Please note that some of these tips require you to use a Registry Editor (regedit.exe), which could render your system unusable. Thus, none of these tips are supported in any way: Use them at your own risk. Also note that most of these tips will require you to be logged on with Administrative rights.
Unlocking WinXP's setupp.ini
WinXP's setupp.ini controls how the CD acts. IE is it an OEM version or retail? First, find your setupp.ini file in the i386 directory on your WinXP CD. Open it up, it'll look something like this:
ExtraData=707A667567736F696F697911AE7E05
Pid=55034000
The Pid value is what we're interested in. What's there now looks like a standard default. There are special numbers that determine if it's a retail, oem, or volume license edition. First, we break down that number into two parts. The first five digits determines how the CD will behave, ie is it a retail cd that lets you clean install or upgrade, or an oem cd that only lets you perform a clean install? The last three digits determines what CD key it will accept. You are able to mix and match these values. For example you could make a WinXP cd that acted like a retail cd, yet accepted OEM keys.
Now, for the actual values. Remember the first and last values are interchangable, but usually you'd keep them as a pair:
Retail = 51882 335
Volume License = 51883 270
OEM = 82503 OEM
So if you wanted a retail CD that took retail keys, the last line of your setupp.ini file would read:
Pid=51882335
And if you wanted a retail CD that took OEM keys, you'd use:
Pid=51882OEM
How do I get the "Administrator" name on Welcome Screen?
To get Admin account on the "Welcome Screen" as well as the other usernames, make sure that there are no accounts logged in.
Press "ctrl-alt-del" twice and you should be able to login as administrator!
finally worked for me after i found out that all accounts have to be logged out first
Fix Movie Inteferance in AVI files
If you have any AVI files that you saved in Windows 9x, which have interference when opened in Windows XP, there is an easy fix to get rid of the interference:
Open Windows Movie Maker.
Click View and then click Options.
Click in the box to remove the check mark beside Automatically create clips.
Now, import the movie file that has interference and drag it onto the timeline. Then save the movie, and during the rerendering, the interference will be removed.
Create a Password Reset Disk
If you’re running Windows XP Professional as a local user in a workgroup environment, you can create a password reset disk to log onto your computer when you forget your password. To create the disk:
Click Start, click Control Panel, and then click User Accounts.
Click your account name.
Under Related Tasks, click Prevent a forgotten password.
Follow the directions in the Forgotten Password Wizard to create a password reset disk.
Store the disk in a secure location, because anyone using it can access your local user account
Change Web Page Font Size on the Fly
If your mouse contains a wheel for scrolling, you can change font size on the fly when viewing a Web page. To do so:
Press and hold Ctrl. Scroll down (or towards yourself) to enlarge the font size. Scroll up (or away from yourself) to reduce the font size.
You might find it useful to reduce font size when printing a Web page, so that you can fit more content on the page.
WinXP Clear Page file on shutdown
WINXPCPS.REG (WinXP Clear Page file on shutdown)
This Registration (.REG) file clears the Page file when you power off the computer.
Restart Windows for these changes to take effect!
ALWAYS BACKUP YOUR SYSTEM BEFORE MAKING ANY CHANGES!
Browse to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE System CurrentControlSet Control Session Manager Memory Management
and add the DWORD variable "ClearPageFileAtShutdown"=dword:00000001
You can also do this without reg hacking.
Go to Control panel Administartative tools, local security policy. then goto local policies ---> security options.
Then change the option for "Shutdown: Clear Virtual Memory Pagefile"
Group Policy for Windows XP
One of the most full featured Windows XP configuration tools available is hidden right there in your system, but most people don't even know it exists. It's called the Local Group Policy Editor, or gpedit for short. To invoke this editor, select Start and then Run, then type the following:
gpedit.msc
After you hit ENTER, you'll be greeted by gpedit, which lets you modify virtually every feature in Windows XP without having to resort to regedit. Dig around and enjoy!
Forgetting What Your Files Are?
This procedure works under NTFS.
As times goes along you have a lot files on your computer. You are going to forget what they are. Well here is way to identify them as you scroll through Windows Explorer in the future.
This procedure works under NTFS.
1.. Open up a folder on your system that you want to keep track of the different files you might one to identify in the future.
2.. Under View make certain that you set it to the Details.
3.. Highlight the file you want to keep more information on. Right click the file and you will get a pop up menu. Click on properties.
4.. Click on the Summary Tab (make sure it says simple not advanced on the button in the box), You should now get the following fields,
Title,Subject, Author, Category, Keywords, Comments
You will see advanced also if you have changed it to simple, Here will be other fields you can fill in.
5.. Next you can fill in what ever field you want.
6.. After you finished click the apply button then OK.
7.. Next right click the bar above your files, under the address barand you should get a drop down menu. Here you can click the fields you want to display.
8.. You should now see a list with the new fields and any comments you have done.
9.. Now if you want to sort these just right click a blank spot and then you sort the information to your liking.
Temporarily Assign Yourself Administrative Permissions
Many programs require you to have Administrative permissions to be able to install them. Here is an easy way to temporarily assign yourself Administrative permissions while you remain logged in as a normal user.
Hold down the Shift key as you right-click on the program’s setup file.
Click Run as.
Type in a username and password that have Administrative permissions.
This will also work on applications in the Start menu.
Create a Shortcut to Lock Your Computer
Leaving your computer in a hurry but you don’t want to log off? You can double-click a shortcut on your desktop to quickly lock the keyboard and display without using CTRL+ALT+DEL or a screensaver.
To create a shortcut on your desktop to lock your computer:
Right-click the desktop.
Point to New, and then click Shortcut.
The Create Shortcut Wizard opens. In the text box, type the following:
rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation
Click Next.
Enter a name for the shortcut. You can call it "Lock Workstation" or choose any name you like.
Click Finish.
You can also change the shortcut's icon (my personal favorite is the padlock icon in shell32.dll).
To change the icon:
Right click the shortcut and then select Properties.
Click the Shortcut tab, and then click the Change Icon button.
In the Look for icons in this file text box, type:
Shell32.dll.
Click OK.
Select one of the icons from the list and then click OK
You could also give it a shortcut keystroke such CTRL+ALT+L. This would save you only one keystroke from the normal command, but it could be more convenient.
Create a Shortcut to Start Remote Desktop
Tip: You can add a shortcut to the desktop of your home computer to quickly start Remote Desktop and connect to your office computer.
To create a shortcut icon to start Remote Desktop
Click Start, point to More Programs, point to Accessories, point to Communications, and then click on Remote Desktop Connection.
Click Options.
Configure settings for the connection to your office computer.
Click Save As, and enter a name, such as Office Computer. Click Save.
Open the Remote Desktops folder.
Right-click on the file named Office Computer, and then click Create Shortcut.
Drag the shortcut onto the desktop of your home computer.
To start Remote Desktop and connect to your office computer, double-click on the shortcut
Instantly Activate a Screensaver
Turn on a screensaver without having to wait by adding a shortcut to your desktop:
Click the Start button, and then click Search.
In the Search Companion window, click All file types.
In the file name box, type *.scr
In the Look in box, choose Local Hard Drives (C or the drive where you have system files stored on your computer.
Click Search.
You will see a list of screensavers in the results. Pick a screensaver you want. You can preview it by double-clicking it.
Right click on the file, choose Send To, and then click Desktop (create shortcut).
To activate the screensaver, double-click the icon on your desktop
Add a Map Drive Button to the Toolbar
Do you want to quickly map a drive, but can’t find the toolbar button? If you map drives often, use one of these options to add a Map Drive button to the folder toolbar.
Option One (Long Term Fix)
Click Start, click My Computer, right-click the toolbar, then unlock the toolbars, if necessary.
Right-click the toolbar again, and then click Customize.
Under Available toolbar buttons, locate Map Drive, and drag it into the position you want on the right under Current toolbar buttons.
Click Close, click OK, and then click OK again.
You now have drive mapping buttons on your toolbar, so you can map drives from any folder window. To unmap drives, follow the above procedure, selecting Disconnect under Available toolbar buttons. To quickly map a drive, try this option.
Option Two (Quick Fix)
Click Start, and right-click My Computer.
Click Map Network Drive.
If you place your My Computer icon directly on the desktop, you can make this move in only two clicks!
Software not installing?
If you have a piece of software that refuses to install because it says that you are not running Windows 2000 (such as the Win2K drivers for a Mustek scanner!!) you can simply edit HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Windows NT/CurrentVersion/ProductName to say Microsoft Windows 2000 instead of XP and it will install. You may also have to edit the version number or build number, depending on how hard the program tries to verify that you are installing on the correct OS. I had to do this for my Mustek 600 CP scanner (compatibility mode didn''t help!!!) and it worked great, so I now have my scanner working with XP (and a tech at Mustek can now eat his words).
BTW, don''t forget to restore any changes you make after you get your software installed
You do this at your own risk.
Use your Windows Key
The Windows logo key, located in the bottom row of most computer keyboards is a little-used treasure. Don''t ignore it. It is the shortcut anchor for the following commands:
Windows: Display the Start menu
Windows + D: Minimize or restore all windows
Windows + E: Display Windows Explorer
Windows + F: Display Search for files
Windows + Ctrl + F: Display Search for computer
Windows + F1: Display Help and Support Center
Windows + R: Display Run dialog box
Windows + break: Display System Properties dialog box
Windows + shift + M: Undo minimize all windows
Windows + L: Lock the workstation
Windows + U: Open Utility Manager
Windows + Q: Quick switching of users (Powertoys only)
Windows + Q: Hold Windows Key, then tap Q to scroll thru the different users on your pc
Change your cd key
You don't need to re-install if you want to try the key out ... just do this:
1. Go to Activate Windows
2. Select the Telephone option
3. Click "Change Product Key"
4. Enter NOT ALLOWED ~ Zabref
5. Click "Update"
Now log off and log back in again. It should now show 60 days left, minus the number of days it had already counted down.
Note: If your crack de-activated REGWIZC.DLL and LICDLL.DLL, you are going to have to re-register them.
Remove the Shared Documents folders from My Computer
One of the most annoying things about the new Windows XP user interface is that Microsoft saw fit to provide links to all of the Shared Documents folders on your system, right at the top of the My Computer window. I can't imagine why this would be the default, even in a shared PC environment at home, but what's even more annoying is that you cannot change this behavior through the sh*ll
: Those icons are stuck there and you have to live with it.
Until now, that is.
Simply fire up the Registry Editor and navigate to the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SOFTWARE Microsoft Windows CurrentVersion Explorer My Computer NameSpace DelegateFolders
You'll see a sub-key named {59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee}. If you delete this, all of the Shared Documents folders (which are normally under the group called "Other Files Stored on This Computer" will be gone.
You do not need to reboot your system to see the change.
Before: A cluttered mess with icons no one will ever use (especially that orpaned one). After: Simplicity itself, and the way it should be by default.
This tip For older XP builds
Edit or remove the "Comments" link in window title bars
During the Windows XP beta, Microsoft has added a "Comments?" hyperlink to the title bar of each window in the system so that beta testers can more easily send in a problem report about the user interface. But for most of us, this isn't an issue, and the Comments link is simply a visual distraction. And for many programs that alter the title bar, the Comments link renders the Minimize, Maximize, and Close window buttons unusable, so it's actually a problem.
Let's get rid of it. Or, if you're into this kind of thing, you can edit it too.
Open the Registry Editor and navigate to the following keys:
My Computer HKEY_CURRENT_USER Control Panel Desktop LameButtonEnabled
My Computer HKEY_CURRENT_USER Control Panel Desktop LameButtonText
The first key determines whether the link appears at all; change its value to 0 to turn it off. The second key lets you have a little fun with the hyperlink; you can change the text to anything you'd like, such as "Paul Thurrott" or whatever.
Editing either value requires a restart before the changes take effect.
Before: An unnecessary hyperlink. Have some fun with it! Or just remove it entirely. It's up to you.
Rip high-quality MP3s in Windows Media Player 8
The relationship between Windows Media Player 8 and the MP3 audio format is widely misunderstood. Basically, WMP8 will be able to playback MP3 files, but encoding (or "ripping" CD audio into MP3 format will require an MP3 plug-in. So during the Windows XP beta, Microsoft is supplying a sample MP3 plug-in for testing purposes, but it's limited to 56 Kbps rips, which is pretty useless. However, if you have an externally installed MP3 codec, you can use WMP8 to rip at higher bit rates. But you'll have to edit the Registry to make this work.
Fire up the Registry Editor and navigate to the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SOFTWARE Microsoft MediaPlayer Settings MP3Encoding
Here, you'll see sub-keys for LowRate and LowRateSample, which of course equates to the single 56 Kbps sample rate you see in WMP8. To get better sampling rates, try adding the following keys (Using New then DWORD value):
"LowRate" = DWORD value of 0000dac0
"MediumRate" = DWORD value of 0000fa00
"MediumHighRate" = DWORD value of 0001f400
"HighRate" = DWORD value of 0002ee00
Now, when you launch WMP8 and go into Tools, then Options, then Copy Music, you will have four encoding choices for MP3: 56 Kbps, 64 Kbps, 128 Kbps, and 192 Kbps. Note that you will not get higher bit rate encoding unless you have installed an MP3 codec separately; the version in Windows Media Player 8 is limited to 56 Kbps only.
Find the appropriate location in the Registry... ...add a few DWORD values... ...And then you'll be ripping CDs in higher-quality MP3 format!
Speed up the Start Menu
The default speed of the Start Menu is pretty slow, but you can fix that by editing a Registry Key. Fire up the Registry Editor and navigate to the following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER Control Panel Desktop MenuShowDelay
By default, the value is 400. Change this to a smaller value, such as 0, to speed it up.
Speed up the Start Menu (Part two)
If your confounded by the slow speed of the Start Menu, even after using the tip above, then you might try the following: Navigate to Display Properties then Appearance then Advanced and turn off the option titled Show menu shadow . You will get much better overall performance.
Speed up Internet Explorer 6 Favorites
For some reason, the Favorites menu in IE 6 seems to slow down dramatically sometimes--I've noticed this happens when you install Tweak UI 1.33, for example, and when you use the preview tip to speed up the Start menu. But here's a fix for the problem that does work, though it's unclear why:
Just open a command line window (Start button -> Run -> cmd) and type sfc, then hit ENTER. This command line runs the System File Checker, which performs a number of services, all of which are completely unrelated to IE 6. But there you go: It works.
Do an unattended installation
The Windows XP Setup routine is much nicer than that in Windows 2000 or Windows Me, but it's still an hour-long process that forces you to sit in front of your computer for an hour, answering dialog boxes and typing in product keys. But Windows XP picks up one of the more useful features from Windows 2000, the ability to do an unattended installation, so you can simply prepare a script that will answer all those dialogs for you and let you spend some quality time with your family.
I've written about Windows 2000 unattended installations and the process is pretty much identical on Windows XP, so please read that article carefully before proceeding. And you need to be aware that this feature is designed for a standalone Windows XP system: If you want to dual-boot Windows XP with another OS, you're going to have to go through the interactive Setup just like everyone else: An unattended install will wipe out your hard drive and install only Windows XP, usually.
To perform an unattended installation, you just need to work with the Setup Manager, which is located on the Windows XP CD-ROM in D:SupportToolsDEPLOY.CAB by default: Extract the contents of this file and you'll find a number of useful tools and help files; the one we're interested in is named setupmgr.exe. This is a very simple wizard application that will walk you through the process of creating an answer file called winnt.sif that can be used to guide Windows XP Setup through the unattended installation.
One final tip: There's one thing that Setup Manager doesn't add: Your product key. However, you can add this to the unattend.txt file manually. Simply open the file in Notepad and add the following line under the [UserData] section:
ProductID=RK7J8-2PGYQ-P47VV-V6PMB-F6XPQ
(This is a 60 day cd key)
Then, just copy winnt.sif to a floppy, put your Windows XP CD-ROM in the CD drive, and reboot: When the CD auto-boots, it will look for the unattend.txt file in A: automatically, and use it to answer the Setup questions if it's there.
Finally, please remember that this will wipe out your system! Back up first, and spend some time with the help files in DEPLOY.CAB before proceeding.
For Older builds or not using setupreg.hiv file
Remove the Desktop version text
During the Windows XP beta, you will see text in the lower right corner of the screen that says Windows XP Professional, Evaluation Copy. Build 2462 or similar. A lot of people would like to remove this text for some reason, and while it's possible to do so, the cure is more damaging than the problem, in my opinion. So the following step will remove this text, but you'll lose a lot of the nice graphical effects that come in Windows XP, such as the see-through icon text.
To remove the desktop version text, open Display Properties (right-click the desktop, then choose Properties) and navigate to the Desktop page. Click Customize Desktop and then choose the Web page in the resulting dialog. On this page, check the option titled Lock desktop items. Click OK to close the dialog, and then OK to close Display Properties. The text disappears. But now the rest of your system is really ugly. You can reverse the process by unchecking Lock desktop items.
There's also a shortcut for this process: Just right-click the desktop and choose Arrange by then Lock Web Icons on the Desktop.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enable ClearType on the Welcome Screen!
As laptop users and other LCD owners are quickly realizing, Microsoft's ClearType technology in Windows XP really makes a big difference for readability. But the this feature is enabled on a per-user basis in Windows XP, so you can't see the effect on the Welcome screen; it only appears after you logon.
But you can fix that. Fire up the Registry Editor and look for the following keys:
(default user) HKEY_USERS .Default Control Panel Desktop FontSmoothing (String Value)
HKEY_USERS .Default Control Panel Desktop FontSmoothingType (Hexadecimal DWORD Value)
Make sure both of these values are set to 2 and you'll have ClearType enabled on the Welcome screen and on each new user by default.
Stop Windows Messenger from Auto-Starting
If you're not a big fan of Windows Messenger simply delete the following Registry Key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRunMSMSGS
Display Hibernate Option on the Shut Down dialog
For some reason, Hibernate may not be available from the default Shut Down dialog. But you can enable it simply enough, by holding down the SHIFT key while the dialog is visible. Now you see it, now you don't!
Add album art to any music folder
One of the coolest new features in Windows XP is its album thumbnail generator, which automatically places the appropriate album cover art on the folder to which you are copying music (generally in WMA format). But what about those people that have already copied their CDs to the hard drive using MP3 format? You can download album cover art from sites such as cdnow.com or amguide.com, and then use the new Windows XP folder customize feature to display the proper image for each folder. But this takes time--you have to manually edit the folder properties for every single folder--and you will lose customizations if you have to reinstall the OS. There's an excellent fix, however.
When you download the album cover art from the Web, just save the images as folder.jpg each time and place them in the appropriate folder. Then, Windows XP will automatically use that image as the thumbnail for that folder and, best of all, will use that image in Windows Media Player for Windows XP (MPXP) if you choose to display album cover art instead of a visualization. And the folder customization is automatic, so it survives an OS reinstallation as well. Your music folders never looked so good!
Album cover art makes music folder thumbnails look better than ever!
Change the location of the My Music or My Pictures folders
In Windows 2000, Microsoft added the ability to right-click the My Documents folder and choose a new location for that folder in the sh*ll
. With Windows XP, Microsoft has elevated the My Music and My Pictures folders to the same "special sh*ll
folder" status of My Documents, but they never added a similar (and simple) method for changing those folder's locations. However, it is actually pretty easy to change the location of these folders, using the following method.
Open a My Computer window and navigate to the location where you'd like My Music (or My Pictures) to reside. Then, open the My Documents folder in a different window. Drag the My Music (or My Pictures) folder to the other window, and Windows XP will update all of the references to that folder to the new location, including the Start menu.
Or use Tweak UI
Add/Remove optional features of Windows XP
To dramatically expand the list of applications you can remove from Windows XP after installation, navigate to C:WINDOWSinf (substituting the correct drive letter for your version of Windows) and open the sysoc.inf file. Under Windows XP Professional Edition RC1, this file will resemble the following by default:
[Version] Signature = "$Windows NT$"
DriverVer=06/26/2001,5.1.2505.0
[Components]
NtComponents=ntoc.dll,NtOcSetupProc,,4
WBEM=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,wbemoc.inf,hide,7
Display=desk.cpl,DisplayOcSetupProc,,7
Fax=fxsocm.dll,FaxOcmSetupProc,fxsocm.inf,,7
NetOC=netoc.dll,NetOcSetupProc,netoc.inf,,7
iis=iis.dll,OcEntry,iis.inf,,7
com=comsetup.dll,OcEntry,comnt5.inf,hide,7
dtc=msdtcstp.dll,OcEntry,dtcnt5.inf,hide,7
IndexSrv_System = setupqry.dll,IndexSrv,setupqry.inf,,7
TerminalServer=TsOc.dll, HydraOc, TsOc.inf,hide,2
msmq=msmqocm.dll,MsmqOcm,msmqocm.inf,,6
ims=imsinsnt.dll,OcEntry,ims.inf,,7
fp_extensions=fp40ext.dll,FrontPage4Extensions,fp40ext.inf,,7
AutoUpdate=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,au.inf,hide,7
msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7
msnexplr=ocmsn.dll,OcEntry,msnmsn.inf,,7
smarttgs=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,msnsl.inf,,7
RootAutoUpdate=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,rootau.inf,,7
Games=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,games.inf,,7
AccessUtil=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,accessor.inf,,7
CommApps=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,communic.inf,HIDE,7
MultiM=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,multimed.inf,HIDE,7
AccessOpt=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,optional.inf,HIDE,7
Pinball=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,pinball.inf,HIDE,7
MSWordPad=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,wordpad.inf,HIDE,7
ZoneGames=zoneoc.dll,ZoneSetupProc,igames.inf,,7
[Global]
WindowTitle=%WindowTitle%
WindowTitle.StandAlone="*"
The entries that include the text hide or HIDE will not show up in Add/Remove Windows Components by default. To fix this, do a global search and replace for ,hide and change each instance of this to , (a comma). Then, save the file, relaunch Add/Remove Windows Components, and tweak the installed applications to your heart's content.
Cool, eh? There are even more new options now under "Accessories and Utilities" too.
Remove Windows Messenger
It seems that a lot of people are interested in removing Windows Messenger for some reason, though I strongly recommend against this: In Windows XP, Windows Messenger will be the hub of your connection to the .NET world, and now that this feature is part of Windows, I think we're going to see a lot of .NET Passport-enabled Web sites appearing as well. But if you can't stand the little app, there are a couple of ways to get rid of it, and ensure that it doesn't pop up every time you boot into XP. The best way simply utilizes the previous tip:
If you'd like Windows Messenger to show up in the list of programs you can add and remove from Windows, navigate to C:WINDOWSinf (substituting the correct drive letter for your version of Windows) and open sysoc.inf (see the previous tip for more information about this file). You'll see a line that reads:
msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7
Change this to the following and Windows Messenger will appear in Add or Remove Programs, then Add/Remove Windows Components, then , and you can remove it for good:
msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,7
01 February, 2008
Which is the best AntiVirus for windows?
Testbed consisted of 321 Viruses, Trojans and Worms, all for the Windows32 environment, and all reasonably new samples. I don't have any data on whether some of these are zoo, or ITW, but they are all real threats I feel someone is likely to encounter, since I got them off the internet (and i've verified they are real as each sample must be detected by at least 4 AV's for me to consider it). All scanners were installed on a clean system, without any traces of other anti-virus softwares - between each test the system and directories were cleaned, and the registry was sweeped. Each AV product was treated with a double-reboot, one before, and one after installation. Each scanner was set at its highest possible settings, and was triple checked for proper options and configuration. Most products were the full registered version when possible, others were fully functional unrestricted trials. All products were tested with the current version as of 6-14-04, and the latest definitions for that date. Each product was run through the test set a minimum of 3 times to establish proper settings and reliability, the only product to exhibit some variance on this was F-Secure, which had one scan come up less than the other two without any settings changes indicating a possible stability issue.
The final standings:
1) MKS-Vir
1a) eXtendia AVK
2) Kaspersky 5.0/4.5
2a) McAfee VirusScan 8.0
3) F-Secure
4) GData AVK
5) RAV + Norton (2 way tie)
6) Dr.Web
7) CommandAV + F-Prot + BitDefender (3 Way Tie)
ETrust
9) Trend
10) Panda
11) Avast! Pro
12) KingSoft
13) NOD32
14) AVG Pro
15) AntiVIR
16) ClamWIN
17) UNA
1 Norman
19) Solo
20) Proland
21) Sophos
22) Hauri
23) CAT Quickheal
24) Ikarus
Heuristics seemed to play some of a roll in this test, as no AV had every virus in my test in their definitions, and products with stronger heuristics were able to hold their position towards the top of the test. Double/Multi engined products put up strong showings as well, proving to me that the redundacy method works, and I think more AV companies should considering double-engines. The strongest heurisitical AV I noticed was F-Prot/Command, picking up only 247 samples with definitions but they were able to power through 67 additional hits on "Possible Virus" indicators - very strong! Norton with BloodHound activated had 30 Heuristical pickups, and DrWeb rounded up the pack with 20 heuristical pickups. eXtendia AVK grabs the number one slot with double engine scanning, anything the KAV engine missed, the RAV engine picked up with great redundancy on the double engine/definition system. McAfee actually missed only 2 samples with its definitions, but picked those 2 up as "Suspicious File", and therefore, scores nearly perfect as well.
The biggest dissapointments for me were Norman and Nod32. Even with Advanced-Heuristics enabled, NOD32 failed to pick up a large portion of the samples. Norman, while finding some of the toughest samples, managed to completely miss a large portion of them! Showing that their sandbox-emulation system has great potetential, but its far from complete.
Actual test numbers were:
Total Samples/Found Samples (321 total possible) + Number Missed + Detection Percentage
Discovered and tested MKS-Vir2004, from Poland. Surprisingly, this one with caught every sample perfectly on Medium Heuristics. Specifically, nearly 50 samples were picked up Heuristically giving it a perfect score of 321/321. However, when I increased Heuristics to "Super Deep", it picked up an addition 10 more suspicious files. Upon further investigation, it was found that it was picking up signatures of hacktool utilities left over in some of the archives and flagging those files. Indeed, this is impressive. MKS-Vir2004 exhibits the most advanced detection algorithms i've ever seen, clearly it only had signatures for 271 of my samples, but through code emulation, it was able to pick up all 321 samples!! It clearly labeled the Heuristically found ones as things as "Likely Win32 Trojan" or "Highly Suspicious Acting File". In addition, its scanning speed was incredibly quick, and its memory footprint was quite small. Impressive! Furthermore, this is a full featured and fairly polished product that appears to update at least once per day, and tech support responded to me within 5-15 minutes on my emails. Unfortunately, it appears to not be available in the US for purchase at this time.
1a) MKS_Vir 2004 - 321/321 0 Missed - 100%
1b) eXtendia AVK - 321/321 0 Missed - 100%
2a) Kaspersky 5.0 - 320/321 1 Missed - 99.70% (with Extended Database ON)
2b) McAfee VirusScan 8.0 - 319/321 + 2 (2 found as joke programs - heuristically) - 99%
3) F-Secure - 319/321 2 Missed - 99.37%
4) GData AVK - 317/321 4 Missed - 98.75%
5) RAV + Norton (2 way tie) - 315/321 6 Missed - 98.13%
6) Dr.Web - 310/321 11 Missed - 96.57%
7) CommandAV + F-Prot + BitDefender (3 Way Tie) - 309/321 12 Missed - 96.26%
ETrust - 301/321 20 Missed - 93.76%
9) Trend - 300/321 21 Missed - 93.45%
10) Avast! Pro - 299/321 22 Missed - 93.14%
11) Panda - 298/321 23 Missed - 92.83%
12) Virus Buster - 290/321 31 Missed - 90.34%
13) KingSoft - 288/321 33 Missed - 89.71%
14) NOD32 - 285/321 36 Missed (results identical with or without advanced heuristics) - 88.78%
15) AVG Pro - 275/321 46 Missed - 85.66%
16) AntiVIR - 268/321 53 Missed - 83.48%
17) Antidote - 252/321 69 Missed - 78.50%
16) ClamWIN - 247/321 74 Missed - 76.94%
19) UNA - 222/321 99 Missed - 69.15%
20) Norman - 215/321 106 Missed - 66.97%
21) Solo - 182/321 139 Missed - 56.69%
22) Fire AV - 179/321 142 Missed - 55.76%
23) V3 Pro - 109/321 212 Missed - 33.95%
24) Per_AV - 75/321 - 246 Missed - 23.36%
25) Proland - 73/321 248 Missed - 22.74%
26) Sophos - 50/321 271 Missed - 15.57%
27) Hauri - 49/321 272 Missed - 15.26%
2 CAT Quickheal - 21/321 300 Missed - 6%
29) Vir_iT - 10/321 311 Missed - 3%
30) Ikarus - Crashed on first virus. - 0%
Interesting also to note, is the detection level of the US AVK version with KAV+RAV engines was higher than the German version with KAV+BitDefender engines. Several vendors have free versions of their for purchase AV's, we didn't test the free versions, as it would serve no purpose for this test, but based on the results, none of the free versions would have been very impressive anyway. The term "Heuristics" seems like it should be taken very liberally, as some products that claim to be loaded with Heuristics scored miserably on items they clearly didn't have definitions for. Scanning speed was not measured, as it was totally irrelevant to my testing, and on-access scanners were not tested, as it would have been too time consuming, but considering most products have similar on-access engines as on-demand, and use the same database, results most likely, would be very similar.
Cut through the hype, cut through the marketing schemes, this was a real test, with real samples, and none of these samples were provided to the antivirus software vendors in advance. This is real world, and these are likely badguys you'll encounter, since I got them in my real encounters, and all were aquired on the internet in daily activities which anyone out there might be involved in. (Installing shareware, filesharing, surfing, etc). Keep in mind that with ITW tests the AV vendors have full disclosure of what they will be tested on in advance, not so here, so heuristics and real detection algorithms will play a big part, as well as the depth and scope of their definition database.
[Edit: After re-testing the Kaspersky products with Extended Database option turned ON, the moved up effectively scoring 100% considering the 1% margin of error]
The final standings:
1) MKS-Vir
1a) eXtendia AVK
2) Kaspersky 5.0/4.5
2a) McAfee VirusScan 8.0
3) F-Secure
4) GData AVK
5) RAV + Norton (2 way tie)
6) Dr.Web
7) CommandAV + F-Prot + BitDefender (3 Way Tie)
ETrust
9) Trend
10) Panda
11) Avast! Pro
12) KingSoft
13) NOD32
14) AVG Pro
15) AntiVIR
16) ClamWIN
17) UNA
1 Norman
19) Solo
20) Proland
21) Sophos
22) Hauri
23) CAT Quickheal
24) Ikarus
Heuristics seemed to play some of a roll in this test, as no AV had every virus in my test in their definitions, and products with stronger heuristics were able to hold their position towards the top of the test. Double/Multi engined products put up strong showings as well, proving to me that the redundacy method works, and I think more AV companies should considering double-engines. The strongest heurisitical AV I noticed was F-Prot/Command, picking up only 247 samples with definitions but they were able to power through 67 additional hits on "Possible Virus" indicators - very strong! Norton with BloodHound activated had 30 Heuristical pickups, and DrWeb rounded up the pack with 20 heuristical pickups. eXtendia AVK grabs the number one slot with double engine scanning, anything the KAV engine missed, the RAV engine picked up with great redundancy on the double engine/definition system. McAfee actually missed only 2 samples with its definitions, but picked those 2 up as "Suspicious File", and therefore, scores nearly perfect as well.
The biggest dissapointments for me were Norman and Nod32. Even with Advanced-Heuristics enabled, NOD32 failed to pick up a large portion of the samples. Norman, while finding some of the toughest samples, managed to completely miss a large portion of them! Showing that their sandbox-emulation system has great potetential, but its far from complete.
Actual test numbers were:
Total Samples/Found Samples (321 total possible) + Number Missed + Detection Percentage
Discovered and tested MKS-Vir2004, from Poland. Surprisingly, this one with caught every sample perfectly on Medium Heuristics. Specifically, nearly 50 samples were picked up Heuristically giving it a perfect score of 321/321. However, when I increased Heuristics to "Super Deep", it picked up an addition 10 more suspicious files. Upon further investigation, it was found that it was picking up signatures of hacktool utilities left over in some of the archives and flagging those files. Indeed, this is impressive. MKS-Vir2004 exhibits the most advanced detection algorithms i've ever seen, clearly it only had signatures for 271 of my samples, but through code emulation, it was able to pick up all 321 samples!! It clearly labeled the Heuristically found ones as things as "Likely Win32 Trojan" or "Highly Suspicious Acting File". In addition, its scanning speed was incredibly quick, and its memory footprint was quite small. Impressive! Furthermore, this is a full featured and fairly polished product that appears to update at least once per day, and tech support responded to me within 5-15 minutes on my emails. Unfortunately, it appears to not be available in the US for purchase at this time.
1a) MKS_Vir 2004 - 321/321 0 Missed - 100%
1b) eXtendia AVK - 321/321 0 Missed - 100%
2a) Kaspersky 5.0 - 320/321 1 Missed - 99.70% (with Extended Database ON)
2b) McAfee VirusScan 8.0 - 319/321 + 2 (2 found as joke programs - heuristically) - 99%
3) F-Secure - 319/321 2 Missed - 99.37%
4) GData AVK - 317/321 4 Missed - 98.75%
5) RAV + Norton (2 way tie) - 315/321 6 Missed - 98.13%
6) Dr.Web - 310/321 11 Missed - 96.57%
7) CommandAV + F-Prot + BitDefender (3 Way Tie) - 309/321 12 Missed - 96.26%
ETrust - 301/321 20 Missed - 93.76%
9) Trend - 300/321 21 Missed - 93.45%
10) Avast! Pro - 299/321 22 Missed - 93.14%
11) Panda - 298/321 23 Missed - 92.83%
12) Virus Buster - 290/321 31 Missed - 90.34%
13) KingSoft - 288/321 33 Missed - 89.71%
14) NOD32 - 285/321 36 Missed (results identical with or without advanced heuristics) - 88.78%
15) AVG Pro - 275/321 46 Missed - 85.66%
16) AntiVIR - 268/321 53 Missed - 83.48%
17) Antidote - 252/321 69 Missed - 78.50%
16) ClamWIN - 247/321 74 Missed - 76.94%
19) UNA - 222/321 99 Missed - 69.15%
20) Norman - 215/321 106 Missed - 66.97%
21) Solo - 182/321 139 Missed - 56.69%
22) Fire AV - 179/321 142 Missed - 55.76%
23) V3 Pro - 109/321 212 Missed - 33.95%
24) Per_AV - 75/321 - 246 Missed - 23.36%
25) Proland - 73/321 248 Missed - 22.74%
26) Sophos - 50/321 271 Missed - 15.57%
27) Hauri - 49/321 272 Missed - 15.26%
2 CAT Quickheal - 21/321 300 Missed - 6%
29) Vir_iT - 10/321 311 Missed - 3%
30) Ikarus - Crashed on first virus. - 0%
Interesting also to note, is the detection level of the US AVK version with KAV+RAV engines was higher than the German version with KAV+BitDefender engines. Several vendors have free versions of their for purchase AV's, we didn't test the free versions, as it would serve no purpose for this test, but based on the results, none of the free versions would have been very impressive anyway. The term "Heuristics" seems like it should be taken very liberally, as some products that claim to be loaded with Heuristics scored miserably on items they clearly didn't have definitions for. Scanning speed was not measured, as it was totally irrelevant to my testing, and on-access scanners were not tested, as it would have been too time consuming, but considering most products have similar on-access engines as on-demand, and use the same database, results most likely, would be very similar.
Cut through the hype, cut through the marketing schemes, this was a real test, with real samples, and none of these samples were provided to the antivirus software vendors in advance. This is real world, and these are likely badguys you'll encounter, since I got them in my real encounters, and all were aquired on the internet in daily activities which anyone out there might be involved in. (Installing shareware, filesharing, surfing, etc). Keep in mind that with ITW tests the AV vendors have full disclosure of what they will be tested on in advance, not so here, so heuristics and real detection algorithms will play a big part, as well as the depth and scope of their definition database.
[Edit: After re-testing the Kaspersky products with Extended Database option turned ON, the moved up effectively scoring 100% considering the 1% margin of error]
Overclocking Tutorial
Overclocking takes on 3 forms:
First, is the casual overclocking, easy, and anyone can do it.
Second, is the right way to overclock, taking into account, everything.
Third, if you want serious power, your gonna need to be savy to what does what.
The casual overclocker gains about 5% increase, and really doesn't see any benefit from this, whilst it makes you feel good, no serious damage can be made, by upping the FSB a little, or changing your multiplier, only thing is, you want more.
The correct way to overclock, is to start looking at your system, check the motherboard specs, PSU, amount of harddrives, CD ROMS etc. (high end systems, including the lastest graphic cards will need serious power).
Lets take a base system like my old system setup:
AMD XP1700+ ( Thoroughbred JIUHB DLT3C )
Core Voltage = 1.50v
Maximum Die Temp = 90c
FSB = 266Mhz
(factory unlocked)
Jetway K266B KT266 chipset
DDR + SDR RAM (not together)
No onboard RAID
DDR RAM = Dane Elec PC2700 DDR (333Mhz)
Not registered
2 Hard drvies
1 CD Writer & 1 DVD ROM drive
2 LAN cards
1 PCI soundcard
(onboard sound turned off).
Now, lets look at what they can do:
The Thoroughbred is still the top processor for overclocking, Thunderbirds are just not upto it, even though they are capable of some really decent speeds, same as the Palamino, not to mention the Barton's (these are not what they have been made up to be).
(for the purpose of space, I'll not go into unlocking your CPU)
As you can see, my Thoroughbred has a core voltage of 1.5v, and as my motherboard is capable of giving my processor anything upto 1.85v, there is score for more there.
The FSB on my motherboard is capable of a max of 200Mhz (this is the magic number).
Die temps to a max of 90c is good (never been near it, yet!).
Now, to work out your Mhz on your system, or to check your multiplier or FSB, there is a little calculation you'll need to remember, and it's easy:
Your Mhz is worked out by your multiplier timed your FSB.
example:
CODE
133x10 = 1.33Ghz
Of course you can devide your Mhz with your known FSB to give you your multiplier etc.
Now for easy, I have the results of my previous unlocking tests handy, so I'll use them, and not the current speeds etc.
Standard Multiplier = 11.0
Overclocked Multiplier = 12.0
Standard Voltage = 1.50v
Overclocked Voltage = 1.52v
Standard FSB = 133Mhz
Overclocked FSB = 136Mhz
Standard Speed = 1467Mhz
Overclocked Speed = 1630Mhz
Standard Temps = CPU = 37c SYSTEM = 32c (idle) CPU = 44c SYSTEM = 36c (under load)
Overclocked Temps = CPU = 34c SYSTEM = 29c (idle) CPU 40c SYSTEM 34c (under load)
As you can see, the system is cooler when overclocked, this is due to having the correct cooling setup, and temps for it when it was standard, was standard cooling setup.
Basically, all I have done, is raised the FSB by 3mhz, the voltage by 0.02v and the multiplier by 1.0, this has given me a 163Mhz increase without over strssing my system, but, here is where it gets teadious:
To achieve this, it took me about a week, and this is how I did it:
I started by lowering the multiplier to 5.0, from there I raised the FSB to its max (at the time, have latest BIOS update for mobo, allowing 200Mhz FSB), 166Mhz, this is the correct way of overclocking.
From there, I started to raise the multiplier one by one, getting it back upto the standard multiplier or higher, checking the stability of the system each time.
(currently I am way passed the 136Mhz FSB, as I am running PC2700 DDR).
One thing to look at though, overclocking using the FSB WILL (unless your system allows you to specify it) mess with your PCI & RAM speeds.
Even raising it by 3Mhz can make your PCI cards to not work, and your RAM to get confused and crash your system.
Now your thinking to yourself 'I can do that' and yes you can, anyone can, but.......
It takes TIME, I can't stress that enough, if your going to try this, then you'll need to run your system for at least 6 hours between changing your multiplier, and as you can imagine, this can take a long time to do.
For your information, I used Hot CPU Tester, SETI & played Vietcong for testing purposes.
Now, for the hard part:
As most experienced overclockers will tell you, heat is your enemy, killing heat is your number 1 aim, don't worry about your speed at first, a 50Mhz increasde isn't gonna make your 3D Mark scream through the roof, actually, you'll probably not even get any better than what you did before.
There are several ways of dispersing heat, and they are:
Aircooling
Pro's: Cheap, effective at lower speeds.
Con's: Noisey, dust collectors, need maintanance.
Watercooling:
Pro's: Can lower your CPU by about 10c easily.
Con's: It has water in it, expensive, hard for some to understand.
Pelter:
Pro's: With watercooling, it's the daddy
Con's: ONLY EXPERIENCED PEOPLE NEED TO APPLY, very complicated, power hungry, NOT for the faint hearted. Stupidly expensive.
Aircooling:
Upgrading your CPU fan is the first step, there are several companies that offer aftermarket fans, which are better than the OEM fans are 2 a penny in todays world, but it's NOT just about your CPU fan, your system needs to breath, you need to get rid of 'hot spots' within your system.
Watercooling:
Its easier than most make out, its a good thing, kit prices can be got from about £120 ($200 US), just make sure they are upgradable, as you might want to add, a Northbridge water block & a GPU water block.
Modern day kits & parts are idiot proof, and will not leak, unless you act like Noah.
Pelter:
Pelter cooling is DANGEROUS, minly for your system, fitting it incorrectly, and you could end up with not only a baked CPU but a system that will end up as a very expensive paperweight.
Ask your local overclocking expert for more info.
Basically, if you can get hold of a decent Thoroughbred cored XP, your in luck (just like me), if its unlocked, then your in business, obviously, its not just down to your CPU, your motherboard and RAM will denote whether you can overclock big style or not.
I'd advise ANYONE thinking of overclocking, to research into it more, weigh up the odds on what they want or need, if your on a buget, DON'T attempt it, things can and do go wrong.
Most of the time, its not about 'mines faster than yours' or massive speed increases, its done by most, cause it can be. 90% of the time, you'd be better off buying a new CPU (as prices are so low), but if you get the urge, then a new world awaits you
great tutorial. this should help the OC noobs. If I can add something like you said know your specs of the mobo....and if you are serious about OC'ing dont go and get some generic NO-NAME ram and some ghetto mobo. to get the best stability go with ASUS and ABIT for the mobo and Crucial, Kingston, mushkin for the ram. A great forum for OC'ing is amdmb.com.
Indeed, if you are serious about your overclocking, its advised you only use serious brand names.
Generic parts are always a lower spec, and can easily destroy themselves with even a little stress aimed towards them.
Memory advice, use the folloing:
Kingston (added because of reviews, personally, I'm not sure about them).
Crucial (for Dual Channel DDR ONLY)
OCZ
Mushkin
Corsair
PNY (for EEC rated)
Samsung
Geil (my choice, when I can afford it)
Motherbord advice, use the following:
Asus A7N8X Deluxe nForce2
Asus A7N8X-VM nForce2
Asus A7N8X-X nForce2
Abit KD7-S KT400
Abit KV7 KT600
Abit NF7 v2.0 nForce2
Abit NF7-S v2.0 nForce2
MSI K7N2 Delta-L Nforce2
MSI KT6 Delta-LSR KT600
Epox 8RDA+ nForce2
Epox 8RGA+ nForce2
Any nForce2 motherboard would be best, they allow more score for overclocking your system.
First, is the casual overclocking, easy, and anyone can do it.
Second, is the right way to overclock, taking into account, everything.
Third, if you want serious power, your gonna need to be savy to what does what.
The casual overclocker gains about 5% increase, and really doesn't see any benefit from this, whilst it makes you feel good, no serious damage can be made, by upping the FSB a little, or changing your multiplier, only thing is, you want more.
The correct way to overclock, is to start looking at your system, check the motherboard specs, PSU, amount of harddrives, CD ROMS etc. (high end systems, including the lastest graphic cards will need serious power).
Lets take a base system like my old system setup:
AMD XP1700+ ( Thoroughbred JIUHB DLT3C )
Core Voltage = 1.50v
Maximum Die Temp = 90c
FSB = 266Mhz
(factory unlocked)
Jetway K266B KT266 chipset
DDR + SDR RAM (not together)
No onboard RAID
DDR RAM = Dane Elec PC2700 DDR (333Mhz)
Not registered
2 Hard drvies
1 CD Writer & 1 DVD ROM drive
2 LAN cards
1 PCI soundcard
(onboard sound turned off).
Now, lets look at what they can do:
The Thoroughbred is still the top processor for overclocking, Thunderbirds are just not upto it, even though they are capable of some really decent speeds, same as the Palamino, not to mention the Barton's (these are not what they have been made up to be).
(for the purpose of space, I'll not go into unlocking your CPU)
As you can see, my Thoroughbred has a core voltage of 1.5v, and as my motherboard is capable of giving my processor anything upto 1.85v, there is score for more there.
The FSB on my motherboard is capable of a max of 200Mhz (this is the magic number).
Die temps to a max of 90c is good (never been near it, yet!).
Now, to work out your Mhz on your system, or to check your multiplier or FSB, there is a little calculation you'll need to remember, and it's easy:
Your Mhz is worked out by your multiplier timed your FSB.
example:
CODE
133x10 = 1.33Ghz
Of course you can devide your Mhz with your known FSB to give you your multiplier etc.
Now for easy, I have the results of my previous unlocking tests handy, so I'll use them, and not the current speeds etc.
Standard Multiplier = 11.0
Overclocked Multiplier = 12.0
Standard Voltage = 1.50v
Overclocked Voltage = 1.52v
Standard FSB = 133Mhz
Overclocked FSB = 136Mhz
Standard Speed = 1467Mhz
Overclocked Speed = 1630Mhz
Standard Temps = CPU = 37c SYSTEM = 32c (idle) CPU = 44c SYSTEM = 36c (under load)
Overclocked Temps = CPU = 34c SYSTEM = 29c (idle) CPU 40c SYSTEM 34c (under load)
As you can see, the system is cooler when overclocked, this is due to having the correct cooling setup, and temps for it when it was standard, was standard cooling setup.
Basically, all I have done, is raised the FSB by 3mhz, the voltage by 0.02v and the multiplier by 1.0, this has given me a 163Mhz increase without over strssing my system, but, here is where it gets teadious:
To achieve this, it took me about a week, and this is how I did it:
I started by lowering the multiplier to 5.0, from there I raised the FSB to its max (at the time, have latest BIOS update for mobo, allowing 200Mhz FSB), 166Mhz, this is the correct way of overclocking.
From there, I started to raise the multiplier one by one, getting it back upto the standard multiplier or higher, checking the stability of the system each time.
(currently I am way passed the 136Mhz FSB, as I am running PC2700 DDR).
One thing to look at though, overclocking using the FSB WILL (unless your system allows you to specify it) mess with your PCI & RAM speeds.
Even raising it by 3Mhz can make your PCI cards to not work, and your RAM to get confused and crash your system.
Now your thinking to yourself 'I can do that' and yes you can, anyone can, but.......
It takes TIME, I can't stress that enough, if your going to try this, then you'll need to run your system for at least 6 hours between changing your multiplier, and as you can imagine, this can take a long time to do.
For your information, I used Hot CPU Tester, SETI & played Vietcong for testing purposes.
Now, for the hard part:
As most experienced overclockers will tell you, heat is your enemy, killing heat is your number 1 aim, don't worry about your speed at first, a 50Mhz increasde isn't gonna make your 3D Mark scream through the roof, actually, you'll probably not even get any better than what you did before.
There are several ways of dispersing heat, and they are:
Aircooling
Pro's: Cheap, effective at lower speeds.
Con's: Noisey, dust collectors, need maintanance.
Watercooling:
Pro's: Can lower your CPU by about 10c easily.
Con's: It has water in it, expensive, hard for some to understand.
Pelter:
Pro's: With watercooling, it's the daddy
Con's: ONLY EXPERIENCED PEOPLE NEED TO APPLY, very complicated, power hungry, NOT for the faint hearted. Stupidly expensive.
Aircooling:
Upgrading your CPU fan is the first step, there are several companies that offer aftermarket fans, which are better than the OEM fans are 2 a penny in todays world, but it's NOT just about your CPU fan, your system needs to breath, you need to get rid of 'hot spots' within your system.
Watercooling:
Its easier than most make out, its a good thing, kit prices can be got from about £120 ($200 US), just make sure they are upgradable, as you might want to add, a Northbridge water block & a GPU water block.
Modern day kits & parts are idiot proof, and will not leak, unless you act like Noah.
Pelter:
Pelter cooling is DANGEROUS, minly for your system, fitting it incorrectly, and you could end up with not only a baked CPU but a system that will end up as a very expensive paperweight.
Ask your local overclocking expert for more info.
Basically, if you can get hold of a decent Thoroughbred cored XP, your in luck (just like me), if its unlocked, then your in business, obviously, its not just down to your CPU, your motherboard and RAM will denote whether you can overclock big style or not.
I'd advise ANYONE thinking of overclocking, to research into it more, weigh up the odds on what they want or need, if your on a buget, DON'T attempt it, things can and do go wrong.
Most of the time, its not about 'mines faster than yours' or massive speed increases, its done by most, cause it can be. 90% of the time, you'd be better off buying a new CPU (as prices are so low), but if you get the urge, then a new world awaits you
great tutorial. this should help the OC noobs. If I can add something like you said know your specs of the mobo....and if you are serious about OC'ing dont go and get some generic NO-NAME ram and some ghetto mobo. to get the best stability go with ASUS and ABIT for the mobo and Crucial, Kingston, mushkin for the ram. A great forum for OC'ing is amdmb.com.
Indeed, if you are serious about your overclocking, its advised you only use serious brand names.
Generic parts are always a lower spec, and can easily destroy themselves with even a little stress aimed towards them.
Memory advice, use the folloing:
Kingston (added because of reviews, personally, I'm not sure about them).
Crucial (for Dual Channel DDR ONLY)
OCZ
Mushkin
Corsair
PNY (for EEC rated)
Samsung
Geil (my choice, when I can afford it)
Motherbord advice, use the following:
Asus A7N8X Deluxe nForce2
Asus A7N8X-VM nForce2
Asus A7N8X-X nForce2
Abit KD7-S KT400
Abit KV7 KT600
Abit NF7 v2.0 nForce2
Abit NF7-S v2.0 nForce2
MSI K7N2 Delta-L Nforce2
MSI KT6 Delta-LSR KT600
Epox 8RDA+ nForce2
Epox 8RGA+ nForce2
Any nForce2 motherboard would be best, they allow more score for overclocking your system.
Integrate XPSP2 into your XP CD!
This is a long one but it works really nicely:
I have used this method with great success and I want to say that I did not create it, but in checking several sources, I find that it is pretty much the standard way to Slipstream the new SP2 that is being posted all over so have fun ...... If you follow the steps to the letter, you shouldn't fail on the very first attempt or the first burn
SlipSTreaming XP SP2
Now that Service Pack 2 (SP2) has been released (RTM 2180) for Windows XP a lot of people have been updating their systems. In fact, a lot have been doing clean installations followed immediately by applying SP2 to eliminate much of the garbage that has collected over the past year of using XP. There really isn't a downside to reformatting and doing a clean install, but if there was one I suppose it could be that the installation of SP2 might be quite time consuming, especially if you do it through Windows Update. However, there is a way to reduce this time expenditure.
If you fall into the category of users that frequently reformat their systems and clean install XP from the CD then creating a slipstreamed version of XP/SP2 can be a huge time saver. You invest the time once and then on subsequent reinstalls you avoid bringing XP up to SP2 speed via Windows Update downloads and installations. You will still have to get the post SP2 updates from Windows Update, but the time saved will still be worthwhile.
There are a few essential items necessary to successfully create the slipstreamed CD. You will need:
The original Windows XP installation CD ROM (Preferably A Corporate Edition)
Note it doesn’t matter if you slipstreamed a normal XP version or XP with SP1 (By MS OR Slipstreamed before) one At the end you’ll always come out with a XP SP2 CD ROM.
The new CD can be created from either the Home or Professional version of Windows XP. If your computer came with an OEM version of XP it can also be used.
Windows XP Service Pack 2 - It will be necessary to either download SP2 or obtain it on CD. To slipstream, you need the full SP2 which is a 265MB( RTM Version) download from forum or wait till it’s officially on Microsoft site.
CD Creation Software - A burning program for your CD-R or CD-RW drive that allows creating bootable CD's. Unfortunately, while XP does come with the capability to burn CD's built in, the software it uses is not suitable for this task. Since the majority I know seem to be using Nero Burning Rom I've used it in the tutorial, but the instructions can be adapted to other burning software.
ISO Buster - Used to extract the boot loader image file for the Bootable CD. It's a free download (free to try ware)
Building Directories
The first step is to build a directory structure to hold the files that will be used in the CD creation process. It's a simple structure, requiring nothing more than a main folder with three sub-folders. It doesn't matter what names you use for your structure or where you locate them on your hard drive, but most users find drive C the easiest. I used the structure shown below, located on Drive “C:”. Create whatever folders you are comfortable with or use the ones below if you want to cut and paste commands later in the tutorial. Whatever your choice, it's the relationship between the components that's important, not the naming of the parts.
Main Folder: XP-SS [Located on Drive C]
Sub-Folder: SS-Boot
Sub-Folder: SS-Root
Sub-Folder: SS-XP2
Copying and Extracting Files:
The first step is to insert the Windows XP CD and copy the entire contents into the SS-Root folder or the equivalent folder in your structure.
Before copying the XP CD make sure that the system is set to display all hidden and system files to ensure a complete copy of all files on the CD. The settings to control what files are visible are located in Windows Explorer > Tools > Folder Options > View tab. Make sure [Show hidden files and folders] radio button is selected and [Hide protected operating system files] is unchecked.
The second step is to navigate to where you downloaded the Service pack 2 file. If you downloaded SP2 from Microsoft it should be named xpsp2_en_x86.exe.
The current RTM version named xpsp2_RTM_ENU.exe. Copy the file to the XP-SS folder and then rename it to xp-sp2.exe after the copy operation completes.
(If you are using the CD of SP1 the files should already be extracted. Copy them into the XP-SS folder)
Use the Run dialogue shown below to extract the contents of the Service Pack to the previously created SS-XP2 folder.
The Run dialogue box is accessed from [Start] [Run]
The command to begin the extraction is: C:XP-SSXP-SP2.EXE -U -X:C:XP-SSSS-XP2
Apply the extracted Service Pack 2 to Windows XP in the SS-Root folder using the [Run] dialogue box.
The Run dialogue box is accessed from [Start] [Run]
The command to apply the Service Pack is:
C:XP-SSSS-XP2i386updateUpdate.exe -S:C:XP-SSSS-Root
The Service Pack 2 is being integrated into the Windows installation folder.
Then:
Successful completion of the integration process.
In order to make the new CD bootable it's necessary to add the file Microsoft Corporation.img to the folder SS-Boot we created earlier. There are a number of ways to do this but the easiest is to use ISO Buster. With the Windows XP CD in your CD drive,( Or Any Bootable Win Xp Version You Might Have) open ISO Buster. Click on Bootable CD in the left pane then right click ( Microsoft Computing.img )( IF Its Not The MS Original CD The Boot File Name Might Any Thing Else The Most Common IS (Arnes Boot Record.img ) so any way we’ll use the (*.img file) in the right pane,
finally right clicking Extract Microsoft Corporation.img file. (Extrack To SS-Boot Folder)
Setting Up The Nero Burning Rom Software:
Depending on how you have Nero configured it may open to a wizard that offers a number of screens to walk you through the process of selecting the type of CD to be created. If the wizard does appear, close it so the main Nero application loads
Select [File] [New...] from the menu bar.
The New Compilation window will open.
In the left column, select “CD-ROM (Boot)” then select the Boot tab
In [Source of Boot Image Data] section, select the [Image File] radio button.
Use the [Browse] button to navigate to the C:XP-SSSS-BOOT folder and select MicrosoftCorporation.img file (it ill be asking for A “*.ima File Put the last scroller down on (all files (*.*) ) and choose the *. Img file we extracted earlier (it will work fine).
Make sure the [Enable Expert Settings] box is checked.
Set [Kind of Emulation] to No Emulation
Set [Load Segment of Sectors] to 07C0
Set [Number of Loaded Sectors] to 4 (Failing to set this to 4 will make the CD unbootable)
Once the settings are in place, switch to the ISO tab
ISO Tab
Select them as follows
File Name Length ( Max Of 31 Chars ( ISO Level 2)
Format mode 1
Character Set Iso 9660
And then make sure all the other options are checked
Very Important Note
In the [Relax ISO Restrictions] section it's essential you check the [Do Not Add the ';1' ISO File Version Extension] checkbox or the slipstreamed CD will not be able to boot. If this option is not available on the ISO tab, you must stop now and upgrade to a newer version of Nero - Burning Rom before proceeding.
The Label Tab:
I've never had a problem with any of the slipstreamed CD's I've created by using a Volume Label different from the label that is provided for Windows XP home and Professional version CD's. However, if you prefer, set a Volume Label consistent with the original XP CD. The official labels are listed below.
Set the [Volume Label] field depending on your Windows XP version.
If you have Windows XP Professional enter WXPCCP_EN
If you have Windows XP Home enter WXHCCP_EN
If you have Windows XP Professional OEM enter WXPOEM_EN
If you have Windows XP Home OEM enter WXHOEM_EN
With SP2:
Set the [Volume Label] field depending on your Windows XP version.
If you have Windows XP Professional enter WXPCCP_SP2_EN
If you have Windows XP Home enter WXHCCP_ SP2_EN
If you have Windows XP Professional OEM enter WXPOEM_ SP2_EN
If you have Windows XP Home OEM enter WXHOEM_ SP2_EN
Once the Volume Label has been set, click the [Burn] tab to open the window where the basic burn parameters will be selected.
The Burn Tab:
Make sure the [Write] and [Finalize CD] options are checked in the Action section of the Burn tab and that the proper [Write Speed] has been selected for your burner. The [Write Method] should be set to Disc-At-Once. If you want more than one copy of the CD, enter a new value in [Number of Copies].
Once the burn options have been set, click the [New] button to open the window where the files to be added to the CD will be selected.
Adding The Files To Be Copied:
Clicking the [New] button in the previous step opens the Nero - Burning Rom - ISO1 window that's divided into two distinct sections; ISO1 and File Browser.
In the File Browser window, navigate to SS-Root or your equivalent folder. Click on the first file in the list, hold down the Shift key and click on the last file in the list to select all the files and folders in the C:XP-SSSS-Root folder.
Drag and drop the selected files to the ISO1 window.
Press the [Burn] icon on the menu bar to open the Write CD window. the [Burn] icon is the ninth one from the left in the menu bar.
”Important Important Important”:
When you press burn the previous setting window will appear before you press burn button in the right go back to the boot tab and make sure of the following one more time
*Make sure the [Enable Expert Settings] box is checked.
*Set [Kind of Emulation] to No Emulation
*Set [Load Segment of Sectors] to 07C0
*Set [Number of Loaded Sectors] to 4 (Failing to set this to 4 will make the CD unbootable)
Nero will by default disable them so make sure they are set right - its better of you review the rest of the settings as well.
Burning XP:
The Write CD screen allows visual monitoring of the burning process. A few notes are in order relating to insuring a successful burn.
Before you start the burning process close all other programs. Burning a CD can be very processor and memory intensive and there is no sense in taxing the system more than necessary.
If you use a screensaver, disable it before the burning process as an extra precaution. The same applies to your anti virus software if it starts scans or updates automatically.
How long the burning process takes will vary widely depending on your system and the CD burner speed. It may not appear like anything is happening at times, but be patient and more than likely all will be fine.
If the burn does fail, especially because of a buffer problem, reduce the speed of the burn and try again.
I have used this method with great success and I want to say that I did not create it, but in checking several sources, I find that it is pretty much the standard way to Slipstream the new SP2 that is being posted all over so have fun ...... If you follow the steps to the letter, you shouldn't fail on the very first attempt or the first burn
SlipSTreaming XP SP2
Now that Service Pack 2 (SP2) has been released (RTM 2180) for Windows XP a lot of people have been updating their systems. In fact, a lot have been doing clean installations followed immediately by applying SP2 to eliminate much of the garbage that has collected over the past year of using XP. There really isn't a downside to reformatting and doing a clean install, but if there was one I suppose it could be that the installation of SP2 might be quite time consuming, especially if you do it through Windows Update. However, there is a way to reduce this time expenditure.
If you fall into the category of users that frequently reformat their systems and clean install XP from the CD then creating a slipstreamed version of XP/SP2 can be a huge time saver. You invest the time once and then on subsequent reinstalls you avoid bringing XP up to SP2 speed via Windows Update downloads and installations. You will still have to get the post SP2 updates from Windows Update, but the time saved will still be worthwhile.
There are a few essential items necessary to successfully create the slipstreamed CD. You will need:
The original Windows XP installation CD ROM (Preferably A Corporate Edition)
Note it doesn’t matter if you slipstreamed a normal XP version or XP with SP1 (By MS OR Slipstreamed before) one At the end you’ll always come out with a XP SP2 CD ROM.
The new CD can be created from either the Home or Professional version of Windows XP. If your computer came with an OEM version of XP it can also be used.
Windows XP Service Pack 2 - It will be necessary to either download SP2 or obtain it on CD. To slipstream, you need the full SP2 which is a 265MB( RTM Version) download from forum or wait till it’s officially on Microsoft site.
CD Creation Software - A burning program for your CD-R or CD-RW drive that allows creating bootable CD's. Unfortunately, while XP does come with the capability to burn CD's built in, the software it uses is not suitable for this task. Since the majority I know seem to be using Nero Burning Rom I've used it in the tutorial, but the instructions can be adapted to other burning software.
ISO Buster - Used to extract the boot loader image file for the Bootable CD. It's a free download (free to try ware)
Building Directories
The first step is to build a directory structure to hold the files that will be used in the CD creation process. It's a simple structure, requiring nothing more than a main folder with three sub-folders. It doesn't matter what names you use for your structure or where you locate them on your hard drive, but most users find drive C the easiest. I used the structure shown below, located on Drive “C:”. Create whatever folders you are comfortable with or use the ones below if you want to cut and paste commands later in the tutorial. Whatever your choice, it's the relationship between the components that's important, not the naming of the parts.
Main Folder: XP-SS [Located on Drive C]
Sub-Folder: SS-Boot
Sub-Folder: SS-Root
Sub-Folder: SS-XP2
Copying and Extracting Files:
The first step is to insert the Windows XP CD and copy the entire contents into the SS-Root folder or the equivalent folder in your structure.
Before copying the XP CD make sure that the system is set to display all hidden and system files to ensure a complete copy of all files on the CD. The settings to control what files are visible are located in Windows Explorer > Tools > Folder Options > View tab. Make sure [Show hidden files and folders] radio button is selected and [Hide protected operating system files] is unchecked.
The second step is to navigate to where you downloaded the Service pack 2 file. If you downloaded SP2 from Microsoft it should be named xpsp2_en_x86.exe.
The current RTM version named xpsp2_RTM_ENU.exe. Copy the file to the XP-SS folder and then rename it to xp-sp2.exe after the copy operation completes.
(If you are using the CD of SP1 the files should already be extracted. Copy them into the XP-SS folder)
Use the Run dialogue shown below to extract the contents of the Service Pack to the previously created SS-XP2 folder.
The Run dialogue box is accessed from [Start] [Run]
The command to begin the extraction is: C:XP-SSXP-SP2.EXE -U -X:C:XP-SSSS-XP2
Apply the extracted Service Pack 2 to Windows XP in the SS-Root folder using the [Run] dialogue box.
The Run dialogue box is accessed from [Start] [Run]
The command to apply the Service Pack is:
C:XP-SSSS-XP2i386updateUpdate.exe -S:C:XP-SSSS-Root
The Service Pack 2 is being integrated into the Windows installation folder.
Then:
Successful completion of the integration process.
In order to make the new CD bootable it's necessary to add the file Microsoft Corporation.img to the folder SS-Boot we created earlier. There are a number of ways to do this but the easiest is to use ISO Buster. With the Windows XP CD in your CD drive,( Or Any Bootable Win Xp Version You Might Have) open ISO Buster. Click on Bootable CD in the left pane then right click ( Microsoft Computing.img )( IF Its Not The MS Original CD The Boot File Name Might Any Thing Else The Most Common IS (Arnes Boot Record.img ) so any way we’ll use the (*.img file) in the right pane,
finally right clicking Extract Microsoft Corporation.img file. (Extrack To SS-Boot Folder)
Setting Up The Nero Burning Rom Software:
Depending on how you have Nero configured it may open to a wizard that offers a number of screens to walk you through the process of selecting the type of CD to be created. If the wizard does appear, close it so the main Nero application loads
Select [File] [New...] from the menu bar.
The New Compilation window will open.
In the left column, select “CD-ROM (Boot)” then select the Boot tab
In [Source of Boot Image Data] section, select the [Image File] radio button.
Use the [Browse] button to navigate to the C:XP-SSSS-BOOT folder and select MicrosoftCorporation.img file (it ill be asking for A “*.ima File Put the last scroller down on (all files (*.*) ) and choose the *. Img file we extracted earlier (it will work fine).
Make sure the [Enable Expert Settings] box is checked.
Set [Kind of Emulation] to No Emulation
Set [Load Segment of Sectors] to 07C0
Set [Number of Loaded Sectors] to 4 (Failing to set this to 4 will make the CD unbootable)
Once the settings are in place, switch to the ISO tab
ISO Tab
Select them as follows
File Name Length ( Max Of 31 Chars ( ISO Level 2)
Format mode 1
Character Set Iso 9660
And then make sure all the other options are checked
Very Important Note
In the [Relax ISO Restrictions] section it's essential you check the [Do Not Add the ';1' ISO File Version Extension] checkbox or the slipstreamed CD will not be able to boot. If this option is not available on the ISO tab, you must stop now and upgrade to a newer version of Nero - Burning Rom before proceeding.
The Label Tab:
I've never had a problem with any of the slipstreamed CD's I've created by using a Volume Label different from the label that is provided for Windows XP home and Professional version CD's. However, if you prefer, set a Volume Label consistent with the original XP CD. The official labels are listed below.
Set the [Volume Label] field depending on your Windows XP version.
If you have Windows XP Professional enter WXPCCP_EN
If you have Windows XP Home enter WXHCCP_EN
If you have Windows XP Professional OEM enter WXPOEM_EN
If you have Windows XP Home OEM enter WXHOEM_EN
With SP2:
Set the [Volume Label] field depending on your Windows XP version.
If you have Windows XP Professional enter WXPCCP_SP2_EN
If you have Windows XP Home enter WXHCCP_ SP2_EN
If you have Windows XP Professional OEM enter WXPOEM_ SP2_EN
If you have Windows XP Home OEM enter WXHOEM_ SP2_EN
Once the Volume Label has been set, click the [Burn] tab to open the window where the basic burn parameters will be selected.
The Burn Tab:
Make sure the [Write] and [Finalize CD] options are checked in the Action section of the Burn tab and that the proper [Write Speed] has been selected for your burner. The [Write Method] should be set to Disc-At-Once. If you want more than one copy of the CD, enter a new value in [Number of Copies].
Once the burn options have been set, click the [New] button to open the window where the files to be added to the CD will be selected.
Adding The Files To Be Copied:
Clicking the [New] button in the previous step opens the Nero - Burning Rom - ISO1 window that's divided into two distinct sections; ISO1 and File Browser.
In the File Browser window, navigate to SS-Root or your equivalent folder. Click on the first file in the list, hold down the Shift key and click on the last file in the list to select all the files and folders in the C:XP-SSSS-Root folder.
Drag and drop the selected files to the ISO1 window.
Press the [Burn] icon on the menu bar to open the Write CD window. the [Burn] icon is the ninth one from the left in the menu bar.
”Important Important Important”:
When you press burn the previous setting window will appear before you press burn button in the right go back to the boot tab and make sure of the following one more time
*Make sure the [Enable Expert Settings] box is checked.
*Set [Kind of Emulation] to No Emulation
*Set [Load Segment of Sectors] to 07C0
*Set [Number of Loaded Sectors] to 4 (Failing to set this to 4 will make the CD unbootable)
Nero will by default disable them so make sure they are set right - its better of you review the rest of the settings as well.
Burning XP:
The Write CD screen allows visual monitoring of the burning process. A few notes are in order relating to insuring a successful burn.
Before you start the burning process close all other programs. Burning a CD can be very processor and memory intensive and there is no sense in taxing the system more than necessary.
If you use a screensaver, disable it before the burning process as an extra precaution. The same applies to your anti virus software if it starts scans or updates automatically.
How long the burning process takes will vary widely depending on your system and the CD burner speed. It may not appear like anything is happening at times, but be patient and more than likely all will be fine.
If the burn does fail, especially because of a buffer problem, reduce the speed of the burn and try again.
Converting to NTFS
Your hard drive must be formatted with a file system such as FAT, FAT32 or NTFS so that Windows can be installed on to it. This system determines how files are named, organised and stored on the drive. If you’re not using it already, NTFS (New Technology File System) is recommended for Windows XP because of the additional functionality it offers. If your PC came with Windows XP pre-installed then there’s a chance that you’re already using NTFS. If you’ve upgraded from Windows 98 or Windows Me you may still be using FAT or FAT 32. The option to change over to NTFS would have been available during the upgrade process. Don’t worry if you skipped this as it’s possible to convert at any time from within Windows XP without losing any data.
The recommended option
There are a number of features in Windows XP that will only work if the NTFS file system is present, which is why it’s suggested you make use of it. File and folder permissions, encryption and privacy options are just some of those you’ll be able to access. In particular, those of you who have set up user accounts will find NTFS invaluable. For instance, if you continue to use FAT or FAT32 anyone with physical access to the drive will be able to access the files and folders that are stored there. However, with NTFS you’ll be able to use a level of encryption (Professional Edition only) that will enable you to protect your data.
You’ll also find NTFS more reliable in that it’s more able to recover from disk errors than its FAT or FAT32 counterparts. A log of all disk activity is kept so should a crash occur, Windows XP can use this information to repair the file system when your PC boots up again. To find out what file system you’re using, open My Computer, right-click your main hard drive and choose Properties. Take a look at the General tab to see confirmation of the file system that’s in use.
Convert now
You can use the convert tool in Windows XP to change the file system on your hard disk from FAT or FAT32 to NTFS. The whole process is safe and your existing data won’t be destroyed. To begin, click Start -> Run, type cmd and press [Return]. At the command prompt type convert c: /fs:ntfs and press [Return] (where ‘c’ is the letter of the drive you’re converting). When you try and run the convert utility, it’s likely that Windows XP will be using your paging file so the process won’t be completed immediately. Therefore, you’ll see a brief message on screen informing you that the conversion will take place instead the next time Windows starts up. Having restarted, the Check Disk utility will run, the conversion will be performed automatically and you may find that your PC will reboot twice more.
The benefits
With your drive now running NTFS, it’s time to take advantage of the new options that are available. Having created a number of different user accounts you can now control the level of access that’s granted to individual users. For example, there are going to be certain files and folders that you’ll want some users to be able to access but not others. If you have Windows XP Professional Edition you can do this immediately.
Right-click any file or folder, choose Properties and select the Security tab. A dialog will be displayed showing the names of all your users. Alongside will be two columns which enable you to select levels of access for each of them, the permissions include Full Control, Modify, Read and Write. You can then check the appropriate box to determine whether or not to Allow or Deny a particular permission. For Windows XP Home Edition users, the Security tab won’t be immediately available. To access this option you’ll need to restart your PC, pressing [F8] until a menu appears. Next select Safe Mode and wait for Windows XP to start up. You can then set your options in the same way.
Another feature is NTFS compression. It’s quick and seamless as your file or folder is decompressed automatically when you access it. (Don’t confuse this with a Zip compression utility where the files need to be extracted before they can be accessed.) Although you may have used NTFS compression on a file or folder, there’s no way of telling just by looking at it. To remedy this, open My Computer, click Tools -> Folder Options and select the View tab. Under Advanced settings, scroll down and check the option ‘Show encrypted or compressed NTFS files in color’, then click Apply and OK. Take a look at your compressed items in My Computer and you’ll see the text label has changed from black to blue. Something else that’s exclusive to Professional Edition users is the Encrypting File System (EFS). You can use this to protect your important data so that no one else can read it. Your encrypted files and folders will only be accessible when you have logged into your user account successfully.
The recommended option
There are a number of features in Windows XP that will only work if the NTFS file system is present, which is why it’s suggested you make use of it. File and folder permissions, encryption and privacy options are just some of those you’ll be able to access. In particular, those of you who have set up user accounts will find NTFS invaluable. For instance, if you continue to use FAT or FAT32 anyone with physical access to the drive will be able to access the files and folders that are stored there. However, with NTFS you’ll be able to use a level of encryption (Professional Edition only) that will enable you to protect your data.
You’ll also find NTFS more reliable in that it’s more able to recover from disk errors than its FAT or FAT32 counterparts. A log of all disk activity is kept so should a crash occur, Windows XP can use this information to repair the file system when your PC boots up again. To find out what file system you’re using, open My Computer, right-click your main hard drive and choose Properties. Take a look at the General tab to see confirmation of the file system that’s in use.
Convert now
You can use the convert tool in Windows XP to change the file system on your hard disk from FAT or FAT32 to NTFS. The whole process is safe and your existing data won’t be destroyed. To begin, click Start -> Run, type cmd and press [Return]. At the command prompt type convert c: /fs:ntfs and press [Return] (where ‘c’ is the letter of the drive you’re converting). When you try and run the convert utility, it’s likely that Windows XP will be using your paging file so the process won’t be completed immediately. Therefore, you’ll see a brief message on screen informing you that the conversion will take place instead the next time Windows starts up. Having restarted, the Check Disk utility will run, the conversion will be performed automatically and you may find that your PC will reboot twice more.
The benefits
With your drive now running NTFS, it’s time to take advantage of the new options that are available. Having created a number of different user accounts you can now control the level of access that’s granted to individual users. For example, there are going to be certain files and folders that you’ll want some users to be able to access but not others. If you have Windows XP Professional Edition you can do this immediately.
Right-click any file or folder, choose Properties and select the Security tab. A dialog will be displayed showing the names of all your users. Alongside will be two columns which enable you to select levels of access for each of them, the permissions include Full Control, Modify, Read and Write. You can then check the appropriate box to determine whether or not to Allow or Deny a particular permission. For Windows XP Home Edition users, the Security tab won’t be immediately available. To access this option you’ll need to restart your PC, pressing [F8] until a menu appears. Next select Safe Mode and wait for Windows XP to start up. You can then set your options in the same way.
Another feature is NTFS compression. It’s quick and seamless as your file or folder is decompressed automatically when you access it. (Don’t confuse this with a Zip compression utility where the files need to be extracted before they can be accessed.) Although you may have used NTFS compression on a file or folder, there’s no way of telling just by looking at it. To remedy this, open My Computer, click Tools -> Folder Options and select the View tab. Under Advanced settings, scroll down and check the option ‘Show encrypted or compressed NTFS files in color’, then click Apply and OK. Take a look at your compressed items in My Computer and you’ll see the text label has changed from black to blue. Something else that’s exclusive to Professional Edition users is the Encrypting File System (EFS). You can use this to protect your important data so that no one else can read it. Your encrypted files and folders will only be accessible when you have logged into your user account successfully.
Data Capacity of CDs [Tutorial]
Abstract
You can fit on a S/VCD without overburning:
- approx. 735 MB of MPEG data onto a 74min/650MB disc
- approx. 795 MB of MPEG data onto an 80min/700MB disc
You can fit on a CD-ROM without overburning:
- approx. 650 MB of data onto a 74min/650MB disc
- approx. 703 MB of data onto an 80min/700MB disc
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Introduction
Let us ignore for now the terms of megabyte for CD capacity and try to understand how the data is stored on a CD.
As well all know, the data is stored digitally as binary data. This means, however the actual information is actually kept on the disc, this information is in the form of "1"s and "0"s. Physically, the information on a CD is as pits on a thin sheet of metal (aluminium).
An a CD-R disc, the data is physically on an organic dye layer which simulates the metal layer on a real pressed CD.
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How the information is structured
Now, on the CD, the information isn't just organised from beginning to end willy-nilly. Otherwise, it would be really hard to find a useful piece of information on the CD.
Rather, the information is organised in sectors. Consider a sector as like a page in a book. Just like you are able to quickly find something in a book if you know the page number, you can quickly find something on a CD if you know the sector number.
Now, remember that the CD was original made to hold audio data. It was decided, that the CD would would 75 sectors per second of audio. Although I cannot guess where this number comes from, it is quite appropriate for the audio CD. It means that you can "seek" an audio CD accurately to 1/75th of a second -- which is more than enough for consumer purposes.
Now, with this in mind, we can work out the total data capacity of user data for 1 sector.
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The total data capacity of user data of 1 sector on a CD
CD audio uses uncompressed PCM stereo audio, 16-bit resolution sampled at 44.1 kHz.
Thus 1 second of audio contains:
16 bits/channel * 2 channels * 44100 samples/second * 1 second
= 1411200 bits
= 176400 bytes
Since there are 75 sectors per second
1 sector
= 176400 bytes / 75
= 2352 bytes
One sector on a CD contains 2352 bytes max.
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The concept of different MODES and FORMS of burning
Now, audio CD was well and good, but the medium would become much more useful if you could store other data on the disc as well. This became to be know as CD-ROM of course.
Now, the audio-CD uses the ENTIRE sector for audio data.
However, for CD-ROMs this caused a problem. Simply, CDs and the CD reading mechanisms were not 100% faultless. That is, errors (indeed frequent errors) could be made during the reading. For audio CDs, this does not matter as much as you could simply interpolate from the adjacent audio samples. This will obviously NOT DO for data CDs. A single bit error could lead to a program being unexecutable or ruin an achive file.
Thus, for CD-ROMs, part of each sector is devoted to error correction codes and error detection codes. The CD-R FAQ has the details, but in effect, only 2048 bytes out of a total of 2352 bytes in each sector is available for user data on a data CD.
This burning mode is either MODE1 or MODE2 Form1.
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MODE2 Form2 sectors of VCDs and SVCDs
Now, for VCDs and SVCDs, the video tracks do not necessarily require the robust error correction as normal data on a CD-ROM. However, there is still some overhead per sector that is used for something other than video data (e.g., sync headers).
S/VCDs video tracks are burnt in what is called MODE2 Form2 sectors. In this mode, only 2324 bytes out of a total of 2352 bytes in each sector is available for user data.
This is MUCH MORE than for CD-ROMs, but still less per sector than audio CD.
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The disc capacities of CD-ROMs, audio-CDs and VCDs
Now, obviously what ultimately determines the capacity of a disc is the total number of sectors it contains. This is similar to the total number of pages in a blank exercise book (if you recall the book analogy).
The secondary determinant is the burning mode of the disc.
For audio CDs, it is as if you could fill each page from top to bottom with audio data as the entire sector is used for audio data.
For CD-ROMs, it is as if you need to first rule a margin and then leave the bottom part of each page for footnotes (headers + ECC + EDC). The amount of text you can actually write per page is then less due to these other constraints.
For S/VCDs, we still need to rule a margin on the page, but we don't have to worry about the footnotes (headers). We can fit MORE text than a CD-ROM, but less than an audio-CD.
Now remember, 1 second on a CD = 75 sectors.
Thus:
- 74 min CD = 333,000 sectors
- 80 min CD = 360,000 sectors
Data capacity in Mb for an audio-CD
74 min
= 333,000 sectors * 2352 bytes / sector
= 783216000 bytes
= 746.9 Mb
80 min
= 360,000 sectors * 2352 bytes / sector
= 846720000 bytes
= 807.5 Mb
Data capacity in Mb for a CD-ROM
74 min
= 333,000 sectors * 2048 bytes / sector
= 681984000 bytes
= 650.4 Mb
80 min
= 360,000 sectors * 2048 bytes / sector
= 737280000 bytes
= 703.1 Mb
Data capacity in Mb for a S/VCD
74 min
= 333,000 sectors * 2324 bytes / sector
= 773892000 bytes
= 738.0 Mb
80 min
= 360,000 sectors * 2324 bytes / sector
= 836640000 bytes
= 797.9 Mb
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Conclusions
As you can see, the often quoted capacities of 650MB and 700MB refer to CD-ROM capacities.
Due to the fact that S/VCDs use a different burning mode where MORE of each sector is available as user data, the relatively capacities are HIGHER.
Now, since S/VCDs are not composed of PURELY video tracks and have some unavoidable overheads, the actually total capacity left for video tracks is a few Mb less for each disc (about 735 Mb for 74min discs and 795 Mb for 80min discs). This is where the often quoted capacities of 740MB and 800MB come from. They are quite accurate.
All these capacities are available BEFORE overburning. Overburning is where you burn MORE sectors than the disc is rated for. If you overburn, you can typically achieve about 1-2 minutes of additional capacity (depending on your drive and media).
You can fit on a S/VCD without overburning:
- approx. 735 MB of MPEG data onto a 74min/650MB disc
- approx. 795 MB of MPEG data onto an 80min/700MB disc
You can fit on a CD-ROM without overburning:
- approx. 650 MB of data onto a 74min/650MB disc
- approx. 703 MB of data onto an 80min/700MB disc
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Introduction
Let us ignore for now the terms of megabyte for CD capacity and try to understand how the data is stored on a CD.
As well all know, the data is stored digitally as binary data. This means, however the actual information is actually kept on the disc, this information is in the form of "1"s and "0"s. Physically, the information on a CD is as pits on a thin sheet of metal (aluminium).
An a CD-R disc, the data is physically on an organic dye layer which simulates the metal layer on a real pressed CD.
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How the information is structured
Now, on the CD, the information isn't just organised from beginning to end willy-nilly. Otherwise, it would be really hard to find a useful piece of information on the CD.
Rather, the information is organised in sectors. Consider a sector as like a page in a book. Just like you are able to quickly find something in a book if you know the page number, you can quickly find something on a CD if you know the sector number.
Now, remember that the CD was original made to hold audio data. It was decided, that the CD would would 75 sectors per second of audio. Although I cannot guess where this number comes from, it is quite appropriate for the audio CD. It means that you can "seek" an audio CD accurately to 1/75th of a second -- which is more than enough for consumer purposes.
Now, with this in mind, we can work out the total data capacity of user data for 1 sector.
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The total data capacity of user data of 1 sector on a CD
CD audio uses uncompressed PCM stereo audio, 16-bit resolution sampled at 44.1 kHz.
Thus 1 second of audio contains:
16 bits/channel * 2 channels * 44100 samples/second * 1 second
= 1411200 bits
= 176400 bytes
Since there are 75 sectors per second
1 sector
= 176400 bytes / 75
= 2352 bytes
One sector on a CD contains 2352 bytes max.
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The concept of different MODES and FORMS of burning
Now, audio CD was well and good, but the medium would become much more useful if you could store other data on the disc as well. This became to be know as CD-ROM of course.
Now, the audio-CD uses the ENTIRE sector for audio data.
However, for CD-ROMs this caused a problem. Simply, CDs and the CD reading mechanisms were not 100% faultless. That is, errors (indeed frequent errors) could be made during the reading. For audio CDs, this does not matter as much as you could simply interpolate from the adjacent audio samples. This will obviously NOT DO for data CDs. A single bit error could lead to a program being unexecutable or ruin an achive file.
Thus, for CD-ROMs, part of each sector is devoted to error correction codes and error detection codes. The CD-R FAQ has the details, but in effect, only 2048 bytes out of a total of 2352 bytes in each sector is available for user data on a data CD.
This burning mode is either MODE1 or MODE2 Form1.
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MODE2 Form2 sectors of VCDs and SVCDs
Now, for VCDs and SVCDs, the video tracks do not necessarily require the robust error correction as normal data on a CD-ROM. However, there is still some overhead per sector that is used for something other than video data (e.g., sync headers).
S/VCDs video tracks are burnt in what is called MODE2 Form2 sectors. In this mode, only 2324 bytes out of a total of 2352 bytes in each sector is available for user data.
This is MUCH MORE than for CD-ROMs, but still less per sector than audio CD.
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The disc capacities of CD-ROMs, audio-CDs and VCDs
Now, obviously what ultimately determines the capacity of a disc is the total number of sectors it contains. This is similar to the total number of pages in a blank exercise book (if you recall the book analogy).
The secondary determinant is the burning mode of the disc.
For audio CDs, it is as if you could fill each page from top to bottom with audio data as the entire sector is used for audio data.
For CD-ROMs, it is as if you need to first rule a margin and then leave the bottom part of each page for footnotes (headers + ECC + EDC). The amount of text you can actually write per page is then less due to these other constraints.
For S/VCDs, we still need to rule a margin on the page, but we don't have to worry about the footnotes (headers). We can fit MORE text than a CD-ROM, but less than an audio-CD.
Now remember, 1 second on a CD = 75 sectors.
Thus:
- 74 min CD = 333,000 sectors
- 80 min CD = 360,000 sectors
Data capacity in Mb for an audio-CD
74 min
= 333,000 sectors * 2352 bytes / sector
= 783216000 bytes
= 746.9 Mb
80 min
= 360,000 sectors * 2352 bytes / sector
= 846720000 bytes
= 807.5 Mb
Data capacity in Mb for a CD-ROM
74 min
= 333,000 sectors * 2048 bytes / sector
= 681984000 bytes
= 650.4 Mb
80 min
= 360,000 sectors * 2048 bytes / sector
= 737280000 bytes
= 703.1 Mb
Data capacity in Mb for a S/VCD
74 min
= 333,000 sectors * 2324 bytes / sector
= 773892000 bytes
= 738.0 Mb
80 min
= 360,000 sectors * 2324 bytes / sector
= 836640000 bytes
= 797.9 Mb
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Conclusions
As you can see, the often quoted capacities of 650MB and 700MB refer to CD-ROM capacities.
Due to the fact that S/VCDs use a different burning mode where MORE of each sector is available as user data, the relatively capacities are HIGHER.
Now, since S/VCDs are not composed of PURELY video tracks and have some unavoidable overheads, the actually total capacity left for video tracks is a few Mb less for each disc (about 735 Mb for 74min discs and 795 Mb for 80min discs). This is where the often quoted capacities of 740MB and 800MB come from. They are quite accurate.
All these capacities are available BEFORE overburning. Overburning is where you burn MORE sectors than the disc is rated for. If you overburn, you can typically achieve about 1-2 minutes of additional capacity (depending on your drive and media).
15 January, 2008
Pirates of Cyberspace: An end to the worlds intellectual property rights
Harr!!
In ancient Babylon, lived a king, whose only dream was to gather all the books of knowledge from all around the world. And to his subject's amazement, he did! But in a great fire, alas, all his books were lost. This is what happens when knowledge is segregated.
We couldn't care less if Google updated its logo, or if Microsoft changed their name. The price they're putting on the knowledge they possess is far too great for any one man to afford. For, such knowledge is simply price-less!! I do believe that if given an opportunity each and every human can contribute to the answers. Considering human population, it should be worth the gamble.
Piracy is not just regarded as a form of theft anymore.Its more than that, its a religion. We pirates are nothing more than men and women fighting for free knowledge. A feeling we have all begun to love and cherish. We are people who believe all knowledge must be free. It is the way all great civilizations have grown in the past.
We have some legends amongst us too. "aXXo", "dopeman", "toed - The one eyed dude" , "LOL" just to name a few. We look upto these people not because they give us free stuff, but because of their strength and resilience to persist at what theyre doing in spite of the FCAA breathing down their necks!
The word "Piracy" got a new meaning when "The Pirate Bay" went online. They had their fair share of "corporate giants", such as "EA" trying to put them out of business. The site was down a couple of times. But, in the end, "The Pirates" stood tall, among people who knew nothing but to manipulate the world to their own selfish needs. THESE are the people who make pirates. These are the living legends all humanity must be thankful to.
Well, thats my argument anyway. You could consider the above, or you could just say we're a bunch of stingy leprechauns. Say what you may,but you still cant stop us, and thats the way its gonna be! Anarchy?
I rest my case...
In ancient Babylon, lived a king, whose only dream was to gather all the books of knowledge from all around the world. And to his subject's amazement, he did! But in a great fire, alas, all his books were lost. This is what happens when knowledge is segregated.
We couldn't care less if Google updated its logo, or if Microsoft changed their name. The price they're putting on the knowledge they possess is far too great for any one man to afford. For, such knowledge is simply price-less!! I do believe that if given an opportunity each and every human can contribute to the answers. Considering human population, it should be worth the gamble.
Piracy is not just regarded as a form of theft anymore.Its more than that, its a religion. We pirates are nothing more than men and women fighting for free knowledge. A feeling we have all begun to love and cherish. We are people who believe all knowledge must be free. It is the way all great civilizations have grown in the past.
We have some legends amongst us too. "aXXo", "dopeman", "toed - The one eyed dude" , "LOL" just to name a few. We look upto these people not because they give us free stuff, but because of their strength and resilience to persist at what theyre doing in spite of the FCAA breathing down their necks!
The word "Piracy" got a new meaning when "The Pirate Bay" went online. They had their fair share of "corporate giants", such as "EA" trying to put them out of business. The site was down a couple of times. But, in the end, "The Pirates" stood tall, among people who knew nothing but to manipulate the world to their own selfish needs. THESE are the people who make pirates. These are the living legends all humanity must be thankful to.
Well, thats my argument anyway. You could consider the above, or you could just say we're a bunch of stingy leprechauns. Say what you may,but you still cant stop us, and thats the way its gonna be! Anarchy?
I rest my case...
Exams Finished!!!
I just finished my exams, and man!!! Am I relieved or what!!!
Seriously.... studying for vtu exams is like a serious pain in the neck..Glad I could make it out in one piece...and by the looks of it, im just gonna be able to survive the storm after all..
Anyways, its all over now...just one more semester and I wont have to rely on my dad for buying myself a new graphic card ;)
Jokes aside,its really time to get up and get going.. After all, Sapient demands more than just laziness....
Seriously.... studying for vtu exams is like a serious pain in the neck..Glad I could make it out in one piece...and by the looks of it, im just gonna be able to survive the storm after all..
Anyways, its all over now...just one more semester and I wont have to rely on my dad for buying myself a new graphic card ;)
Jokes aside,its really time to get up and get going.. After all, Sapient demands more than just laziness....
