menu.

3. Regular Hard Disk recovery methods

It is recommended to perform any kind of hard disk recovery steps like de-fragmentation for fixing the errors of your computer hard disk.

Currently no more solutions I found. If I found any more I will add it here.

Related Articles

1. Cannot Start my computer - Disk Boot Failure

2. How to reset BIOS password

3. Connecting two computers using USB cable

4. Check Frequency of RAM
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Turn Off / On Windows 7 Security and Maintenance messages

Some times we may get bored with different kinds of security messages or maintenance messages from Windows 7 installed in our computer. It is about the windows update ,Internet security messages or even the check update messages. We can turn off these kind of messages from Windows 7 control panel.To turn Off or turn on Security and Maintenance messages in Windows 7 follow the steps below.

1. Click on Start

2. Go to Control Panel

3. Click on Review your Computer's status

4. Click on Change Action Center settings


Now you will get the option to turn off or turn on windows messages related to following items in your computer.

* Windows Update

* Internet Security settings

* Network Firewall

* Spyware and related problems

* User Account Control

* Virus protection

* Windows backup

* Windows troubleshooting

* Check for update

You just need to uncheck items shown in the list to disable windows messages for that item.

Related Topics

1. Enable Encryption and Password protection in your flash drive

2. Toshiba Mini NB305 Netbook Reviews

3. Change Display monitor in Windows 7

4. Select Default Boot OS in boot.ini

5. 16 Useful Windows 7 Tips and Tricks - Tweak Windows 7

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Opera Mini 5 beta released for Google's Android operating system

Finally Opera released beta version of a new mobile browser for Google's Android operating system. It is Opera mini 5 and we can download it from Opera's download.



Features offered by Opera Mini mobile browser


The major features of Opera mini browser are:

1. Faster compared to other mobile browsers

2. Opera Mini displays the overview of the web page which we visit

3. Have the option to zoom in and out

4. Speed dial option is available

5. Opera Mini has password manager and you can save your online passwords here

6. Opera Mini browser support tabbed browsing


Where to download

For your computer you can download it from the following link. http://www.opera.com/mini/next/download/

If you are on your mobile phone ,go to the link below. http://m.opera.com/next


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Twitter say bye to malicious links - Phishing link filter for Twitter

Twitter will introduce a new filtering system to find and remove links which shows any kind of malicious activities. Since Twitter faces issues with phishing links which steals private and sensitive details of twitter users , they introduce the system. According to the new filtering system ,all links should pass through a filter which can identify the links with malicious behavior and remove it. The main focus of the filter will be on links sent via direct messages and e-mail notifications. Last month Twitter faced issues with so many phishing activities. Twitter blog says about the anatomy of usual phishing attack against Twitter users. According to Twitter team it falls in following three categories.

1. User Accounts send out phishing messages to all accounts following them

2. Accounts that are newly compromised send out more messages

3. Scammers behind the phishing attack make an attempt at monetization by sending out spam links instead of links to a fake login page

So Let us hope the new filter will help to prevent all malicious phishing links in Twitter.


For more details please go through the links shown under source.
Source:

http://blog.twitter.com/2010/02/avoid-phishing-scams.html


http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-10467152-245.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0


If you are looking for a way to check whether who you are follwing in Twitter are following back or not.

Check whether People who you follow are following back

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How to delete all spam mails send by single sender in Gmail

It might be frustrating to see uncountable number of spam mails in your inbox when you open your email account. Some times you cannot mark those mails spam for some reasons like you might be bonded to subscribe their mails instead of some service you are using. So you cannot unsubscribe or mark the mails as spam. In every email services they have an option to delete those mails before come to your inbox. This is really simple and this post is just for newbies. Here I discuss how we can delete all the mails based on any of the following conditions.

1. Address of the sender

2. Subject of the mail

3. Specific words in the mail

In gmail we need to create a mail filter to filter out all the mails satisfying the condition which we set. Then we can set the result as delete all the mails satisfy the condition before coming to our inbox. To perform this follow the steps below.

1. Log on to your Gmail account

2. Click on Settings


3. Click on Filters tab


4. Now click on Create a New Filter

5. Set filter criteria

Here you can set the criteria for your filter. You can set in on the basis of sender email address , subject of the mail or specify the keywords you need to set as criteria. After setting this click next.

6. Now check Delete it and Also apply filter to X conversations below


7. Click on Create Filter

Now onwards the mails which comes under filter criteria will be deleted before coming to your inbox. If you apply filter to the already present mails they too will be removed from your inbox.

Related Topics

1. 16 Useful Windows 7 Tips and Tricks - Tweak Windows 7

2. How to View Saved passwords in Opera browser

3. Data Error: Cyclic Redundancy Check

4. How to Start Wireless Zero Configuration (WZC)
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View or Remove Saved Wireless Networks in Windows 7 - Preferred Networks

Some time we need to modify the saved wireless networks in our computer for various reasons. Preferred wireless networks are the name of saved wireless profiles in your computer. These saved wireless profile will let you to automatically connect to the same wireless network when you come back to the same wireless network range again. This wireless network profile consists SSID of the wireless network, wireless key etc.By the time wireless admin may change the wireless key of the saved wireless network and as a result your computer will not connect to the same network again. So you need to edit or remove the saved preferred wireless network in your computer and save the new wireless profile for that wireless network.

View or Edit Saved wireless networks in Windows 7

In Windows 7 to find the location where preferred wireless networks saved is not as straight as in Windows XP.


1. Click on Start

2. Click on Control Panel

3. Click on Network and Internet




4. Click on Network Status and Tasks



5. Click on Manage Wireless Networks panel



Now the saved wireless networks will show. You can select the saved wireless network (preferred wireless network ) and click on remove.

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Microsoft present Browser Choice - Browser Choice Screen for EU Windows users

Because of Opera's complaint to the European Commission against Microsoft caused the origin of Browser Choice Screen in Windows based computers in European Union. Browser Choice Screen display links to major browsers Including Internet Explorer's competitors Firefox ,Google Chrome ,Opera etc and let the user to download them on their computer. Microsoft forced to display Browser Choice Screen because European Commission find the integration of Internet Explorer in Windows OS is unfair to other browsers. After the introduction of Browser Choice Screen in Windows computers , download rate of other browsers have increased.

Current EU market share of major browsers

The major browser's European Union market share is:

Internet Explorer : 46

Mozilla Firefox : 39

Opera : 6


Google Chrome : 4

Apple Safari : 3



Let us see whether the new situation change the above market share proportion of Browsers in EU.

Microsoft Articles

1. Set Default Logon Picture for all Windows 7 users

2. Create Windows 7 Bootable Emergency Repair Disc

3. Prevent Installing Unwanted Programs in Windows 7

4. Encrypt your Flash Drive by Windows 7 and enable password protection

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Default User Logon Picture to all users in Windows 7 and Vista

How about restricting users with a predefined user image in the logon window without having a chance to change it ? It is possible in Windows 7 and Windows Vista by setting group policy editor options. The name of the policy which should be edited is User Accounts in Group policy editor and it apply default user log on picture to all users.

This policy setting allows an administrator to standardize the logon pictures for all users on a system to the default user picture. Microsoft tells one application of this policy as it helps a company to standardize the user logon picture.


If you enable this policy setting, the default user logon picture will display for all users on the system with no customization allowed.

If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, users will be able to customize their logon pictures.

Default User logon images stored at

User Login Picture is stored in the following folder with the name user.bmp .
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\User Account Pictures

The default guest picture is stored at :
"C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\User Account Pictures " in the name guest.bmp

If there is no such pictures exist, an empty frame is displayed in log on window.

Enable Default User Logon picture to all users

Follow the simple steps below to enable default user logon picture to all Windows users in your computer.

1. Click on Windows start logo

2. On Search type gpedit.msc and press enter

Now the group policy edit window will open. Navigate to the User Accounts which is under control panel.


The path is:

Local computer policy > Computer configuration > Administrative Templates > Control panel > User Accounts

We should double click on the user account and open the default user logon Picture configuration window.



We should check enable button. This feature supports in Windows 7 and Windows Vista only.


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No more sales for RealDVD - U.S. District Court order to stop sales

Another sad news from the legal fight between Hollywood and Real Networks. US District Court ordered Real Networks to stop the sale of RealDVD as the product is illegal. RealDVD helps users to take the copy of DVD to to computer hard disk and Hollywood found it is against their business interest. Hollywood's official stand says any software or device which break the copyright protections of their DVD is illegal. It is because these DVD copying devices or software can be used to make pirated copy of their movie DVDs. Though Real Networks defends their product by saying RealDVD only helps users to take a backup of the DVDs they purchased , Court refused it.


Comment by Real Networks' acting chief executive Bob Kimball to this court order is : "I hope that in the future we can find mutually beneficial ways to use Real technology to bring Hollywood's great work to consumers." In latest news it is heard his company plans to appeal the preliminary injunction.

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No properties option in Firefox 3.6 right click menu

After upgrading my Firefox browser from Firefox 3.5.5 to Firefox 3.6 ,I lost my properties option. I realize it when I just right click on a link to find the link properties but failed to find properties option in the right click menu. At first I thought some virus may infected my computer or some addon conflict causing this issue. I checked Mozilla support for the issue (missing properties option in Firefox 3.6) and found that Firefox team removed this feature from their latest update. I cannot understand why they removed this option and I couldn't find any equivalent feature in Firefox 3.6 .


Update : Mozilla team introduce new pluggin

Bring back missing properties option in Firefox 3.6

Mozilla team introduce a new addon to bring back the missing properties option in Firefox 3.6 . To install this please click on the link below.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/14228


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