DIYers IT Zone

When performing  reformat on Compaq Presario V3000 series laptop, hdd is not detectable. Thus no choice, had to remove the SATA hdd and plugged to my desktop in order to reinstall Window XP.

Even with new window xp sp3, BSOD-IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL still occur intermittently. According to microsoft, this error usually occurs after the installation of a buggy device driver, system service, or BIOS. Temporary i’ve disable the usb host controller and is working fine. Hopefully no need to update BIOS…

I’ve tried to setup dual boot xp & Mac OS X Tiger ( JaS 0sx86 10.4.8 ) on Toshiba Tecra laptop and is works. But unfortunately some of the hardwares are not functional under Mac OS X, such as wireless, bluetooth, and audio.

Before installation, we need to make sure that the system support SSE2 instruction & backup your important data. We can use tools like CPU-Z, Everest, and etc to check.

Continue Reading “Dual Boot XP & Mac OS X Tiger”

When you try to start or restart your Windows XP-based computer, you may receive one of the following error messages:

Windows XP could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM
Windows XP could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SOFTWARE

This problem is due to the registry hive corrupted. To resolve this issue without reinstalling Window XP, we can use recovery console. Insert Window XP CD, boot from CD and enter recovery console mode.

Under recovery console mode, select your partition that contain window xp.

Continue Reading “Cannot Start Windows XP”

My Dell Mini 1210 netbook is using the Intel GMA500 built in display, which has a poor driver support on Linux.

By default, Versa driver is used when we installed Linux OS, but the performance is not good. Luckily, there are driver for Intel GMA500 “Poulsbo” video hardware in various Ubuntu releases.  Below is the method to install it on latest Ubuntu 10.04:
Command to add ‘GMA500 PPA’ repository and update database

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gma500/ppa && sudo apt-get update

Command to install all needed packages

sudo apt-get install poulsbo-driver-2d poulsbo-driver-3d poulsbo-config

Other Ubuntu releases can be found on https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HardwareSupportComponentsVideoCardsPoulsbo.

After installed the driver, we need to restart the machine. So far the released driver on support 2D, where 3D is not available. Anyway, the display performance is better (1280×800) compared to the Versa driver (1024×768).

PS:
I’ve tried on xubuntu 10.04, after installed, display faded to black only. Currently i installed the driver on Linux Mint, no problem.
Before install driver, output display to projector is not available, now is available.

After signed up the U Mobile plan, i can start using it after 2 hours. Since this plan not include any modem, i’ve purchased the ZTE HDSPA modem from 5G gallery.

Installation is simple, just load the sim card on the modem, and plug it to USB port on your PC/laptop. It will auto detect, and install driver & software. The ZTE modem is preloaded with all the mobile broadband settings for Maxis, Digi, Celcom & U Mobile, where the default settings is goes to Celcom. We need to change to U Mobile setting.

So far, in my house, the best signal area is my ground floor living room (1-2 bars) & upper floor master bedroom (2-4 bars). My computer room located ground floor totally no signal at all…T_T

Anyway, even only 1-2 bar of weak signal, the connection speed is still acceptable, can reach more than 1Mbps,  no problem watching online streaming video such as PPstream or PPlive.

I’ve also tried  downloading large file, speed is OK.

Overall, U Mobile broadband is not bad, fast connection speed, unlimited usage for only RM68 per month, the cheapest compare to others. Except signal not so good on my house.

PS: not sure whether the unlimited usage is true or not…

There are many causes of the Vista black screen issue. The symptoms are after logging in, screen will goes black and can see a mouse cursor only. Below is one of the method i’ve tried that able to resolve the issue.

Resolution:

“C:\Windows\System32\winevt” in that folder is another one named LOGS

Rename the LOGS folder to LOGSold and reboot.

“C:\Windows\System32\winevt\Logs” -> “C:\Windows\System32\winevt\Logsold”

REN C:\Windows\System32\winevt\Logs C:\Windows\System32\winevt\Logsold

PS: We need to have Vista CD in order to rename/recreate the Log folder.

Below is the link of other similar black screen issue:

Remote Procedure Call service (rpcss) running under the LocalSystem account rather than NT Authority\NetworkService account.

After 2 years plus using this MSI Nvidia 8500GT graphic card, finally is sick, where the VGA fan is broken.

Luckily my motherboard has on-board video, temporary i’ve removed  the graphic card, and use the built in display.  This is the advantage of buying a motherboard with built in display, in case anything happen to graphic card, u can still use your PC.

Tomorrow need to look for new VGA fan, see whether this card can run or not…

Since PPStream didnt release client for linux based, thus we can only watch it through totem plugin.

Run below command from terminal to install:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:portis25/cnav
sudo apt-key adv –recv-keys –keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com 27F5B2C1B3EAC8D9
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install totem-pps

To run it, open Totem player, then open ppstream online watching page–>http://kan.pps.tv/

Select your movie. click the “Open in client player” link.

Drag it to your Totem Player playlist, and u r done.

In order to play it directly from browser, then u need to install GreaseMonkey add on. Then, install this script.  Once finish, u can directly play through browser.

Via LDCN – 使用 totem-pps 在 Ubuntu 下完美地观看 PPS 电影

I’ve been using this cute little phone for few weeks. As a phone, overall is better than my previous Toshiba G900.  Moreover, i’ve upgraded the N2 OS from version 2.1.552.2 to 2.1.552.5. (* did not notice what is the changes in newest version..)

Anyway, in case u need to replace the 1GB storage to higher capacity, u need to install the OS. Below is the guide of doing a clean installation on new storage card.

Resources needed:

Neonode N2 OS  and manual, where u can download at www.neonode.com.

First, turn off your N2 and connect it to your PC through the USB cable, backup all your files.

*It will act like a removable drive.

Second, run the Nero.exe program. Click “Change”.

Select your desire languages.

Then, click “Advance”. U can see there are 2 option, “clean installation” and “Format SD”. For upgrade OS only, choose “clean installation”. Whereas for new storage card, click “Format SD”. After formatted SD, u need to run the Nero.exe again for installation.

Once finished copied the files to your N2, your N2 will start installing the OS.

Search Engine Giant- Google has launched their free, global Domain Name System (DNS) resolution service. The DNS protocol is an important part of the web’s infrastructure, serving as the Internet’s phone book: every time you visit a website, your computer performs a DNS lookup. Complex pages often require multiple DNS lookups before they start loading, so your computer may be performing hundreds of lookups a day.

By using Google Public DNS you can:

• Speed up your browsing experience.
• Improve your security.
• Get the results you expect with absolutely no redirection.

Google Public DNS IP addresses are as follows:

• 8.8.8.8
• 8.8.4.4

Detail configuration instructions.

Other DNS:

Continue Reading “Google Public DNS”