█☺☺☺☺Tricks

Standard Original IBM POST Error Codes
Code Description

1 short beep System is OK

2 short beeps POST Error - error code shown on screen No beep Power supply or system board problem Continuous beep Power supply, system board, or keyboard problem Repeating short beeps Power supply or system board problem

1 long, 1 short beep System board problem

1 long, 2 short beeps Display adapter problem (MDA, CGA)

1 long, 3 short beeps Display adapter problem (EGA)

3 long beeps 3270 keyboard card

IBM POST Diagnostic Code Descriptions


Code Description

100 - 199 System Board

200 - 299 Memory

300 - 399 Keyboard

400 - 499 Monochrome Display

500 - 599 Colour/Graphics Display

600 - 699 Floppy-disk drive and/or Adapter

700 - 799 Math Coprocessor

900 - 999 Parallel Printer Port

1000 - 1099 Alternate Printer Adapter

1100 - 1299 Asynchronous Communication Device, Adapter, or Port

1300 - 1399 Game Port

1400 - 1499 Colour/Graphics Printer

1500 - 1599 Synchronous Communication Device, Adapter, or Port

1700 - 1799 Hard Drive and/or Adapter

1800 - 1899 Expansion Unit (XT)

2000 - 2199 Bisynchronous Communication Adapter

2400 - 2599 EGA system-board Video (MCA)

3000 - 3199 LAN Adapter

4800 - 4999 Internal Modem

7000 - 7099 Phoenix BIOS Chips

7300 - 7399 3.5" Disk Drive

8900 - 8999 MIDI Adapter

11200 - 11299 SCSI Adapter

21000 - 21099 SCSI Fixed Disk and Controller

21500 - 21599 SCSI CD-ROM System



AMI BIOS Beep Codes


Code Description



1 Short Beep System OK

2 Short Beeps Parity error in the first 64 KB of memory

3 Short Beeps Memory failure in the first 64 KB

4 Short Beeps Memory failure in the first 64 KB Operational of memory

or Timer 1 on the motherboard is not functioning

5 Short Beeps The CPU on the motherboard generated an error

6 Short Beeps The keyboard controller may be bad. The BIOS cannot switch to protected mode

7 Short Beeps The CPU generated an exception interrupt

8 Short Beeps The system video adapter is either missing, or its memory is faulty

9 Short Beeps The ROM checksum value does not match the value encoded in the BIOS

10 Short Beeps The shutdown register for CMOS RAM failed

11 Short Beeps The external cache is faulty

1 Long, 3 Short Beeps Memory Problems

1 Long, 8 Short Beeps Video Card Problems



Phoenix BIOS Beep Codes


Note - Phoenix BIOS emits three sets of beeps, separated by a brief pause.



Code Description

1-1-3 CMOS read/write failure

1-1-4 ROM BIOS checksum error

1-2-1 Programmable interval timer failure

1-2-2 DMA initialisation failure

1-2-3 DMA page register read/write failure

1-3-1 RAM refresh verification failure

1-3-3 First 64k RAM chip or data line failure

1-3-4 First 64k RAM odd/even logic failure

1-4-1 Address line failure first 64k RAM

1-4-2 Parity failure first 64k RAM

2-_-_ Faulty Memory

3-1-_ Faulty Motherboard

3-2-4 Keyboard controller Test failure

3-3-4 Screen initialisation failure

3-4-1 Screen retrace test failure

3-4-2 Search for video ROM in progress

4-2-1 Timer tick interrupt in progress or failure

4-2-2 Shutdown test in progress or failure

4-2-3 Gate A20 failure

4-2-4 Unexpected interrupt in protected mode

4-3-1 RAM test in progress or failure>ffffh

4-3-2 Faulty Motherboard

4-3-3 Interval timer channel 2 test or failure

4-3-4 Time of Day clock test failure

4-4-1 Serial port test or failure

4-4-2 Parallel port test or failure

4-4-3 Math coprocessor test or failure

Low 1-1-2 System Board select failure

Low 1-1-3 Extended CMOS RAM failure

Beep Code Manual, Better Than Gold Techies, American Megatrends Int. & Phoenix
(I'm IT, I use these codes to trouble shoot hardware issues at my job. Enjoy) cold.gif

BIOS Beep Codes
When a computer is first turned on, or rebooted, its BIOS performs a power-on self test (POST) to test the system's hardware, checking to make sure that all of the system's hardware components are working properly. Under normal circumstances, the POST will display an error message; however, if the BIOS detects an error before it can access the video card, or if there is a problem with the video card, it will produce a series of beeps, and the pattern of the beeps indicates what kind of problem the BIOS has detected.

Because there are many brands of BIOS, there are no standard beep codes for every BIOS.

The two most-used brands are AMI (American Megatrends International) and Phoenix.

Below are listed the beep codes for AMI systems, and here are the beep codes for Phoenix systems.

AMI Beep Codes

Beep Code Meaning

1 beep DRAM refresh failure. There is a problem in the system memory or the motherboard.

2 beeps Memory parity error. The parity circuit is not working properly.

3 beeps Base 64K RAM failure. There is a problem with the first 64K of system memory.

4 beeps System timer not operational. There is problem with the timer(s) that control functions on the motherboard.

5 beeps Processor failure. The system CPU has failed.

6 beeps Gate A20/keyboard controller failure. The keyboard IC controller has failed, preventing gate A20 from switching the processor to protect mode.

7 beeps Virtual mode exception error.

8 beeps Video memory error. The BIOS cannot write to the frame buffer memory on the video card.

9 beeps ROM checksum error. The BIOS ROM chip on the motherboard is likely faulty.

10 beeps CMOS checksum error. Something on the motherboard is causing an error when trying to interact with the CMOS.

11 beeps Bad cache memory. An error in the level 2 cache memory.

1 long beep, 2 short Failure in the video system.

1 long beep, 3 short A failure has been detected in memory above 64K.

1 long beep, 8 short Display test failure.

Continuous beeping A problem with the memory or video.

BIOS Beep Codes

Phoenix Beep Codes
Phoenix uses sequences of beeps to indicate problems. The "-" between each number below indicates a pause between each beep sequence. For example, 1-2-3 indicates one beep, followed by a pause and two beeps, followed by a pause and three beeps. Phoenix version before 4.x use 3-beep codes, while Phoenix versions starting with 4.x use 4-beep codes. Click here for AMI BIOS beep codes.

4-Beep Codes

Beep Code Meaning

1-1-1-3 Faulty CPU/motherboard. Verify real mode.

1-1-2-1 Faulty CPU/motherboard.

1-1-2-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.

1-1-3-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. Initialize chipset registers with initial POST values.

1-1-3-2 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.

1-1-3-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. Initialize CPU registers.

1-1-3-2

1-1-3-3

1-1-3-4 Failure in the first 64K of memory.

1-1-4-1 Level 2 cache error.

1-1-4-3 I/O port error.

1-2-1-1 Power management error.

1-2-1-2

1-2-1-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.

1-2-2-1 Keyboard controller failure.

1-2-2-3 BIOS ROM error.

1-2-3-1 System timer error.

1-2-3-3 DMA error.

1-2-4-1 IRQ controller error.

1-3-1-1 DRAM refresh error.

1-3-1-3 A20 gate failure.

1-3-2-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.

1-3-3-1 Extended memory error.

1-3-3-3

1-3-4-1

1-3-4-3 Error in first 1MB of system memory.

1-4-1-3

1-4-2-4 CPU error.

1-4-3-1

2-1-4-1 BIOS ROM shadow error.

1-4-3-2

1-4-3-3 Level 2 cache error.

1-4-4-1
1-4-4-2

2-1-1-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.

2-1-1-3

2-1-2-1 IRQ failure.

2-1-2-3 BIOS ROM error.

2-1-2-4

2-1-3-2 I/O port failure.

2-1-3-1

2-1-3-3 Video system failure.

2-1-1-3

2-1-2-1 IRQ failure.

2-1-2-3 BIOS ROM error.

2-1-2-4 I/O port failure.

2-1-4-3

2-2-1-1 Video card failure.

2-2-1-3

2-2-2-1

2-2-2-3 Keyboard controller failure.

2-2-3-1 IRQ error.

2-2-4-1 Error in first 1MB of system memory.

2-3-1-1

2-3-3-3 Extended memory failure.

2-3-2-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.

2-3-2-3

2-3-3-1 Level 2 cache error.

2-3-4-1

2-3-4-3 Motherboard or video card failure.

2-3-4-1

2-3-4-3

2-4-1-1 Motherboard or video card failure.

2-4-1-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.

2-4-2-1 RTC error.

2-4-2-3 Keyboard controller error.

2-4-4-1 IRQ error.

3-1-1-1

3-1-1-3

3-1-2-1

3-1-2-3 I/O port error.

3-1-3-1

3-1-3-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.

3-1-4-1

3-2-1-1

3-2-1-2 Floppy drive or hard drive failure.

3-2-1-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.

3-2-2-1 Keyboard controller error.

3-2-2-3

3-2-3-1

3-2-4-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.

3-2-4-3 IRQ error.

3-3-1-1 RTC error.

3-3-1-3 Key lock error.

3-3-3-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.

3-3-3-3

3-3-4-1

3-3-4-3

3-4-1-1

3-4-1-3

3-4-2-1

3-4-2-3

3-4-3-1

3-4-4-1

3-4-4-4 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.

4-1-1-1 Floppy drive or hard drive failure.

4-2-1-1

4-2-1-3

4-2-2-1 IRQ failure.

4-2-2-3

4-2-3-1

4-2-3-3

4-2-4-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.

4-2-4-3 Keyboard controller error.

4-3-1-3

4-3-1-4

4-3-2-1

4-3-2-2

4-3-3-1

4-3-4-1

4-3-4-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.

4-3-3-2

4-3-3-4 IRQ failure.

4-3-3-3

4-3-4-2 Floppy drive or hard drive failure.

3-Beep Codes

Beep Code Meaning

1-1-2 Faulty CPU/motherboard.

1-1-3 Faulty motherboard/CMOS read-write failure.

1-1-4 Faulty BIOS/BIOS ROM checksum error.

1-2-1 System timer not operational. There is a problem with the timer(s) that control functions on the motherboard.

1-2-2

1-2-3 Faulty motherboard/DMA failure.

1-3-1 Memory refresh failure.

1-3-2

1-3-3

1-3-4 Failure in the first 64K of memory.

1-4-1 Address line failure.

1-4-2 Parity RAM failure.

1-4-3 Timer failure.

1-4-4 NMI port failure.

2-_-_ Any combination of beeps after 2 indicates a failure in the first 64K of memory.

3-1-1 Master DMA failure.

3-1-2 Slave DMA failure.

3-1-3

3-1-4 Interrupt controller failure.

3-2-4 Keyboard controller failure.

3-3-1

3-3-2 CMOS error.

3-3-4 Video card failure.

3-4-1 Video card failure.

4-2-1 Timer failure.

4-2-2 CMOS shutdown failure.

4-2-3 Gate A20 failure.

4-2-4 Unexpected interrupt in protected mode.

4-3-1 RAM test failure.

4-3-3 Timer failure.

4-3-4 Time of day clock failure.

4-4-1 Serial port failure.

4-4-2 Parallel port failure.

4-4-3 Math coprocessor.

BURNING X-BOX & GAMECUBE GAMES USEING CDRWIN

1) Insert your original in your CD-ROM.

2) Open CDRWin (or any other image extractor) to make an iso image of the game

on your hard disc. Click on 'Extract Disc/Tracks/Sectors'

3) Here are the settings which work for me (!):

Disc Image/Cue sheet

File-Format: Automatic

Reading-Options:

RAW, CD+G, CD-TEXT and MCN/USRC all Unchecked

Error Recovery: Ignore

Jitter Correction: Auto

Subcode Analyses: Fixed

Data-Speed: MAX

Read Retry Count: 10

Audio Speed: MAX

Subcode Threshold: 900

There are a lot of reports, that Raw reading also works, but I had problems with it enabled.

4) Click on 'Start'

RECORDING TO A DISC

1) Install Fireburner
2) Double click on the Cue File For The Game

3) Right Click And select burn To CD

That?s all there is record DAO, and you can try to burn it fast at 2X

Using PNY Black Diamond CDR'

Accessing The Entire Internet On Your 3 Phone, U8110, E616 etc.

If you have a phone thats with the provider 3 theres a simple trick to allow you to access the entire internet on its browser without having to go through 3 services and only what they want to allow you access to view.

Simply do the following.

Menu - 9 (for settings) - 5 (for access points) - Edit the 3 Services
Change the APN (down the bottom) from 3services to 3netaccess
Restart the phone
And you can now access the entire internet through your phones browser.

Remember you'll have to change it back if you want to access 3 services.
Changing it in the browser doesn't seem to work.

I have tried this on my U8110 and it worked perfectly

Things to note:

•  Remember that you are charged for all downloads (.4c per kb on most plans) so if your cautious about your phone bill id advise staying away from sites with loads of pictures.
• Also, some people have had trouble where they have accessed a site with too much information on it and the phone has either froze or reset. The phone is not harmed by this but its advisable you dont go to large sites on it for this or the above reason. If your phone freezes and you cant turn it off simply take the battery out and put it back in.

Win XP Tip, Hidden Back-up utility

Insert your windows XP disc into your PC.

Click exit if your installation screen comes up.

Now go too your CD drive in "My Computer". Right-click and select open.

Choose VALUE ADD\MSFT\NT BACK-UP FILE.

In the "files of type" drop down list be sure that "select all files" is on.

Click on the NTBACK-UP.msi file and click okay.

Click the finish button and now go over too the start button\ALL PROGRAMS\ACCESSORIES\SYSTEM TOOLS\ and there it is now.. BACK-UP FILES...

Great little tool that Microsoft never should have hidden.


Win XP Tip, Rename Multiple Files

A new, small, neat feature for winXP deals with renaming files. I personally have always wanted the OS to include a way to do a mass file renaming on a bunch of files. You can now rename multiple files at once in WinXP. Its real simple:

1. Select several files in Explorer, press F2 and rename one of those files to something else. All the selected files get renamed to the new file name (plus a number added to the end).

2. Thats it. Simple huh.

I would recommend that you only have the files you want to rename in the directory your working in. I would also recommend that until you get used to this neat little trick that you save copies of the files in a safe location while your getting the hang of it.

Ever wonder what's going on behind that splash screen? Well, now you can find out!

Right click My Computer, Properties, Advanced, Startup and Recovery, Edit. Edit BOOT.INI. Add "/SOS" right after "/fastdetect" with a space between. The line will look something like this:


multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect /SOS
. Then you're finished. The first part, multi(0)..... may not be the same on your machine. Upon restarting, the splash screen will be gone. It can be re-enabled by removing the new switch.

Tut On Cracking Zip Password Files..What is FZC? FZC is a program that cracks zip files (zip is a method of compressing multiple files into one smaller file) that are password-protected (which means you're gonna need a password to open the zip file and extract files out of it). You can get it anywhere - just use a search engine such as altavista.com.
FZC uses multiple methods of cracking - bruteforce (guessing passwords systematically until the program gets it) or wordlist attacks (otherwise known as dictionary attacks. Instead of just guessing passwords systematically, the program takes passwords out of a "wordlist", which is a text file that contains possible passwords. You can get lots of wordlists at www.theargon.com.).
FZC can be used in order to achieve two different goals: you can either use it to recover a lost zip password which you used to remember but somehow forgot, or to crack zip passwords which you're not supposed to have. So like every tool, this one can be used for good and for evil.
The first thing I want to say is that reading this tutorial... is the easy way to learn how to use this program, but after reading this part of how to use the FZC you should go and check the texts that come with that program and read them all. You are also going to see the phrase "check name.txt" often in this text. These files should be in FZC's directory. They contain more information about FZC.
FZC is a good password recovery tool, because it's very fast and also support resuming so you don't have to keep the computer turned on until you get the password, like it used to be some years ago with older cracking programs. You would probably always get the password unless the password is longer than 32 chars (a char is a character, which can be anything - a number, a lowercase or undercase letter or a symbol such as ! or &) because 32 chars is the maximum value that FZC will accept, but it doesn't really matter, because in order to bruteforce a password with 32 chars you'll need to be at least immortal..heehhe.. to see the time that FZC takes with bruteforce just open the Bforce.txt file, which contains such information.
FZC supports brute-force attacks, as well as wordlist attacks. While brute-force attacks don't require you to have anything, wordlist attacks require you to have wordlists, which you can get from www.theargon.com. There are wordlists in various languages, various topics or just miscellaneous wordlists. The bigger the wordlist is, the more chances you have to crack the password.
Now that you have a good wordlist, just get FZC working on the locked zip file, grab a drink, lie down and wait... and wait... and wait...and have good thoughts like "In wordlist mode I'm gonna get the password in minutes" or something like this... you start doing all this and remember "Hey this guy started with all this bullshit and didn't say how I can start a wordlist attack!..." So please wait just a little more, read this tutorial 'till the end and you can do all this "bullshit".

We need to keep in mind that are some people might choose some really weird passwords (for example: 'e8t7@$^%*gfh), which are harder to crack and are certainly impossible to crack (unless you have some weird wordlist). If you have a bad luck and you got such a file, having a 200MB list won't help you anymore. Instead, you'll have to use a different type of attack. If you are a person that gives up at the first sign of failure, stop being like that or you won't get anywhere. What you need to do in such a situation is to put aside your sweet xxx MB's list and start using the Brute Force attack.
If you have some sort of a really fast and new computer and you're afraid that you won't be able to use your computer's power to the fullest because the zip cracker doesn't support this kind of technology, it's your lucky day! FZC has multiple settings for all sorts of hardware, and will automatically select the best method.

Now that we've gone through all the theoretical stuff, let's get to the actual commands.

Cracking Bios, use the followin' code

Here is the best way to crack the bios password in win 95/98:

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!!!!!!!!!!!!! biggrin.gif

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..........

Go to Start --> Run --> Regedt32

Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop

Locate the key called "MenuShowDelay" and it is probably set to 400.

Change that value to 150.

Reboot your computer.

You should notice a slight increase in the speed of your menus

How To: Change Your Ip In Less Then 1 Minute

1. Click on "Start" in the bottom left hand corner of screen
2. Click on "Run"
3. Type in "command" and hit ok

You should now be at an MSDOS prompt screen.

4. Type "ipconfig /release" just like that, and hit "enter"
5. Type "exit" and leave the prompt
6. Right-click on "Network Places" or "My Network Places" on your desktop.
7. Click on "properties"

You should now be on a screen with something titled "Local Area Connection", or something close to that, and, if you have a network hooked up, all of your other networks.

8. Right click on "Local Area Connection" and click "properties"
9. Double-click on the "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)" from the list under the "General" tab
10. Click on "Use the following IP address" under the "General" tab
11. Create an IP address (It doesn't matter what it is. I just type 1 and 2 until i fill the area up).
12. Press "Tab" and it should automatically fill in the "Subnet Mask" section with default numbers.
13. Hit the "Ok" button here
14. Hit the "Ok" button again

You should now be back to the "Local Area Connection" screen.

15. Right-click back on "Local Area Connection" and go to properties again.
16. Go back to the "TCP/IP" settings
17. This time, select "Obtain an IP address automatically"
tongue.gif 18. Hit "Ok"
19. Hit "Ok" again
20. You now have a new IP address

With a little practice, you can easily get this process down to 15 seconds.

P.S:
This only changes your dynamic IP address, not your ISP/IP address. If you plan on hacking a website with this trick be extremely careful, because if they try a little, they can trace it back.

If you've let your guard down--or even if you haven't--it can be hard to tell if your PC is infected. Here's what to do if you suspect the worst.

Heard this one before? You must run antivirus software and keep it up to date or else your PC will get infected, you'll lose all your data, and you'll incur the wrath of every e-mail buddy you unknowingly infect because of your carelessness.

You know they're right. Yet for one reason or another, you're not running antivirus software, or you are but it's not up to date. Maybe you turned off your virus scanner because it conflicted with another program. Maybe you got tired of upgrading after you bought Norton Antivirus 2001, 2002, and 2003. Or maybe your annual subscription of virus definitions recently expired, and you've put off renewing.

It happens. It's nothing to be ashamed of. But chances are, either you're infected right now, as we speak, or you will be very soon.

For a few days in late January, the Netsky.p worm was infecting about 2,500 PCs a day. Meanwhile the MySQL bot infected approximately 100 systems a minute (albeit not necessarily desktop PCs). As David Perry, global director of education for security software provider Trend Micro, puts it, "an unprotected [Windows] computer will become owned by a bot within 14 minutes."

Today's viruses, worms, and so-called bots--which turn your PC into a zombie that does the hacker's bidding (such as mass-mailing spam)--aren't going to announce their presence. Real viruses aren't like the ones in Hollywood movies that melt down whole networks in seconds and destroy alien spacecraft. They operate in the background, quietly altering data, stealing private operations, or using your PC for their own illegal ends. This makes them hard to spot if you're not well protected.

Is Your PC "Owned?"

I should start by saying that not every system oddity is due to a virus, worm, or bot. Is your system slowing down? Is your hard drive filling up rapidly? Are programs crashing without warning? These symptoms are more likely caused by Windows, or badly written legitimate programs, rather than malware. After all, people who write malware want to hide their program's presence. People who write commercial software put icons all over your desktop. Who's going to work harder to go unnoticed?

Other indicators that may, in fact, indicate that there's nothing that you need to worry about, include:

• An automated e-mail telling you that you're sending out infected mail. E-mail viruses and worms typically come from faked addresses.

• A frantic note from a friend saying they've been infected, and therefore so have you. This is likely a hoax. It's especially suspicious if the note tells you the virus can't be detected but you can get rid of it by deleting one simple file. Don't be fooled--and don't delete that file.

•  If you don't have any antivirus software on your system (shame on you), or if the software has stopped working, stay online and go for a free scan at one of several Web sites. There's McAfee FreeScan, Symantec Security Check, and Trend Micro's HouseCall. If one doesn't find anything, try two. In fact, running a free online virus scan is a good way to double-check the work of your own local antivirus program. When you're done, buy or download a real antivirus program.

•  If you have antivirus software, but it isn't active, get offline, unplug wires-- whatever it takes to stop your computer from communicating via the Internet. Then, promptly perform a scan with the installed software.

•  If nothing seems to be working, do more research on the Web. There are several online virus libraries where you can find out about known viruses. These sites often provide instructions for removing viruses--if manual removal is possible--or a free removal tool if it isn't. Check out GriSOFT's Virus Encyclopedia, Eset's Virus Descriptions, McAffee's Virus Glossary, Symantec's Virus Encyclopedia, or Trend Micro's Virus Encyclopedia.

•  Be careful with e-mail. Set your e-mail software security settings to high. Don't open messages with generic-sounding subjects that don't apply specifically to you from people you don't know. Don't open an attachment unless you're expecting it.

• If you have broadband Internet access, such as DSL or cable, get a router, even if you only have one PC. A router adds an extra layer of protection because your PC is not connecting directly with the Internet.

•  Check your Internet ports. These doorways between your computer and the Internet can be open, in which case your PC is very vulnerable; closed, but still somewhat vulnerable; or stealthed (or hidden), which is safest. Visit Gibson Research's Web site and run the free ShieldsUP test to see your ports' status. If some ports show up as closed--or worse yet, open--check your router's documentation to find out how to hide them.
  

Since defragging the disk won't do much to improve Windows XP performance, here are 23 suggestions that will. Each can enhance the performance and reliability of your customers' PCs. Best of all, most of them will cost you nothing.

1.) To decrease a system's boot time and increase system performance, use the money you save by not buying defragmentation software -- the built-in Windows defragmenter works just fine -- and instead equip the computer with an Ultra-133 or Serial ATA hard drive with 8-MB cache buffer.

2.) If a PC has less than 512 MB of RAM, add more memory. This is a relatively inexpensive and easy upgrade that can dramatically improve system performance.

3.) Ensure that Windows XP is utilizing the NTFS file system. If you're not sure, here's how to check: First, double-click the My Computer icon, right-click on the C: Drive, then select Properties. Next, examine the File System type; if it says FAT32, then back-up any important data. Next, click Start, click Run, type CMD, and then click OK. At the prompt, type CONVERT C: /FS:NTFS and press the Enter key. This process may take a while; it's important that the computer be uninterrupted and virus-free. The file system used by the bootable drive will be either FAT32 or NTFS. I highly recommend NTFS for its superior security, reliability, and efficiency with larger disk drives.

4.) Disable file indexing. The indexing service extracts information from documents and other files on the hard drive and creates a "searchable keyword index." As you can imagine, this process can be quite taxing on any system.

The idea is that the user can search for a word, phrase, or property inside a document, should they have hundreds or thousands of documents and not know the file name of the document they want. Windows XP's built-in search functionality can still perform these kinds of searches without the Indexing service. It just takes longer. The OS has to open each file at the time of the request to help find what the user is looking for.

Most people never need this feature of search. Those who do are typically in a large corporate environment where thousands of documents are located on at least one server. But if you're a typical system builder, most of your clients are small and medium businesses. And if your clients have no need for this search feature, I recommend disabling it.

Here's how: First, double-click the My Computer icon. Next, right-click on the C: Drive, then select Properties. Uncheck "Allow Indexing Service to index this disk for fast file searching." Next, apply changes to "C: subfolders and files," and click OK. If a warning or error message appears (such as "Access is denied"), click the Ignore All button.

5.) Update the PC's video and motherboard chipset drivers. Also, update and configure the BIOS. For more information on how to configure your BIOS properly, see this article on my site.

6.) Empty the Windows Prefetch folder every three months or so. Windows XP can "prefetch" portions of data and applications that are used frequently. This makes processes appear to load faster when called upon by the user. That's fine. But over time, the prefetch folder may become overloaded with references to files and applications no longer in use. When that happens, Windows XP is wasting time, and slowing system performance, by pre-loading them. Nothing critical is in this folder, and the entire contents are safe to delete.

7.) Once a month, run a disk cleanup. Here's how: Double-click the My Computer icon. Then right-click on the C: drive and select Properties. Click the Disk Cleanup button -- it's just to the right of the Capacity pie graph -- and delete all temporary files.

8.) In your Device Manager, double-click on the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers device, and ensure that DMA is enabled for each drive you have connected to the Primary and Secondary controller. Do this by double-clicking on Primary IDE Channel. Then click the Advanced Settings tab. Ensure the Transfer Mode is set to "DMA if available" for both Device 0 and Device 1. Then repeat this process with the Secondary IDE Channel.

9.) Upgrade the cabling. As hard-drive technology improves, the cabling requirements to achieve these performance boosts have become more stringent. Be sure to use 80-wire Ultra-133 cables on all of your IDE devices with the connectors properly assigned to the matching Master/Slave/Motherboard sockets. A single device must be at the end of the cable; connecting a single drive to the middle connector on a ribbon cable will cause signaling problems. With Ultra DMA hard drives, these signaling problems will prevent the drive from performing at its maximum potential. Also, because these cables inherently support "cable select," the location of each drive on the cable is important. For these reasons, the cable is designed so drive positioning is explicitly clear.

10.) Remove all spyware from the computer. Use free programs such as AdAware by Lavasoft or SpyBot Search & Destroy. Once these programs are installed, be sure to check for and download any updates before starting your search. Anything either program finds can be safely removed. Any free software that requires spyware to run will no longer function once the spyware portion has been removed; if your customer really wants the program even though it contains spyware, simply reinstall it. For more information on removing Spyware visit this Web Pro News page.

11.) Remove any unnecessary programs and/or items from Windows Startup routine using the MSCONFIG utility. Here's how: First, click Start, click Run, type MSCONFIG, and click OK. Click the StartUp tab, then uncheck any items you don't want to start when Windows starts. Unsure what some items are? Visit the WinTasks Process Library. It contains known system processes, applications, as well as spyware references and explanations. Or quickly identify them by searching for the filenames using Google or another Web search engine.

12.) Remove any unnecessary or unused programs from the Add/Remove Programs section of the Control Panel.

13.) Turn off any and all unnecessary animations, and disable active desktop. In fact, for optimal performance, turn off all animations. Windows XP offers many different settings in this area. Here's how to do it: First click on the System icon in the Control Panel. Next, click on the Advanced tab. Select the Settings button located under Performance. Feel free to play around with the options offered here, as nothing you can change will alter the reliability of the computer -- only its responsiveness.

14.) If your customer is an advanced user who is comfortable editing their registry, try some of the performance registry tweaks offered at Tweak XP.

15.) Visit Microsoft's Windows update site regularly, and download all updates labeled Critical. Download any optional updates at your discretion.

16.) Update the customer's anti-virus software on a weekly, even daily, basis. Make sure they have only one anti-virus software package installed. Mixing anti-virus software is a sure way to spell disaster for performance and reliability.

17.) Make sure the customer has fewer than 500 type fonts installed on their computer. The more fonts they have, the slower the system will become. While Windows XP handles fonts much more efficiently than did the previous versions of Windows, too many fonts -- that is, anything over 500 -- will noticeably tax the system.

18.) Do not partition the hard drive. Windows XP's NTFS file system runs more efficiently on one large partition. The data is no safer on a separate partition, and a reformat is never necessary to reinstall an operating system. The same excuses people offer for using partitions apply to using a folder instead. For example, instead of putting all your data on the D: drive, put it in a folder called "D drive." You'll achieve the same organizational benefits that a separate partition offers, but without the degradation in system performance. Also, your free space won't be limited by the size of the partition; instead, it will be limited by the size of the entire hard drive. This means you won't need to resize any partitions, ever. That task can be time-consuming and also can result in lost data.

19.) Check the system's RAM to ensure it is operating properly. I recommend using a free program called MemTest86. The download will make a bootable CD or diskette (your choice), which will run 10 extensive tests on the PC's memory automatically after you boot to the disk you created. Allow all tests to run until at least three passes of the 10 tests are completed. If the program encounters any errors, turn off and unplug the computer, remove a stick of memory (assuming you have more than one), and run the test again. Remember, bad memory cannot be repaired, but only replaced.

20.) If the PC has a CD or DVD recorder, check the drive manufacturer's Web site for updated firmware. In some cases you'll be able to upgrade the recorder to a faster speed. Best of all, it's free.

21.) Disable unnecessary services. Windows XP loads a lot of services that your customer most likely does not need. To determine which services you can disable for your client, visit the Black Viper site for Windows XP configurations.

22.) If you're sick of a single Windows Explorer window crashing and then taking the rest of your OS down with it, then follow this tip: open My Computer, click on Tools, then Folder Options. Now click on the View tab. Scroll down to "Launch folder windows in a separate process," and enable this option. You'll have to reboot your machine for this option to take effect.

23.) At least once a year, open the computer's cases and blow out all the dust and debris. While you're in there, check that all the fans are turning properly. Also inspect the motherboard capacitors for bulging or leaks. For more information on this leaking-capacitor phenomena, you can read numerous articles on my site.


Following any of these suggestions should result in noticeable improvements to the performance and reliability of your customers' computers. If you still want to defrag a disk, remember that the main benefit will be to make your data more retrievable in the event of a crashed drive.

The Internet is a computer network made up of thousands of networks worldwide. No one knows exactly how many computers are connected to the Internet. It is certain, however, that these number in the millions.

No one is in charge of the Internet. There are organizations which develop technical aspects of this network and set standards for creating applications on it, but no governing body is in control. The Internet backbone, through which Internet traffic flows, is owned by private companies.

All computers on the Internet communicate with one another using the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol suite, abbreviated to TCP/IP. Computers on the Internet use a client/server architecture. This means that the remote server machine provides files and services to the user's local client machine. Software can be installed on a client computer to take advantage of the latest access technology.

An Internet user has access to a wide variety of services: electronic mail, file transfer, vast information resources, interest group membership, interactive collaboration, multimedia displays, real-time broadcasting, shopping opportunities, breaking news, and much more.

The Internet consists primarily of a variety of access protocols. Many of these protocols feature programs that allow users to search for and retrieve material made available by the protocol.

To run any of these apps go to Start > Run and type the executable name (ie charmap).

WINDOWS XP HIDDEN APPS:

1) Character Map = charmap.exe (very useful for finding unusual characters)

2) Disk Cleanup = cleanmgr.exe

3) Clipboard Viewer = clipbrd.exe (views contents of Windows clipboard)

4) Dr Watson = drwtsn32.exe (Troubleshooting tool)

5) DirectX diagnosis = dxdiag.exe (Diagnose & test DirectX, video & sound cards)

6) Private character editor = eudcedit.exe (allows creation or modification of characters)

7) IExpress Wizard = iexpress.exe (Create self-extracting / self-installing package)

8) Microsoft Synchronization Manager = mobsync.exe (appears to allow synchronization of files on the network for when working offline. Apparently undocumented).

9) Windows Media Player 5.1 = mplay32.exe (Retro version of Media Player, very basic).

10) ODBC Data Source Administrator = odbcad32.exe (something to do with databases)

11) Object Packager = packager.exe (to do with packaging objects for insertion in files, appears to have comprehensive help files).

12) System Monitor = perfmon.exe (very useful, highly configurable tool, tells you everything you ever wanted to know about any aspect of PC performance, for uber-geeks only )

13) Program Manager = progman.exe (Legacy Windows 3.x desktop shell).

14) Remote Access phone book = rasphone.exe (documentation is virtually non-existant).

15) Registry Editor = regedt32.exe [also regedit.exe] (for hacking the Windows Registry).

16) Network shared folder wizard = shrpubw.exe (creates shared folders on network).

17) File siganture verification tool = sigverif.exe

18) Volume Contro = sndvol32.exe (I've included this for those people that lose it from the System Notification area).

19) System Configuration Editor = sysedit.exe (modify System.ini & Win.ini just like in Win98! ).

20) Syskey = syskey.exe (Secures XP Account database - use with care, it's virtually undocumented but it appears to encrypt all passwords, I'm not sure of the full implications).

21) Microsoft Telnet Client = telnet.exe

22) Driver Verifier Manager = verifier.exe (seems to be a utility for monitoring the actions of drivers, might be useful for people having driver problems. Undocumented).

23) Windows for Workgroups Chat = winchat.exe (appears to be an old NT utility to allow chat sessions over a LAN, help files available).

24) System configuration = msconfig.exe (can use to control starup programs)

25) gpedit.msc used to manage group policies, and permissions

I install 98 with backup/restore utility. My way of auto installation of XP.
Then on second partition or the same partition XP without pagefile.sys.
Then i get a dual boot. So after booting into XP, Install all your fav programes and games. Test each of them, to make sure they work.. etc., all your drivers also. Tweak your xp.
Make sure u unhide all files relates to win xp dir and progra files.
Then boot into 98 > goto backup utility of 98.
Select the folders used by XP, eg: my documents and settings winxp (or windows- what ever name u gave to windows dir) check all files in the root program files folder and like this all folders and files used by xp.
Then start the backup process. Make sure u have ~ > 3gb of free space on the disk / partition You are planning to save the image file.
Then when ur XP crashes or U crash it then just boot into 98, goto restore option, and click ok. Over write old files or new ones as u like.

It takes ~20min to install

Windows Xp including
Office Xp
Interdev
.net framework
winrar
tweaks
easy cleaner
adobe
service pack1 , and now service pack 2b
lan settings
mcafee antivirus
Ahead
Mozilla Firefox
Microsoft Visual Studio
Opera
Virtual CD v4
Yahoo!
Msn
Webroot

U can exclude any folder, u think is not needed at that time for re-installation.
The whole task id completed in 20 minutes.
Note: dont forget to include boot.ini file.

-----------
STARTUP
-----------
Windows Prefetcher

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ Session Manager \ Memory Management \ PrefetchParameters]

Under this key there is a setting called EnablePrefetcher, the default setting of which is 3. Increasing this number to 5 gives the prefetcher system more system resources to prefetch application data for faster load times. Depending on the number of boot processes you run on your computer, you may get benefits from settings up to 9. However, I do not have any substantive research data on settings above 5 so I cannot verify the benefits of a higher setting. This setting also may effect the loading times of your most frequently launched applications. This setting will not take effect until after you reboot your system.


Master File Table Zone Reservation


[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ FileSystem]

Under this key there is a setting called NtfsMftZoneReservation, the default setting of which is 1. The range of this value is from 1 to 4. The default setting reserves one-eighth of the volume for the MFT. A setting of 2 reserves one-quarter of the volume for the MFT. A setting of 3 for NtfsMftZoneReservation reserves three-eighths of the volume for the MFT and setting it to 4 reserves half of the volume for the MFT. Most users will never exceed one-quarter of the volume. I recommend a setting of 2 for most users. This allows for a "moderate number of files" commensurate with the number of small files included in most computer games and applications. Reboot after applying this tweak.


Optimize Boot Files

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Dfrg \ BootOptimizeFunction]

Under this key is a text value named Enable. A value of Y for this setting enables the boot files defragmenter. This setting defragments the boot files and may move the boot files to the beginning (fastest) part of the partition, but that last statement is unverified. Reboot after applying this tweak.

Optimizing Startup Programs [msconfig]

MSConfig, similar to the application included in Win9x of the same name, allows the user to fine tune the applications that are launched at startup without forcing the user to delve deep into the registry. To disable some of the applications launched, load msconfig.exe from the run command line, and go to the Startup tab. From there, un-ticking the checkbox next to a startup item will stop it from launching. There are a few application that you will never want to disable (ctfmon comes to mind), but for the most part the best settings vary greatly from system to system.

As a good rule of thumb, though, it is unlikely that you will want to disable anything in the Windows directory (unless it's a third-party program that was incorrectly installed into the Windows directory), nor will you want to disable anything directly relating to your system hardware. The only exception to this is when you are dealing with software, which does not give you any added benefits (some OEM dealers load your system up with software you do not need). The nice part of msconfig is that it does not delete any of the settings, it simply disables them, and so you can go back and restart a startup application if you find that you need it. This optimization won't take effect until after a reboot.

Application
The program was designed by Microsoft to enable Windows XP to cold boot in 30 seconds, return from hibernation in 20 seconds, and return from standby in 10 seconds. Bootvis has two extremely useful features. First, it can be used to optimize the boot process on your computer automatically. Second, it can be used to analyze the boot process for specific subsystems that are having difficulty loading. The first process specifically targets the prefetching subsystem, as well as the layout of boot files on the disk. When both of these systems are optimized, it can result in a significant reduction in the time it takes for the computer to boot.

Before attempting to use Bootvis to analyze or optimize the boot performance of your system, make sure that the task scheduler service has been enabled – the program requires the service to run properly. Also, close all open programs as well – using the software requires a reboot.

To use the software to optimize your system startup, first start with a full analysis of a fresh boot. Start Bootvis, go to the Tools menu, and select next boot. Set the Trace Repetition Settings to 2 repetitions, Start at 1, and Reboot automatically. Then set the trace into motion. The system will fully reboot twice, and then reopen bootvis and open the second trace file (should have _2 in the name). Analyze the graphs and make any changes that you think are necessary (this is a great tool for determining which startup programs you want to kill using msconfig). Once you have made your optimizations go to the Trace menu, and select the Optimize System item. This will cause the system to reboot and will then make some changes to the file structure on the hard drive (this includes a defragmentation of boot files and a shifting of their location to the fastest portion of the hard disk, as well as some other optimizations). After this is done, once again run a Trace analysis as above, except change the starting number to 3. Once the system has rebooted both times, compare the charts from the second trace to the charts for the fourth trace to show you the time improvement of the system's boot up.

The standard defragmenter included with Windows XP will not undo the boot optimizations performed by this application.



-----------------------------------
General Performance Tweaks
-----------------------------------


IRQ Priority Tweak

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ System \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ PriorityControl]

You will need to create a new DWORD: IRQ#Priority (where # is the number of the IRQ you want to prioritize) and give it a setting of 1. This setting gives the requisite IRQ channel priority over the other IRQs on a software level. This can be extremely important for functions and hardware subsystems that need real-time access to other parts of the system. There are several different subsystems that might benefit from this tweak. Generally, I recommend giving either the System CMOS or the video card priority. The System CMOS generally has an IRQ setting of 8, and giving it priority enhances the I/O performance of the system. Giving priority to the video card can increase frame rates and make AGP more effective.

You can give several IRQs priority, but I am not entirely certain how the system interacts when several IRQs are given priority – it may cause random instabilities in the system, although it is more likely that there's a parsing system built into Windows XP to handle such an occurrence. Either way, I would not recommend it.

QoS tweak

QoS (Quality of Service) is a networking subsystem which is supposed to insure that the network runs properly. The problem with the system is that it eats up 20% of the total bandwidth of any networking service on the computer (including your internet connection). If you are running XP Professional, you can disable the bandwidth quota reserved for the system using the Group Policy Editor [gpedit.msc].

You can run the group policy editor from the Run command line. To find the setting, expand "Local Computer Policy" and go to "Administrative Templates" under "Computer Configuration." Then find the "Network" branch and select "QoS Packet Scheduler." In the right hand box, double click on the "Limit Reservable Bandwidth." From within the Settings tab, enable the setting and then go into the "Bandwidth Limit %" and set it to 0%. The reason for this is that if you disable this setting, the computer defaults to 20%. This is true even when you aren't using QoS.

Free Idle Tasks Tweak

This tweak will free up processing time from any idle processes and allow it to be used by the foreground application. It is useful particularly if you are running a game or other 3D application. Create a new shortcut to "Rundll32.exe advapi32.dll,ProcessIdleTasks" and place it on your desktop. Double-click on it anytime you need all of your processing power, before opening the application.

Windows Indexing Services
Windows Indexing Services creates a searchable database that makes system searches for words and files progress much faster – however, it takes an enormous amount of hard drive space as well as a significant amount of extra CPU cycles to maintain the system. Most users will want to disable this service to release the resources for use by the system. To turn off indexing, open My Computer and right click on the drive on which you wish to disable the Indexing Service. Enter the drive's properties and under the general tab, untick the box for "Allow the Indexing Service to index this disk for fast file searching."

Priority Tweak

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ PriorityControl]

This setting effectively runs each instance of an application in its own process for significantly faster application performance and greater stability. This is extremely useful for users with stability problems, as it can isolate specific instances of a program so as not to bring down the entire application. And, it is particularly useful for users of Internet Explorer, for if a rogue web page crashes your browser window, it does not bring the other browser windows down with it. It has a similar effect on any software package where multiple instances might be running at once, such as Microsoft Word. The only problem is that this takes up significantly more memory, because such instances of a program cannot share information that is in active memory (many DLLs and such will have to be loaded into memory multiple times). Because of this, it is not recommended for anyone with less than 512 MB of RAM, unless they are running beta software (or have some other reason for needing the added stability).

There are two parts to this tweak. First is to optimize XP's priority control for the processes. Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ PriorityControl and set the "Win32PrioritySeparation" DWORD to 38. Next, go into My Computer and under Tools, open the Folder Options menu. Select the View tab and check the "Launch folder windows in separate process" box. This setting actually forces each window into its own memory tread and gives it a separate process priority.

Powertweak application

xxx.powertweak.com

Powertweak is an application, which acts much like a driver for our chipsets. It optimizes the communication between the chipset and the CPU, and unlocks several "hidden" features of the chipset that can increase the speed of the system. Specifically, it tweaks the internal registers of the chipset and processor that the BIOS does not for better communication performance between subsystems. Supported CPUs and chipsets can see a significant increase in I/O bandwidth, increasing the speed of the entire system. Currently the application supports most popular CPUs and chipsets, although you will need to check the website for your specific processor/chipset combo – the programmer is working on integrating even more chipsets and CPUs into the software.

Offload Network Task Processing onto the Network Card

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Services \ Tcpip \ Parameters]

Many newer network cards have the ability of taking some of the network processing load off of the processor and performing it right on the card (much like Hardware T&L on most new video cards). This can significantly lower the CPU processes needed to maintain a network connection, freeing up that processor time for other tasks. This does not work on all cards, and it can cause network connectivity problems on systems where the service is enabled but unsupported, so please check with your NIC manufacturer prior to enabling this tweak. Find the DWORD "DisableTaskOffload" and set the value to 0 (the default value is 1). If the key is not already available, create it.

Force XP to Unload DLLs

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer]
"AlwaysUnloadDLL"=dword:00000001

XP has a bad habit of keeping dynamic link libraries that are no longer in use resident in memory. Not only do the DLLs use up precious memory space, but they also tend to cause stability problems in some systems. To force XP to unload any DLLs in memory when the application that called them is no longer in memory, browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer and find the DWORD "AlwaysUnloadDLL". You may need to create this key. Set the value to 1 to force the operating system to unload DLLs.

Give 16-bit apps their own separate processes

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ WOW]
"DefaultSeparateVDM"="Yes"

By default, Windows XP will only open one 16-bit process and cram all 16-bit apps running on the system at a given time into that process. This simulates how MS-DOS based systems viewed systems and is necessary for some older applications that run together and share resources. However, most 16-bit applications work perfectly well by themselves and would benefit from the added performance and stability of their own dedicated resources. To force Windows XP to give each 16-bit application it's own resources, browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ WOW and find the String "DefaultSeparateVDM". If it is not there, you may need to create it. Set the value of this to Yes to give each 16-bit application its own process, and No to have the 16-bit application all run in the same memory space.

Disable User Tracking

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Explorer]
"NoInstrumentation"=dword:00000001

The user tracking system built into Windows XP is useless to 99% of users (there are very few uses for the information collected other than for a very nosy system admin), and it uses up precious resources to boot, so it makes sense to disable this "feature" of Windows XP. To do so, browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Explorer and find the DWORD "NoInstrumentation". You may need to create this key if it is not there. The default setting is 0, but setting it to 1 will disable most of the user tracking features of the system.

Thumbnail Cache

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ Advanced]
"DisableThumbnailCache"=dword:00000001

Windows XP has a neat feature for graphic and video files that creates a "thumbnail" of the image or first frame of the video and makes it into an oversized icon for the file. There are two ways that Explorer can do this, it can create them fresh each time you access the folder or it can load them from a thumbnail cache. The thumbnail caches on systems with a large number of image and video files can become staggeringly large. To disable the Thumbnail Cache, browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ Advanced and find the DWORD "DisableThumbnailCache". You may need to create this key. A setting of 1 is recommended for systems where the number of graphic and video files is large, and a setting of 0 is recommended for systems not concerned about hard drive space, as loading the files from the cache is significantly quicker than creating them from scratch each time a folder is accessed.

1. Boot the computer using the XP CD. You may need to change the boot order in the system BIOS.
     Check your system documentation for steps to access the BIOS and change the boot order.
 
2. When you see the "Welcome To Setup" screen, you will see the options below.
    This portion of the Setup program prepares Microsoft Windows XP to run on your computer:

• To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER.
• To repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console, press R.
• To quit Setup without installing Windows XP, press F3.

Some websites illegally modify your registry editor and set their website as default home page, for stop this,

1. Right-click on the Internet Explorer icon on your desktop and select "Properties".

2. In the "Target" box you will see "C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE".

3. Now by adding the URL of the site to the end of this it overrides any
Homepage setting in internet options:

"C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE" www.megablogs.co.nr

In this you will learn how to step up your own server. This server will be comprised of Apache 1.3.5, PHP 4.2.0, and MySQL 3.23.49. This will address the basic setup of a server on your own computer. This means the removal of hassles of dealing with the company that is running a remote web server. It will be easy to modify. You can add any thing you want to it, be it CGI/Perl, Zope, Roxen, etc, all by your self. You will have unlimited disk space, well at least as big as your hard drive is =) Now that you know the advantages, it is time that I tell you what i used, and what you will need.

What I used

•  Windows 2000 - NOTE that if you are using 2k you WILL NEED Administrative Privileges. If you don't then get them somehow =) If you are on 95, 98, NT, XP, ME

•  Apache 1.3.6 - I tried to use 2.0 but I could not get it work. I also feel that 1.3.6 is tried and true, so why mess with greatness.

• Mysql 3.23.49 - The newest version of MySQL when I set up my server. MySQL also the is the best PHP supported Database, and well love PHP don't we.

•  PHP 4.2.1 - The latest and greatest PHP release. -nt

•  Apache 2 - Link: http://www.apache.org/dist/

•  Mysql 3.23.49 - Link: http://www.mysql.com/downloads/mysql-3.23.htm
  

•  PHP 4.2.0 - Link: http://www.php.net/downloads.php

•  Windows - This is ONLY written for new versions of Windows.