COMPUTERS, SMART DEVICES AND YOU

BASIC NETWORKING FOR BEGINERS (LAN)

2007-06-21T02:35:00.000-07:00

BASIC NETWORKING FOR BEGINERS (LAN)

LAN(local area network)
Is just two or more computers connected to one another with cables (Ethernet)or some times without cables(wireless).the connected computers can share resources. The resources that the computers share can be anything be it a printer,Internet access,disk space e.t.c.

Network hardware
Networks are made up of both hardware and software. The network hardware provides the physical connections between the network's various nodes and typically includes:

.Network Interface Cards (NICs), one for each PC

.Network devices such as hubs, bridges, routers and switches(if more than two pc are to be connected), that are together responsible for connecting the various segments of a network and for ensuring that packets of information are sent to the intended destination

.Network cables (sheathed copper wiring like telephone cords) which connect each network interface card or network card (NIC) to the hub or switch.

Network interface cards or Network cards (NICs)
Network interface cards or Network cards, commonly referred to as NICs, are used to connect a PC to a network. The NIC provides a physical connection between the networking medium and the computer's internal bus, and is responsible for facilitating an "access method" to the network (OSI Layers 1 and 2).
Most NICs are designed for a particular type of network, protocol, and media, although some can serve multiple networks. Cards are available to support almost all networking standards, including the latest Fast Ethernet environment. Fast Ethernet NICs are often 10/100 capable, and will automatically set to the appropriate speed. Full-duplex networking is another option, where a dedicated connection to a switch allows a NIC to operate at twice the speed.

Hubs/Repeaters
Hubs/repeaters are used to connect together two or more network segments of any media type. In larger designs, signal quality begins to deteriorate as segments exceed their maximum length. Hubs provide the signal amplification required to allow a segment to be extended a greater distance. Passive hubs simply forward any data packets they receive over one port from one workstation to all their remaining ports. Active hubs, also sometimes referred to as "multiport repeaters", regenerate the data bits in order to maintain a strong signal.

The above diagram shows the use of a hub in networking more than two computers

Crossed and Straight cables - when to use them

The following diagram shows the Normal use of Crossed and Straight cables (see also the notes below).

Notes: I show Straight cables as BLUE and Crossed as RED. This does not mean that the cable has to physically be blue or red in color. This is just to make it easier to identify which instance to use the straight or crossed cable.

Crossed cables:- are used for linking two pcs or devices of the same kind e.g a hub and a hub

straight cables:- are used for linking a pc to a hub or switch.

ARE YOU SICK OF BEEN CHARGED AN OUTRAGEOUS AMOUNT OF MONEY FOR ETHERNET PATCH CABLES? WHY NOT MAKE YOURS.

2007-06-14T10:59:00.000-07:00

TOOLS NEEDED FOR MAKING NETWORK CABLES (ETHERNET PATCH CABLES)

1. An RJ-45 Crimp tool with wire stripper

2.RJ-45 Connectors

3.Cat5e cable

Note: Cable length Cable length should not exceed 100 meters (328 feet). This distance can be extended with a repeater or hub in the middle.

MAKING YOUR ETHERNET PATCH CABLES
First, start by pulling off the desired cable length from your Box or buy the desired length you will be needing. Remember the maximum length for a cat5 cable is approximately 300 ft. , after this, the performance degrades quickly. When you are satisfied with the length, cut the cable with your crimp tool or a cutter. Remove 1 inch of sheath or rubber jacket from both side. Use the wire stripper that's integrated with your crimp tool. Be careful! You must not cut the little wires inside! If you do, cut off your cable on the side where you messed up, and start again.
Now you should now see 4 pairs of wires sticking out from the blue jacket. Each wire of a solid color is twisted with another one that is striped white like in the diagrame below.

Separate the 4 wires and untwist them. Now arrange the wires following this simple coulor schema( With time when you become coversant with making cables you can create your own coulor schema)

For straight cables

For crossed cables

When you are satisfied with the result, cut the 8 wires leaving about half an inch of them sticking out of the blue jacket. Be sure that all the ends form a straight line; they have to be even if you want them to fit properly in the RJ-45 connector.
Finally, insert the 8 wires in the RJ-45 plug, making sure that the clip is facing down and the end were you are going to insert the cable through is facing you.

Push the wires into the connector. The wires must touch the end of each little corridor. If they don't, remove them, rearrange them, and try again. Be careful when you do this, the wires may end up in the wrong position if you are not careful. Inspect your connector to see if the wires are in the correct order, and if they are, stick the RJ-45 jack in the crimp tool, and crimp it as hard as you can. Now you have your straight or crossed cable.

SIMPLE STEPS FOR INTALLING XP LIKE A PRO

2007-05-31T11:31:00.000-07:00

Installing Windows XP

System Requirements for Windows XP
To install Windows XP, your computer must meet certain minimal requirements.
1.A minimum of 64 MB of RAM, although 128MB is much preferred. XP can handle a maximum of
4GB RAM.
2. 233 megahertz (MHz) Pentium or equivalent microprocessor or more.

3.A 2 GB or larger hard disk with at least 650 MB free space available.

4.VGA monitor.

5. Keyboard.

6. Mouse or compatible pointing device.

7.CD-ROM or DVD drive.

Performing a “Clean Install”
A clean install is required when installing Windows XP to a brand new hard disk or if the windows is corrupted or no longer functioning right. If there is an operating system on the hard disk that the windows xp will be installed on u will need to make sure you have a backup copy of everything you’ll want to reinstall later. Remember that to reinstall any programs, you need the original CD as well as any CD keys or serial numbers that the installation requires. To reinstall anything you have downloaded, you need to make backup copies of the downloaded files, or you need to download new copies after the installation is complete.
boot from your Windows XP CD-ROM. This can be tricky, because the settings for choosing boot devices are in the system BIOS. The only way to get to the BIOS settings is by pressing some key, usually F2 or Del, as the computer is booting up. Within the BIOS settings go to the boot options, Set the first boot device to your CD-ROM drive, your second boot device to the floppy drive, and the third boot device to your hard disk. Put the Windows XP CD into the CD-ROM drive, save your BIOS settings to restart the boot process. You might see a prompt telling you to press a key to boot from the CD-ROM drive. Go ahead and do so to start the text-based setup program. (You need to use the keyboard for everything — the mouse won’t work.) As you follow the instructions on-screen, you’ll get to a screen that enables you to choose a partition on which to install.

Partitions and File Systems
When it comes time to choose a partition on which to install Windows, you can work with partitions on your hard disk. If the disk is already partitioned and you want to wipe the slate clean, use the D key, as instructed on the screen, to delete existing partitions. Then use the C key to create new partitions. You can create a single large partition, or divide the hard disk into smaller partitions. If you create two or more partitions, you can install Windows on one of them, and install other operating systems on the other partitions later. Or, you can treat each partition as a separate drive in Windows (for instance, C:, D:, and so forth).

Caution:-
Repartitioning your hard disk wipes out everything on the hard disk. This is your last chance to
change your mind before losing everything on the drive. There is no “undo” or Recycle Bin
from which you can restore deleted files later!

At this stage, you need to create at least one partition for Windows XP. At the very least,
you probably want this partition to be at least 2 GB in size to leave room for Windows XP and any programs you plan to install. If you’re not planning on dividing the disk into multiple partitions, just use the maximum size allowable to create one partition. After you finish, use the arrow keys on the keyboard to highlight the partition on which you want to install Windows XP (typically C: Partition 1) and press Enter to begin the installation. You’ll be given options for formatting the partition as either a FAT or NTFS volume. NTFS is the preferred file system. If you plan to install some older version of Windows, or even DOS, on another partition, however, the other operating system(s) might not be able to access the NTFS volume.

Tip:-
Although the partition options don’t specify FAT32, you can select that format after you choose the FAT option.

You can choose to perform a quick format or a regular format. I have tried the Quick format before, only the have the installation fail, causing me to start all over again. So I recommend just doing a regular format. It’ll take a few minutes, but at least it works! After the partition has been formatted, Setup copies some files to the hard disk, and then the system reboots.

Caution:-
You only need to boot from the CD-ROM drive to get things started. After the installation
program has started, do not boot from the CD again. Leave the CD in the CD-ROM drive, but
just let the Press any key to boot from CD message go by!

Eventually, the computer will reboot to the graphical installation procedure(installation options), where you must enter your CD Key, choose language options, and so forth, Don’t forget that once the installation is complete, you can go back to your BIOS settings and change the boot drives, and so forth.

Installation Options
The exact procedure from this point on will vary a bit, depending on whether you’re installing Windows
XP Professional or the Home (Personal) edition. Also, the specific hardware connected to your
computer determines the information that the setup procedure requests. Each request is largely self-
explanatory, but here’s a summary of the items you’re likely to encounter along the way:
* Regional and Language Options: Choose your preferred location and keyboard layout.
* Name and Organization: Type your complete name and business name (if any).
* Product Key: Type in the CD Key. You should be able to find that on the sleeve in which
the Windows XP CD-ROM was delivered.
*Computer Name and Administrator Password: (Professional) Enter any name you want
to use to identify your computer and enter a password. You must the password twice to
verify that you typed it as intended the first time.
* Modem Dialing Information: If your computer has a modem, choose the country you’re in
and enter the area code you’re in now. If you’re in an office that requires dialing some
number to access an outside line, enter that number. If your system uses the older “pulse”
dialing tone, as opposed to touch tone, choose Pulse dialing.
* Date and Time Settings: Set the date, current time, choose your time zone, and decide
whether you want Windows to automatically adjust the time for daylight savings changes.
* Network Settings: Unless you’re a network administrator who needs to customize
networking capabilities on this computer, choose Typical Settings.
* Workgroup or Computer Domain: A workgroup is a collection of computers connected
together in a local area network. If you’ve already set up a network and want this computer
to be a member of an existing workgroup, choose No and enter the name of the workgroup
to which this computer will belong. If this is a standalone computer, or you haven’t set up a
network yet, you can just select the suggested name, WORKGROUP. If this computer will
be a member of a corporate domain, click Yes and enter the name of the domain to which
this computer will belong.

The Setup Wizard
When the installation is complete, the computer reboots one more time, and you are taken to a final Setup Wizard. You’ll be asked how you want to connect to the Internet. Your options are as follows:
* DSL or Cable Modem: Select this option if this computer is directly connected to a cable
modem or DSL modem that provides access to the Internet.
* Local Area Network: Select this option if this computer is a member of a local area
network, and some other computer on the network shares its Internet connection with other
LAN members.
* Telephone Modem: Select this option if this computer has an internal modem or if it’s
directly connected to an external modem that provides Internet access through a standard
(non-DSL) telephone line.
If you don’t have an Internet connection at the moment but plan to get one, just choose whichever option best describes how you think you will connect. Don’t worry; there’s no big commitment here. You can make whatever kind of connection you want in the future.

Activation
The wizard then asks that you activate your copy of Windows. If you have an Internet connection already on a modem that’s connected to a phone line, you can choose Yes and activate now. Otherwise, select No to activate later.

Getting on the Internet
If your computer has a modem, you are given the option to set up your existing account information, as provided by your Internet service provider, or set up a new account from scratch.( this step can also be skiped if you are not connected to the Internet)

Sharing the computer
If more than one person will be using the computer, you can choose to give each person his own
account. That way, each user can have his own custom desktop settings, collection of favorites, and a private My Documents folder that other users can’t get to. To set up multiple user accounts, click Yes and then give each user a name. You can use just each user’s first name, such as Ashley, or an initial and last name, such as ASimpson. However, no two users can have the same name.

Done!
After you finish the final setup phase, click the Finish button. If you set up multiple user names, you come to a Welcome screen that lists each user name, plus a Guest account. Click your own user name to get to the Windows desktop.

Simple solutions to slow PCs

2007-05-30T10:01:00.000-07:00

Does it not annoy you when your computer is moving at the speed of a snail.The problem of slow running computers can be attributed to a number of things

1. Spyware - these programs spring popups onto your screen, slow your computer down Fortunately there are a lot of programs out there for you to download that will help you remove this scourge from your computer, and keep it at bay. my favourites been PC tools spyware doctor, webroot spy sweeper,Safer networking spybot-search and destroy(its free) but beware of some rogue spyware cleaners that will do you more harm than good.

2. Too Much programmes Running at One Time and a few registry problems - Sometimes you are the architect of your own demise, so to speak. If your system tray (the area near the clock on your computer) is so packed with icons that it looks like people trying to get into P. Diddy's birthday bash you may be running too many programs at one time. Try right clicking on some of those icons to see what they are and if it's possible do away with those you can live without,then some times your registry gets a bit bad and needs fixing and cleaning.Did i hear you say "But how can i do it?",Search and find some great software that will clean your computer and help keep it running smoothly.well here are some free tool that can do the job and others you will have to pay for that i will recommend,ccleaner(it's free),tuneup utilities,Registry mechanic,system Mechanic,RegCure.

Ur drive options have changed to gibberish and u can't open ur drive? Read This.

2007-05-29T11:07:00.000-07:00

Have u had some trouble lately with a virus that changes Ur options when u right click on Ur drives to gibberish? or worse u cant even open Ur drives,when u double click or right click it tells u to chose a programme to open Ur drive with? well if u have not noticed it's like the rave of the moment but its kind of very annoying. I kind of like caught the bug too so i felt it was not enough to just switch antiviruses to solve the problem which can end u up in a sorry state( some antiviruses get some viruses and leave out some while some don't even seem to work at all if u noticed) so i was on a quest to find a solution which was going to be easy and was going to be there when ever i needed it, so my quest started on the net to find the one solution. after along time on line i found something which was so small but yet so powerful it's name flash_disinfectorhttp://www.techsupportforum.com/sectools/sUBs/Flash_Disinfector.exe, at first it was quite tricky to use cos u will be instructed to put in a flash drive to be disinfected i know how u feel like cos i felt the same way cos i was like its my hard disk men not my flash drive that i wanted to be disinfected but i just followed the instruction and put in the flash drive and clicked OK lo and behold my system was healed (but i still don't get why i have to put in the flash drive but when u do it , it heals Ur hard disk of the autorun.vbs virus) so go forth into the word and disinfect Ur hard drives.