How Download MP3s from Fanscape.com or other Streaming Audio-Video

How Download MP3s from Fanscape.com or other Streaming Audio/Video Page

Part1

1- Download “CoCSoft Stream Down” here:

http://www.projectw.org/viewtopic.php?t=40095&highlight=cocsoft+stream

2- Go to Fanscape.com or other Streaming Audio/Video Page (like MTV or VH1) search
for your Artist or Band, and play your song, a pop up will appear, with a
windows player preview, then, right clic on this player, and clic on “properties”

3- Will appear a options,stay in “File” tag, go down to “Location” Select all the link address and copy


4- Go to “CoCSoft Stream Down” program, and clic on “ADD” icon, and paste the link address, that u copied on the page, choose your directory to download, and clic in Ok


5- Now, You are downloading the .ASF File


Part 2

1- When you finished of download the .ASF File, open River Past Audio Converter

Download here: http://www.projectw.org/viewtopic.php?t=24947&highlight=river+past

Note: To extract audio from ASF (Advanced Systems Format) files to MP3 with River Past Audio Converter, you should have DirectX 8.0 or above (9.0 highly recommended), and Windows Media Format 9 runtime installed.

2- Once River Past Audio Converter is installed properly, launch Audio Converter.

3- Add File
Click on the "Add" button on the tool bar. The standard file open dialog appears. Select "Windows Media Video" in its "Files of type" combo box.

Select the file you want to convert and click "Open". The file will be added to the conversion file list.

4- Select output format
Use the "Audio Format" setting panel on the bottom of the window to control the output format. Select "MP3" as the "File Type".

You can change the sample rate, channel (stereo or mono) and bitrate. Audio CD's native format is 44.1 kHz, stereo.

5- Select output directory
Expand the "Output Directory" panel. Use the button to select an output directory.

6- Convert!
Click the "Convert" button on the tool bar.

7- Enjoy!!!


Important Notes:

1- The First part, can be used for VIDEOS file, just try it, I do it icon_lol.gif
2- This Tutorial is not 100% perfect, just do it
3- The final Quality from your Mp3, will sound like streaming Audio, cuz we
extract it from a streaming File(maybe 20 or 32 kb/s).
4- If u think, that I'm in a mistake or I'm a fool, please tell me, I will to
learn
5- if u wanna add something, plz Do it, We gonna appreciate your
colaboration

How to do a high Quality DivX rip

First and foremost, go to

http://www.doom9.org

and go to their downloads section.
get the following files:
under Audio:
Besweet
Besweet GUI

Under Codecs:
DivX 5.2.1 Pro

Under Divx/Mpeg-4 encoders:
Nandub 1.0RC2


then get this:
http://www.dvd-digest.tv/downloads/files/virtualdub/vdub_pack-145.exe
alternatively, get any version of virtualdub that includes mp3 support.

these are all the required tools, there are ways with fewer items, but they produce very inferior outputs. Besides, after you get used to it, the whole process is really easy.


Okay, first and foremost, pull out Nandub. This is the step that takes the longest, as well as where you will make most of your decisions. I am going to assume that you are making a 1 cd rip. If you do what is in this faq, there won't be much reason to do anything else. Twisted Evil


First of all, run Nandub . It will pop up a dialogue box, and want to know if you are making a new project or resuming an old. New, of course. Give it a name and tell fairuse where you want it to store its data. Fairuse is about to rip the entire movie to your harddrive(nice if you want to go rent a movie and return it the next day).

Then it will ask for your DVD drive with a dvd in it. give it. Then, select which video stream you want. This is usually pretty obvious as the movie stream is the one that is an hour or so long. If there are two of these, check out the other tags. which languages and so on. worst case senario is that you have to trial and error. but that is rare. choose the long stream and hit next.

This is where Nandub rips everything to your hard drive. depending on the speed of various components in your computer, and the length of the movie, this could take a while. let it finish. and then move on.

Once all that is done, the really important screen pops up. this is where you set resolutions and video length. first, cut off the ending credits with the slider, but DO NOT mess with the beginning, as the sound and video frames need to start at the same point for sync. Then hit auto set for the cropping region, this is usually just fine. Then decide whether or not you want subtitles, which would be the subpicture stream. When you're done, hit next.

Set the field mode to IVTC. This will give you better quality for size, as it runs at 24 frames instead of 30, due to the nature of divx, there won't be any noticeable difference in quality, but 6 less frames to deal with each second(and to store data for) really add up. Besides this is the correct mode for all movies anyway. NExt.

This is where you set FINAL file size, including audio, for 1 cd rip, set to 690, for 2, set to double that. Then follow the directions they give you and choose a final resolution that has between a 120:1 and 150:1 (if possible, sometimes the movie is compression ratio. NEXT!

This screen is where you determine quality. The autoadd button is usefull, and will give you decent quality, with 4 encodings. What this does is encode the movie 4 times, and then mix the frames to creat the final encoding, with the most efficient possible encoding for each frame. which is how we get bad ass quality for a single cd. I usually go for 8 encodings, as on my athlon 1600+ this rarely takes more than 8 hours to do, so I just go to sleep, wake up, and its done.

Then add the audio encoding that you want.

Hit next.
And let the bastard fly. Depending on what you set, and your computer, this could take from a few hours to a few days. CPU's of 1.2Ghz+ are nice right about here. You can do stuff while this is going on, but it makes things take much longer.

In the end you will have a bunch of encodings in the folder you specified at the beginning, the 4+ you chose and the final. You will also have an AC3 stream. Take the final AVI and toss it someplace to await the rest of the audio work you have to do, and you can erase the other encodings, freeing up a few gigs in the process of space.

NEXT: AUDIO

Ok, this is where Besweet comes in.

Extract BeSweet and the GUI into the same folder. Now Run the GUI.

At the top there are three fields. One for BeSweet which you should point at the besweet.exe that you should have unzipped to the same directory you are running the Gui from, A field for the AC3 stream, which is in the folder where you sent the encoded video from Fairuse, and an output mp3. The output mp3 has to be an existing file, so make a text file, rename it (yourmovie).mp3 and just say yeah, its cool to change the extension and make things weird. besweet will overwrite it so don't worry. point the third field at that file. The default values for stuff should be fine. but to make sure go to Azid 1(on the left) and select stereo, and then go to Lame 2 and select constant bit rate, and 128(assuming that is what you want). then click on besweet again, and finally, click on AC3 to MP3.

Let the bastard fly.

Now. When its done you should have an mp3 that is the entire soundtrack for the movie. This is where virtualdub comes in. run the virtualdub mp3 version. go to File:open video file and select the final encoding that you had from way back. Then go to audio and select mp3 audio. it will ask you for the file, give it the mp3. Go to audio again and make sure direct stream copy is selected. Then go to video and make sure that direct stream copy is also selected. Finally go to file again and SAVE AVI. give it a file name and let the bastard fly. This final file is your movie. Beautiful and glorious. Congratulations, its a DivX rip. Aren't you proud. burn to cd, and give copies to all your friends.

Data Capacity of CDs

Abstract
You can fit on a S/VCD without overburning:
- approx. 735 MB of MPEG data onto a 74min/650MB disc
- approx. 795 MB of MPEG data onto an 80min/700MB disc

You can fit on a CD-ROM without overburning:
- approx. 650 MB of data onto a 74min/650MB disc
- approx. 703 MB of data onto an 80min/700MB disc

----------------------------------------------------------------

Introduction
Let us ignore for now the terms of megabyte for CD capacity and try to understand how the data is stored on a CD.

As well all know, the data is stored digitally as binary data. This means, however the actual information is actually kept on the disc, this information is in the form of "1"s and "0"s. Physically, the information on a CD is as pits on a thin sheet of metal (aluminium).

An a CD-R disc, the data is physically on an organic dye layer which simulates the metal layer on a real pressed CD.

----------------------------------------------------------------


How is the information structured
Now, on the CD, the information isn't just organised from beginning to end willy-nilly. Otherwise, it would be really hard to find a useful piece of information on the CD.

Rather, the information is organised in sectors. Consider a sector as like a page in a book. Just like you are able to quickly find something in a book if you know the page number, you can quickly find something on a CD if you know the sector number.

Now, remember that the CD was original made to hold audio data. It was decided, that the CD would would 75 sectors per second of audio. Although I cannot guess where this number comes from, it is quite appropriate for the audio CD. It means that you can "seek" an audio CD accurately to 1/75th of a second -- which is more than enough for consumer purposes.

Now, with this in mind, we can work out the total data capacity of user data for 1 sector.

----------------------------------------------------------------

The total data capacity of user data of 1 sector on a CD
CD audio uses uncompressed PCM stereo audio, 16-bit resolution sampled at 44.1 kHz.

Thus 1 second of audio contains:
16 bits/channel * 2 channels * 44100 samples/second * 1 second
= 1411200 bits
= 176400 bytes

Since there are 75 sectors per second
1 sector
= 176400 bytes / 75
= 2352 bytes

One sector on a CD contains 2352 bytes max.

----------------------------------------------------------------

The concept of different MODES and FORMS of burning
Now, audio CD was well and good, but the medium would become much more useful if you could store other data on the disc as well. This became to be know as CD-ROM of course.

Now, the audio-CD uses the ENTIRE sector for audio data.

However, for CD-ROMs this caused a problem. Simply, CDs and the CD reading mechanisms were not 100% faultless. That is, errors (indeed frequent errors) could be made during the reading. For audio CDs, this does not matter as much as you could simply interpolate from the adjacent audio samples. This will obviously NOT DO for data CDs. A single bit error could lead to a program being unexecutable or ruin an achive file.

Thus, for CD-ROMs, part of each sector is devoted to error correction codes and error detection codes. The CD-R FAQ has the details, but in effect, only 2048 bytes out of a total of 2352 bytes in each sector is available for user data on a data CD.

This burning mode is either MODE1 or MODE2 Form1.

----------------------------------------------------------------

MODE2 Form2 sectors of VCDs and SVCDs
Now, for VCDs and SVCDs, the video tracks do not necessarily require the robust error correction as normal data on a CD-ROM. However, there is still some overhead per sector that is used for something other than video data (e.g., sync headers).

S/VCDs video tracks are burnt in what is called MODE2 Form2 sectors. In this mode, only 2324 bytes out of a total of 2352 bytes in each sector is available for user data.

This is MUCH MORE than for CD-ROMs, but still less per sector than audio CD.

----------------------------------------------------------------

The disc capacities of CD-ROMs, audio-CDs and VCDs
Now, obviously what ultimately determines the capacity of a disc is the total number of sectors it contains. This is similar to the total number of pages in a blank exercise book (if you recall the book analogy).

The secondary determinant is the burning mode of the disc.

For audio CDs, it is as if you could fill each page from top to bottom with audio data as the entire sector is used for audio data.

For CD-ROMs, it is as if you need to first rule a margin and then leave the bottom part of each page for footnotes (headers + ECC + EDC). The amount of text you can actually write per page is then less due to these other constraints.

For S/VCDs, we still need to rule a margin on the page, but we don't have to worry about the footnotes (headers). We can fit MORE text than a CD-ROM, but less than an audio-CD.

Now remember, 1 second on a CD = 75 sectors.

Thus:
- 74 min CD = 333,000 sectors
- 80 min CD = 360,000 sectors


Data capacity in Mb for an audio-CD
74 min
= 333,000 sectors * 2352 bytes / sector
= 783216000 bytes
= 746.9 Mb

80 min
= 360,000 sectors * 2352 bytes / sector
= 846720000 bytes
= 807.5 Mb


Data capacity in Mb for a CD-ROM
74 min
= 333,000 sectors * 2048 bytes / sector
= 681984000 bytes
= 650.4 Mb

80 min
= 360,000 sectors * 2048 bytes / sector
= 737280000 bytes
= 703.1 Mb


Data capacity in Mb for a S/VCD
74 min
= 333,000 sectors * 2324 bytes / sector
= 773892000 bytes
= 738.0 Mb

80 min
= 360,000 sectors * 2324 bytes / sector
= 836640000 bytes
= 797.9 Mb

----------------------------------------------------------------

Conclusions
As you can see, the often quoted capacities of 650MB and 700MB refer to CD-ROM capacities.

Due to the fact that S/VCDs use a different burning mode where MORE of each sector is available as user data, the relatively capacities are HIGHER.

Now, since S/VCDs are not composed of PURELY video tracks and have some unavoidable overheads, the actually total capacity left for video tracks is a few Mb less for each disc (about 735 Mb for 74min discs and 795 Mb for 80min discs). This is where the often quoted capacities of 740MB and 800MB come from. They are quite accurate.

All these capacities are available BEFORE overburning. Overburning is where you burn MORE sectors than the disc is rated for. If you overburn, you can typically achieve about 1-2 minutes of additional capacity (depending on your drive and media).

Find Stuff

Has this ever happened to you?

You're looking for something on a long web page with Internet Explorer or Netscape. You think it's there, but you're faced with seemingly insurmountable number of paragraphs, sentences, and words to hunt though.

Well, next time this happens to you, hit the Edit menu, Find (or CTRL-F for you shortcut lovers). You'll get a handy little "find" box that lets you type in a specific word. After you type in your search term, hit the Find Next button and Explorer will look for that word on the page. If it's successful, you'll be zapped right to it.

As if that wasn't cool enough, you can also use a variation of this tip in Windows Explorer. Next time you're looking for a file in Explorer, hit CRTL-F and you'll get a Find or Search box (depending on what flavor of Windows you're using).

If you are already in the area of your hard drive where you think the file is (say, My Documents), hit CTRL-F and your search will be set to look in the My Documents sfolder.

DirectX explained

Ever wondered just what that enigmatic name means?

Gaming and multimedia applications are some of the most satisfying programs you can get for your PC, but getting them to run properly isn’t always as easy as it could be. First, the PC architecture was never designed as a gaming platform. Second, the wide-ranging nature of the PC means that one person’s machine can be different from another. While games consoles all contain the same hardware, PCs don’t: the massive range of difference can make gaming a headache.


To alleviate as much of the pain as possible, Microsoft needed to introduce a common standard which all games and multimedia applications could follow – a common interface between the OS and whatever hardware is installed in the PC, if you like. This common interface is DirectX, something which can be the source of much confusion.

DirectX is an interface designed to make certain programming tasks much easier, for both the game developer and the rest of us who just want to sit down and play the latest blockbuster. Before we can explain what DirectX is and how it works though, we need a little history lesson.

DirectX history
Any game needs to perform certain tasks again and again. It needs to watch for your input from mouse, joystick or keyboard, and it needs to be able to display screen images and play sounds or music. That’s pretty much any game at the most simplistic level.

Imagine how incredibly complex this was for programmers developing on the early pre-Windows PC architecture, then. Each programmer needed to develop their own way of reading the keyboard or detecting whether a joystick was even attached, let alone being used to play the game. Specific routines were needed even to display the simplest of images on the screen or play a simple sound.

Essentially, the game programmers were talking directly to your PC’s hardware at a fundamental level. When Microsoft introduced Windows, it was imperative for the stability and success of the PC platform that things were made easier for both the developer and the player. After all, who would bother writing games for a machine when they had to reinvent the wheel every time they began work on a new game? Microsoft’s idea was simple: stop programmers talking directly to the hardware, and build a common toolkit which they could use instead. DirectX was born.

How it works
At the most basic level, DirectX is an interface between the hardware in your PC and Windows itself, part of the Windows API or Application Programming Interface. Let’s look at a practical example. When a game developer wants to play a sound file, it’s simply a case of using the correct library function. When the game runs, this calls the DirectX API, which in turn plays the sound file. The developer doesn’t need to know what type of sound card he’s dealing with, what it’s capable of, or how to talk to it. Microsoft has provided DirectX, and the sound card manufacturer has provided a DirectX-capable driver. He asks for the sound to be played, and it is – whichever machine it runs on.

From our point of view as gamers, DirectX also makes things incredibly easy – at least in theory. You install a new sound card in place of your old one, and it comes with a DirectX driver. Next time you play your favourite game you can still hear sounds and music, and you haven’t had to make any complex configuration changes.

Originally, DirectX began life as a simple toolkit: early hardware was limited and only the most basic graphical functions were required. As hardware and software has evolved in complexity, so has DirectX. It’s now much more than a graphical toolkit, and the term has come to encompass a massive selection of routines which deal with all sorts of hardware communication. For example, the DirectInput routines can deal with all sorts of input devices, from simple two-button mice to complex flight joysticks. Other parts include DirectSound for audio devices and DirectPlay provides a toolkit for online or multiplayer gaming.

DirectX versions
The current version of DirectX at time of writing is DirectX 9.0. This runs on all versions of Windows from Windows 98 up to and including Windows Server 2003 along with every revision in between. It doesn’t run on Windows 95 though: if you have a machine with Windows 95 installed, you’re stuck with the older and less capable 8.0a. Windows NT 4 also requires a specific version – in this case, it’s DirectX 3.0a.

With so many versions of DirectX available over the years, it becomes difficult to keep track of which version you need. In all but the most rare cases, all versions of DirectX are backwardly compatible – games which say they require DirectX 7 will happily run with more recent versions, but not with older copies. Many current titles explicitly state that they require DirectX 9, and won’t run without the latest version installed. This is because they make use of new features introduced with this version, although it has been known for lazy developers to specify the very latest version as a requirement when the game in question doesn’t use any of the new enhancements. Generally speaking though, if a title is version locked like this, you will need to upgrade before you can play. Improvements to the core DirectX code mean you may even see improvements in many titles when you upgrade to the latest build of DirectX. Downloading and installing DirectX need not be complex, either.

Upgrading DirectX
All available versions of Windows come with DirectX in one form or another as a core system component which cannot be removed, so you should always have at least a basic implementation of the system installed on your PC. However, many new games require the very latest version before they work properly, or even at all.

Generally, the best place to install the latest version of DirectX from is the dedicated section of the Microsoft Web site, which is found at www.microsoft.com/windows/directx. As we went to press, the most recent build available for general download was DirectX 9.0b. You can download either a simple installer which will in turn download the components your system requires as it installs, or download the complete distribution package in one go for later offline installation.

Another good source for DirectX is games themselves. If a game requires a specific version, it’ll be on the installation CD and may even be installed automatically by the game’s installer itself. You won’t find it on magazine cover discs though, thanks to Microsoft’s licensing terms.

Diagnosing problems

Diagnosing problems with a DirectX installation can be problematic, especially if you don’t know which one of the many components is causing your newly purchased game to fall over. Thankfully, Microsoft provides a useful utility called the DirectX Diagnostic Tool, although this isn’t made obvious. You won’t find this tool in the Start Menu with any version of Windows, and each tends to install it in a different place.

The easiest way to use it is to open the Start Menu’s Run dialog, type in dxdiag and then click OK. When the application first loads, it takes a few seconds to interrogate your DirectX installation and find any problems. First, the DirectX Files tab displays version information on each one of the files your installation uses. The Notes section at the bottom is worth checking, as missing or corrupted files will be flagged here.

The tabs marked Display, Sound, Music, Input and Network all relate to specific areas of DirectX, and all but the Input tab provide tools to test the correct functioning on your hardware. Finally, the More Help tab provides a useful way to start the DirectX Troubleshooter, Microsoft’s simple linear problem solving tool for many common DirectX issues.

Cracking Bios

Here is the best way to crack the bios password in windows:

Follow the steps below:

1) Boot up windows.
2) go to dos-prompt or go to command prompt directly from the windows start up menu.

3) type the command at the prompt: "debug" (without quotes ninja.gif )
4) type the following lines now exactly as given.......
o 70 10
o 71 20
quit
exit

4) exit from the dos prompt and restart the machine


password protection gone!!!!!!!!!!!!!

EnjoYYYYYYYYYY

PS: I tested this in Award Bios........
There seems to be some issue regarding display drivers on some machines if this is used. Just reinstall the drivers, Everything will be fine...........

I have not found any other trouble if the codes are used.

To be on safe side, just back up your data..........


The use of this code is entirely at ur risk.......... It worked fine for me..........

Delete An undeletable File

Delete An "undeletable" File

Open a Command Prompt window and leave it open.
Close all open programs.
Click Start, Run and enter TASKMGR.EXE
Go to the Processes tab and End Process on Explorer.exe.
Leave Task Manager open.
Go back to the Command Prompt window and change to the directory the AVI (or other undeletable file) is located in.
At the command prompt type DEL where is the file you wish to delete.
Go back to Task Manager, click File, New Task and enter EXPLORER.EXE to restart the GUI shell.
Close Task Manager.


Or you can try this

Open Notepad.exe

Click File>Save As..>

locate the folder where ur undeletable file is

Choose 'All files' from the file type box

click once on the file u wanna delete so its name appears in the 'filename' box

put a " at the start and end of the filename
(the filename should have the extension of the undeletable file so it will overwrite it)

click save,

It should ask u to overwrite the existing file, choose yes and u can delete it as normal


Here's a manual way of doing it. I'll take this off once you put into your first post zain.

1. Start
2. Run
3. Type: command
4. To move into a directory type: cd c:\*** (The stars stand for your folder)
5. If you cannot access the folder because it has spaces for example Program Files or Kazaa Lite folder you have to do the following. instead of typing in the full folder name only take the first 6 letters then put a ~ and then 1 without spaces. Example: cd c:\progra~1\kazaal~1
6. Once your in the folder the non-deletable file it in type in dir - a list will come up with everything inside.
7. Now to delete the file type in del ***.bmp, txt, jpg, avi, etc... And if the file name has spaces you would use the special 1st 6 letters followed by a ~ and a 1 rule. Example: if your file name was bad file.bmp you would type once in the specific folder thorugh command, del badfil~1.bmp and your file should be gone. Make sure to type in the correct extension.

Change Music In The Malibu And The Pole Position, GTA Vice Modders

TOOLS YOU WILL NEED (ADOBE AUDITION)

in your Grand Theft Auto Vice City / Audio folder you will see a bunch of mp3's


you wanna find

malibu.mp3
strip.mp3
stripa.mp3 (short clip only needs to be half of a song)

open a few songs for each clip you want to make.. (fade the beginning or end of the songs if you want to) and open multitrack view.. you can have them fade into eachother. once you have the multitrack session finished go to "FILE" then "SAVE MIXDOWN AS"

you want to save as a 128k 32000 Hz MONO FIle (the same type as the originals) but normal internet 128k 44.1 stereo should work also.. just save as say malibu.mp3 and then replace the one in your audio folder for the one you created.

when i walk into the Malibu i hear david banner and lil' jon singing

"YEEEAAAEEEHH!! OK!!..... WHAT!!..... WHAT!!"

Change Text on XP Start Button

Step 1 - Modify Explorer.exe File

In order to make the changes, the file explorer.exe located at C:\Windows needs to be edited. Since explorer.exe is a binary file it requires a special editor. For purposes of this article I have used Resource Hacker. Resource HackerTM is a freeware utility to view, modify, rename, add, delete and extract resources in 32bit Windows executables and resource files (*.res). It incorporates an internal resource script compiler and decompiler and works on Microsoft Windows 95/98/ME, Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Windows XP operating systems.

get this from http://delphi.icm.edu.pl/ftp/tools/ResHack.zip

The first step is to make a backup copy of the file explorer.exe located at C:\Windows\explorer. Place it in a folder somewhere on your hard drive where it will be safe. Start Resource Hacker and open explorer.exe located at C:\Windows\explorer.exe.

The category we are going to be using is "String Table". Expand it by clicking the plus sign then navigate down to and expand string 37 followed by highlighting 1033. If you are using the Classic Layout rather than the XP Layout, use number 38. The right hand pane will display the stringtable. We’re going to modify item 578, currently showing the word “start” just as it displays on the current Start button.

There is no magic here. Just double click on the word “start” so that it’s highlighted, making sure the quotation marks are not part of the highlight. They need to remain in place, surrounding the new text that you’ll type. Go ahead and type your new entry. In my case I used Click Me!

You’ll notice that after the new text string has been entered the Compile Script button that was grayed out is now active. I won’t get into what’s involved in compiling a script, but suffice it to say it’s going to make this exercise worthwhile. Click Compile Script and then save the altered file using the Save As command on the File Menu. Do not use the Save command – Make sure to use the Save As command and choose a name for the file. Save the newly named file to C:\Windows.


Step 2 – Modify the Registry

!!!make a backup of your registry before making changes!!!

Now that the modified explorer.exe has been created it’s necessary to modify the registry so the file will be recognized when the user logs on to the system. If you don’t know how to access the registry I’m not sure this article is for you, but just in case it’s a temporary memory lapse, go to Start (soon to be something else) Run and type regedit in the Open field. Navigate to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\ Windows NT\ CurrentVersion\ Winlogon

In the right pane, double click the "Shell" entry to open the Edit String dialog box. In Value data: line, enter the name that was used to save the modified explorer.exe file. Click OK.

Close Registry Editor and either log off the system and log back in, or reboot the entire system if that’s your preference. If all went as planned you should see your new Start button with the revised text.[/b]

Creating a Board aka Forum on your own PC

First of all you need Apache Server, PHP, MySQL and a Forum Script i.e. phpBB or Invision or vBulletin.

Download phpDev here

http://keihanna.dl.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/phpdev5/phpdev423.exe
and you get a bundle of all the things above.

exttract & install php dev. start the apache server,its 90% done.

upload the forum script to X:/phpdev/www/public
(x is your drive, usually C: )

now to access the forum through internet you will not know your IP address thru ipconfig command..

go to

http://www.whatismyip.com


see whats your IP address.

now go to

http://your ip address/public/your forum directory/install.php


thats it!

How To Remove and Add Right-Click Menu Items from Files and Folders

A lot of programs you install will add themselves to the right-click menu of your files and/or folders. And most times, you have no choice in the matter and, as a result, your right-click menu can get very long with added items you don't even use. The last person I was helping with this had a right context menu so long that the Rename option was no longer visible!
Fortunately, you can easily remove those unwanted menu items, if you know the registry values to edit. And it's not at all difficult once you know the keys responsible for the additions.

For Files, the secret lies in the "context menu handlers" under the shellex subkey for "All Files" which, in the registry, is nothing but an asterisk - like a dos wildcard, which means the values entered apply to all files. It is at the very top of the Root key, right here:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers

Click the the + sign next to the ContextMenuHandlers key, to expand it.
Now you will see some of the programs that have added items to your right-click menu. Simply delete the program keys you don't want.
Yup! It's that simple. If deleting makes you uneasy, just export the key before deleting it. Or, instead of deleting the values, disable them. Simply double click the default value for the program on the right hand pane and rename the clsid value by placing a period or dash in front of it.
ie; - {b5eedee0-c06e-11cf-8c56-444553540000}
Then exit the registry, refresh, and right click a file to see if the item was removed from the menu.
Some programs - like WinZip or WinRar - will add several items to your right click menu but all of them will be removed by deleting or disabling their one context menu handler.

Note that the above key only applies to the right click menu of files.
To remove entries from the right click context menu of folders, you need to navigate to the Folder and Drive keys:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers

All you have to do is follow the same procedure as for Files - either disable or delete items you wish to remove.
Adding Items
Adding Items to the right click menu of Files and Folders is also fairly simple using the Registry. It just involves the creation of a few new keys for each item you wish to add. You edit the same keys used for removing items. Let's use Notepad as an example of an item you'd like to add to the right click menu of all your files or folders.

For folders, go to this key:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder
Click the + sign next to Folder and expand it so that the Shell key is visible. Right click the Shell key and choose New>Key and name the key Notepad or whatever else you'd prefer (whatever the key is named is what will appear in the right-click menu). Now right click the new key you made and create another key named Command. Then, in the right hand pane, double click "Default" and enter Notepad.exe as the value.
Exit the registry, refresh, and right click any folder. Notepad should now be on the context menu.


For files, go here again:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*
Expand the * key and see if a Shell key exists. If it does exist, follow the same procedure as for folders. If it does not exist, you'll have to create a new Shell first. Just right click the * key and choose New>Key and name it Shell. Then right click the Shell key and continue on the same way you did for adding items to the right click menu of folders.
Once done, Notepad should appear as an option in the right click menu of all your files.

How To Download Movies, From IRC

--------------------- SETTING UP mIRC ---------------------

First of all you need to download mIRC from /http://www.mirc.com, this program will let you connect to the server and channel to download movies. Once installed run mIRC, and you will be presented with the mIRC options. The first thing you will see is the "Connect" options. Set the options as follows:

IRC Network: Select "Criten" from the dropdown list.
Full Name: Enter what you feel comfortable with.
Email Address: Enter your email address.
Nickname: Enter the nickname you want.
Alternative: If the nickname you picked isn't available this is the one it will use.

*If Criten isn't listed in the IRC Networks, hit the "Add" button.
Description: Criten
IRC Server: irc.Criten.net
Port(s): 6667
Group: Criten
Password: Leave Blank
Hit the "Add" Button to finish

Next we will move down to "DCC". Select "Auto-get file" (this will automaticly accept the files that are sent to you), click "YES" in the window that opens. Right next to the "Auto-get file" click on the "Minimize" option. Below that select select "Resume" from the drop-down list under "If file exists:". This option sets mIRC to automaticly resume any failed sends you may get instead of overwriting them.

Continuing in the "DCC" section, go down to "Folders". In the "DCC Ignore:" box select from the drop-down list "Disabled", then untick the "Turn ignore back on in:" box.

mIRC is now setup correctly to download movies from TMD! Hit "OK" on the bottom of the Options window and move on to the next part.


--------------- CONNECTING TO #TMD-MOVIEZ ---------------

In the upper left hand corner of mIRC you will see the "Connect" button in the tool bar, click it to connet to irc.Criten.net. Once it has connected (be patient it can take a while to finally connect on some days), a window will pop-up, this is the mIRC Channels list. On the right side of the window click the "Add" button. Another window will pop up, set it as follows:

Channel: Type in "#TMD-Moviez" (without the quotes)
Password: Leave blank.
Description: Just type in "TMD Moviez" or something of the sort.
Networks: Click the "Add" button and from the drop-down list select "Criten", then click "OK".

If you wish mIRC to automaticly connect to this channel once connected to the server, check the "Join channel on connect" box in the options. You may also wish to add the channel "#TMD" (Our chat channel) by repeating these steps.

Now click "OK" and it will show the mIRC Channels List again with the channel you just added. While the new channel is still selected click "Join" on the right side.

You can also type in /join #TMD-Moviez

A new window will appear with a bunch of text scrolling by, if you see this, than you did everything correctly! You are now in #TMD-Moviez! Move on to the next section for the fun part.


----------------- FINDING AND DOWNLOADING FILES -----------------

The things you see scrolling are ads and searches mainly. It is the ads that you may want to watch for. They consist of info about the server like this:

*********** Only an example server... Not a real one! ********

[2:29am] File Server Online Triggers:½/ctcp TMD-Maveric !Maveric's Moviez!╗ Min:½6.4 Kbs╗ Sends:½2/2╗ Queues:½10/10╗ Accessed:½3295 times╗ Online:½0/4╗ RCPS:½42.8 Kbs by kuki╗ Served:½95.6G in 785 files╗ Current BW:½41 Kbs╗ AQT:½1hr 15mins╗ Serving:½279 files╗ MOTD: -= :: (»`À.©©.->All the newest from distro!!<-.©©.À┤») :: =- ùI-n-v-i-s-i-o-nù

Really the only thing you need to know to get started is how to connect to the file server and get a file.
The trigger is what you type into the channel to connect to the server. The trigger above would be "/ctcp TMD-Maveric !Maveric's Moviez!" (without the quotes) as noted by the "Triggers:½ ╗" You always type what is inbetween the ½╗. You will know you are connected when a window pops up with:

Serving YourNickname
Waiting for acknowledgement...
DCC Chat connection established

Then you will see alot of text fly by which you can read if you want, but it is not needed. You will be left with something like this "[\]", that is the root directory of the server. To view the files in that directory you type "dir". At that point the directory contents will be show like this:

[2:40am] dir
[2:40am] [\*.*]
[2:40am] DVD RIPS
[2:40am] MOVIEZ
[2:41am] [tmd]csi.miami.s1.ep01.golden.parachute.(ftv).tvrip.(1of1).avi 121 mb
[2:41am] [tmd]csi.miami.s1.ep02.golden.losing.face.(ftv).tvrip.(1of1).avi 115 mb
[2:40am] End of list.

The ones in all caps are directories, and the others are files signified by the the name and size of the file. If you want to go to a directory you need to type "cd ". Then you need to type "dir" again to see the contents. You should see something like this:

[2:44am] cd moviez
[2:44am] [\moviez]
[2:44am] dir
[2:44am] [\moviez\*.*]
[2:44am] ..
[2:44am] A RUMOR OF ANGELS
[2:44am] ALI G INDAHOUSE
[2:44am] AVENGING ANGELO
[2:44am] BALLISTIC - ECKS VS SEVER
[2:44am] BARBERSHOP
[2:44am] BARBERSHOP (UNCUT)
[2:45am] [tmd]nailed.(evil).scr.(1of2).avi 169 mb
[2:45am] [tmd]nailed.(evil).scr.(2of2).avi 59.3 mb
[2:45am] End of list.

Now to get a file you need to type "get ". At that point you will either be sent the file, placed in queue for the file, of told that there isn't a free spot in the queue for you. Looking like this:

[2:50am] get [tmd]nailed.(evil).scr.(1of2).avi
[2:50am] Sending [tmd]nailed.(evil).scr.(1of2).avi ½169MB╗.
OR [2:50am] The file has been queued in slot 1
OR [2:50am] Sorry but the Maximum Allowed Queues of 10 has been reached. Please try again later.

The window may say something like "idle connection closing in 30 seconds", when you are finished either type "exit" or let the connection close. You will still get your download!
TIP: To quicky enter the filename you should copy and paste it. mIRC automaticly copys what ever text is selected to the clipboard. So select the filename (when you let go of the mouse button the selection will disappear) then use Ctrl+V (or right click and choose paste) to paste it.

A few other things you should know is how to go back a directory ("cd .."), how to see what files are sending ("sends"), and how to see who is in the queue ("queues").

Now to find the movie you are looking for.... As you may have seen in the chat screen you can search for what file you are looking for. This is done by using "@find ". So if you were looking for "The Ring" then you would type "@find the ring". If any matching files were found new windows will open with the results. You will see these flashing red in the top bar. Clicking on them will display the results for each server the file was found in, looking a bit like this:

[@Find Results] -=SysReset 2.50=-
Found [2] files on Trigger [/ctcp Nickname-of-server !TRIGGER!] - Queues: [20/25]
File: [The Ring\[tmd]the.ring.(ftf).ts.(2of2).avi] - Size [149.7MB]
File: [The Ring\[tmd]the.ring.(ftf).ts.(1of2).avi] - Size [130.1MB]
End of @Find.

The things to pay attention to is the trigger and the "Queues". The "queues" tell you how many people are in line to get a file from this server. [20/25] means there are 20 people in line out of an available 25 slots. The fewer amout of people in the queue the shorter amount of time you have to wait before downloading. Once you find a good server, type in the trigger that is show and you will be connected to the file server.
TIP: To close all the windows that opened as a result of the @find type "/close -m" in the channel.


----------------- COMMON ERRORS AND PROBLEMS -----------------

Error: "You need to identify a registered nick to join..."
Solution: To register: type in (without quotes) "/msg NickServ REGISTER password youremailaddress". That will register your current nickname using the password and email specified. To identify type in (without quotes) "/msg NickServ IDENTIFY password" where password is the password you registered with.

Problem: "The video doesn't play right!"
Solution: Be sure to download and install the TMD Codec. If after you have intalled the codec the video still doesn't work, make sure you download the entire file, the file sizes are listed on our MoveBot.

Error: "No more connections allowed in your connection class"
Solution: This just means the server is full. There is nothing to do but wait till it connects. Patience is a virtue!

Problem: "I have been banned from the channel, what do I do?"
Solution: Most bans only last a minute, so try to join the channel later. If you still can not join, then private message the OP that banned you in #TMD. To send a private message type "/msg " in the channel substituting with the username of the person that banned you, and with the message you want to send.

Problem: "I downloaded a movie but the quality is bad!"
Solution: There is nothing you can do about it! TMD encodes movies that were supplied by a "ripping" group. We encoded those files to make them more compact for easy downloading, while keeping the best quality we can. Some movies we get are bad quality to begin with, and we do what we can with what we have to work with.

Problem: "How do I know what new movies have been released?"
Solution: We have a bot in #TMD-Moviez and #TMD, simply type "!newmoviez" into the channel for the last 10 releases. Type "!moviebot" for all of the bots commands.

How Long Has Your System Been Running?

How Long Has Your System Been Running?

Here's how you verify system uptime:

Click Start | Run and type cmd to open a command prompt.
At the prompt, type systeminfo

Scroll down the list of information to the line that says System Up Time.

This will tell you in days, hours, minutes and seconds how long the system has been up.

Note that this command only works in XP Pro, not in XP Home. You can, however, type net statistics workstation at the prompt in Home. The first line will tell you the day and time that the system came online.

Firefox Speed Tweaks

Yes, firefox is already pretty damn fast but did you know that you can tweak it and improve the speed even more?

That's the beauty of this program being open source.
Here's what you do:
In the URL bar, type “about:config” and press enter. This will bring up the configuration “menu” where you can change the parameters of Firefox.

Note that these are what I’ve found to REALLY speed up my Firefox significantly - and these settings seem to be common among everybody else as well. But these settings are optimized for broadband connections - I mean with as much concurrent requests we’re going to open up with pipelining… lol… you’d better have a big connection.

Double Click on the following settins and put in the numbers below - for the true / false booleans - they’ll change when you double click.

Code:
browser.tabs.showSingleWindowModePrefs – true
network.http.max-connections – 48
network.http.max-connections-per-server – 16
network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-proxy – 8
network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server – 4
network.http.pipelining – true
network.http.pipelining.maxrequests – 100
network.http.proxy.pipelining – true
network.http.request.timeout – 300


One more thing… Right-click somewhere on that screen and add a NEW -> Integer. Name it “nglayout.initialpaint.delay” and set its value to “0”. This value is the amount of time the browser waits before it acts on information it receives. Since you’re broadband - it shouldn’t have to wait.

Now you should notice you’re loading pages MUCH faster now!

How to create a bootable Windows XP SP3 CD

How to create a bootable Windows XP SP3 CD (Nero):
Step 1

Create 3 folders - C:\WINXPSP1, C:\SP1106 and C:\XPBOOT

Step 2

Copy the entire Windows XP CD into folder C:\WINXPSP1

Step 3

You will have to download the SP1 Update, which is 133MB.
Rename the Service Pack file to XP-SP1.EXE
Extract the Service Pack from the Run Dialog using the command:
C:\XP-SP1.EXE -U -X:C:\SP1106

Step 4

Open Start/Run... and type the command:
C:\SP1106\update\update.exe -s:C:\WINXPSP1

Click OK

Folder C:\WINXPSP1 contains: Windows XP SP1



How to Create a Windows XP SP1 CD Bootable

Step 1

Download xpboot.zip
Code:
Code:
http://thro.port5.com/xpboot.zip

( no download manager !! )


Extract xpboot.zip file (xpboot.bin) in to the folder C:\XPBOOT

Step 2

Start Nero - Burning Rom.
Select File > New... from the menu.
1.) Select CD-ROM (Boot)
2.) Select Image file from Source of boot image data
3.) Set Kind of emulation: to No Emulation
4.) Set Load segment of sectors (hex!): to 07C0
5.) Set Number of loaded sectors: to 4
6.) Press the Browse... button



Step 3

Select All Files (*.*) from File of type:
Locate boot.bin in the folder C:\XPBOOT

Step 4

Click ISO tab
Set File-/Directory length to ISO Level 1 (Max. of 11 = 8 + 3 chars)
Set Format to Mode 1
Set Character Set to ISO 9660
Check all Relax ISO Restrictions




Step 5

Click Label Tab
Select ISO9660 from the drop down box.
Enter the Volume Label as WB2PFRE_EN
Enter the System Identifier as WB2PFRE_EN
Enter the Volume Set as WB2PFRE_EN
Enter the Publisher as MICROSOFT CORPORATION
Enter the Data Preparer as MICROSOFT CORPORATION
Enter the Application as WB2PFRE_EN

* For Windows XP Professional OEM substitute WB2PFRE_EN with WXPOEM_EN
* For Windows XP Home OEM substitute WB2PFRE_EN with WXHOEM_EN

Step 6

Click Burn tab
Check Write
Check Finalize CD (No further writing possible!)
Set Write Method to Disk-At-Once

Press New button

Step 7

Locate the folder C:\WINXPSP1
Select everything in the folder and drag it to the ISO compilation panel.
Click the Write CD Dialog button.

Press Write

You're done.

Configuring Crap Software Pro

Configuring The Standard Settings

Your first configuration should be this of Crap Software should be like this----

Launch Crap Software Pro and click to highlight the "Overview"
tab on the left hand side . In the pane that appears on the right
hand side click the "Preferences" tab and in the section "Check for updates" check "Manually".

In the "General" section you can also configure Crap Software to load at
start up which is advisable because this software is your first line
defence against uninvited invasion of your computer by a whole
gamult of virii, spyware, adware and bots! Virus checking software
does have its place but remember that prevention is always better
than a cure!


Crap Software Pro's program control is automatically configured.
When you run it for the first time it will ask on behalf of programs
installed on your system for permission to access the Internet.
Your Browser will be the first to request - just tick the "Yes"
box and the "Remember this setting" box and Crap Software will
always allow your browser access automatically.

Unless you use online databases etc., there should be no
reason for any application other than a browser, email client, ftp client,
streaming media player or a download manager to gain access to the Internet.

So consider what type of program it is that needs Internet access
before giving Crap Software permission to allow it. If it is just a driver file
(.DLL) that requests Internet access, always search Windows to try
and identify it. Many seudo-virii such as AdWare and sub class
seven Trojans access the Internet from your system using .dll files.
----------------------------------------------

Configuring The Advanced Settings

If you are not on a LAN (connected to another computer in a network)
you can use this guide to give your firewall some real muscle:

Launch Crap Software Pro and click to highlight the "Firewall" tab on
the left hand side . In the pane that appears on the right hand side
in the section "Internet Zone Security" set the slider control to "High"
Then click the "Custom" button in the same section.
The next settings page is divided into two sections with tabs Internet
Zone and Trusted Zone at the top of the page.

Under the Internet Zone tab there is a list of settings that can
be accessed by scrolling.

At the top is the high security settings and the only thing that should
check from there is "allow broadcast/multicast".
The rest should be unchecked

Scroll down until you get to the medium security settings area.
Check all the boxes in this section until you get to "Block Incomming
UDP Ports". When you check that you will be asked to supply
a list of ports, and in the field at the bottom of the page enter
1-65535

Then go back to the list and check the box alongside "Block
Outgoing UDP Ports" and at the bottom of the page enter
1-19, 22-79, 82-7999, 8082-65535

Repeat this proceedure for the following settings
"Block Incomming TCP Ports": 1-65535
"Block Outgoing TCP Ports": 1-19, 22-79, 82-7999, 8082-65535
Then click "Apply", "Ok" at the bottom of the page.

Back in the right hand "Firewall" pane go next to the yellow
"Trusted Zone Security" section and set it to "high" with the slider.
Click "Custom" and repeat the ABOVE proceedure this time choosing
the *Trusted Zone* tab at the top of the settings page.

These settings will stop all incoming packets at ports 1-65535
and also block all pings, trojans etc. These settings will also stop all
spyware or applications from phoning home from your drive without your knowledge!

Discover New Music You'll Probably Love

First off, I've been doing this for a long time now. I still listen to a lot of the bands I've found by doing this. It's really simple, but it works like a charm. I ALWAYS find cool new stuff -- sometimes even bands that have been around 10 years that I never heard of.

The things you need:
- (Optional) A file sharing program (I use limewire)
- A browser. :]

1.) Pick one of your favorite bands.
2.) Go to amazon.com or cdnow.com (same thing)
3.) Look up that band's name
4.) Scroll down until you see "Customers who bought this title also bought:"
5.) Browse through the artists you've never heard of in that list.
6.) Check out one of their albums, preferably the one with highest rating (in stars)
7.) Either listen to the samples on amazon or download a song by them with your filesharing app.

If you like what you hear, repeat steps 3-7 using the new band's name.

You'll find TONS of new music you never thought existed.

It's a really simple way to find stuff, and I'm sure lots of you probably already do this. But for those who don't -- you'll thank me later. It works wonders. :)

Flashget Broadband Tweak

Just double-click on the FlashGetRegTweak.reg file to enter the tweak into the registry. This tweak will allow up to 100 simultaneous file downloads, each split into a max of 30 parts. Previous defaults were 8 & 10 respectively.

Note:

1. Works for dialup but not really advantageous.
2. Restart your computer to feel the full advantage of this tweak.

Download:
here it is
just copy to notepad
rename to Iwillsinglehandedlykillallthebandwidthfromtheserversidownloadfrom.reg


REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\JetCar\JetCar\General]
"Max Parallel Num"="100"
"MaxSimJobs"="100"

Email Forge, sends email from anyone

1. Some ISP's block port 25 so it might not work
2. Most likely, you won't be able to see what you are typing

First of all, you need an SMTP server. These are extremely common and, in fact, I'll provide one for you (mail.hotmail.com). SMTP: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. This service runs on port 25 (in most cases) and is used to send outgoing email.

Now, open up the command prompt and telnet to mail.hotmail.com on port 25 (note: to see what you type, type telnet and enter then type in set local_echo):



code:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
telnet mail.hotmail.com 25
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


When yer connected type in (except what's in between *'s; you chose what will go in the []):

code:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
helo
*wait*
mail from:[whoever]@[whoever.com]
*wait*
rcpt to:[whoever]@[whoever.com]
*wait*
data
*wait*
[write]
[whatever you want]
[in]
[as many]
[lines as wished]
.
*wait*
quit
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Helo is just a handshake with the server. Mail from: is FROM who you want the email to be. rcpt to: is who you want the email to go to. under data is what you want sent. the '.' ends data. quit quits. There! simple isn't it.

Direct Link To Any Page You Want To In Hotmail

This tutorial is for people that don't know how to direct link to .php pages on the web. If you are on a private computer, and don't mind auto-logging in, you will be able to access your folders much faster than going straight to hotmail.com

You will need a bit of information. Log into the hotmail main page. You will see a web address similar to the following:

http://by211.bay211.hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/hmhome?fti=yes&curmbox=00000000%2d0000...


It won't be exactly the same but it will be similar.

It's time to shorten this up. The only bit of information you really need is the direct web address to the server that contains your particular account. In the above example, you would just need:

CODE
http://by211.bay211.hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/


Just copy this section from your particular server addy in your browser's address bar.

Now that the explanation is over, these are the commands you can append to the above example to reach specific pages.

'hmhome' - MSN Hotmail - Today
'HoTMaiL' - Inbox
'HoTMaiL?&curmbox=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000005' - Junk E-Mail
'HoTMaiL?&curmbox=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000004' - Drafts
'HoTMaiL?&curmbox=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000003' - Sent Messages
'HoTMaiL?&curmbox=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000002' - Trash Can
'compose' - Compose Message
'addresses' - Address Book
'options' - Options, Duh
'options?section=mail' - Mail Options
'options?section=personal' - Personal Details
'protect?screen=filter' - Junkmail Filter
'options?section=contacts' - Contact Options

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Remember, you just need to place these commands directly after 'http://.../cgi-bin/' without spaces.

If you have never tried this before, it works on many websites. So, if you don't like navigating websites, and would rather do that through your web-browser, go ahead and do it.

Download from a paypal site without paying a penny

Just a little basic html tip for those who are trying to download an application from sites which has an paypal order page & link to start you off.

Use a proxy when you try this to hide your ip as some sites will record your ip when you connect for security.

1) Rightclick your mouse (ctrl+click) viewsource and open the source of the site in an a texteditor
2) Search for the word "return"
3) Next to it you can find the url for the thank you page
4) Copy the url and paste it in your browser and you will see the download link

This works only if you can download instantly after payment, it will not work if the link needs to be emailed to you.

You can try it here to start with:
Code:
http://www.ramphelp.com/halfpipe.html


About half way down the page you will find:



Copy the link into your browser and download.

Create Bootable XP SP3 integrated CD

Slipstreaming Windows XP Service Pack 1a and Create Bootable CD

Slipstreaming a Service Pack, is the process to integrate the Service Pack into the installation so that with every new installation the Operating System and Service Pack are installed at the same time.

Slipstreaming is usually done on network shares on corporate systems. But with the advent of CD burners, it does actually make some sense for the home user or small business user to do the same.

Microsoft added the ability to Slipstream a Service Pack to Windows 2000 and Windows XP. It not only has the advantage that when you (re)install your OS, you don't have to apply the Service Pack later, also if you update any Windows component later, you'll be sure that you get the correct installation files if Windows needs any.


Slipstream Windows XP Service Pack 1a:
CODE
http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/4/f/54f8bcf8-bb4d-4613-8ee7-db69d01735ed/xpsp1a_en_x86.exe

Download the (full) "Network Install" of the Service Pack (English version [125 MB]), and save it to a directory (folder) on your hard drive (in my case D:\XP-SP1). Other languages can be downloaded from the Windows XP Web site.

Microsoft recently released Windows XP SP1a. The only difference is that this Service Pack does no longer include Microsoft's dated Java version. If you have already installed Windows XP SP1, there is no reason to install SP1a, but the "older" SP1 (with MS Java) is no longer available for download.

Next copy your Windows XP CD to your hard drive. Just create a folder (I used \XP-CD), and copy all the contents of your Windows XP CD in that folder.

Now create a folder to hold the Service Pack 1a (SP1a) files you are about to extract. I named it \XP-SP1. Next, open a Command Prompt (Start > Run > cmd), and go to the folder where you downloaded SP1a (cd \foldername). Type the command: servicepack filename -x. A small window will appear, and you need to point it to the folder where you want to extract the SP1 files. Click Ok to start extracting the SP1a files.

Once the SP1a files are extracted, change to the update folder of the SP1a files (cd update), and type the following command: update /s:path to WinXP CD files. In my example the command is update /s:D:\XP-CD).

Windows XP Update will do its thing:

When ready, you should get a confirmation. Windows XP Service Pack 1a has now been Slipstreamed into your original Windows XP files.

It is also possible to add the Windows XP Rollup 1 Update. For instructions, please read Adding Windows XP Rollup 1 Hotfix.


Creating a Bootable CD
For this part I used ISO Buster
CODE
http://www.smart-projects.net/isobuster/

and Nero Burning.

Start to extract the boot loader from the original Windows XP CD. Using ISO Buster, select the "folder" Bootable CD, and right-click Microsoft Corporation.img. From the menu choose Extract Microsoft Corporation.img, and extract it to the folder on your hard drive where you have your Windows XP files (D:\XP-CD in my case).

Next, start Nero Burning ROM, and choose CD-ROM (Boot) in the New Compilation window. On the Boot tab, select Image file under Source of boot image data, and browse to the location of the Microsoft Corporation.img file. Also enable Expert Settings, choosing No Emulation, and changing the Number of loaded sectors to 4 (otherwise it won't boot!)


If you have an older version of Nero you won't have the option Do Not Add ";1" ISO file version extention under Relax ISO Restrictions. You won't be able to boot your new CD, so update Nero!
You can configure the Label tab to your liking, I would however recommend that you keep the Volume Label the same as on your original Windows XP CD.

Next press New, and drag & drop the files and folders from your Windows XP hard drive location into Nero.

Next, burn your new CD.

You now have a Bootable, Slipstreamed Windows XP Service Pack 1a CD!

Digital Camera Guide

So, it's time for a digital camera huh? Well, buying one can be more than a little difficult. What types of features should you look for? Well, this guide will tell you that plus get you a little more familiar with what these cameras are capable of.

Megapixels
When it comes to megapixels, the more the better. I recommend a minimum of 2, but 3 or 4 is great. We did a test to see if a camera with 2.3 megapixels (actually 1.92 - 1600 x 1200) could produce a good quality 8x10.

Turns out it can, if you have the right paper and printer. We used HP Premium Plus photo paper with an HP 970 series printer and made a fantastic 8 x 10. Remember, I was a professional photographer before I got into computing, so I know a good print when I see it :-)

The resolution at 8x10 (we had to crop in to make the picture proportional to 8x10) was only 150 DPI. Most printers would not make a real good 8x10 at that resolution, but this one did. So, if you want to be sure you can get good 8 x 10s, you may want to go with a 3 megapixel camera or better (that gives you around 200 DPI at 8x10 size, still not quite the optimum 300 DPI, but it looks good with the right printer).

Optical vs Digital Zoom
You've probably noticed that most digital cameras have both a specification for digital and optical zoom. Pay the most attention to the optical zoom.

The optical zoom magnifies (zooms in) using glass. The digital zoom basically crops out the edge of the picture to make the subject appear closer, causing you to lose resolution or to get an interpolated resolution (i.e. the camera adds pixels). Neither of which help image quality.

Finally, make sure you get enough (optical) zoom. A 2x zoom isn't going to do much for you. A 3x is the average you'll find in most digital cameras will probably be good for most uses. More on lenses later.


Connection
How does the camera connect to your computer? If you have a USB port in your computer, you'll want a camera that can connect via USB as opposed to a slow serial connection.

On the other hand, if your computer doesn't have a USB port, is there a serial connector available for the camera you're looking at? If so, is it a special order and how long does it take to get it?


Storage
What does the camera use to store images with? If it uses a memory stick, make sure you consider buying additional sticks when you get your camera. A typical 8 meg memory stick that comes with a 2 megapixel camera only holds 5 or 6 images at the camera's best quality.

Some cameras use a 3.5 inch disk for storage. Be careful of these!
Although it may sound like a good idea, a 3 megapixel camera at high resolution produces a 1 meg file (compressed!). That's only 1 picture per disk.


Here's a few more things to look out for when trying to make your digital camera purchase.

Picture Formats
When you're trying to decide on which digital camera to get, check and see how many different picture formats it supports.

You want something that can produce both uncompressed (usually TIFF) and compressed (usually JPEG) images. I personally use the high quality JPEG setting on my camera for most of my shooting. TIFFs are just too big and the difference in quality is not ascertainable by mere mortals.

You also want to be able to shoot at a lower resolution than the camera's maximum. That way, If you're running short on memory, you can squeeze a few more shots on your memory stick.


Auxiliary Lens / Flash
This was a biggie for me. While a 3x zoom may work for the "average" user, I needed something that allowed me to do some wide angle work as well as have a good telephoto lens.

So, the camera I purchased a few months back was a Nikon Coolpix 990 (note that this isn't the only camera that can accept lenses). It has auxiliary lenses that screw into the filter ring on the front of the lens. I now have an ultra-wide fisheye lens plus a nice telephoto.

In addition to lenses, I wanted a good flash. The flash that is built into most of these cameras gives you a top range of 15-20 feet - at best. I wanted a camera that could take a powerful auxiliary flash (again, the Nikon isn't the only camera that fits this requirement, but I liked it better than the rest). If you need more reach than the small built in flash can deliver, then make sure you can attach an external flash to any camera you consider.

As an added bonus, if you get a camera that can take an external flash, you can place that flash on a bracket and eliminate red-eye.


Flash Distance
Speaking of flashes, make sure you check the distance the built in flash is good for. You don't want a camera with a wimpy flash that only travels a few feet (well, unless you can get an external flash for it as described above).


Battery Type
This may not sound important, but it is. Anyone who owns a digital camera can tell you they eat batteries the way a sumo wrestler eats at a buffet.

Make sure the camera can run on regular (or rechargeable) "AA" type batteries. You don't want a camera that eats through expensive lithium batteries every 10 shots or so.

One thing to remember about digital cameras, they do eat through batteries. I recommend getting some Nickel Metal Hydride rechargeable for it. I have some for mine and they have saved me a fortune.


Final Notes
Choosing a digital camera isn't easy. There's a huge selection out there and only you can determine which features you need.

For instance, if you shoot wildlife photos, a small 3x zoom probably isn't going to cut it (unless you can attach auxiliary lenses to it). If you shoot lots of close-ups, make sure the camera has some sort of macro capability. If you shoot big group photos indoors, an external flash may be necessary.

My advice is to make a list of things you want to be able to do with the camera then go to somewhere that can help you make a good purchase decision.

Finally, buy the BEST camera you can possibly afford. Or wait until the price drops on one with the type of features you want.

Download Free Music legally

Are you scared that the RIAA is about to track you down for illegally downloading songs.
Well, here is a method of obtaining many songs absolutely free that is virtually untrackable
by modern technology. This has to do with capturing streaming audio, which in many cases, believe it or not
are plain old mp3s just waiting for you to "download." I have found most of the current top-40 as well as many others you may like, so keep searching. The music is waiting for you to find it.

Step 1:
First of all, you need to find a good site that hosts streaming audio. My favorite that has brought me many songs to date is hxxp://www.windowsmedia.com . Some others are just as good, but this is the site that I will be referencing (plus, I know you guys love to steal from Microsoft).

Step 2:
Alright, go up to the left hand corner where there is an empty text box. This is the search box, just fill it with a songname or artist just like you would in kazaa and click search. This will bring up a page with links to many websites hosting a stream by that artist. The ones with music notes are just that...music, this is what you want. In many cases, this is all you need. Just right click on one of the links and click "save as" to save the song. This works if the file extension is .mp3 or .wma or .asf or well-other known formats. If this worked, you are finished, otherwise continue reading.

Step 3:
However, if you encounter a .asx file, there are a few more steps you will have to endure. First of all, do exactly like the above example and save the file locally. After the file is downloaded, check to see how large the file is. If it is a large file in the megabyte range, then you should be able to play it in your favorite music program. However, if it is less than 1 kilobyte, open it as a textfile. You will then see many script commands that communicate to windows media player. Don't worry about these, just look for some URLs which will most likely be pointing to a .asf file. It will have at least one if not more. Open the new found URL in your browser and save it like in step 2 and you should be good to go. (I use Mozilla, because Internet Explorer likes to open things rather than save them as I tell it)

NOTE: If any of the URLs are preceded with "mms://" instead of "http://" find another URL, because this technique will not work.

This technique is especially useful to avoid prosecution because streaming audio, and downloading it appear the same to a web server, therefore you are seen as just another "legal" listener, so "download" away my friend and don't blame me if this soon becomes illegal (if it isn't already).

Step 4:
If you are picky then search for a program that will convert these file types to mp3s. I assure you there are many sites out there.

If this technique does not work for some reason, there is another technique which is manually recording streaming audio, with an audio capture program. I use the one that came with my soundcard (Audigy 2ZS, great soundcard), but I would recommend it only as a last resort such as with "mms://" files. There is a degredation in quality compared to the other formats and it records every sound your PC makes while it is recording so don't chat on AIM while recording (lol I can hear random doors slamming now).

Computer Maintenance

You may not realize it, but your computer and your car have something in common: they both need regular maintenance. No, you don't need to change your computer's oil. But you should be updating your software, keeping your antivirus subscription up to date, and checking for spyware. Read on to learn what you can do to help improve your computer's security.


Getting started

Here are some basics maintenance tasks you can do today to start improving your computer's security. Be sure you make these part of your ongoing maintenance as well.

* Sign up for software update e-mail notices. Many software companies will send you e-mail whenever a software update is available. This is particularly important for your operating system (e.g., Microsoft VV!|VD0VV$® or Macintosh), your antivirus program, and your firewall.
* Register your software. If you still have registration forms for existing software, send them in. And be sure to register new software in the future. This is another way for the software manufacturer to alert you when new updates are available.
* Install software updates immediately.
When you get an update notice, download the update immediately and install it. (Remember, downloading and installing are two separate tasks.)
An ounce of prevention

A few simple steps will help you keep your files safe and clean.

* Step 1: Update your software
* Step 2: Backup your files
* Step 3: Use antivirus software and keep it updated
* Step 4: Change your passwords


Developing ongoing maintenance practices

Now that you've done some ground work, it's time to start moving into longer term maintenance tasks. These are all tasks that you should do today (or as soon as possible) to get started. But for best results, make these a part of a regular maintenance schedule. We recommend setting aside time each week to help keep your computer secure.

* Back up your files. Backing up your files simply means creating a copy of your computer files that you can use in the event the originals are lost. (Accidents can happen.) To learn more read our tips for backing up information.


* Scan your files with up to date antivirus software. Use your antivirus scan tool regularly to search for potential computer viruses and worms. Also, check your antivirus program's user manual to see if you can schedule an automatic scan of your computer. To learn more, read our tips for reducing your virus risk
.
* Change your passwords. Using the same password increases the odds that someone else will discover it. Change all of your passwords regularly (we recommend monthly) to reduce your risk. Also, choose your passwords carefully. To learn more, read our tips for creating stronger passwords
.

Making a schedule

One of the best ways to help protect your computer is to perform maintenance regularly. To help you keep track, we suggest making a regular "appointment" with your computer. Treat it like you would any other appointment. Record it in your datebook or online calendar, and if you cannot make it, reschedule. Remember, you are not only helping to improve your computer, you are also helping to protect your personal information.