"What to do with your USB flash drive: Install Windows 7"

"What to do with your USB flash drive: Install Windows 7"

Installing Windows from a USB flash drive is more convenient and faster than optical discs. Plus, if you have a netbook or another type of computer without an optical drive, you don't have any other choice than to use bootable USB media. In part four of our "What to do with your USB flash drive" series, we'll show you how to configure your USB flash drive to install Windows 7. Here's how:
Step 1: Open a command prompt with administrator privileges by clicking on the Start button, then type cmd in the search box and press Ctrl+Shift+Enter.
Step 2: At the command prompt, type diskpart to enter the diskpart utility.
Step 3: At the DISKPART> prompt, type list disk.
Step 4: Type select disk 4, where "4" is the number of your USB flash drive from the list.
Step 5: Type clean to clean the USB flash drive.
Step 6: Type create partition primary.
Step 7: Type active, to make the partition active.
Step 8: Type format fs=fat32 quick to format the USB flash drive quickly in the FAT32 file system.
Step 9: Type assign to have Windows assign a drive letter to the drive. Type exit to leave diskpart and type exit again to close the command prompt.
(Credit: Screenshot by Ed Rhee)
Step 10: Insert your Windows 7 disc into your computer and copy all the files to the USB flash drive.

That's it. Once the Windows 7 files have completed copying, insert your USB flash drive into a computer and boot it up to start the Windows 7 installation. Just make sure that the BIOS is set to boot the USB flash drive first. On some computers, you can press an F key to set boot options.

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Configure WAMP Server on Local and Public Host

Configure WAMP Server on Local and Public Host

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WampServer is a platform for Web development on Windows. It allows you to develop dynamic Web applications using the Apache2 server, the scripting language PHP and a MySQL database. It also has PHPMyAdmin and SQLite Manager to easily manage your databases. To create your own web server on Windows we will use the package Wamp . Wamp is a very convenient utility to install a web server (Apache) with PHP and MySQL, since it saves you install each one separately and configure them. The default settings that brings Wamp allows you to start playing without changing anything.

How to install WAMP

The first step is to download the software from the official website of Wamp. In addition to the Apache server, PHP 5 and MySQL, you install phpMyAdmin, a web application to manage databases easily.
When you install I recommend that you leave the folder names and paths as they are by default. When prompted you must enter the SMTP localhost. When you ask for the email should put the email on your domain (for now you can leave the default and change when needed). And finally you give the browser.

Wamp is designed so that when you want to change or access any of its contents do it by clicking on the main icon. The different services provide by this software here you can use :

• Applications: Localhost (takes you to your homepage) and phpmyadmin to manage databases
• Www directory: the directory should be your projects and websites
• Log Files: where are recorded the actions and impact of each application (apache, php, mysql)
• Config Files: where you can access the Apache configuration files (httpd.conf), php (php.ini) and MySQL (my.ini) and change its parameters
• Control applications: you can also pause or resume the application.

If everything is working, the Wamp will display an green icon. Or else you can see a red indication.

Configure URL of WAMP

• Once you have WAMP installed and started , you can visit sites that you create by typing in the URL bar of your browser favorites: http://localhost/yoursite/. It works perfectly. You may prefer to have urls that look more like what you see every day browsing the web. To configure this ther are two options required to fix this
• Change the configuration of WAMP Apache (httpd.conf httpd-& vhosts.conf)
• Change your Windows hosts file (C: \ WINDOWS \ system32 \ drivers \ etc \ hosts)

How to add a password in WAMPP

• One of the first things you should do is add a password to the database. This should be done from the Phpmyadmin this. Open it (clicking on the WAMP icon in the toolbar and within this in phpmyadmin). Click on Privileges. From here you can edit the root user. You can change the name and password.
• Once finished click continue and everything works should go to the config.inc.php file that is located in C: \ wamp \ phpmyadmin.
• There you will find the line that says root / / MySQL user and modify the new name (if you've changed) and the password is directly below.

You are ready and properly configured. You can start building your website, blog, forum in a simple and convenient way

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How to Set Up an IP Camera

Combining today's digital technology with the Internet, it is easy to set up and install a wireless IP camera and monitor it from anywhere in the world you can get an Internet connection. It's a simple process that can be done in minutes. If you ever wanted to watch your home, check up on what your pets are doing or keep an eye on your kids, this is how to set up a wireless IP camera.

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• IP camera
• Computer with Internet access or a 3G-enabled PDA or smartphone

1. • 1
     Figure out what you want to spy on. This will determine what type of camera you employ and where you will place it. Some places you might want to consider are the baby's room, the living room or your spouse's or girlfriend/boyfriend's car.
   • 2
     Choose the camera. You can go to IPCameraSupply.com and find a variety of IP cameras for your needs. Most of these range between $110 to $3000 as of 2009. Many of these are Wi-Fi-enabled and create video feeds, so some of these can be monitored via the Internet with a computer, while others just need a 3G device, such as a smartphone or PDA.
   • 3
     Install the cameras. The majority of the smaller cameras that are disguised as everyday things run on batteries, and all they need is to be put in place and switched on. The wall-mounted security cameras must be attached to a wall using mounting screws and plugged into a power source.
   • 4
     Connect your computer to the wireless camera. All you need to do is connect the wireless video receiver to a power supply, then run the cable that comes with it to your television or VCR. The cables are color-coded, and you just plug the corresponding color into the correct hole. You can also plug the receiver into the USB port in your desktop or laptop computer and use it as a digital video recording device.
   • 5
     Monitor your cameras on the Internet. These wireless IP cameras can be connected to the Internet by using HomeCamera.com. You can sign up for a free account and install the software on your computer. Once installed, you will need to keep your computer turned on. You'll be able to access your cameras from any laptop, PDA or Web-enabled mobile phone.

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Hacker

A hacker is a person who breaks into computers and computer networks for profit, in protest, or because they are motivated by the challenge.[1] The subculture that has evolved around hackers is often referred to as the computer underground but it is now an open community.[2]

Other definitions of the word hacker exist that are not related to computer security. They are subject to the long standing hacker definition controversy about the true meaning of hacker. In this controversy, the term hacker is reclaimed by computer programmers who argue that someone breaking into computers is better called a cracker,[3] not making a difference between computer criminals ("black hats") and computer security experts ("white hats"). Some white hat hackers claim that they also deserve the title hacker, and that only black hats should be called crackers.

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Internet Connection Sharing on Windows XP

Internet Connection Sharing on Windows XP

This trick shows you how to share your internet connections on multiple computers within a workgroup with Windows XP. Windows XP has a built-in feature that called "Internet Connection Sharing" (ICS) that allows home users to share their internet connections on multiple computers.
If you are not familiar with the network configurations, the easiest way to share your internet connection is to purchase a router or hub. Use this trick only if you don't have a router, or don't want to use a router, or if you just want to try out the feature.
A simple way to understand this feature is, you are making your host computer (the computer directly connects to the internet) functioning as a router for other computers.

What do you need?

• A "Host" computer that running Windows XP. This computer must have at least TWO (2) network adapters. One adapter - let's call it "Adapter #1" - connects to the internet and another, "Adapter #2", connects to a hub or directly to other computers.
• Client computer(s), which run any version of Windows. A client computer can be connected to the host computer directly by a cross-over cable or indirectly through a hub.
• This trick assumes that the host computer is connected to the internet and you are able to access the internet on this computer.

Configure the Host Computer

1. Logon the host computer as Administrator.
2. Click Start >> Control Panel.
3. Click Network and Internet Connections.
4. Click Network Connections.
5. Right-click the connection that you use to connect to the internet (the connection with Adapter #1). This connection can be either a high-speed internet connection or a dial-up connection.
6. Click Properties.
7. Click Advanced tab.
8. Under Internet Connection Sharing, select the Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection check box.
9. If you are sharing a dial-up Internet connection, select the Establish a dial-up connection whenever a computer on my network attempts to access the Internet check box if you want to permit your computer to automatically connect to the Internet.
10. Click OK. You'll reieve the following message:
    When Internet Connection Sharing is enabled, your LAN adapter will be set to use IP address 192.168.0.1. Your computer may lose connectivity with other computers on your network. If these other computers have static IP addresses, it is a good idea to set them to obtain their IP addresses automatically. Are you sure you want to enable Internet Connection Sharing?
11. Click Yes.

Configure the Client Computer(s)
To use the shared connection from the Host computer, a client computer must be configured with "Automatic IP address". The main configurations are:

1. Configure TCP/IP Automatic IP
2. Configure Internet Connection

The steps for the above two configurations are vary on different versions of Windows.
The following procedures are for Windows XP client computers.

1. Log on to the client computer as Administrator or as Owner.
2. Click Start >> Control Panel.
3. Click Network and Internet Connections.
4. Click Network Connections.
5. Right-click Local Area Connection, and then click Properties.
6. Click the General tab, click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) in the This connection uses the following items list, and then click Properties.
7. In the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties dialog box, click Obtain an IP address automatically (if it is not already selected), and then click OK.
   
   
8. Click Start >> Control Panel
9. Click Network and Internet Connections.
10. Click Internet Options.
11. In the Internet Properties dialog box, click the Connections tab.
12. Click the Setup button. The New Connection Wizard starts.
13. On the Welcome to the New Connection Wizard page, click Next.
14. Click Connect to the Internet, and then click Next.
15. Click Set up my connection manually, and then click Next.
16. Click Connect using a broadband connection that is always on, and then click Next.
17. On the Completing the New Connection Wizard page, click Finish.
18. Exit Control Panel and test the internet. You might need to restart the computer.

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Create Ghost Bootable SD Card or USB Flash Drive

Create Ghost Bootable SD Card or USB Flash Drive

It's a good practice to create an image of your hard drive before you start using it. Especially when you had to build that computer from scratch and spent hours installing the operating system and all of your favorite apps...

As Symantec Ghost becomes more user friendly, people start to recognize this idea. The idea also works well when you need to clean your PC from viruses. In case anything goes wrong with the operating system, you just need to restore the image using the Symantec bootable CD.

However, the problem comes when we deal with the new version of those small laptops: The netbooks! which usually don't come with a built-in CD-ROM drive to bootup the PC.
The most simple solution would be buying an external CD-ROM drive, which costs you money. And in some cases, you just want to bootup the Symantec Ghost.... with whatever available!

The good news: Almost every recent laptop/netbook comes with a card reader, and even if you wasn't lucky enough, your laptop/netbook should have a USB port!

This guide will tell you how to create a bootable SD card or a USB flash drive with Symantec Norton Ghost.
This task can be done with several different versions of Symantec Ghost; however, the steps from this articles are based on Symantec Ghost 14.

What you need?

·        Symantec Ghost 14 bootable CD. (Some other versions might also work)

·        A PC with bootable CD/DVD drive.

·        An SD card (either SD or SDHC), or a USB thumb drive. The size can be as minimum as 1 GB. You can also pick a large SD card if you want to store your hard drive image to the card as well.

·        An SD slot or a card reader (for SD card) or a USB slot (for thumb drive)

Follow the steps in order. Use this guide at your own risks.

1.     First, check to make sure your CD/DVD drive is bootable. (See your BIOS manual or PC user guide for details since this is out of the scope of this article).

2.     - For SD card: Make sure the SD slot or the card reader is available. if it's a card reader, connect it to the PC. Also insert the card.
- For USB thumb drive: Make sure the drive is inserted into one of the USB slots.

3.     Bootup the computer using the Symantec Ghost CD (Details vary on different computers). On Windows XP, during the startup, you should see the prompt "Press any key to boot from CD...".

4.     Once the Symantec Recovery startup is complete, you should see the main screen of Symantec Ghost 14 Recovery similar to this image:

5.     Select "Analyze" from the left menu.

6.      

7.     Then click on "Open Command Shell Window". A command prompt window will display.

8.     At this command prompt window, type: "diskpart" (one word, without quotes) and hit enter. The prompt now changed to "DISKPART>"

9.     Now type "list disk" and hit enter. You should now see a list of all available disks. Base on the size of each disk listed, find the one that matching your SD card (or thumb drive) and note its disk number under "Disk ###". If you don't see your SD card (or flash drive) listed, verify if it is inserted or plugged in (you might need to restart the computer and try again).

10. Type "select disk <n>" (replace <n> with the disk # noted from the previous step) then hit enter.
Important!! Besure to select the correct disk (your SD card or thumb drive) as you will be erasing the drive.
Sample image with a 4-GB SD selected:

11. Create a primary partition for the the disk by executing the following sequence of commands:
clean
create partition primary
select partition 1

12. Set the primary partition active, type: "active" and hit enter

13. Perform a quick format with the following command:
format fs=fat32 quick

14. Then type:
assign
exit

Your SD card (or the flash drive) is now bootable and will act similar to a local hard drive. In order to boot this card with Symantect Ghost Recovery, copy all contents from the Symantec Ghost disc to the SD card (or the flash drive). Besure to copy everything including any hidden files/folders.

The SD card or flash drive is now bootable and will boot your laptop/netbook to Symantec Ghost Recovery utilities exactly the same way as of the CD (To boot with the card on your laptop/netbook, don't forget to set your bios to search for the SD card or USB external devices in the boot sequence).

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"How to Set a Drive's Icon"

"How to Set a Drive's Icon"

Open the Registry Editor click on the Start button on your taskbar, then click on Run and type "regedit" and click on OK to start the regedit utility.

Expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\ Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer

If one doesn't already exist, create a new key called "DriveIcons". Under this key, create a new key with the letter of your drive.

I.e. C for your C:\ drive.
To change the icon for that drive, create a key inside that one called "DefaultIcon" and set the path of (Default) to the location of your icon.
eg C:\DefaultIcon\
then (Default) = D:\Documents\C Drive Icon.ico
To change the name of that drive, create a key in the drive letter one (eg C:\) called "DefaultLabel" and set the (Default) to what you want the drive to be called.

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