VMWare

Get more out of your existing computer hardware. Use the free VMware Player application to run multiple operating systems simultaneously on a single PC.

With VMware Player, you can use any virtual machine created by VMware Workstation, VMware Fusion, VMware Server or VMware ESX, as well as Microsoft Virtual Server virtual machines and Microsoft Virtual PC virtual machines. Import third party images including Symantec Backup Exec System Recovery (formerly called Live State Recovery) images, Norton Ghost 10 images, Norton Save & Restore images, StorageCraft ShadowProtect images, and Acronis True Image images to VMware Player compatible virtual machines. Use 32- and 64-bit Windows, Linux, NetWare, or Solaris x86 operating systems side-by-side, without rebooting or partitioning your hard drive.

http://vmware.com/products/player/

SAN

Hugely Scalable Dell EqualLogic virtualized iSCSI

Storage Area Network with performance and enterprise reliability

Virtualized PS Series SAN architecture for consolidation and tiered storage
Seamless scalability, up to 576 TB in a single SAN
High density storage: 24 or 48 TB in 4U of rack space
Low TCO with excellent cost-per-GB and comprehensive SAN management and protection software

Open Source Window Aps

http://www.opensourcewindows.org/

Terminal Emulators

More FYI !!!

This post is about video terminals produced by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) from 1970 to 1995. The most famous of these is the VT100, a name which is recognized most often today as a setting in terminal emulation programs.

The real video terminals discussed on this web site ( http://vt100.net/ ) were dedicated devices which are connected to a computer (host) with a serial line. They usually consist of a screen and keyboard, with very little processing power and no local storage. Characters typed on the keyboard are transmitted to the host computer, and characters output from programs running on the host are sent to the terminal to be displayed on the screen. Why would we use devices this simple? Well, their simplicity makes them reliable. There is no operating system and no downloaded software, so they are pretty much impervious to user meddling and viruses. Before PCs put computing power on every desk, a central computer would support tens of users. Now that PCs are as powerful as old mainframes and can run capable multi-user operating systems (take a bow, Linux), there is a resurgence of interest in these low bandwidth, low cost and low maintenance devices.

AWESOME !!!

Terminal Emulators 2

From:
http://www.cs.utk.edu/~shuford/terminal_index.html
By ...Richard S. Shuford
Welcome to my Archive of Video-Terminal Information concerning character-cell video-display terminals, serial-line remote-graphics terminals, and software that emulates them. When I say character-cell terminal, I mean some keyboard-possessing device that is connected to a host computer by a serial cable and typically (if not exclusively) is used to display textual information arriving in the form of ASCII (or perhaps EBCDIC) characters. It is the thinnest possible thin client.

A serial-line remote-graphics-protocol terminal is also connected by a serial (usually RS-232-C) cable to a host, and it may display both ASCII text and graphics images sent to it by the remote host. Protocols for transmitting images include Tektronix vector graphics, DEC's ReGIS and Sixel protocols, and NAPLPS (North American Presentation-Level-Protocol Syntax).

X terminals in their own right are beyond the scope of this collection. An X terminal (such as one of these products still sold by NCD and Wyse Technology, or formerly made by Human Designed Systems/Neoware or Tektronix or Hewlett-Packard) speaks the X protocol, displays graphics in a completely bit-mapped fashion, and prefers to communicate over high-speed connections such as Ethernet. (Another variation on a thin-client is the "Network Computer".) I do, however, keep some small amount of X information here, but focusing on how the xterm application emulates a character-cell terminal.

Note that the information here does not include much coverage of the so-called "Terminal Services" functions in Microsoft Windows, which use the proprietary Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). (As the computer industry has come to expect, adopting a Microsoft protocol forces you to buy Microsoft software and stay in lockstep with the Redmond upgrade cycle.)

This information started as a collection of discussion articles from Usenet newsgroups, especially comp.terminals but including other groups, but with some effort to organize the postings broadly by topic. However, resources from other sources have been added over time. The information in the collection varies in quality, and I personally wrote only a small part of it, but many people, who still have reason to use a terminal, have found it useful. There are no guarantees of applicability or fitness implied.

You should be able to access almost everything via HTTP. If you have trouble, let me know. If you possess information that you'd like to contribute to this collection, send me e-mail. Thanks.
...Richard S. Shuford

What is Gopher?

Just FYI !!

A type of Internet protocol from the early 1990's. Gopher presents a hierarchy of menus like a tree or graph of links. The links can be to documents, runnable programs, or other gopher menus arbitrarily far across the Internet.

From University of Minnesota March 1993
The Internet Gopher Protocol
(a distributed document search and retrieval protocol)

A simple protocol for burrowing through a TCP/IP internet. The Internet Gopher protocol and software follow a client-server model. This protocol assumes a reliable data stream and TCP is assumed. Gopher servers should listen on port 70 (port 70 is assigned to Internet Gopher by IANA). Documents reside on many autonomous servers on the Internet. Users run client software on their desktop systems, connecting to a server and sending the server a selector (a line of text, which may be empty) via a TCP connection at a well-known port. The server responds with a block of text terminated by a period on a line by itself and closes the connection. No state is retained by the server. Servers return either directory lists or documents. Each item in a directory is identified by a type (the kind of object the item is),user-visible name (used to browse and select from listings), an opaque selector string (typically containing a pathname used by the destination host to locate the desired object), a host name (which host to contact to obtain this item), and an IP port number (the port at which the server process listens for connections). The user only sees the user-visible name. The client software can locate and retrieve any item by the trio of selector, hostname, and port.

Quoted from ftp://ftp.isi.edu/in-notes/rfc1436.txt

More info:
http://www.savetz.com/yic/YIC03FI_20.html
gopher://gopher.floodgap.com/1/new/
http://gopher.floodgap.com/overbite/relevance.html

Happy New Year

Welcome to everyone at TMCC, especially all the staff, faculty, and students in the Computer Technology department!! I look forward to being of service to anyone who needs help.

Week 14 – Blog 14 – Viruses and FTP clients

Week 14 – Blog 14

Question 1. Search the Internet to find a "new" virus. Tell me about the virus, what is does, and more importantly, how to remove it. Don't use technical terms, I can look that up myself. Tell me like you are telling your mother to watch out for it and once she got it, how to remove it.
Answer: According to Norton, there are only a few threats from the last couple of months , http://www.symantec.com/norton/security_response/threatexplorer/index.jsp.

There are only 2 viruses listed, the rest are Trojans and worms and they are all listed as low level threats. Bloodhound.PDF.1 is listed as a Trojan, Virus, or Worm. W32.Delezium!inf and W32.Delezium are listed as viruses.

This Microsoft site http://onecare.live.com/standard/en-us/virusenc/ lists the top ten threats, with two viruses Win32/Sality.AM and JS/Decdec.A; they both have a low level threat classification.

My worst virus I have ever worked on is listed here: http://forums.cnet.com/5208-6132_102-0.html?forumID=32&threadID=308147&messageID=2855162. This virus made the C:\ drive invisible, broke the link to the shared folders, and would not let me run anti-virus executables, either from the web or from CD. I always find it interesting when the virus turns off the anti-virus software. It also added "VIRUS ALETRT!" to the clock and all the files and folders on the machine. I worked on the machine for an entire day after my son had worked on it the day before and ended up formatting the hard drive and reinstalling windows.

If my mother had this virus, I would walk her through the above mentioned site since everyone says it helped. If that did not work, I would suggest a format and reinstall.

I would also give her the following advice: Always use caution with email attachments and file transfers, even from known sources. To help protect your computer from infection, you should always run anti-virus and anti-malware software that is updated with the latest signature files. It is important to keep all software updated so that security patches are installed, use automatic update settings. Enable your firewall, either the firewall that comes with Windows, or a third party firewall. If you are concerned, use free online virus scans to double check your computer. http://www.pandasecurity.com/homeusers/solutions/activescan/ or http://www.kaspersky.com/virusscanner, or http://www.bitdefender.com/scan8/ie.html and my favorite house call by Trendmicro http://housecall.trendmicro.com/.

Question 2. Also, use the Internet to find a free OR shareware software that is either used for FTP, mail or something Internet related. Give me a link and describe what it does, how you would use it, and if you think it is worthwhile.
Answer: http://filezilla-project.org/ FileZilla is an FTP program for file uploading and downloading files between an FTP site, your webpage and your computer. This software lets you to perform multiple file transfers simultaneously. The interface is simple and easy to understand. The transfers are secure and the program allows bookmarking with a site manager and a QuickConnect option. FileZilla only uses 50 MB of memory. If your bandwidth is limited there is a feature that lets you automatically adjust transfer speeds based on the time of day or date. Instead of a task scheduler, FileZilla uses filters so you only see the files you need. There are hundreds of FTP clients and I think a person just needs to try a few of them and see if the programs have the features you need. The only reason I need an FTP client is to down load large files or upload pages to my website. I actually use the FTP client that is built into Dreamweaver to work on my website. For general downloading from the web I use FireFTP in Firefox. http://fireftp.mozdev.org/ I think Mozilla has many good products. I use a lot of extensions in Firefox that help me do work on the web.
 

http://www.coreftp.com/ While I was researching FTP programs, this one got my attention because of all the features. It is a secure FTP client with several secure methods for uploading and downloading files to and from FTP servers, such as SFTP (SSH), SSL, TLS, IDN. Other features include browser integration, site to site transfers, FTP transfer resume, drag and drop support, auto retry of failed transfers, file viewing & editing, firewall support, custom commands, FTP URL parsing, command line transfers, file permissions, filters, favorites, shortcuts, and bookmarks, just to name a few. The web page also claims that there are no popup ads, advertising or spyware and you will never asked or reminded to register.
 

NOTES:
For funny viruses go here: http://www.bsd.org/new.virii.html

One of the widest spread threats, a boot sector virus, is not as threatening as it used to be, mainly due to the decline in the use of floppy discs. The boot sector contains a tiny program that tells the computer how to load the rest of the operating system. Boot sector viruses can infect the boot sector of any floppy disk inserted in the machine, and on college campuses, where lots of people share machines, they could spread like wildfire. According to HowStuffWorks these viruses don't spread nearly as quickly as they once did. There is a "shrinking habitat." The environment of floppy disks, small programs and weak operating systems made these viruses possible in the 1980s, but that environmental niche has been largely eliminated by huge executables, unchangeable CDs and better operating system safeguards. http://computer.howstuffworks.com/virus3.htm.

Blog 13 – Week 13 – Windows ME Support

Assignment: Answer questions 1, 6, 12, 18, and 27 on page 836.
1. What are the three core components of Windows 9x/ME?
A. The Kernel, the user and the GDI (graphics device interface).

6. What are the log files Setuplog.txt, Detlog.txt, and Detcrash.log used for?
A. The setuplog.txt file is an ASCII text file that contains information from the setup. This file lists information about the specific steps, their sequence, and the error conditions encountered before hardware is detected. This file can also be used for troubleshooting errors that occur during the installation process.
The detcrash.log file is created if setup fails during hardware detection. It contains information about the detection module that was running and the I/O port or memory resources it was accessing when the failure occurred. At this point Safe Recovery then skips the action that caused the failure. Then, Safe Recovery continues the detection process, starting with the next module. If the detection process is completed successfully, detcrash.log is deleted. This file is only for the computer, not for people.
The detlog.txt file is the text version of detcrash.log for people.

12. Explain the purpose of the System Configuration Utility. How would you use it in troubleshooting?
A. The system configuration utility (msconfig.exe) can be used to disable programs and services. This allows a technician to determine which program or service is hindering the system startup. It can also be useful for checking if a service is necessary or not when booting the computer.

18. List the five phases of the Windows 9x/ME boot process and give a short description of each.
A. Phase 1: BIOS startup and POST. This looks at the computer hardware and then looks for the hidden system file so the operating system can be loaded.
Phase 2: (lo.sys) Loads DOS drivers and sets environmental variables.
Phase 3: (lo.sys is terminated) The boot files and configurations files turn control over to a Virtual Machine Manager called VxD. This starts the process of allowing hardware to talk to software.
Phase 4: Protected-Mode starts and loads the configuration meager which configures legacy and plug-n-play devices.
Phase 5: Loading the rest of the core components, fonts and other resources, including the desktop. Lastly, any processes listed in the startup directory are performed.

27. Name two ways to end an application that is hung without rebooting the PC.
A. One way is to use the Task Manager. Type Taskman in the Run dialog box. The other way is to use the kill command in the Run dialog box. The kill command can be used with –f for forced kill, and a process id, a task name or a window title.

Dell Motherboard Model 0J8885

BUT I want a BETTER, FASTER motherboard !!

Dell Dimension 5150 / 5100 / E510 Board
Item Code: MB4DELRD203
Manufacturers: Dell Computers
Model RD203 Motherboard
Categories: Intel Lga775 Motherboards

Dell Dimension E510 5150 5100 Motherboard. Dell Part# RD203 J8885 WG261 KF623 - Featuring Intel 945G Chipset LGA775. The Intel board harnesses the advanced computing power of the latest Intel Pentium 4 LGA775 processor supporting Hyper-Threading Technology. This desktop board brings exciting new levels of performance and features to the desktop by combining support for an 1066MHz system bus with Dual Channel DDR-2 memory support.

These boards are Intel made boards for Dell, so you will see a Dell logo come up when booted. All boards are fully guaranteed and come with warranty.

Manufacturer: Intel ( OEM for Dell Dimension E510 5150 5100 )
Dell Compatible Part#: RD203 0RD203 WG261 0WG261 J8885 0J8885 KF623 0KF623
Socket: LGA775 Supporting Pentium 4 5XX/6XX Processors 2.8-3.8 GHz
FSB: 800/1066Mhz System Bus
Expansion Slots: PCI Express x16 x 1 / PCI Express x1 x 1 / PCI x 2
Chipset: Intel 945G
Other Features: Hyper-Threading Technology Support
Connectors: (5 - Back - 2 Front) USB 2.0 Ports, 10/100 Network LAN
Peripheral Interface: (2) Serial ATA (SATA) Interface
Other: One IDE Channel Supporting ATA-66/100/133 and One Floppy Port
Video: Onboard Intel 950 Graphics Accelerator + 1X16 PCI Express Slot and
Audio: 5.1 Surround Sound Audio Ports
Supported Memory: DDR2 400/533Mhz
Maximum Memory: 4 Dual Channel DIMM Support for up to 4 GB of memory

Windows Millennium Edition

Week 12 -- Blog 12

Do some research and find out why ME was such a bad OS. What were some of the problems with Windows Millennium Edition?


PC World listed it as the 4th worst product on their 25 Worst Tech Products of All Time article published May 26, 2006, by Dan Tynan. The sub title of the article is “These products are so bad, they belong in the high-tech hall of shame”.

It seems that ME was hard to install, hard to run, and difficult to shut down. There were complaints about installation, software and hardware incompatibilities, excessive error messages, and disk defragmenting problems. There was trouble with the way ME handled its memory, if the memory was too busy, the computer would freeze, necessitating a reboot. It seems to have had trouble with anti-virus programs, third party software, and drivers. ME may stop installing when it detects an incompatible third-party program, hardware device drivers, or utilities. ME may stop the installation process when it encounters these conflicts, and tells you that you can't proceed.

Microsoft was trying to make ME boot faster by removing real mode MS-DOS. I think that Windows was attempting to hide the programming so the user could not modify the software. But between the problems with system restore and no access to DOS , I think this actually made the OS worse.

Microsoft has posted some information on its site to help you with the most common ME problems. There is information about what to do when your PC mysteriously crashes and how to deal with a stubborn installation wizard that refuses to accept your valid ME identification number.


Microsoft quit supporting ME on July 11, 2006.
Windows Millennium Edition Solution Center
http://support.microsoft.com/ph/6519

A few of the problems covered by Microsoft Solution Center
-- MS-DOS Versions of DriveImage Cannot Operate on Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition. When DriveImage (1.0, 2.0, 3.0) is launched on Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me), the computer either stops responding with a black screen and blinking cursor in the upper left corner, or you receive an error message.
-- Policy That Disables MS-DOS Prompt Disables All MS-DOS Programs. When you double-click an MS-DOS-based program, you may receive the following error message: This program cannot be run due to restrictions in effect on this computer. Please contact your system administrator.
-- Switching Between an MS-DOS Window and Full Screen May Cause Computer to Hang. When you press ALT+ENTER to switch between an MS-DOS prompt window and a full-screen window, the computer may stop responding (hang).
-- ALT+ENTER Does Not Resize the MS-DOS Prompt Window on Some HP Computers.
-- Cannot Configure Expanded Memory Support for an MS-DOS-Based Program. You may experience any of the following symptoms: An MS-DOS-based program that requires expanded (EMS) memory may not run in Windows Millennium Edition (Me). The expanded (EMS) memory option is unavailable on the Memory tab when you right-click the...
-- How to Increase Available File Handles for MS-DOS-Based Programs in Windows Millennium Edition. Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me) only parses the Config.sys file for environment variables; therefore, settings used by MS-DOS-based programs running in Windows Me are not set inside the Config.sys file.
-- Cannot Type Characters in an MS-DOS Prompt Window Using a Hewlett-Packard Multimedia Keyboard. When you use a Hewlett-Packard (HP) Multimedia keyboard, you may not be able to type characters in an MS-DOS prompt window.
-- MS-DOS-Based Programs Unable to Initialize COM Ports on Computers with ACPI Support.
-- "Invalid Switch" Error Message When Attempting to Use "Xcopy" or "Xcopy32" in MS-DOS Mode.
-- MS-DOS-Based Versions of PartitionMagic Do Not Run on Windows Millennium Edition. When you start an MS-DOS-based version of PartitionMagic (from PowerQuest) on a Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition-based computer, the computer may stop responding and display either a black screen or an error message.
-- Troubleshooting MS-DOS Compatibility Mode on Hard Disks.
-- "Restart Computer in MS-DOS Mode" Option Is Not Available in the Shutdown Dialog Box. In Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me), when you click Start , and then click Shutdown , the option is not available.
-- Error Messages Appear Citing 'Old Disk Utility' When You Try to Start CrypKey Instant Version 4.3.
-- The "Unable to control A20 Line" error message.
-- The A20 line is the start of the first 64K of extended memory, known as the high memory area (HMA). The HIMEM.SYS device driver must control the A20 line to manage extended memory.
-- Norton AntiVirus 7.0 Corporate Edition Prevents Upgrade.
-- You receive the "Out of environment space" error message when you execute the Vcvars32.bat batch file.
-- WordPerfect 6.0 Does Not Start from a PIF File in Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition. Err Msg: The Following File Is Missing or Corrupt...
-- When you start your computer, you may receive the following error message: The following file is missing or corrupt: COMMAND.COM. Type the name of the Command Interpreter. This problem can occur if you install Windows 98 or Windows Millennium...
-- Screen Saver Does Not Start Even Though System Is Idle
-- Dinosaur Adventure 3.0 Does Not Run Properly on Windows Millennium Edition. When you run Dinosaur Adventure version 3.0 by using the Dino.bat file, your computer may stop responding (hang) or shut down.
-- "SUWIN caused a general protection fault in module verx.dll" error message when you try to reinstall Windows Me.
-- Computer Hangs After You Install Windows Me on a Computer with Creative Labs Sound Blaster Device.

Blog 11 – CIT 114b – What is Linux?

What is Linux and who would use it?

Linux is an open source operating system that is similar to UNIX. Seventeen years ago, in 1991, Linus Torvalds from the University of Helsinki wrote a Unix-like kernel based on Minix and Linux was born. Open Source Software is not "free" software; it is software with numerous licenses attached to it that is free to look at, free to change, and free to distribute. I believe that the browser wars introduced many people to Open Source Software in the form of Mozilla Firefox.

Anyone, businesses or private individuals, running servers or desktop workstations could use Linux. It is mainly used as an operating system for servers. It is very stable and secure. It uses less hard disk space and less memory than typical Windows operating systems. It is good for monitoring a network and it has all the necessary network services such as DHCP, Firewall, Router, FTP, SSH, and Mail to name a few. Anyone can learn how to use Linux. I hope more and more people learn to enjoy the power of Linux.

Blog 10 – CIT 114b – Favorite Registry Key

How can I possibly pick ONE favorite registry key out of hundreds? I have worked in the registry doing lots of “fixes” to keep people from changing important home pages, to making a computer not save any documents when it logs off. I have disabled a lot of software in the registry and “hacked” some viruses out of the registry. Being so familiar with the registry makes it very difficult to pick a favorite.
After saying all that, I will pick as my favorite
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\InternetExplorer\Main.
Here you can set the default home page, the default search page, make IE open in a maximized screen all the time, and set a few other values if needed. These settings can be helpful if you don't want your home page changed. We did it in the library to make sure our home page showed up when you opened IE.
Back in the day.............see 2005MCJ178 blog for my old computers, we didn't have a registry key data base, we only had Autoexec.bat and Config.sys files.

Windows 7 Beta

Windows 7 made its first official public appearance yesterday at Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference 2008. For the first time, Microsoft made an API-complete, pre-beta version of Windows 7 operating system widely available to attendees and press. The company had previously made some information available (and rumors have abounded), but this is the first true hands-on look for analysts and developers. Though there are similarities with Vista, the new OS includes major new user interface updates, and promises to work much better with third-party hardware and software than Vista did at its launch. In all, it's an impressive debut, though one that will probably see significant changes before its release late next year.

Build 6801 of the prerelease software was distributed to attendees, and key features Windows 7 designers hope to make part of our daily computing lives include HomeGroup—simplified home networking for sharing media files and printers; Device Stage—a single page giving access to all the capabilities of a device such as a phone, MP3 player, printer, or camera; and Windows Touch, for mouse-free PC interaction on touch-sensitive screens. The press was also shown a later build (6933) containing user interface updates, such as a redesigned and more powerful Taskbar.

Steven Sinofsky, senior vice president for Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group and Mike Nash, who's responsible for Windows Product Management, made the point that all software and hardware that works with Windows Vista will work with Windows 7, as driver support remains the same. Furthermore, the kernel version number will stay at 6.1, which should help avoid some problems with older software not updated to work with a new major version number.
By by Michael Muchmore (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2333407,00.asp)

See a news story here:
http://news.cnet.com/2009-1025_3-6246989.html?tag=smallCarouselArea.0

Blog 9 – CIT 114b – Chapter 10

Blog 9 – CIT 114b – Chapter 10
Choose 5 terms to describe, in detail, from pages 489-490 "Key Terms".

1) A solid state device is one that has no moving parts. Solid state devices store data on memory chips instead of magnetic media or optical media. The memory chips use non-volatile memory, so they do not lose the data when they are unplugged from the computer. Solid state devices are able to withstand physical abuse better than other types of storage media. Another advantage of solid state devices is that accessing the data is relative fast. Examples of solid state devices are flash drives, and memory cards for cameras.

2) Streaming audio is when audio is downloaded from the Internet without saving the file on your local computer first. The audio stream is only buffered for a few seconds before you hear it on the speakers. This enables a person to listen to live broadcasts on their computer. Web classes, seminars, and meetings can be conducted in this way.

3) Streaming SIMD Extension is technology that allows a CPU to process multimedia data better. SIMD stands for “single instruction, multiple data”. According to the text book, this process allows the CPU to receive one instruction and use it on several pieces of data instead of getting the same instruction with every piece of data. This makes the CPU more efficient.

4) CDFS stands for Compact Disc File System which is used for storing and accessing data on a compact disc. There are several CDFS formats as well as the UDF (Universal Disk Format) file system which DVD drives use. A file system is the method by which computers keep track of the files stored on hard drives or other storage media. File systems keep track of any file that is saved, where it is located logically on the storage media, the name of the file, and the type of file. File systems have changed over time as new technology emerges. CDFS is based on the ISO 9660 Standard; however it allows long and double-byte filenames. Apparently the CDFS file system appears similar to a FAT file system to some applications.
Here is a good website that explains UDF,
http://www.diskinternals.com/glossary/udf.html
Here is a good explanation of ISO 9660 which CDFS is based on,
http://www.diskinternals.com/glossary/iso9660.html

5) RAID stands for Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks and it is a backup strategy to prevent the loss of important data. There are several different options for RAID. The simplest RAID is a spanned volume, if a drive fails, the data is lost. RAID 0 writes data to two or more drives evenly, if one drive fails, only part of the data is lost. RAID 1 makes a copy of the data on two drives and compares the data. If one drive fails, the data survives on the other drive. RAID 5 uses several drives to store duplicated data so that is one of the drives fails, the data can be rebuilt on a new drive. There are many ways to configure RAID and the RAID drives can be controlled by a software program or by a piece of hardware called a RAID controller.

Blog 8 – IT Essentials - Floppy Drives

1) What is the price of an internal floppy drive?
A. They start at $7.50 and go up to $30, depending on the brand and options.
Some internal floppy drives have card readers with them.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1187054&CatId=287

2) What kind of connection do external floppy disk drives use?
A. Usually external floppy drives use USB connectors; however there are a few floppy drives out there with specialized connectors such as the Toshiba floppy drive.
http://www.connectworld.net/ccc/DB19FS-db19-connectors.html

3) What is the price of an external floppy drive?
A. They average between $20 and $35, depending on the brand.

4) Why do you think external drives cost more than internal drives?
A. Because they have extra parts, a case, an extra controller,
and a USB, or other connector with a cable.

5) What are the advantages of external drives?
A. They can be used with several machines as needed and they are easy to replace.

6) What are the advantages of internal drives?
A. Internal drives don't take up any extra space.
And they have a constant address path.

High-Speed Serial ATA Ports

Just something interesting I found.
Add Two High-Speed Serial ATA Ports To Your Notebook
The 2-Port Serial ATA PC Card by Cables To Go brings cutting edge technology to your notebook. The Serial ATA PC Card adds two high-speed Serial ATA interface ports, each supporting first generation Serial ATA data rates of 1.5Gbs. This PC Card enables you to transfer data between your notebook and Serial ATA devices such as hard disk drives, floppy disk drives, CD-ROM, CD-RW, and DVD-ROM drives at high-speed transfer rates of 1,500Mbps.

My Desktop Solution (Just FYI)

At one time I had to use my cellular phone company as an Internet Service Provider. At that time, about 3 years ago, they only had pcmcia laptop cards. I purchased this and put it in my desktop and I was connected.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815166013

Blog 7 – IT Essentials - Upgrading Memory

Week 7 Assignment Critical thinking problems 1-4 page 298-299

1) If your motherboard supports DIMM memory, will RIMM memory still work on the board?

A. A motherboard that supports RIMM requires that all the memory slots are filled, if not with memory modules, then with continuity modules. Whereas, DIMM modules can be added one at a time and the slots can be empty.

2) If your motherboard supports ECC SDRAM memory, can you substitute SDRAM memory that does not support ECC? If your motherboard supports buffered SDRAM memory, can you substitute un-buffered SDRAM modules?

A. Typically you should use whatever the motherboard supports. However, a rule of thumb to follow is not to mix your memory modules; they should all be buffered, or un-buffered; parity checking or non-parity checking. The motherboard documentations should tell you which modules are supported.

3) You have upgraded memory on a computer from 64 MB to 128 MB by adding one DIMM. When you first turn on the PC, the memory count shows only 64 MB. Which of the following is most likely the source of the problem? What can you do to fix it?

A. Since you only replaced one module with one more module, the module is possibly defective. First, you should reseat the memory module, then check to see if you can tell the BIOS how much memory is installed. You can also check your memory at www.memtest86.com. If the computer continues to see only 64 MB, the memory module is faulty.

4) Your motherboard supports dual channeling and you currently have two slots used in Channel A on the board. You want to install an additional 512 MB of RAM. Will your system run faster if you install two 256 MB DIMM's or one 512 DIMM.

A. If you expect the best performance out of your dual channel memory, you should install even amounts of memory in the slots. So two 256 MB of DIMM would make the computer run faster than just one 512 MB DIMM.

Blog 6 – IT Essentials – Motherboards

Blog 6 Week 6

Assignment: -- Thinking Critically -- page 267 -- problems 1-4:

1) Why does a motherboard sometimes support more than one system bus speed?

A. A manufacturer could save a lot of money by making a motherboard with more than one bus speed. Also if the owner wants to upgrade their processor, the bus speed would be available. And a choice of bus speeds allows for backward compatibility if needed.

2) Why don't all buses on a motherboard operate at the same speed?

A. The book says that there are four or five buses on modern motherboards, all running at different speeds. Buses carry four things, electricity, control signals, memory addresses, and data. Not everything needs to travel at the same speed. For instance, the video card needs to run fast, so it is connected to the fast side of the system bus, where as the expansion card are connected to the back, or slower part, of the bus.

3) When you turn off a compute at night, it loses the date, and you must reenter it each morning. What is the problem and how do you solve it?

A. The reason a computer loses the date and time is because the system battery on the motherboard is weak or dead. The solution is to replace the system battery.

4) Why do you think the trend is to store configuration information on a motherboard in CMOS setup rather than using jumpers or switches?

A. According to the book, it is easier to change the CMOS settings than it is to open the computer case to change a jumper or a dip switch. I think that there are also more configuration options when using CMOS settings.