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What Is The Difference Between 32-bit & 64-bit Windows?

Karl L. Gechlik — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:30:32 +0000

People ask me on a daily basis, “What is the difference between a 32-bit and 64-bit Windows operating system?” Most of you are running Windows XP or Vista in its 32-bit iteration. But as hardware gets cheaper, people are curious as to what the 64-bit operating system has to offer. First let’s see if we can grasp the difference between 32- and 64-bit.

Think of your computer as a series of tubes that can either be 32 or 64 bits wide. When you have the smaller 32-bit size, there is more potential for bottlenecks to occur. Bottlenecks slow down your system because one process has to wait for another to finish before it can begin. But if you want to have 64-bit wide tubes, your computer needs to be thinking in 64-bit so your software and hardware all need to support 64-bit.

If you do not know the difference between 32-bit and 64-bit, I would have told you in the past that you are running a 32-bit version of Windows. But now with Windows 7 I am seeing more and more 64-bit operating systems shipped by default without the end users knowledge. Don’t get me wrong, a 64-bit system is better but you also need to be running 64-bit programs and have a 64-bit processor or else all the trouble of setting up the 64-bit operating system would be worthless.

On a 32-bit operating system, you are restricted to a maximum of 4 gigabytes of RAM. On a 64-bit operating system, you really do not have a limit. Let’s look at Wikipedia and find out the maximum amount of RAM for a 64-bit operating system:

2⁶⁴ addresses, equivalent to approximately 17.2 billion gigabytes, 16.3 million terabytes, or 16 exabytes of RAM.

That is a huge amount of RAM! Normally when you exhaust your physical RAM on a 32-bit system, it has to use virtual memory or hard disk space to pick up the slack. On a 64-bit system, you can install as much RAM as you can to cover your overhead. From here on, 32-bit operating systems will be referred to as x86 and 64 bit operating systems as x64. You can tell what you are running by right clicking on My Computer and choosing Properties. Below is a shot of a 64-bit machine using 12GB of memory.

And in this shot, we see a 32-bit machine trying to use 7GB of RAM.. Not going to happen!

If you are running 3D modeling systems or AutoCAD systems, you can benefit from a x64 bit architecture but remember, you need to be running ALL x64 applications, print drivers and anything else you are setting up on your system to realize its full potential. Not all programs have been created for x64 yet and you will find yourself installing applications to your Program Files x86 directory. On a x64 machine, you will have two Program File directories — one for 32-bit and one for 64-bit applications.

So after reading through that and you still want to run a x64 operating system, you will need to make sure your processor supports x64. Most new servers and new computers bought this year or beyond will support x64 but you will still need to check. Here are some facts you should know (taken from ZDNet):

Almost all new servers sold within the last two years from AMD or Intel will have x64 capability.
Most mid- to high-end desktop processors from AMD or Intel within the last year have x64 capability.
Some higher-end Semprons have x64; lower-end Semprons do not.
No AMD Durons have x64.
All AMD Opteron processors have x64.
All AMD X2, FX, and Athlon64 chips have x64.
All Intel Pentium D and Celeron D chips have x64.
All AMD Turion notebook processors have x64.
All Intel Core 2 processors (mobile, desktop, and server) have x64.
No Intel Core Duo notebook processors have x64
No Intel Pentium M notebook processors have x64.

If you are still not sure if your processor can support x64 check out GRC’s SecurAble and let them help you figure it out! You might also want to check out Mahendra’s post How To Choose Between 32-bit & 64-bit Windows 7 Operating Systems.

If you are running a server that has all its hardware and software certified for x64, then you should install the 64-bit version but beware of device drivers and any 32-bit environments because if I used the word difficult, it would be an understatement!

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5 Computer Hardware Review Sites For The PC Enthusiast

Mike Fagan — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 19:30:16 +0000

Whether you are looking into building a new computer or just like to keep up with the latest in computer hardware, the internet provides a whole smörgåsbord of options when it comes to computer hardware reviews. Here, you will see some of the better, more reliable sites on the internet.

A few things must be considered when looking at computer hardware review sites. First, quality. Are the reviews useful and balanced? Second, quantity. How much of the current hardware does the site review? Third, method.

Does the review give evidence like benchmarks and comparisons, or does the reviewer go on their feelings?

Most people’s first instinct would be to just Google the name of a component when they want to see what people think of a it. This method works fine if you just testing the waters or you already know which sites know what they are talking about and which don’t. However, if you don’t have a component in mind and are just starting out, or are new to the computer hardware review world and don’t know which sites have good reviews; this list should get you started.

Let’s get to it.

Tom’s Hardware Reviews

Tom’s Hardware Reviews is a UK-based review site. I have relied on them many times to get good, honest reviews. Their site is offered in a bunch of languages, making it a great resource for non-English speakers.

The reviews are thorough and give a good feel for the hardware. Reviews provide technical specs, benchmarks, and nice comparisons with alternatives.

On top of what you’d expect, Tom’s Hardware Reviews also has a number of features useful to someone just starting out looking at hardware. Some examples are monthly looks at best values in several areas including CPUs and Graphics Cards.

Overall, Tom’s site is nice, but does have some shortcomings. Although everything is nicely organized on the site, it is sometimes difficult to find exactly what you are looking for. A search doesn’t always bring up an exact component and a little digging is required. I find this to be an uncommon issue, but felt it should be mentioned.

Overclockers Club

Overclockers Club is another great resource. Like Tom’s, the site provides reviews of all sorts of computer hardware, but also has some nice guides for a beginner overclocker. You can access the guides by clicking “Guides” in the top navigation bar.

Overclockers Club is laid out in a very fluid way, making finding an article easy as pie. If you just click “Reviews” at the top, you are given a list of reviews in chronological order.

If you are looking for a particular piece of hardware, you can just search for it and it comes right up with what you’re looking for.

The reviews are quite good. They provide a lot benchmarks and explain them in context.

They give a nice feel for all aspects of a component, even down to how they look and feel physically.

Overclockers Club does not suffer from the issue I found with Tom’s. Searches always seem to return just what I am looking for.

HardOCP

HardOCP is another great computer hardware review site. What I like about this site is it’s overall layout. Instead of a traditional navigation bar, the site has a drop down menu with the links to the other sections of the site.

This helps keep the page nice looking and uncluttered.

The reviews on the site are well done, providing great information on all sorts of computer hardware, including harder to find things like water cooling systems. They even have a very goofy “Miscellaneous” section which provides reviews of anything from solid state drives to eyeglasses.

Another nice feature of the articles is a good level of humor that keeps you entertained while reading what could quickly become a very dry topic.

Some reviews do not provide as many benchmarks as I would like to see. For this reason, I wouldn’t rely on just HardOCP for my reviews, but definitely use it as a great supplement.

Legion Hardware

Yet another great review site, Legion Hardware should be a stop on the path of anyone looking into computer hardware. This site has a lot going for it, including the best organization style of any site I have seen as of yet.

First, when you click “Hardware” at the top, you are brought to a page that lists the different sections very clearly.

Then, when you navigate to the type of hardware your looking for; all of the reviews are listed in such a way so that finding a particular card is extremely simple.

The articles can be sorted in a bunch of different ways, making it even easier to get to the particular article you are looking for.

The reviews on Legion Hardware are of superb quality, providing a good number of benchmarks and describing all aspects of a piece of hardware. Also, they have a good database of articles, so it should not be hard to find what you are looking for on their site.

Hardware Canucks

The last review site I will list is Hardware Canucks, a Canadian-based site. This site has a large number of review sections, even including things like consumer electronics.

The reviews are quite good, providing a lot of benchmarks, which are always good when looking to buy hardware.

The search feature works very well, bringing up exactly what you are looking for without any hassle.

A built in “Price Compare” feature is also good and helps differentiate Hardware Canucks from other review sites.

Of course, these are not the be-all-end-all of review sites. Everyone has their personal favorite website for one reason or another. All of these sites are great both for a beginner, just getting into hardware, or a seasoned veteran trying to keep up with the latest technology.

Know any other great review sites? Let us know in the comments below.

computer hardware review

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How To Buy Brand New & Generic Hardware and Electronics For Cheap

Jack Cola — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 21:30:00 +0000

Have you ever wondered how you can buy a brand new PS3, XBox 360, Wii, or other gadgets and electronics online for half the price of the recommended retail price?

You might think it is impossible, but in actual fact you can. People have saved over hundreds of dollars, all thanks to online bidding sites. These sites work by allowing you to bid for products and buy gadgets online. Whoever the winning bidder is when the timer reaches zero, buys the product for that price. But the catch is, you have to pay to bid. There are three great bidding sites I have gathered up for you to bid and buy electronics for cheap.

Bid Rivals – World Wide

Bid Rivals is a global online bidding site that operates in 26 countries. Each product has a countdown timer. When the timer reaches zero, the bidder who made the last bid purchases the product. If another bidder bids before the timer reaches zero, the time restarts and it counts down to zero again. However, to be able to bid, you must first buy bids. For Australian users, bids are $0.80 each; for UK, bids are 0.45 GBP; and in the US, they are $0.60 USD.

Bid Rivals has many different products to choose from and a great range of categories that include: Audio & iPods, DVD and Bluray, Gaming Consoles and Games, Laptops, Home and Garden, Computers, Televisions, Mobiles and heaps more. You can also click the ‘Buy Now’ button to purchase products at a fixed price without having to bid. Bid Rivals has to be one of the largest online bidding sites on the internet to buy gadgets online.

Planet Bid – UK, Australia, & New Zealand

Planet Bid works in the same way as Bid Rivals. Every time someone places a bid, the countdown timer increases. Once it reaches zero, that person wins. The main thing that differs between the two online bidding websites is how much the bids costs. Have a look at the image below for bid costs.

All listings on Planet Bid start at $0.00 which means you can buy a gadget online for up to 90% off the retail price. Also, 10% of the final value of each auction goes to a charity of the bidders choice. The only downside with Planet Bid is that it is not worldwide and the products listings are minimal.

BidMadness – Australia & New Zealand

BidMadness works a little different to the other online bidding websites. With BidMadness, you enter what you think the highest unique bid will be, making sure it’s within the limits of the Maximum Bid Amount. If you have the highest unique bid when the auction closes, you win that item. You can visit the How It Works page for more information.

Bidding Tips & Tricks

With these sites, remember to bid wisely. Set yourself bidding limits, because if you spend a few hundred dollars on bidding, you may not always win the product. And remember, if you lose, you don’t get your bidding costs back. So a good idea before you start using these websites is to have a plan of attack. Set yourself bidding limits and the maximum bidding costs that you are prepared to spend for each item.

Have you used another online bidding site before? What is it called and what are your thoughts about it? Please share with everyone in the comments section.

You might find these articles relevant: 13 Bargain Websites That are Cheaper than eBay, 5 eBay Tips On How To Buy & Sell BETTER, 7 Tips for Private eBay Sellers.

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3 Sites That Show How To Fix Your Broken iPod

Tina — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 16:31:29 +0000

The iPod product line is a masterpiece of design. Sleek, stylish, and very fragile toys.

A single scratch, a broken glass, or malfunctioning hardware quickly destroy that fleeting beauty. Worse still, you find out that your warranty is up or doesn’t cover the damage.

Repairs for expensive toys never come cheap. Or do they? What if you could undo the damage yourself for a small percentage of the cost?

I have compiled a collection of sites that provide tutorials on how to fix various damages and problems that are typical for the iPod, including hard drive, battery, and LCD replacement. You will find iPod repair help for different iPod generations, iPod Touch, iPod Mini, iPod Photo, iPod Nano, iPod Shuffle, and even the iPhone or your Mac.

Warning: MakeUseOf is not liable for damages caused by iPod repair that you do yourself. If you decide to do it yourself, follow the instructions carefully, but do so at your own risk.

iFixit

As the screenshot below reveals, iFixit provides manuals for the iPod, iPhone and Mac. From the iPod product line the original device, the iPod Nano, iPod Mini, iPod Shuffle, and iPod Touch are covered, including different generations of each item.

Once you have tracked down your device, you’ll see an overview of available information.

The “Step-By-Step Guides” address specific issues and how to fix them.

The “Teardown” explains how to open your device and examine its inner beauty. This is also helpful if you need to replace single parts, for example the battery. Generally, each step of the guide also has user comments with questions or further information on what may or may not work as described.

“Related Questions” come from the “Answers” category of the website. If you’re having an issue that has not yet been described, you may find a hint in this section.

The “Troubleshooting” guides help you to track down the origin of your problem and finally you may need “Parts” to perform your own iPod repair. Here is a list of all Troubleshooting Guides.

ipodrepair

This site is mostly interested in selling you parts. However, they have produced PDF tutorials that show how to disassemble the iPod 3rd and 4th generation, the iPod Mini, and the iPhone 1st generation (2G) and 3G. A video is available for the iPhone 3G.

Sometimes it helps to consider several guides for the same procedure, as they may highlight different details in the text and images.

Do-it-yourself repair descriptions in pictures and text are all good. However, nothing beats a video, which reveals all the subtle details and difficulties of using tools and fixing devices.

ifixipodsfast

“I Fix iPods Fast” provides Video iPod repair Tutorials for the iPod Video, iPod Photo, iPod Mini, and iPod 3rd and 4th generation. More models are listed, but no videos are available, yet.

There is a list of available video tutorials in each iPod category and below each video you’ll find a summary of its content, a warning in case it’s especially difficult, and tools needed.

Further assistance may be provided at FixYa, a sited dedicated to free product support. You may also find help on wikiHow, Instructables, and YouTube.

Did you ever successfully fix your iPod? Which resources did you use?

Image credits: ugaldew

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Speccy – An Advanced System Information Tool For Your PC

Karl L. Gechlik — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 01:31:44 +0000

I was just able to check out the latest beta of Speccy from the makers of CCleaner which we have covered here. Speccy gives you an awesome amount of advanced system information about your PC from a tiny portable application. I downloaded the application from here.

It is available in both a portable and an installable version. I choose the portable version as usual so I could through it on my memory stick. The 1.3MB download came in quickly and it was up and running on my machine rather quickly. I was amazed at the amount of advanced system information it showed me right on the first screen.

On the summary page for my machine which you see below, you see it shows your operating system, CPU type, model, speed and temperature along with the architecture type, your memory or RAM amount and type, your motherboard make and chipset, graphics card information, hard drives, optical drives and audio information. It will show you everything you ever needed to know about your system and then some!

You might think that you would never need this much information about your system as a casual everyday user.But you would be wrong. This information is gathered for you in an easy to get to place and could help you in repairing your machine or even creating a detailed auction advert to sell your machine. If you are still with me let’s see what it can really show us.

Click on the operating system tab for detailed information about your operating system’s build.

CPU will show you detailed, advanced system information about your CPU as you can see below:

The RAM section is very handy for seeing how many memory slots your machine has and has available. You can see each slot and what is in it as you can see below. From this information I know that I have only two slots and they are both filled with 2GB, or 2048MB as it shows here, sticks in them.

Next up is motherboard. This is a really easy to find out your motherboard’s BIOS version among other information as you can see here:

And if you ever need to know about your display driver or monitor driver you can click the display tab and see the following information:

The hard drive tab will show you everything you will ever need to know about your hard drives including SMART information about them. That can show you a drive that is heading for the graveyard months before it actually happens in some cases! You will also see partition information, manufacturer, size and interface among many other fields.

The optical drive tab shows you information about your CD and DVD drives:

And the final tab is audio which shows all audio devices on your system

This small portable application gathers all of this information into a single place and for me, who has to work on systems regularly, this is a huge help and plays a key role sometimes in diagnosing computer issues. It is part of my admin’s toolkit. Do you have a favorite portable tool that does the same thing? We would love to hear about it in the comments!

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Deal Of The Day: Logitech MX 1100 Cordless Laser Mouse – $39.99 (Shipping Included)

Aibek — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 18:30:31 +0000

We got another great Amazon deal for you guys! How about a Logitech MX 1100 Cordless Laser Mouse for $39.99? Plus free shipping. In this deal the mouse normally goes for $49.99, but you also get a mail-in rebate form which gets you $10 back.

If you’re thinking about getting a new mouse, definitely check it out. Logitech has always been known for making quality mouses and keyboards, and the MX 1100 mouse is no exception.

Some of its features include:

Check out Logitech MX 1100 Cordless Laser Mouse

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Update Your Hardware Drivers For Free With Device Doctor

Karl L. Gechlik — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 20:01:57 +0000

Do you constantly worry that your device drivers are out of date? Oh wait….that’s just me as a system admin, I worry and check my devices constantly. Network cards, SCSI cards and much much more. Now using a little freeware application called Device Doctor, I can update drivers a little more efficiently and for free.

We should probably start off with what a device driver is and when you need to load drivers. Drivers are needed for every piece of hardware on your computer from your monitor to your mouse back to your printer. The device needs the driver to tell it how to interact with the operating system – no drivers means that your hardware is not going to work as expected, if at all.

When you reformat your computer system, you need to reinstall your drivers but sometimes you cannot find the proper driver and then sadly you will not be able to get your hardware to function. What do you do? Well Device Doctor can also identify and download the proper driver for unidentified items.

Let’s take a look at the application, how it works and how it can help you update drivers for free.

First run the installer and it will do its thing:

Click through and let it install. When it completes, the application will launch automatically. The user interface looks like this:

Go ahead and click Begin Scan to let it scan your device’s drivers.

Once the scan is completed you will be presented with a full list of devices that need updating. But wait! There is more - the application actually provides download links to grab the drivers that need updating. They really take all the leg work out of this for you.

If a device is unidentified the application can still grab data from the card and check for drivers online. This is super helpful when you do not know where to look for the correct drivers. This can help you to not have to open the case and pop the card out looking for the fcc id or another identifying piece of information.

When you click download update it will take you to a webpage. That page will contain information as well as the link to grab the driver.

If the driver does not work out for you, please click the link to report the incorrect driver and then the next person will not have the same issue as you. This feature alone makes this much better than just Googling for the driver.

I have used other applications like Double Driver in the past but it did not do much for downloading drivers for unknown devices and then I found Zhangduo that does find drivers for unidentified devices but not for known ones.

You will see a statement warning you to backup, create a restore point and instructions for doing so. Good looking out Device Driver Guys! Click the download driver installer link in the center of the page to initiate the download.

That will start the download like so:

Run the installer and update your drivers. It is that simple!

When my driver was updated, my mouse moves smoother! Sweet. It is easy to run this on a system to see where you stand. Now I will preach a little bit about how important keeping your drivers up to date are. Today in my network we upgraded a switch to giga bit speeds from 10/100. One of our servers refused to connect at giga bit speeds. What did we have to do?

We had to update the NIC drivers and then all of our problems were gone. If I had done this before it would not have been an issue and the upgrade would have been complete. Instead it took another 20 minutes of my life and down time!

So kids keep your drivers updated! When you don’t know what drivers you need, this can wind up being a MUST HAVE application!

Do you have another method of keeping your drivers updated or downloading unknown drivers? Please share your free methods in the comments!

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How To Quickly Fix A Phone or MP3 Player With Water Damage

Dean Sherwin — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:01:45 +0000

Due to my own stupidity, I was left using my old, decrepit mobile phone for four whole days with minimum contacts, no media and no apps which I normally use for e-mail, RSS and Twitter.

What happened was this; I got bored so I decided to go for a stroll. After half an hour I found myself caught out in the rain. It got really bad and huge puddles started to form on the road. The worst I’ve seen it in a long time. At points, the roads were flooded right across with five inches of water covering the footpaths.

Needless to say I got splashed three times by cars (I think one wise guy did it on purpose). I assumed my phone would be fine because it was in my jacket pocket – away from my jeans which were completely soaked through. But no. The flap which covers my jacket pocket at the front was tucked into the pocket creating a nice funnel for the rain and splash water to flow right into. My phone was literally submerged in water in my pocket. It didn’t work when I got home and went to check my e-mail. Shocker.

However now it does because I worked my magic. Here are three tips to fix a phone with water damage..

Act Quickly

The minute you discover that your phone is water damaged it’s time to act. Remove every cover and detachable part you possibly can. On my phone I took out the memory card, the SIM card, battery and back cover. Unfortunately, because it’s a touch screen the front does not come away.

Using toilet paper or a thin cloth, blot away any excess water you can see inside of the phone. Be sure to get as much as you can. Failing to do so will mean that all this water will start evaporating and collecting in hard to reach places in your phone.

Your phone may work now if it was only submerged for a short period of time. Like if you dropped it in the sink. If not, keep reading.

Quick Drying

Your phone now has an appointment at the beauty salon. Get hold of a hairdryer and start to dry your phone paying extra attention to the battery housing as this normally has small holes which allow air (and ironically enough, water) into the phone.

A warning: Don’t hold the hair dryer too close to the phone. Keep it at a distance whereby if you put your hand in front of the hair dryer it wouldn’t burn you. Any closer and you could damage your phones electrical components. No seriously. Try putting a hair dryer up against a sheet of paper for a few seconds. It turns it brown – would you want that happening to the inside of your phone?

If 20-30 minutes of this doesn’t work – go to plan C.

Long Term Drying

This is what I eventually had to do to fix my phone because it was so badly soaked. Put it in the linen closet or some place warm and dry in your house. Airing cupboards and next to boilers are good choices. The rule of thumb is that it must be a warm place where the phone isn’t in contact with direct or intense heat. So putting it on top of a radiator (despite what other guides say on the internet) is a bad idea as you can damage your phone by heating it too much and it will just rapidly evaporate the water on the inside causing it to collect – this is an ongoing cycle.

By putting it in a warm dry place you allow the water to slowly evaporate and escape through the holes in the phone (remove the covers and battery when doing this).

Some other tips for this method:

Try to point the back of the phone upwards with the screen pacing down. This allows the moisture to escape easier.
Around 20°C is a good temperature.
Disassemble the phone as much as possible.

From my own experience and those of my family, you stand a pretty good chance of fixing your phone this way. I’d say there is a success rate of around 75%.

For touch screen phones, the front won’t come off which leads to moisture build up on the screen. However, there are normally tiny screws at the back which, when removed, should enable you to take off the front. This will allow you to dry the moisture from the touch screen. You do this at your own risk.

Despite what the phone shops would have you believe, it is fairly easy to fix a phone with water damage. Many people assume that once water gets in that’s that. But really, phones are just circuit boards, a screen and a few other bits and bobs. The main reason for them not working when they’re wet is because water on the board or at the battery connectors is causing it to short out.

This is a quick fix to a problem almost everyone will have at some stage. For more of my articles relating to cell phones – see my authors page. Or what if you got your Mac computer wet? Make sure to check out Jackson’s article on how to deal with spilled coffee or coke on your Macbook.

Do you have any other secret methods for fixing water damaged phones? Let us know in the comments.

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Six Steps To Help You Fix Common DVD Drive Errors

Karl L. Gechlik — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:01:12 +0000

So you got yourself a fancy smancy DVD drive. It could be a burner or just a reader and it is just not working. How do you figure out what is wrong with it?

These tips to fix dvd drive errors will also work for a CD or CDR drive. The first thing we need to do is determine where the issue is. It can either be a physical issue like power not getting to the drive or a IDE / SATA cable has come unplugged. It could be a Windows operating system problem that is preventing your drive from showing up or reading disks and finally it could be that disk is garbage. You might have a scratched up dirty disk and it is unreadable by your player.

Let’s see how we can identify and resolve these issues. I see issues with drives on a daily basis in my day job as well as hundreds of questions coming in at Ask The Admin. Let me share some of my troubleshooting tips with you. Maybe it will stop the questions – but I doubt it!

These instructions can be used for both internal and external drives but some of the fundamentals might be a little different. Like the power cord versus the internal power connector, the USB interface or a IDE connector. But use your intuition to guide you.

Some of these problems are common both to the external and internal drive and can be fixed with a little application or by following the tutorials that come with these drives.

Step one: Is the drive not showing up in Windows Explorer? Here I can see my CD burner but not my DVD burner. My DVD burner is usually drive E:\.

First things first, we should check the power and connections to your computer.External drives can be checked while the system is powered on but internal drives will need you to shutdown the system and remove the power cord before beginning.

If the cables are connected but loose pull them free and reconnect them. Start the system back up and see if the drive or drives are showing up. If you have recently modified your drives in your system and have removed or changed jumper settings remember cable select is normally the best way to go. If you are on an external drive these jumpers will not matter.

When the system is on and the drive is getting power you can push the eject button and it will open. If it does not open and it is powered on it can be a physical issue which we will see below.

Step two: If your drive is getting power and will not open or close, it is time for the paper clip trick. Sometimes these drives get stuck closed and you cannot open them. This can be from someone spilling something or using the drive as a cup holder. Go get a paper clip and straighten it out. Ladies and gentleman we will perform this amazing feat of opening a stuck drive with a paper clip and only a paper clip. Are you ready?

Push the paper clip into the small hole located on the right, left or slightly to the right of the left hand side in the older drive above. Pushing the paper clip in the hole releases the door and you can open it with your hands. If it is sticky use a damp cloth to clean it.

Step three: Your drive is opening and closing and it still doesn’t work? We need to check that the drive is connected to the computer. Just as you checked the power, check the connectors. See if the drive now shows up in your computer.

Step four: You have ruled out power and system connections. Now let us look at the device manager in Windows. Open it by right-clicking on My Computer and selecting manage. Then select Device Manager. On older machines it will be in the system properties and then device manager. If there is a red exclamation point next to one of the items, resolve it and your problems will go away. The drive should appear like this:

A device with an error will have this icon before it:

Step five: If your drive has power and your Windows operating system recognizes it but still it does not read the discs it may be because of a dirty laser lens in the drive. Clean the laser lens with a cleaning kit or run some other discs after the cleaning kit and then try. If the drive works after cleaning it you have found your issue.

Step six: If the drive still is not reading your disk but it is connected and the system sees it, try another disk. If this other disk works it can be the disk. Some older drives cannot read CDR’s or CDRW’s. Try a purchased CD and see if that works. If so you should probably replace your drive.

Got any other tips for fixing DVD Drive errors – share them with us in the comments!

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How To Connect Your Xbox 360 Hard Drive To Your PC

Simon Slangen — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:01:43 +0000

Did you ever need to connect your Xbox 360 hard drive to your PC? Whether you wanted to make a back-up of your files or decided to use the storage, it probably didn’t prove as easy as you thought.

Microsoft uses a special connector to attach the hard drive to the Xbox 360, and you won’t be able to connect it to your PC. At least not right away, because inside that shiny plastic and metal shell, there’s a small hard drive like any other.

Today we’re going to show you how to open up your Xbox 360 hard drive and connect it to your PC, in this step by step, illustrated guide.

Opening Up Your Xbox 360 Hard Drive

To pull this off, you’re going to need

an Xbox 360 with hard drive (obviously)
a Windows-enabled PC with at least one S-ATA port
two special screwdrivers; a TORX T-6 and TORX T-10. These are somewhat different from your usual Philips screwdriver, so you might have to head to the hardware store for them. Without them, you’ll have a hard time reaching the hard drive and might even damage it beyond repair. Caution is strongly advised.

Since you’re working with sensitive electronics, you might want to wear an anti-static wrist strap or surface. Otherwise, by carrying over static electricity, you might short some of the components.

First thing we’ll need to do is open up the protective shell that envelops your Xbox 360 hard drive. Pull it out of your Xbox by pressing the button at the bottom. Turn it upside down, and remove the Microsoft seal.

Be aware that this voids all and any warranty that you have left on your Xbox 360’s hard drive. If it breaks after the procedure, you’ll have to buy a new one.

Don’t worry too much though, the warranty on your Xbox 360 system will remain intact nonetheless.

You’ll notice that there are four visible screws at the bottom, one of which was hidden under the seal. You can remove these with the TORX T-6 screwdriver. After that, the top side should part pretty easily. Don’t pull too hard, just start at the rounded side and pull it open slowly. The square part should give away too, in the end.

To your great horror, you’ll discover four more TORX screws. You can use the T-10 this time. After you’ve removed them, pull away the thin metal cover. Abracadabra. Below you’ll find a 2.5″ hard drive.

After you unplug the cable and try to take it out of its shell, you’ll notice that it only slides until it hits a little plastic button at the far side. To get it out, gently lift up the metal casing, and keep it high while you slide out your hard drive. If you can’t unplug the cable, start sliding the hard drive out first, and gently push the cable out of its socket once you’ve got enough room.

Voila, there you have it. Did you ever imagine your Xbox 360 hard drive would be so… ordinary?

Connecting Your Xbox 360 Hard Drive to Your PC

The Xbox 360 hard drive is a simple 2.5″ S-ATA hard drive, so you would connect it like you would a regular one. Most computers open pretty easily, and you can take the side away with only two screws. You’ll need to attach both a S-ATA cable from your computer’s motherboard to your hard drive, as well as a S-ATA power cable from your computer’s power supply. Both are depicted below.

Alternatively, you can find S-ATA to USB adapters online for ten to twenty bucks. It’ll spare you a lot of trouble, and is safer if you don’t like opening up your computer.

To view the files on your disk, or to make a full back-up, you’ll need to download Xplorer360. It’s an entirely free and easy to use tool. With Xplorer360, you can read and write to Xbox 360 hard drives. By going to Drive -> Backup Image, you can already make a full back-up. Have fun!

I hope you’ve learned something from this tutorial. If you’ve got any other questions, don’t be afraid to ask, there’s a comments section below!

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How Does a Router Work? [Technology Explained]

Guy McDowell — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 19:01:49 +0000

Lately, the Technology Explained articles have talked about the Internet and communications in general. This article will add to that series by explaining a very important piece of equipment – the router.

In order for a computer to connect to more than one other computer, you need a router or a hub. Two very different pieces of equipment that perform somewhat similar jobs. We’ll focus on the router since you very well may have one in your house.

Let me take a moment to explain to the more technically inclined that I understand that there are such things as token ring networks that don’t require a router or a hub. Yet, our average Internet user isn’t going to employ a token ring, so leave that alone, please.

Many of you will have wireless routers, a few of you may have wired routers. How the information gets to and from the router isn’t that important to this discussion. What is important is how does a router work – what happens inside the router with all that data coursing through it. To keep it simple, I’m going to use a 3 computer network to explain the routing principles.

So, let’s say you have three computers in your home and a connection to the Internet. This will give us a network that looks like such:

In the middle of that, is the wireless router. I know you knew that, but it had to be said. Wirelessly attached to it are a laptop, a PC, and a Mac (just for you Jackson!). Actually, the Mac is in there to show that the computers don’t necessarily need to be the same kind or platform. One might be sending up a file to work, one might be downloading something from YouTube and one is reading MakeUseOf.com – of course. All this information is coming down from, and up to, the Internet.

Believe it or not, the router can only talk to one of these things at a time! The process I’m about to talk about just happens so fast that it seems to happen all at once.

Let’s say that the Mac is uploading a file to work, the laptop is watching YouTube and the PC is surfing MakeUseOf.com.

Each communication happens in small packets of data. You might recall this from the How the Internet Works article I did awhile back. The IP address in that article was the important thing that allowed packets to find their way to your computer. Here’s a packet:

The important parts, for this article, are the Source Address and the Destination Address. These will be Internet Protocol (IP) addresses.

However, if you are using a router, your computer’s IP address is going to begin with either 198.168.0 or 10.0.0. This is because the powers-that-be decided that those IP address would be reserved for local network use. Like in a home network.

Here’s the catch. There are millions of local networks out there. So, at any point in time, there are millions of people using an IP address exactly like the one your computer is using on your home network. Your router will have to keep track of that AND tag the outgoing packets with the true IP address that your Internet Service Provider has given to your modem. I’ll call that the external IP address. How does the router do that? That’s the question.

I am going to oversimplify this, not to speak down, but to keep this article a reasonable length. The router takes your computer’s local IP address out of the packet’s Source Address and puts it in a table. It then puts the external IP into the packets Source Address space. The router also copies the Destination Address IP from the packet and puts it in the table associated with your local IP. Confuzzled? Me too. I really had to think about how to say this in everyday speak and not geek-speak. Here’s a picture:

When the packet comes back from that server somewhere out on the Internet, the Destination Address IP is now your external IP and the Source Address IP is now the IP address of the server sending you a packet. (Note: that is the IP address of Telus.com – not my home IP address.)

Think of it like a letter. You send a friend a letter and the return address is yours, and the send-to address is theirs. They write a letter back and the return address is theirs and the send-to address is yours. See how that works? We should write more letters.

Well, the router looks at the Source Address IP of the incoming packet and looks it up in the table as a former Destination Address IP. When it finds it, the router says, “Aha! Guy’s computer sent a packet to that IP address. His computer must be waiting for a reply! Here’s Guy’s local IP address so I’ll pull out the external IP address, pop his local IP address in and send it on its way!” That’ll do router, that’ll do.

You can imagine, with how many thousands of packets travel in and out of your home every minute, how fast this sorting process has to be! It happens so fast, you never even notice the fact that at one moment the router is talking to the Mac, then the laptop, then maybe the Mac again, and then the PC. Miracles everywhere – just stop and notice.

I hope you enjoyed this article on how a router works, and now have a better appreciation of what’s going on in that silly box of electronics next to your modem. If there are any other technologies you’d like me, or our other great writers, to break down for you, I’d be glad to hear about it in the comments!

Image Credit: A.Mohsen Alhendi
Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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3 Cool Gadgets That You Can Build Yourself

Angelina — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 22:01:15 +0000

In the spirit of taking a hands-on approach to technology, I’ve decided to scour the popular tutorial site Instructables in search of cool hardware hacks to upgrade the gadgets you have to something more fun and decidedly more geeky.

I looked for beginner-friendly tutorials for cool gadgets you can build yourself, that don’t involve too much dangerous or difficult work, to help ease us into being confident enough to work on harder projects.

Beware: this article contains solder, wires, and all sorts of adventurous things. If you’re not willing to bust a couple of flash drives or glue a few fingers together, you might be better off simply marveling, and leaving the tools for another, luckier day.

The Lego USB Stick

This is, hands down, my favorite hardware hack of all time, because not only is it whimsical and nostalgic (for me, at least, who loved building Lego landscapes as a child), but it is incredibly useful as well.

Materials:

USB stick. Preferably one that can easily be cracked open.

Lego. The tutorial writer used 2×4, 2×2, 1×4 and 1×2 sticks to make his USB. Use whatever combination of bricks to create a case that fits your USB stick snugly.

Clear silicone. The writer used this to set the USB stick in the lego brick and make sure it wouldn’t wobble around, but in the comments there seems to be commenters who tried hot glue with equal success. Just make sure the glue isn’t so hot that it melts the circuit board!

Metal Polish. This is used mostly for aesthetic effect, to make the block smooth and shiny, so you can easily do without it, if you’d like. Someone in the comments suggested using a paste (not gel) toothpaste to rub out imperfections in the brick.

Super Glue. Like I said, be ready to glue your fingers together.

Tools: A knife to cut through the Lego. A soldering iron works too, but beware of burning your fingers! Pliers to rip out the inside parts of the Lego.

Projected Cost (given that you already have a USB stick): around $15. Silicone is almost $10 by itself, but if you’d rather use hot glue, there are plenty of places that sell glue guns for under $5.

Variations: Instructibles also has an eraser USB, but if you use some silicone or hot glue to protect the PCB (Printed circuit board), you could theoretically make a USB Drive out of anything. The commenters tried toy cars, NES controllers, and Altoid tins, among other things.

I myself someday want to put one in a small stuffed animal, so the USB connector is sticking out of its head or its butt (or… I could rip the head off and use it as a cap), so there’s plenty of ways you can innovate.

Taser

Although this project has no practical use of any kind (unless you’re into corporal punishment), it’s a fun way to learn about circuitry and rewiring it. This project is relatively dangerous, and you could end up tasering yourself if you’re not careful, but there’s nothing like a bit of painful motivation to keep you going, right?

Materials:

Disposable camera, any kind will do.

Screwdriver to pry apart the camera and to discharge the capacitor. You might want to use a screwdriver that you’re not too fond of, because discharging the capacitor will leave a scar on it.

Wires: The writer just ripped some out of broken electronics, but you can find insulated wire pretty cheaply at hardware stores.

Wire Strippers: these are not necessary, because its easy to strip wire using a pair of scissors.

Electrical Tape: Using electrical tape would be the most efficient, since electrical tape doesn’t conduct a charge, but any type of tape that is not flammable could theoretically work.

Projected Cost: less than $10. The cost is a little higher if you need to buy wire, but insulated wire is extremely cheap, so even if you do buy it, the purchase shouldn’t push the cost of this project much higher than ten dollars. There’s not much you can add on to this project, except perhaps pimp the casing, but hey, maybe if the taser were bright pink, your friends will object less to being the objects of your experimentation.

The Amazing Harry Potter Wand

Okay I admit, I couldn’t resist throwing this in. I’m a huge Potterhead, and I’m sure many people you know are too, so this would be a double threat: you can learn about basic circuitry and make a cool gift for a friend/family member/random child!

The wiring involved in this project is not complicated at ALL, and the most difficult part of the whole shebang is figuring out how you want to decorate your wand. But don’t worry, even if you’re not Ollivander, the end result will still be fabulous.

Materials:

LED Keyring. These are often given out for free at fairs or as promotional items, so this should be a rather cheap/easy product to come by. If not, you can buy one for two or three bucks. You could also buy just the LED bulb by itself.

6Volt 4LR44 battery. The battery that comes with the LED keyring is a bit too bulky for the wand, so you’ll need to get a thinner battery (which is where the 4LR44 battery comes in).

Solder + Soldering Iron. Used for soldering wires to the LED bulb; alternatively (and a bit less securely) you could use a copious amount of electrical tape.

Wire. Once again, you could tear apart an existing appliance, or you can just go buy a spool of wire.

Electrical Tape. To insulate the end of the batteries. Get one in a light color, so you can sharpie over it later. You’ll need to do this so you can differentiate between the positive and negative ends of the battery.

Paper. Lots and lots of paper. The wand itself is actually made of paper, double sided tape, and PVA glue, so you’ll need enough paper to make a wand about half an inch in diameter.

Paper Clips. The writer ingeniously used paper clips as the wand’s switch. Hopefully you have a couple spares lying around. If not, steal some from the office

Glue Gun. Used to fill and stiffen the body of the wand, and also to firmly attach the LED to the drinking straw it will be fed through.

Decorating stuff: paint, emulsion, gold/silver leaf, even wood paint, if you so please. Anything that tickles your creative fancy.

This is an extremely fun project, and it’s relatively easy, as far as technical things go. If you wanted to make this family oriented, you could even pre-assemble the wand bodies for the children, and let them decorate it themselves. The cost per wand is approximately $5-$6, assuming you have all the tools already. If not, you’re looking at an additional fifteen dollars.

With these projects, I hope you’ve learned a bit about basic circuitry, and how it can be applied to turn several distinct components into a cool toy or device. Hopefully, you’ve enjoyed Make Use Of’s foray into hardware-oriented articles, and continue to support us as we grow.

If you’d like to tell us about what you’d like to see from us as we improve our writing and expand our knowledge base, please let us know by leaving your comments below! Oh and don’t forget to tell us how you got on with the above 3 projects!
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Get Detailed Info About Your OS & Hardware with PC Wizard

Varun Kashyap — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:01:44 +0000

Computer systems are getting more sophisticated every day. Users find it hard enough to remember the entire specification, add to that the fact that you may require additional information like device drivers, DirectX version and files, different ports etc for troubleshooting.

Although Windows comes with a built in system information tool, it doesn’t provide ‘the complete picture‘ by any stretch of imagination. Some time back we looked at System Information Tool for Linux. Here is one you can use with Windows – it is called PC Wizard.

PC Wizard is an advanced system information utility and it provides you with loads of information relating to hardware, software and certain computer benchmarks. It is available both as an installable exe file and a portable zip file. Once you have it on your computer, go ahead and fire it up.

PC Wizard starts collecting information as soon as it loads. It will display the hardware information summary by default. This contains information about the processor, motherboard, RAM, hard disk, network cards and so on. You can get additional detailed information on any hardware component using the toolbar on the left

.

Click on configuration from the toolbar to get system configuration information. Here you can get information about the operating system such as windows uptime, which includes the number of times the operating system has been booted, and no bluescreens encountered. In addition you can also find Outlook, Internet Explorer and other passwords, file associations, list of updates and patches that have been installed and much more, like startup applications, services that are currently running and DirectX information.

The System Files section lets you view the contents of important system files and information like boot.ini, autoexec.bat, environment variables and event log to mention a few.

PC Wizard also lets you run computer benchmarks on Processor (namely Dhrystone (MIPS), Whetstone (MFLOPS) etc), L1, L2, L3 Cache, RAM, Hard Drives, CD/DVD Rom, DirectX 3D, Video, Removable/Flash Support. Note that some computer benchmarks requires a good amount of time for completion, during which you might not be able to work on your computer, so you might want to run them when the computer is idle.

PC Wizard monitors the computer for changing information like CPU core temperatures, hard disk temperatures and CPU utilization. This information can be displayed on your desktop when PC Wizard is running in the background.

You can customize various aspects of PC Wizard via Tools > Options. In here you can customize the user interface, choose additional information you want to view as well as configure the monitoring and benchmarking options.

The tool also allows you to save the reports in a variety of formats such as text, HTML, PDF or CSV. You can also generate a comprehensive report and print or email it. You can also use PC Wizard from the command line which would generate a report in the specified format without firing up the interface. The readme file contains a list of switches and options you can use on the command line.

PC Wizard provides you with exhaustive information about your computer in one place. Gathering such information without PC Wizard wouldn’t only require lots of work but might not be possible for the average user. The monitoring and benchmarking features are a welcome addition.

Give it a try and let us know what you think about it. In case you know of similar or better software used for the same purpose, we would love to know about it.
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How to Backup Your Computer With an Old Hard Disk

Stefan Neagu — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:01:14 +0000

We aren’t born with computers (although that might be true in the future), but we sure do collect them over the years. Some may opt to sell their antique Apple II’s on eBay. But seriously, we all have those 3 year PCs and laptops sitting in a dark corner in your apartment. Wouldn’t it be fantastic to put some of that old hardware to use?

The answer, if you’ve read this far, is yes. Yes we can – remove that old hard drive from the laptop or PC. Yes we can – put it in a brand new and extremely cheap dock or simply use a female ATA or SATA connector that plugs in to your regular computer USB port.

I actually know a guy who has a couple of these drives and uses them to back up his computer. Each week he alternates the drive to spread the wear – and because bare drives are quite fragile – he keeps them in those plastic containers used to store food, along with some crumpled sticky notes. They’re actually a great idea because they are airtight, have good thermal and EM(electromagnetic) resistance, while the crumpled sticky notes will absorb a good part of the downward force in the event of an unfortunate drop. Most people would likely just throw away good stuff, but think about it – you’re losing real value as well as stocking the landfills.

First of all, get the hardware in question out of the closet and dust it off with a damp cloth. If it’s a PC, the process is pretty much straightforward. Most PC’s use standard cross-shaped screws to keep the case tight – you don’t need any special tools. Be extra careful about static electricity. I’m not sure of the science behind this – but avoid clothes made out of plastic polymers (such as polyester) as they tend to charge with electrostatic energy. Before handling any internal contents it’s a good idea to touch a bare metal surface.

Once you’re in, unscrew the hard drive from the holder, first on the right and then on the left, while using your other hand to support the weight from underneath. Once it’s free, disconnect the internal connector. Look at it closely in order to see which kind of dock or cable you need to buy.

On laptops, it can be even easier, but usually it’s kind of hard to get to the hard drive (pun intended). The rule of thumb is to search Google for “Laptop Manufacturer” + “Model Number” + “Guide” OR “Manual” OR “Service Manual”. Especially with older models, you might need to painstakingly remove layers of panels and other components in order to safely remove the hard drive.

Even if you do find the manufacturer’s manual, you should check the MUO guide. Another issue with older drives are the connectors – not all adapters will support those pesky miniaturized ATA or even SATA ports.

Once the patient is safely stored in one of those food containers, it’s time to pull out your credit card and do this search on your favorite tech store: “Connector Type” + “Dock” OR “Adapter” or “Cable” + “USB”. If you live the the US, you’ve got it easy, as Think Geek and Amazon have pretty much got you covered. Less lucky peeps like me would probably opt to order off eBay or annoy the staff at the local computer store.

Once your cable or dock arrives, it’s a simple process of matching the male and female connectors and boom, your old hardware is back to life again. Format it in either NTFS, ext3 or HFS+, depending on your platform of choice and you’re ready to use Time Machine, Back in Time or any other backup solution you might prefer.

Do you recycle your hard drives? If so, how do you do it?

Photo credits : abdallahh, jeremyfoo, jepoirrier, 少佐
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How To Make Your Own Ethernet Cables

Angelina — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:01:43 +0000

When I first applied to be a writer here at MakeUseOf, one of the things I suggested, and wanted to see more of, was hardware based articles. I didn’t necessarily mean that we should cover the newest type of hard drives or the best MP3 players out there, like the blog Gizmodo does, but just that we should give tips on all aspects of computers whether it is web based, software based, or hardware based.

I wanted to present to you, our lovely readers, with accessible and useful tips on hacking your hardware, to hopefully extend your expertise or rouse your interest in something other than what MakeUseOf usually covers. Thus, for my first hardware article, it is only proper for me to pick a topic that many people would be familiar with, based on technology that most people, if not every one of our readers, would have in their homes: Ethernet cables.

Now you might be wondering why you would ever need to know how to make your own Ethernet cables. Well, let me ask you this: when you look at your Ethernet cable, is it spooled in coils, because it is much too long? Has the little tab on top ever fallen off, and rendered your cable useless? Does your cable look completely fine, but for some strange reason, just does not work? Well, then this article might be useful to you.

As for myself, I work at a technology center that deals with networking cables on a daily basis, and we also sell these cables to our customers. Many of these cables we sell are ones we make and test ourselves, so knowing how to make an Ethernet cable is a necessary skill. Now, I will pass this skill on to you.

Materials:

1. A pair of scissors

2. An Ethernet crimping tool – not very expensive. I looked it up online, and you can find some for under ten dollars, although most are around the 15-20 dollar range.

3. Ethernet Connector - These aren’t very expensive either. A bag of fifty goes for about nine bucks on Amazon.

4. Either a spool of cat5e cable, or an existing Ethernet cable- On Froogle, I’ve seen 100ft spools of Cat5e cable go for as little as $3.

Optional: Wirecutters. I just use scissors.

First, if you’re simply shortening your cable, you should cut your cable to however long you need it to be, plus two or three inches extra, in case you mess up. If you are making an entirely new cable from a spool, then cut your cable with a margin of about four to six inches. If you’re just replacing the connector, then just cut the connector off.

Now that you have a clean, cut wire, you need to make an incision about one inch down. You can use a wire cutter that is especially made to cut Ethernet wires, but I prefer to just use a pair of scissors. Be very careful not to nick any of the wires inside, though, or you will need to cut the entire thing off and start again. Make a few shallow incisions all the way around, and then pull the rubber casing apart; this is the safest way to cut the casing off without damaging the inside wires.

As you can see, the casing contains four sets of two twisted wires, one solid color and one striped color. After you pull the casing entirely off, untwist the wires from each other, and straighten them out as best you can with just your fingers. Using a tool at this point would be too risky, because you wouldn’t want to risk damaging the inside wires.

In the picture above, you can see the order that the wires need to be arranged in. If you can’t tell distinctly from the picture, the order should be from left to right, white/orange, orange, white/green, blue, white/blue, green, white/brown, brown. Fan the wires out and make sure they are as straight as possible, and then line them up so that the wires lie flat next to each other, maintaining the order you arranged them in. Place your thumb firmly over the lined up wires, effectively pinning them in order, in place.

At this point, if the tips of the wires are not even with each other, snip them so that the tips form a straight line, but be careful not to cut too much. You’ll need a bit of excess wire to push into the connector, as you will see later.

Now, pick up your connector, and make sure that the flat side is facing upwards. If you look at the connector, you can see that there is a distinct slot for each wire at the very tip of the connector. Keeping your thumb very firmly over the wires, push the wires into the connector, being very careful not to let the wires slip out of order, or become misaligned.

Keep pushing the wires in until the tips are touching the top edge of the connector. Look through the tip of the connector, and if you can see the copper innards of every wire, then you’ve pushed the wires in far enough. Otherwise, you can try to adjust the misaligned wire using a pair of tweezers or pliers, or take the entire bunch out and try again.

Once you’ve made sure that all the wires are properly fitted into the connector, plug the connector to the matching hole in the Ethernet crimper. Squeeze down as hard as possible, and you should hear a bit of plastic cracking. Most Ethernet crimpers have a spring that, when triggered by squeezing, does not release until enough pressure is applied. Otherwise, just squeeze as hard as you can for about 10-20 seconds, and then consider your Ethernet crimped.

Now, you are pretty much finished constructing your Ethernet cord. The last step is to test it. If you have a Net Tool, then you can test whether the Ethernet is wired correctly using the Net Tool. In the picture, all of the lines are parallel and unbroken, except for the last one, and this denotes a correctly wired and working Ethernet. If one or more of the wires are crossed with other wires, then you probably arranged the colored wires in the wrong order before pushing them into the connector, or the wires rearranged themselves while you were attaching the connector. If one or more of the lines are broken, then of of your colored wires is either damaged, or not pushed far enough into the connector.

If you don’t happen to have a Net Tool, the easiest way for you to test your new Ethernet cable is to plug it in where you would normally plug in the Ethernet cable to get a wired internet connection. Check whether your internet connects, and if it doesn’t, then you’ll need to snip the head off and try again. Otherwise, browse a bit, and celebrate, because you’ve just made your first Ethernet Cable! (by the way, if you’re making an entire new cable from scratch, you’ll need to put a connector on the other end using these same instructions, before you’re allowed to celebrate)

Perhaps you found this article enlightening, and thought that it might be an interesting weekend project to try. Perhaps you think this is just useless knowledge that will never be put into use. Either way, we would love to know what you think of these hardware articles, and what you’d like to see from us in the future. Leave us your comments, and tell us where to go from here!

Image Credit : The_Jorr
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How to Get Detailed Information & Benchmark Linux System

Varun Kashyap — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:00:17 +0000

You can get a plethora of information about your Linux system via log files and the proc file system. However, the uninitiated should try Hardinfo. Hardinfo is a system profiler and benchmarking tool for your computer. Hardinfo presents detailed information about your system in a organized manner.

Hardinfo is a Linux application. To install Hardinfo, look inside your distribution’s package manager. Ubuntu users can install Hardinfo via the terminal using:

sudo apt-get install hardinfo

Once installed, go ahead and run it. You will be greeted by various parameters towards the left and you can get more information by clicking on them.

The information is broadly classified into 3 categories: The computer, devices and benchmarks. You can get a information summary about your computer or detailed information about the Operating System, Kernel Modules, Filesystems, shared directories, network interfaces, monitors, languages installed and a log of system boots. In addition, you can also get detailed information about the processor, memory, PCI device, USB devices, battery, printers and storage etc.

All this information is neatly organised and you can copy any one of them to the clipboard with the click of a button or generate a report to post on forums for help. You can pick and choose what information is to be included in the report by un-checking the modules you want to exclude.

Hardinfo also provides you with benchmarking that allows you run certain tests and see how well your computer does! Hardinfo benchmarks your CPU with zlib, fibonacci, md5, sha1, blowfish and FPU raytracing tests. It displays the result as well as how other common CPUs performed on the same test.

If you are unsure about how to interpret the results, Hardinfo displays a line towards the bottom – giving you some additional information about the test results. You can also synchronize the benchmark tests with the Hardinfo server to receive updated results for other CPUs and submit your own results if you so please.

Do you know of similar profiling and benchmarking tools? Please recommend them in the comments!

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Quickly Clean Your Laptop Keys With Keyboard Cleaner [Mac Only]

Jackson Chung — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 17:01:40 +0000

If you’re like me and you tend to leave your laptop for days on end, you’ll notice that it kind of collects dust between keys and in nooks pretty soon. Cleaning around the keyboard is easy. It’s getting the dust and grime off the keys that’s tricky because I want to leave my laptop on while I do it. I’ve been told many “tricks” to do the job: using TextEdit while wiping the keys, for example, so that keystrokes are registered in the word editor.

This “trick” doesn’t work very well because mouse strokes and Exposé buttons are still registered, shifting the focus to the desktop or any other running application.

I found Keyboard Cleaner a few months ago and I’ve been using it ever since. Every time I get irritated by a dirty keyboard, I launch Keyboard Cleaner, start cleaning, quit the application after I’m done and return to work with slippery, shining keys.

A lot of people ask me,”Why can’t you just turn off your laptop in order to clean it?” I answer, its because I don’t need to. Why should I waste time powering off my computer and then wait for it to boot up again, just to get some dirt off my keyboard? The creator of Keyboard Cleaner agrees. Sometimes, you just need to clean your keys right at that moment. That’s when Keyboard Cleaner comes in handy.

I don’t exactly know how Keyboard Cleaner works and I don’t want to ruin that magical feeling. It just works. It shields my laptop from keystrokes which may be invoked while cleaning my laptop, with the exception for Command + Q – the only keystroke which will bring my laptop back to life.

It also renders mouse strokes unrecognizable and active screen corners don’t work when Keyboard Cleaner is active. So, you won’t have to worry about Exposé bringing Keyboard Cleaner out of focus. Unfortunately, it has an Achilles heel – it will still allow special keys to be recognized, like the volume up and down buttons on my MacBook. Not a very big deal since it can still get the cleaning job done.

So, all I have to do is launch Keyboard Cleaner, clean my heart out and when I’m done, I quit it and return to my desktop exactly as I left it.

There’s not much to mention about Keyboard Cleaner except that it is a very simple application which does a very good job of shielding your laptop from key stokes while I’m cleaning it. That’s how most applications should be. Simple and effective.

Give Keyboard Cleaner a try if you’re constantly having headaches every time you need to clean your keyboard and you don’t want to shut down your computer to do it. It’s free and works on Mac OS X Leopard only.

Let us know what you think of this simple application and whether or not you are glad to have found it!
Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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