|
5 Star
Support Monthly Newsletter
July 2002 Issue
Inside this issue:
1) Notes from the editor
2) Industry News
3) Helpful Web Sites
4) MRAM
5) Booting to "Safe Mode"
6) Tips and Tricks
7) Problems and Solutions
8) Contact Information
___________________________________
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
[1] Notes from the editor:
by Vince Underwood
Welcome to all new subscribers and welcome back to all of you loyal 5 Star
Supporters! It has been a few months since my last issue, but I think
things are starting to settle down for me so I can get back to work on these
newsletters.
There has been lots of new volunteer technicians sign up since my last
issue. I invite you all to take a look at the "Meet Your
Tech" page to see all of the new talent.
http://www.5starsupport.com/techs.htm/
I have temporarily closed the 5 Star Store because nothing was being sold so
I need to rethink that a little. If anyone has any suggestions as to
what I can do with the store, I would love to hear from you! All I
really want to do is recoup some of the money that is spent publishing this
web site.
I have been receiving a few donations lately and I want to thank those of
you that believe in this site and want to see it succeed. I have added
a "Donate and WIN!" page. Please visit this new web page to see
how you can donate a few dollars to 5 Star Support and win some great
prizes! Since this is the first month for giving away prizes...your
chances of winning couldn't be better!!
http://www.5starsupport.com/donate.htm/
Now...just sit back and relax with your favorite beverage of choice and
enjoy the 5 Star Support Newsletter!
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»
[Top]
[2] Industry News:
How will the WorldCom situation affect telephone and Internet service?
By Bill Brubaker, Washington Post.
June 29, 2002
Q: I'm an MCI long-distance customer. Should I change carriers?
A: Not now, suggests Gene Kimmelman, Washington director of Consumers Union,
which publishes Consumer Reports magazine. "When there's an enormous
wildfire out West, everything goes up in flames and the result is a
rubble," he said. "But when a company implodes like this, there
are significant valuable assets that remain when the dust settles. There is
a very strong long-distance and data network here that will not disappear
overnight. So there's no reason to do anything immediately."
WorldCom's UUNet is the largest carrier of Internet traffic in the world.
Will my Internet service be disrupted?
Unlikely, says Mark Cooper, research director of the Consumer Federation of
America. "There's no reason to think the technical functioning of the
network will change," he said. "The lights won't go out."
I'm thinking about switching long-distance providers. Should I choose MCI?
It depends on whether you believe that the 17,000 layoffs WorldCom announced
Tuesday will diminish the quality of MCI's service. WorldCom chief executive
John W. Sidgmore says the service won't deteriorate. "Our dedication to
meeting customer needs remains unwavering," he said.
Cooper is skeptical. "If an MCI cable gets cut, which happens every
day, and you have half as many trucks to roll out there to fix it, it's
going to take longer to fix it," he said. "If you have a billing
question and there's half as many operators answering the phone, it's going
to take longer."
If WorldCom files for bankruptcy protection, what will this do to
competition? Will rates go up?
It's quite possible, especially for businesses that will have one less
carrier to negotiate with. "MCI was a big player and you're not going
to invent a new company to fill that role very quickly," Cooper said.
Kimmelman agrees. "And the glimmer of hope that someone would break in
and challenge our local phone monopoly may go -- poof!"
If I stay with MCI, what should I do?
Be on the lookout for danger signs, such as deterioration of service and
price increases. "These are signals that should make you want to look
for another company for service," Kimmelman said.
Are there any winners here?
Competitors AT&T and Sprint, of course, and burgeoning long-distance
carriers such as Verizon. Even if WorldCom survives, these companies could
pick up a substantial portion of MCI's business. "That could have a
devastating affect on the ability of WorldCom or its successor to be a
meaningful player in the marketplace," Kimmelman said. "If you
take away the pot of gold that comes from large business customers, it may
be impossible [for WorldCom] to ever get back into the mix."
Does this mean an end to those annoying telemarketing calls I get at
dinnertime, asking me to switch to MCI?
Not likely. "Let's look at this logically," Kimmelman said.
"Here they are in a financial pinch where they have way overstated
their earnings, where they have to cut employees and where they are at rock
bottom in the market. They need revenue to stay afloat. I think those
annoying dinnertime calls will continue."
Reported by The Washington Post, www.washtech.com.
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»
[Top]
[4] MRAM:
MRAM (magnetoresistive random access memory) is a method of storing data
bits using magnetic charges instead of the electrical charges used by DRAM
(dynamic random access memory). Scientists define a metal as
magnetoresistive if it shows a slight change in electrical resistance when
placed in a magnetic field. By combining the high speed of static RAM and
the high density of DRAM, proponents say MRAM could be used to significantly
improve electronic products by storing greater amounts of data, enabling it
to be accessed faster while consuming less battery power than existing
electronic memory.
Conventional random access memory (RAM) computer chips store information as
long as electricity flows through them. Once power is turned off, the
information is lost unless it has been copied to a hard drive or floppy
disk. MRAM, however, retains data after a power supply is cut off. Replacing
DRAM with MRAM could prevent data loss and enable computers that start
instantly, without waiting for software to boot up.
The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has provided
funding to help private industry conduct research into the potential of MRAM.
Beginning in 1995, DARPA began funding three private consortia researching
the viability of making MRAM a general-purpose memory with high density,
high speed, and low power usage. Leading the three consortia were IBM,
Motorola, and Honeywell. Hewlett-Packard, Matsushita, NEC, Fujitsu, Toshiba,
Hitachi, and Siemens also have invested in MRAM research.
Motorola Labs says its "universal memory" allows the integration
of several memory options within a single chip, resulting in a chip that
uses less power. The chip is a three-volt MRAM with an address access time
of about 15 nanoseconds. IBM and Infineon Technologies AG are working on a
proposed 256-megabit chip they say could be on the market in 2004.
Development of MRAM basically followed two scientific schools: 1) spin
electronics, the science behind giant magnetoresistive heads used in disk
drives and 2) tunneling magnetic resistance, or TMR, which is expected to be
the basis of future MRAM.
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»
[Top]
[5] Booting to Safe Mode:
by Vince Underwood
How to get to Safe Mode depends on your version of Windows. See what
your screen says when it's starting up if you're unsure.
Note: All these instructions depend on timing. If you press the key
too late, it will start up normally. You'll may have to try several times
before it works for you.
<>Windows 95:
While the words "Starting Windows 95" are displayed, press the F8
key (you may want to keep pressing it multiple times as it is starting up).
A menu will display. Use the down arrow to select "Safe
Mode" and press Enter.
If you get the Windows splash screen, try again. If you turn off the
computer while the screen is displayed, it sometimes goes automatically into
safe mode on boot.
<>Windows 98:
As the computer starts, hold down the CTRL key. A menu will display. Use the
down arrow to select "Safe Mode" and press Enter.
Some machines may work if you use the technique for Windows 95.
<>Windows Me:
Hold down CTRL as the computer starts until the menu displays. Use the
down arrow to select "Safe Mode" and press Enter.
<>Windows XP:
As the computer is starting up, press F8. A menu will display.
Used the down arrow to select "Safe Mode" and press Enter.
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»
[Top]
[6] Tips and Tricks:
by Vince Underwood
<>Using BCC in Outlook Express 6
If you would like to send a BCC (Blind Carbon Copy) to many recipients
without divulging their email addresses, simply send an email to yourself
while entering all of the other email addresses into the BCC text box.
If the BCC text box is not visible, go to View> All Headers. This
will toggle the BCC box into view.
-----------------------------------------------
<>Online Virus Scanning:
If you do not own a Virus program and you feel that you don't really need
one. You should at least visit Trend Micro from time to time to just
make sure everything is okay. It's a free service and will give you a little
peace of mind. When you visit, you can register with them so that the
next time it will go much quicker, or you can scan without registering.
To check your computer, go to:
<http://housecall.antivirus.com/>
-----------------------------------------------
<>Get the most from your DVD Drive
To make sure that you are getting the most out of your DVD drive, (Windows
98) enable the DMA access, this will increase its speed. DMA access is
supported by most new drives. Here's how:
Click on Control Panel> System> Device Manager icon. Now select your
DVD-ROM
Drive and go to Properties. Click on the DMA Box and make sure it is now
checked. Then restart your PC for this to take effect. If your DVD does not
support this option, Windows will simply uncheck the box.
-----------------------------------------------
<>System Information
Press the Start button, and select the run command. At the prompt, type
MSINFO32 a dialogue box will now appear with lots of information about
your computer.
-----------------------------------------------
<>Quick Select:
In Explorer, by pressing Ctrl and the "A" button at the same time,
it will automatically select all files and folders. This is helpful when
moving a large volume of data from one location to another without having to
select each file or folder individually. If you would like to deselect a few
of the already selected files, while still holding the Ctrl button, click on
those files that you don't want.
-----------------------------------------------
<>Windows 98 known bug:
Windows 98 has a known bug that causes it to report incorrect disk space.
You may know that you have plenty of disk space, but Windows is reporting a
mere fraction of
that amount. To correct this problem, simply run Scandisk.
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»
[Top]
[7] Problems and Solutions:
Generated from 5 Star Support
<>Problem:
Continually Writing on Hard Drive
<>Solution:
Go to Start Button,Run
Type (msconfig) choose ok.
You mentioned Real Networks. I have had trouble defragmenting with Real
Jukebox and Real Player running in the background.
You will notice on right(Startup)use this to isolate problem by unchecking 1
or more programs and then re-booting computer, this will by trial and error
let you know which is causing a particular problem (you may have to reboot
several times so uncheck several except System Tray at first to see if
problem is here) then go back if successful and do trial and error, if you
isolate the problem with 1 or 2 items then leave unchecked.
Real Networks Evntsve.exe was the program running in the background.
Following Rogers directions, I unchecked this program under msconfig/startup
and rebooted my computer. ScanDisk and Defragmenter ran without any
problems.
------------------------------------------------
<>Problem:
Problem with rebooting while computing
<>Solution:
Hi, this is a shot in the dark but lets assume it is video causing it.
1. go to Control Panel
2. Click on System then Graphics
3. move the slider to the left 2 places...this cuts back on the Video
Acceleration
4. Reboot the computer.
5. See if it does it now...if not you may need a faster Video Card with more
memory.
Gary
5 STAR SUPPORT
...I moved it one slot and it hasn't been doing it since.
-----------------------------------------------
<>Problem:
After attempting to install a USB analogue video capture device, I lost the
ability to synchronize my PDA through Com Port 4, always receiving the
message "unable to open". Looking in the Control Panel under
Devices, Ports, only Com 5 was present. I was unsure in how to return
Com 5 back to Com 4 (as the PDA sync software would not recognize Com 5)
<>Solution:
1. Go to Control Panel and click on System then Device manager
2. click on com ports then Com port 5 3. Click on Resources then uncheck use
auto settings. Change the 0001 setting to 0003 and click OK. COM Port
changed from 5 to 4 and now recognized for PDA synchronization.
------------------------------------------------
<>Problem:
WAOL, RNAAP, - has caused an illegal operation and will be shut down. Then
when you clicked it you shut down whatever you were doing including the
Internet.
Solution:
Fred sent me a new WSOCK32.DLL file being that mine was infected with a
Trojan hybrids worm and I replaced it, with in twelve to twenty-four hours I
think I had at least 10 - 15 techs answer me back on what to do !! This site
is great & I will be telling everyone that I know & / or meet about
you !! THANKS !!
-----------------------------------------------
<>Problem:
Mobo was inop after installation, normal trouble shooting tree followed
(removing peripherals sequentially to isolate).
<>Solution:
Checked voltage from power supply for the 5VDC needed, no
"constant" supply was output; R2 the power supply...all better.
Thanx Gary.
------------------------------------------------
<>Problem:
CDMKR32 caused an invalid page Fault in Module Shell32.dll
Question #W2-4767
<>Solution:
NTI has a technical bulletin out about CD maker and your problem. It seems
that your version of CD maker may not work with Internet Explorer 6. Please
click on this link to read the bulletin @ http://www.ntius.com/support/faq/faq_answer.cfm?QID=80
The solution depends on what version of CD Maker you're running.
...This worked fine for me
------------------------------------------------
<>Problem:
My computer hangs when I try to shut it down. It only happens when it's been
on more the 8 hours (Aprox). It hangs on the Windows is shutting down
splash screen and just stay there for ever, so I have to cold boot it.
Diagnose/troubleshooting:
I reinstalled windows, it didn't solve the problem.
<>Solution:
Hi. Shutdown problems are quite common. You may have too many applications
running for the computer to handle when you want it to shutdown. If you have
more running than you need, try elimination those that start at boot that
are unnecessary. Hit the start button and choose "run". Type in
msconfig and
hit OK. Choose selective startup and go to the startup tab. Uncheck all
applications that you don't need at boot up. Explorer and systray must be
checked or you will not run at all.
I've attached a great program that I use to close most running programs.
This works great when installing something and you don't want anything
running that might interfere with the installation, or just prior to
shutting down.
You should also go to windowsupdate.com and download all critical patches.
Actually, do the windows update first.
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»
[Top]
[8] Contact Information:
This Newsletter is brought to you by 5 Star Support - Free Technical
Support. If you find this newsletter helpful, please help support it by
making a small one time donation.
http://www.5starsupport.com/donate.htm/
Thanks for your support!
If you have any questions regarding this Newsletter, please contact:
editor@5starsupport.com
If you would like to become a 5 Star Support Newsletter volunteer, please
contact: admin@5starsupport.com
I would love to hear from you!
I hope that you found my newsletter interesting and informative!
Thank-you for subscribing to the 5 Star Support Monthly Newsletter.
Regards,
Newsletter Staff
[Top]
|
