Steve Jobs Dies...

Steve Jobs, the mastermind behind Apple's iPhone, iPad, iPod, iMac and iTunes, has died, Apple said. Jobs was 56. Jobs died "peacefully" surrounded by family members, his family said in a statement. read more:

Troubleshooting Common problems

Below is a list of common problems experienced while assembling a PC. Please check the list which could have the possible solution to your problems.

1. Problem: The PC does not boot, the power and HDD LED does not come on, there is no display on monitor.
Solution: Check that your main power cable is plugged into the ATX power supply. Make sure you have connected the ATX power connector to the motherboard. Check if the cable for the power switch at front of the PC is connected to the correct pins on the motherboard.

2. Problem: The power LED comes on but the PC does not boot, there is no display on monitor.
Solution: Check if the processor is firmly into the socket. Check CPU jumpers to verify if CPU frequency is correctly set.

3. Problem: The PC does not boot, but is beeping.
Solution: Different BIOS manufacturers use various number of beeps to indicate faults with various hardware. In an Award BIOS motherboard you will get following beeps:

1 long 2 short: Graphics card is not securely into place, or faulty.

1 long 3 short: Graphics card is not securely into place, or faulty video memory.

Continuous beeps: No memory, or memory not securely into place, or could be faulty.

Continuous high/low beeps: No CPU, or CPU not securely into place, or could be faulty.
Please refer to your motherboard manual to confirm what the beeps are trying to tell you.

4.Problem: The PC boots but the CPU speed is incorrect.
Solution: The CPU frequency jumper setting is incorrect. Refer to your motherboard manual to set it correctly.

5.Problem: The HDD is not being detected by the BIOS.
Solution: Check if you connected the IDE cable to the motherboard correctly, is pin 1 on the IDE cable connected to pin 1 on the IDE sockets on both motherboard connector and HDD connector. Check if the HDD jumper is set to master and any other device sharing the same cable is set to slave.

6.Problem: I can not access my CD/DVD-ROM in DOS mode, hence can not install Windows.
Solution: CD/DVD-ROM device driver is not installed. Install the manufacturer supplied device driver. If you do not have a device driver disk, you can use the windows boot disk which will provide access to your CD/DVD-ROM, so that you can install Windows.

Blue Screen of Death (BSOD)

One of the most dreaded error messages for a Windows user is the blue screen, or the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) as it is popularly known, which suddenly pops up informing you that something is seriously wrong with Windows. What this screen essentially means is that Windows has crashed and needs to reboot to recover. Usually, you will be able to recover and continue without any problems.

Problems causing BSOD :

The BSODs are generally associated with five problems faced by Windows:

• Software or device drivers may have a problem.
• A hardware device is malfunctioning , or was removed while Windows was running, or does not fully support Windows. On older machines, outdated BIOS information can also cause errors.
• Hardware or hard disk errors during installation of Windows.
• Startup files , hardware and driver software during Windows startup can also be the cause. This type of error  will always require troubleshooting before Windows can start up normally.
• Intermittent errors that appear randomly. These can be caused by an overheating processor, a defective memory system, a dying or  dead hard disk , or faulty software and device drivers. 

Solution :

These are some of the most common Stop Messages along with their cause and suggested resolution:

1. Stop Code: STOP 0x0000000A        

                         IRQL_NOT_LESS_EQUAL

Code Meaning : Faulty device drivers, or services from backup utilities or virus scanners

Recommended Resolution: Remove, disable or stop the offending drivers, backup utilities or anti-virus programs. Get updated

software from the manufacturer.

2.Stop Code: STOP 0x0000001E

                        KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED

Code Meaning: Some driver files may be causing a problem.

Recommended Resolution: Remove, disable or update the driverfile listed in the error message. Verify if new hardware installation

is correct.

3.Stop Code: STOP 0x00000024

                       NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM

Code Meaning: Usually caused by disk corruption in the NTFS file system or third-party disk defragmenters.

Recommended Resolution: Use hard disk diagnostic software to verify that the hard disk is working. Remember to always Use

Microsoft-certified disk defragmenters.

4.Stop Code: STOP 0x0000002E

                       DATA_BUS_ERROR

Code Meaning: Caused by a parity error in the system memory. Almost always caused by hardware problemsa configuration

issue, defective hardware, or incompatible hardware.

Recommended Resolution: If physical RAM was recently added to the system, remove it and see if the error still occurs. If the error

persists, try disabling memory caching in the BIOS. Else remove, repair or reinstall the defective hardware.

5.Stop Code: STOP 0x00000050

                        PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA

Code Meaning : Caused when requested data is not found in memory; the system checks the page file, but the missing data is

I dentified as unable to be written to the page file

Recommended Resolution: Remove any newly-added hardware or run diagnostic software supplied by the manufacturer to check if

the component has failed. Install updated device drivers or roll back to a previous driver.

6.Stop Code: STOP 0x0000007B

                        INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE

Code Meaning: Caused when Windows loses access to the system partition during the Startup process. This can be caused by: an

incorrect driver for a SCSI, RAID, or UDMA IDE controller;incorrect ARC path in the Boot.ini; or a failed boot device.

Recommended Resolution: Verify that the disk storage device is installed correctly and working. Reinstall or update the device

driver. Verify that the BIOS setting for the device is correct. Verify the integrity of the hard disk.

7.Stop Code: STOP 0x0000007F

                        UNEXPECTED_KERNEL_MODE_TRAP

Code Meaning: Caused when the CPU generates an error that the kernel does not catch. Usually hardware related especially RAM.

Can also be caused by CPU overclocking, or defective components on the motherboard.

Recommended Resolution:

1. Run the memory diagnostic to test RAM.

2. Restore over clocked settings to previous values.

3. Repair/replace the motherboard.

4. Disable sync negotiation in SCSI BIOS; check SCSI termination.

8.Stop Code: STOP 0x000000D1

                        DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

Code Meaning: Occurs when the system attempts to access pageable memory at a process IRQL that is too high

Recommended Resolution: Very similar to STOP 0xA. Remove,disable or stop the offending drivers, backup utilities or anti-virus

programs. Get updated software from the manufacturer.

9.Stop Code: STOP 0xC000021A

                        STATUS_SYSTEM_PROCESS_TERMINATED

Code Meaning: Caused when the user-mode subsystem (Win logon or CSRSS) is fatally compromised and security cannot be

guaranteed. The most common causes are third-party applications or mismatched system files.

Recommended Resolution:

1. Remove, disable, or roll back any newly-installed device driver.

2. Uninstall any newly-installed software.

3. Use Windows-compatible backup/restore programs.

4. Restore full control permissions to the local SECURITY account on the system root folder by doing a fresh parallel installation of

Windows on a separate partition. 

This Hard Drive Will Self-Destruct In Five Seconds

Toshiba Launches Wipe Technology in Self-Encrypting 2.5-Type Hard Disk Drives

New technology improves data security and reduces the risk of leaks of sensitive information stored on copiers and printer systems and IT devices

TOKYO— Toshiba Corporation (TOKYO: 6502) today announced the launch of the world's first[1] series of Self-Encrypting Drives (SED) equipped with Wipe Technology, Toshiba's proprietary suite of security functions that bring an unsurpassed level of data protection to IT equipment. Wipe Technology allows users to determine a range of security settings, including invalidation of encryption keys and data invalidation when a drive is removed from its housing or connected to an unauthorized host system.
read more

GIGABYTE Announces AM3+ “Black Socket” Motherboards

GIGABYTE today announced a new line of 16 “Black Socket” motherboards previously unveiled at CeBIT 2011 that offer support for AMD’s next generation , 32nm AM3+ CPUs and are based on current generation AMD 800/700 series chipset-based motherboards. Wanting to ensure users their motherboard is able to take advantage of all the performance enhancements that AMD’s upcoming AM3+ CPUs have to offer, GIGABYTE has equipped their entire line of AM3+ CPU ready motherboards with a new black colored socket, making it easy to spot for AM3+ support. In addition, GIGABYTE “Black Socket” series offer full backwards compatibility with AMD’s current generation AM3 socket CPUs, allowing for painless migration to the AM3+ CPUs when they become available. (http://www.gigabyte.com/)

Acer Iconia

Acer recently released a unique new product into the market, the dual-screen Acer Iconia, which they call, “the world’s most advanced touchbook.”

Outwardly the Iconia resembles your standard modern notebook, but its differences become apparent once you
open it up for the first time. The Iconia features two 14" touch-enabled displays,one in the traditional spot and one placed where you’ll usually find the keyboard. (more..)

Quick specs: 

• Intel Core i5 M480 @ 2.67 GHz
• 4 GB DDR3 RAM
• 640 GB HDD
• 2 x 14" 1366 x 768 displays

Firefox 4 Final RTM Official Download

After twelve betas and two RCs (Release Candidates), Mozilla has finally announced and released the final RTM/RTW version of next generation Firefox 4 web browser. Firefox has redesigned user interface (GUI) especially to functionality of tabs management, greatly improve performance and page rendering speed with Gecko 2.0 engine and new JägerMonkey JavaScript engine, in addition to GPU hardware acceleration support. Another feature, Firefox Sync allows user to synchronize settings, passwords, bookmarks, history, open tabs and other customizations across multiple devices."

Firefox 4 for Windows: Firefox Setup 4.0.exe
Firefox 4 for Mac OS X: Firefox 4.0.dmg
Firefox 4 for Linux (x86-x64): firefox-4.0.tar.bz2

PCMark 7 Announced For Windows 7

 "Futuremark®, the developer of the world's most popular benchmarking software, announced PCMark® 7 today, a new benchmark offering complete PC performance analysis for Windows 7. PCMark 7 includes 7 separate test suites combining more than 20 individual workloads covering storage, computation, image and video manipulation, web browsing and gaming. A release date has not been announced though the official website states that PCMark 7 is coming soon. www.pcmark.com

Remove / Disable the Shortcut Arrow From Your Desktop Icons.

If you have a great looking wallpaper and a nice theme to work with than you probably
don’t want to see the arrows on your desktop shortcuts. They are just not the most pretty
looking things to look at on your desktop.


Go to start.
Select Run
And Type in regedit and click OK



Select HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\lnkfile
Delete the IsShortcut registry value
Select HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\piffile
Delete the IsShortcut registry value.
Select HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ConferenceLink
Delete the IsShortcut registry value.
Select HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\DocShortCut
Delete the IsShortcut registry value.
Select HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\InternetShortcut
Delete the IsShortcut registry value.
Select HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\WSHFile
Delete the IsShortcut registry value.


Now close down your registry editor and reboot your system and all your icons are arrow free.
Do note that in some cases deactivating the arrow for *.LNK files might lead to duplicate items in the Explorer Context menu.

Learn Tech Skills before Life Skills?

Small children today are more likely to navigate with a mouse, play a computer game and increasingly – operate a smartphone – than swim, tie their shoelaces or make their own breakfast. This is according to a new ‘Digital Diaries’ study from Internet Security Company AVG (www.avg.com). AVG Digital Diaries is a series of studies looking at how children's interaction with technology has changed.

1 - More small children can play a computer game than ride a bike. 58 percent of children aged 2-5 know how to play a 'basic' computer game. For the U.K. and France that jumps to 70 percent. Even 44 percent of 2-3 year olds have the ability to play a computer game. By comparison, 43 percent of kids 2-3 can ride a bike

2 - More kids aged 2-5 can play with a smartphone application (19 percent) than tie his or her shoelaces (9 percent). Almost as many 2-3 year olds (17 percent) can play with a smartphone application as 4-5 year olds (21 percent)

3 - More small children can open a web browser (25 percent) than swim unaided (20 percent)

4 - There is no tech gender divide between young boys and girls. As many boys (58 percent) as girls (59 percent) can play a computer game or make a mobile phone call (28 percent boys, 29 percent girls)

5 - Mothers aged 35 and over are slightly better at teaching their kids 'life skills.' For example 40 percent of toddlers with mothers aged 35-plus can write their own name compared with 35 percent of toddlers with mothers aged 34 or younger

6 - European children aged 2-5 lead their U.S. counterparts in knowing how to make a mobile phone call (44 percent in Italy vs. 25 percent for the U.S.), playing a computer game (70 percent U.K. vs. 61 percent U.S.) and operating a computer mouse (78 percent France vs. 67 percent U.S.)

“Technology has changed what it means to be a parent raising children today – these children are growing up in an environment that would be unrecognizable to their parents. The smart-phone and the computer are increasingly taking the place of the TV as an education and entertainment tool for children,” said AVG CEO, J.R. Smith. “As our research shows, parents need to start educating kids about navigating the online world safely at an earlier age than they might otherwise have thought.”

AVG Digital Diaries is a series of studies looking at children of different age groups. With this year long piece of research, AVG aims to conduct a comprehensive study about children's technology habits. The first piece of research, entitled ‘Digital Birth’ released in October 2010, found that most babies and toddlers have an online footprint by the time they are six months old. (source:http://www.businesswire.com)

Custom GeForce GTX 560-Ti Card

GeForce GTX 560 Titanium is followed by numerous product launches by board manufacturers. MSI is first to announce their line-up with no less than three variants. All of the parts belong exclusively to the Twin Frozr II series, featuring a custom heatsink featuring four large heatpipes [which MSI calls "SuperPipes"], claiming a temperature decrease by 20 degrees Centigrade when compared to the stock design. (read more).....

Sony's Little Gaming Machine

Not content with seeing rival Nintendo steal thunder with its recently unveiled 3DS handheld (launch coverage, info, games) that boasts two 3D displays that needn't special glasses, Sony is apparently slated to announce the PSP 2 this week, a highly anticipated successor to the PSP, the company's six years old handheld that sold 62 million units worldwide as of September of last year. (read more)

Lenovo and NEC May Merge Their PC Businesses

NEC Corporation's Versa line up notebooks and its desktop offerings aren't very well known outside of its home nation of Japan.  But China's Lenovo Group Limited is keenly interested in entering a partnership with the smaller competitor in order to obtain a foothold in the Japanese market, according to a report in Reuters. (read more)

You gotta have priorities in life..

A one year old son of Denver woman Shannon Johnson drowned in the bathtub while his mother was busy roaming the wonderfully egocentric world of Facebook.  [more]

AMBER has a new Ally...

The AMBER Alert program, credited with the safe recovery of 525 children across the country, has a new ally: Facebook. And finally Facebook gets some good press. Announced today by Facebook, the U.S. Department of Justice and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), Facebook users are able to sign up to receive AMBER Alert. Readmore

It's the World's Smallest SSD, and Pocket Knife

Victorinox, maker of the original Swiss Army Knife, has combined its flagship product with what it dubs as the world's smallest solid-state drive. Called the Victorinox Secure SDD, the device stores up to 256 GB and reportedly offers double the read speeds and triple the write speeds of USB flash drives with the same size. Read more...