Stereo Mixing :-Sending Speaker output to microphone

Stereo Mixing is a technique which allows you to share everything that you hear on your headphones with your friends .
This is done by simply transfering the audio input for headphone to the microphone.

To set up stereo mix in Windows XP just follow these steps:-

• Open Volume control (2 methods are shown in the given picture).1st is to open it from start>all programs>control panel>sound and audio device and then selecting "advanced volume control" as shown. Other is to open it directly from desktop if it is available.

•  Now when volume control is opened just go to options and select properties as shown in pic.

•  Then in properties box select mixer device as Realtek and select recording in "adjust volume for" .Then select stereo mix (see pic below).Press OK.

•  Now a new box opens up.In this one select the checkbox given under "stereo mix" and adjust the volume as required.(By default microphone is selected in pic below , you select the highlighted one)

Now you are done with the stereo mix. Test it by playing a song and calling a friend on g-talk . Ask him if he can hear the song.

Note:- To revert back to original settings simply select the checkbox under "microphone" instead of "stereo mix" and adjust the volume.

Hibernate Mode :- Automatic PC ShutDown

Hibernate is a feature of many computer operating systems where the contents of RAM are written to non-volatile storage  before powering off the computer. When the computer is restarted it reloads the content of memory and is restored to the state it was in when hibernation was invoked. Hibernating and later restarting is  faster than booting up every time. Most importantly it saves power and hence lessens your carbon footprint.

Follow these steps :

1. Open Power Options in Control Panel >>Performance and Maintenance

2. Click the Hibernate tab, select the Enable hibernate support check box, and then click Apply.

3. Click OK to close the Power Options dialog box.


Now next time you shutdown your PC ,it will be in hibernate mode

If you are using Windows XP , the Shut Down menu will present the options to Stand By, Turn Off, or Restart your computer. Hold down the Shift key, and the Stand By button will change to Hibernate.


To  Automatically shutdown your PC in Hibernate mode, go to "Power Schemes" Tab in power options window  and then set the appropriate time in which you want your PC to move in to Hibernate mode.

Force start your computer when your time-cell goes off

You always face the problem of changing your time-cell consistently every 2 years. But sometimes if you don’t have a new time-cell and you are trying to start your computer it can just  stop at the "windows starting up screen".  

It's a very small problem but can frustrate you if you have an important work to do. Don't worry, it has an even simpler solution. Follow these steps:

1. Start your computer and enter setup by pressing key-F10.

2. Enter into Advanced BIOS features.

3. There Disable the Power on self test option.

4. Press F10 to save and exit.

There you're. A simple error would be shown by windows saying you to check your date time etc. Then continue your normal work.

If you have a little bit more time then follow these steps:

1. Start your computer and enter setup by pressing key-F10.

2. Enter into CMOS BIOS features.

3. Then manually set your date and time.

4. Press F10 to save and exit.

And please, do change your time-cell soon enough .

Disk Management(continued):- Changing disk storage type

 Sorry for missing out on this in the last post.

And thank you anshul for reminding this through comments.

There are two types of disk storage :-basic and dynamic

• Basic Disk Storage:-

Basic storage uses normal partition tables supported by MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me), Microsoft Windows NT, Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP. A disk initialized for basic storage is called a basic disk. A basic disk contains basic volumes, such as primary partitions, extended partitions, and logical drives. Additionally, basic volumes include multidisk volumes that are created by using Windows NT 4.0 or earlier, such as volume sets, stripe sets, mirror sets, and stripe sets with parity. Windows XP does not support these multidisk basic volumes. Any volume sets, stripe sets, mirror sets, or stripe sets with parity must be backed up and deleted or converted to dynamic disks before you install Windows XP Professional.

• Dynamic Disk Storage

Dynamic storage is supported in Windows XP Professional, Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003. A disk initialized for dynamic storage is called a dynamic disk. A dynamic disk contains dynamic volumes, such as simple volumes, spanned volumes, striped volumes, mirrored volumes, and RAID-5 volumes. With dynamic storage, you can perform disk and volume management without the need to restart Windows.

Now to convert it to dynamic type:-

• Open the Disk management window(follow the last post click here)
• right click on area as shown in picture and select convert to dynamic disk.

 Now follow the instructions to convert to dynamic type.

After you convert a basic disk to a dynamic disk, local access to the dynamic disk is limited to Windows 2000 and Windows XP Professional.

Conversion can be done for whole disk and not for individual partition.

Same is true for back conversion to basic type.

You must first delete all dynamic volumes on the disk and then convert the dynamic disk back to a basic disk. If you want to keep your data, you must first back up the data or move it to another volume.

Note:- For normal users with no use of RAID ,i'll suggest them to use basic type only as it gives better chance of data recovery in case something goes wrong.

Disk Management (Maintaining Partition and creating virtual paths)

Disk Management is a tool used to manage system disks, both local and remote. If you've been around personal computers for a number of years you're familiar with Fdisk, the utility that was used in conjunction with the Format command to set up hard disks from the command prompt. Disk Management, with its graphical user interface, goes a long way to eliminating the need for the command prompt utilities and makes it easy to obtain a quick overview of the system and the relationships between installed disks.

Files in Windows XP can be organised on the hard disk in two different ways:-

•  The old FAT (File Allocation Table) file system was developed originally (when the original IBM PCs came out) for MS-DOS on small machines and floppy disks. There are variants — FAT12 is used on all floppy disks, for example — but hard disk partitions in Windows XP can be assumed to use the FAT32 version, or 32-bit File Allocation Table.

•  Later, a more advanced file system was developed for hard disks in Windows NT, called NTFS (the “NT File System”). This has matured, through several versions, into the latest one that exists alongside FAT in Windows XP.

The file system used goes with an individual partition of the disk. You can mix the two types on the same physical drive. The Windows XP operating system is the same, whichever file system is used for its partition, so it is a mistake (and source of confusion) to speak of “a FAT disk reading an NTFS partition.” It is the operating system, not the disk, that does the reading.

Actual files are unaffected by which file system they are on; that is merely a matter of a method of storage. An analogy would be letters stored in an office. They might be in box-files on shelves (FAT) or in suspended folders in file cabinets (NTFS); but the letters themselves would be unaffected by the choice of which way to store them, and could be moved from one storage place to the other. Similarly, files can be moved between folders on an NTFS partition and folders on a FAT partition, or across a network to another machine that might not even be running Windows.

How to open  Disk Management:-

Click Start > Run and type diskmgmt.msc in the Open: line and click OK. The Disk Management snap-in will open.

The first thing i want to tell you is that you cannot partition a disk unless you format it completely.Moreover disk partition can only be done for whole disk and not for a previously existing  partition.

Now to create partition Format disc and then delete all existing partitions by selecting delete logical drive.

When it becomes a single partition , then you get the option of creating the partition and selecting the appropriate file system.

CHANGING DRIVE LETTER AND PATHS:-

The most interesting service provided by this window is to change drive letter and access path.

This can be done by right clicking on the partition and selecting the option "Change drive letter and path"

 Here select change to change drive letter.

Select Add to add a logical path inside other partition to the selected partition.

Ex:- you can have a path to D drive through a folder in C drive .

Many will argue about its usefullness.

Well there are many applications where it might be useful.

Firstly , it logically integrates the two drives even though they are physically seperated.

Also it provides easy access through command prompt without switching the drive. 

It also helps a great deal in file handling through a single drive rather than using multiple drives.

Quota Management:-

Another good feature provided by this service is quota management.

In multi-user system where several users shares same PC ,there is always a problem in sharing the primary disk for software installation.

Now using this service a seperate quota can be defined for each user.

In case he exceeds the defined quota , he is notified and denied the access to more space.

To do this simply right click on primary partition (Which contains windows ,mostly C drive) and select properties.

Then go to Quota tab (the last one) and check enable quota and do the appropriate settings.

Editing Group Policy (GPEDIT):- Computer's default settings.

This post will enable you to alter various default settings.

These ranges from setting desktop and startup appearance to allowing access permissions for various applications.

Now starting with this follow these steps:-

• Go to RUN.
• Type GPEDIT.MSC and press ok.

A new window  will be opened as shown:-

I am starting with Administrative templates in this post under user config .Rest i'll cover in next post.(Plz dont try to play wi
th other settings unless you have some idea about it)

In this post i'll  explain user configurations so select it from the two
options shown.

In this select Start menu and taskbar.

just select any settings you want to alter and double click on it.

A new window will be opened which allows you to configure the property giving you option to enable or disable it. By default they are set as Not configured so in case you alter them and forget whats appropriate, simply set it to Not configured.

Also you can briefly examine each setting by going to explain tab in newly opened window.

Ex:- I choose Turn off user tracking and double clicked on it .

The window opens as shown:-(double click on pic to zoom)

Now its description says:-

Disables user tracking:-

This setting prevents the system from tracking the programs users run, the paths they navigate, and the documents they open. The system uses this information to customize Windows features, such as personalized menus.

If you enable this setting, the system does not track these user actions. The system disables customized features that require user tracking information, including personalized menus.

Now its up to you how you want to set it.

Check out other settings as well.

Same way you can check other options under Administrative templates .

Lets take another example:-

Want to Turn Off AUTOPLAY:-

Go to system in  Administrative templates and choose Turn off autoplay and set it to enable.

Next time you CD and USB drive wont be played automatically.

Much more than above is there to be explored.But i strictly warn y

ou that dont play with computer configurations unless you have some idea about it.

Just wait for my next post to learn that.

Removing Virus Manually

Fed up of slow PC due to antivirus ,just dump them .

But what about the virus ???Simple , let them approach you.We''ll manage.

Sometimes cure is better than prevention.

Antivirus in most cases are major sources of virus (i am not kidding) ,it is the case most of the time.

Moreover ,antivirus heavily uses CPU cycle making it slow for other use.

Now starting with the damage control job ,follow these steps:-

• Re-Enabling Task Manager:-

The most common symptom of virus is that it disables your task manager.

Now first check it by pressing CTRL+ALT+DEL.

If it doesnot work ,simply copy the following code ,paste it in run dialog box(from start menu) and click ok

Here's the code:-

REG add HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v DisableTaskMgr /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

Now try opening the task manager.I am sure it'll work.

• Stopping Virus activity (temporarily):-

Even though this step wont remove virus permanently ,but it'll allow us to remove them completely after following rest of the steps.

Open task manager and go to processes tab and click on the cpu button twice to arrange it in descending CPU cycle order(view picture).

Next check for the processes which are taking CPU cycle (more than 0) ,now if you have basic idea about processes on your PC you can easily make out which is the unwanted process.If you don't ,you can read my previous post which helps you in this.

Here's the link:-

post link(click here)

Just stop the process by right clicking on it and selecting end process(Don't forget to note its name).

Once the process is stopped now you can delete that process.

Simply search it in your computer and find all occurrences and delete them.

The most common location for virus are:-

• Temp folder in documents and settings(Don't forget to select option show hidden files and folders)

path:- C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Temp

• C:\WINDOWS\system32

Simply go to both these folders ,right click and select arrange icon by and then modified.

This will arrange the files in ascending order of their arrival or modification.

The one's at last would most likely be the virus files.Deeply analyse them and delete if you think it is not of any use.

• Removing startup virus exe files.

For this simply read my previous post post link(click here).

Now when you go to startup manager ,you can see the location of exe of the suspected application and delete it from there.(see the given pics)

As you can see in above pic , Snd is a suspected virus file ,so i simply went to the highlighted location corresponding to it and deleted that particular exe file.

Note that it is in temp so it has every chance of being a virus .

If the location would have been somewhere in java or windows media player or some useful application's folder , i would have thought hundred times before deleting it.

So ,you should be cautious about this.

For the processes just google the process name and you'll find the information about it and also you'll get to know if it is a virus or not.

Note:- I've tried to explain a little bit in this post.Rest i'll cover in subsequent post. For the users who have limited knowledge about PC and processes i'll suggest them not to go this way ,rather use antivirus because they might end up ruining their windows.

Also try to learn and note down the normal windows processes when no virus is present so that you can compare it with the virus infected process status.

Any problem ,just contact me on vaibhav9899@gmail.com

Managing STARTUP Applications and Processes.

How often it happens when you start your PC ,after it boots ,it takes certain time to recognize your keys (or it simply hangs or waits for certain time).
This occurs due to number of startup applications that are loaded automatically ,even though many of them are not of much use to us.

Many of you might be using Tune Up Utilities software for managing that.Its's good ,rather awesome.
But it is usually a trial version. Better use windows in-built utility called "system configuration utility"

Just go to start/Run and type msconfig ,then click on OK.
A dialog box will open up.
Dont play with this box untill you have knowledge about it.

Simply go to Startup tab (the last tab).
It lists all the applications scheduled to open at startup.
Just uncheck the ones you think are of no use at startup (Dont worry you can always open them after startup if you need to).
example:-here i have disabled IDM by unchecking it.
Press ok and then it'll ask you to restart.
Click on restart to apply the changes.

Many of you might be wondering from where does these application keeps on adding to the startup.
Well , when you install a software or application ,it automatically gets into your startup if it is programmed as such.
Also for advanced users who dont even want to see these applications listed in startup(forget about loading).They have two options:-

    Delete it from Start/All programs/Startup
    Or go to C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

Note:-In any circumstances ,altering Startup wont affect working of you PC. You can always open them manually.

This post will help a great deal in explaining my next post "HOW TO REMOVE VIRUS MANUALLY"

Managing processes ,saving memory usage and solving SVCHOST.EXE problem

Your system getting slow as soon as you boot your PC.

Have you ever seen the number of processes running in your PC.If at all seen ,have you ever wondered there are many processes running with name "SVCHOST.EXE".

What the hell is this process all about and why are so many instances of a single processes running on your PC.

So What Is It?

According to Microsoft: “svchost.exe is a generic host process name for services that run from dynamic-link libraries”.

Some time ago, Microsoft started moving all of the functionality from internal Windows services into .dll files instead of .exe files. From a programming perspective this makes more sense for reusability… but the problem is that you can’t launch a .dll file directly from Windows, it has to be loaded up from a running executable (.exe). Thus the svchost.exe process was born.

Why Are There So Many svchost.exes Running?

If you’ve ever taken a look at the Services section in control panel you might notice that there are a Lot of services required by Windows. If every single service ran under a single svchost.exe instance, a failure in one might bring down all of Windows… so they are separated out.

Those services are organized into logical groups, and then a single svchost.exe instance is created for each group. For instance, one svchost.exe instance runs the 3 services related to the firewall. Another svchost.exe instance might run all the services related to the user interface, and so on.

Moreover,the virus makes use of this lack of knowledge and many virus are made using this name.

Just open your task manager and check if your PC is also infected by one such virus.This can be easily inspected by looking at the CPU cycle being consumed by particular process.

Why can't we stop them by simply setting stop process?

Well you can , but there is a problem because when you stop some useful instance supporting basic PC application ,your PC tends to shut down.Next time you try ,you might end up facing same problem.Then how to recognize which one to stop.I have better ideas.

Still i'll not dissapoint you  ,if you prefer it this way ,Go on.  BUT,

just type the following command in the  RUN window

"shutdown -a"

This aborts the shutdown and keeps the ended process.

Now you can start ending those process and whenever you encounter shutdown message just run that command.

Now i'll explain the better way to deal with both SVCHOST.EXE  and rest of the unused processes.

Download "PROCESS MANAGER"

DOWNLOAD LINK:-

http://download.sysinternals.com/Files/ProcessExplorer.zip

Just  install it and open it.

You'll see a window much like task manager with some advancement.

The best thing i like in it is that as soon as you hover your mouse over a process ,it gives information about it and also the services they are used for.

Now you can manually select which one to abort.

Example:-

In my PC i found many svchost.exe and other processes of which following were useless

1. SVCHOST.exe for windows image aquisition was useless form me.

2. SVCHOST.exe for DNS client was useless unless i am using internet.

3. Spoolsv.exe for print spooler was useless unless i am using a printer currently.

Other similar processes can be inspected and stopped for better PC operation.

Note:- In no circumstances will the process termination affect the working of PC.Simply reboot and you'll get back your original configurtion.

Also if a process which is not known is taking much memory or CPU cycle,it might well be a virus and it will be a good option to switch it off.

Tackling such viruses will be discussed in my next post.

Port Forwarding in MTNL's UT-300R2U Modem

The first thing i would like to mention is this is not the best of modem provided by ISP's to forward a specific port.

We gamers normally forward port no:-27015 for counter strike but it doesnot allow us to forward a specific port.

Well I am not going into the theory of ports and port forwarding so please google it and read it.

Before starting ,let me warn you that this will open all your ports so be carefull and open them only when you want to use them.

Eventhough there is a modem default settings restoration option available ,still i would like you to write down the default settings in case you would have to revert back to them.

Follow these steps:-

• Open your web browser (explorer ,firefox or any ).
• Input http://192.168.1.1 (MODEM default IP address) in the address column, then click button.
• Input username and password, then click  login key to enter
  WEB setting interface.(both username and pass are admin by default).

• Choose the WAN tab from the side menu(it might be Advanced Setup ->Wan in some models).
• Click on Edit button having VPI/VCI = 0/33, Check the
  following options: VPI = 0, VCI = 33.Click on next button.
• Choose bridging from the list and LLC/SNAP-Bridging from drop down menu.Click next

•  Check the default setting to match this:-

1. Enable Bridge service checked.
2. Service name as it is.

Click next.

• Check the final settings.Click on the “Save/Reboot” button, save your configurations.
• Restart your modem.

Now you have to configure the new connection

• Go to the network connections.
• Click on Create a  new connection from left side menu.
• New connection wizard will open.Click next.
• Choose "connect to internet." and click next.
• Choose "set up my connection manually" and click next.
• Choose "connect using broadband modem using username and pass" and then next.
• Enter ISP name as MTNLand click next
• Enter your phone number as username and CA number as Password.
• Choose next/save and exit.

Now bridge mode is set.When you want your ports to be open just go to network connections ,right click on the MTNL connection and click on connect.

A new window will appear .Click connect in that too. 

Check your ports .They are open now.

To check the ports ,use port checker software by portforward.com

Any problem ,just revert back to the original settings.

Still problems, contact me at vaibhav9899@gmail.com or post a comment

 

Setting up REMOTE connection to another PC

With Remote Desktop on Windows XP Professional, you can have access to a Windows session that is running on your computer when you are at another computer. This means, for example, that you can connect to your work computer from home and have access to all of your applications, files, and network resources as though you were in front of your computer at work. You can leave programs running at work and when you get home, you can see your desktop at work displayed on your home computer, with the same programs running.

When you connect to your computer at work, Remote Desktop automatically locks that computer so no one else can access your applications and files while you are gone. When you come back to your computer at work, you can unlock it by typing CTRL+ALT+DEL.

Remote Desktop also allows more than one user to have active sessions on a single computer. This means that multiple users can leave their applications running and preserve the state of their Windows session even while others are logged on.

Basically ,remote desktop is same as TELNET however there is a protocol difference between the two.Moreover you might not get TELNET on all PC's.

Now to start using this service follow these steps:-

• Open control panel/performance/system
• Click on Remote tab and check allow users to connect remotely.

• You must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group to enable the Remote Desktop feature.
• Next you have to configure your firewall setting  :-

1. In the Control Panel, click Security Center.
2. Under Manage security settings for, click Windows Firewall.
3. Make sure the Don't allow exceptions check box is not selected.
4. Click the Exceptions tab, and verify that the Remote Desktop check box is selected.
5. Click OK, and then close the Windows Security Center window.
   Your host computer is now set up to allow remote access.

• Now its time to connect.Type MSTSC in run and press enter.
• Remote connection box will appear ,type the IP address of the PC you want to connect and then it will prompt you to enter username and password (the one which you enter while logging in ,which is of the PC you are trying to connect and not the PC you are on).
• You will be connected to the required PC.

Note:- You can also give computer name(check it from system  in performance and settings) to connect to a PC in local network.

Warning:- Your  ports should be open to use this service (first forward your ports) .Check if it works without it or not.

Want to prevent users from using the USB drive of your computer?? Contd PART-2

The part-1 of this post describes how you can prevent the users from accessing your USB drive if it is already installed in your system.

This part describeshow to customize USB device storage device if the same is not installed in the system.

So, here are the steps!!

1. Run>> type %windir%\inf

2. Now search for two files

a) usbstor.inf

b)usbstor.pnf

3. Now you have to change its permission settings. Right click on the each file and click on properties. Goto "security" tab and select the desired user or group in "group and usernames" list which you want to restrict from USB drives. Now in "permission for users" click on "deny" and click OK.

4) process compelete. Now user will not be able to install USB device on your computer and therby will not be able to access the data.

NOTE:- In VISTA the procedure is slightly different. For any assistance regarding how to perform the operation in Windows Vista, post a comment and it will be entirely my pleasure to help you in the best way i can..

Preventing USB access to your computer

Many times we need to restrict the users from using the USB drives from our system so that no one can transfer or take away any information or data from the system.
Saying the other way round, sometimes you also want that no-one should put his content on your PC either.

By going through this post, you will be able to prevent user from using the USB drive of your PC.. The Windows will not detect the USB..

Here are the steps..

1) startup>> run>> type regedit

2)goto HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\USBSTOR

3) In the right side, change the value of "start" to "4"



4) Now whenever a user will attach a USB storage device which is already installed to your computer system, windows will not detect it and will not be shown in MY COMPUTER.

IMPORTANT: if you want to revert back, change the value of "start" to "3"

I think now, u can also use USB drives in your those college systems in which, college has made use of this trick in order to disable the USB drive option.. ;) .. cheers!!

HYPERTERMINAL :- Connecting a microcontroller ,moblie,computer or any other device with serial port.

Why use HYPERTERMINAL:-

When you want to transfer date to and recieve data from microcontroller through serial ports.

When you want to connect two PC's and transmit data between them.

When you want to send AT Commands to a Mobile Phone or GSM/GPRS Modem.

*Note:- for details on sending AT commands visit Nokia forum for better visualization.

RS232

RS 232 is a standard in serial communication. An 8 bit word is transmitting one after other.

The first bit sent is LSB. Some other bits are attached to the useful bits.

These bits are: START BIT, STOP BIT and some parity bits.

The START BIT is the first bit sent. Then the useful package of bits are following (LSB first).

The last bit sent is STOP BIT. In RS 232 standard an "1" is transmitted as -3 to -25 volts and "0" as +3 to +25 volts.

Some other standard for serial communication are RS 422, RS 423, RS 485.

How to connect:-

1. Connect the device to appropriate serial port.

2. Run MS HyperTerminal by selecting Start >>Programs >>Accessories>>Communications>> HyperTerminal.

3. In the Connection Description dialog box, enter a name and choose an icon you like for the connection. Then click the OK button.

4. In the Connect To dialog box, choose the COM port that you are using(either COM1 or COM2)

5. Another window will open and hyperterminal ask you to choose the baud rate.

6. Choose 9600 baud.

7. In the "Flow control" filed choose "None" and hit OK. for BOTH PCs(single PC in case microcontroller is used).

8. Then, you can start typing and you will see the characters on the second PC (or sent to microcontroller).

9. Same way whatever the microcontroller or second PC send it appears on the window.

10. To see the characters you type on your display too, you have to make two more settings. From "File" menu, choose the "Properties" submenu.

11. Choose "Settings" .Press the "ASCII setup" button and another window will open.

12. Click on the "Send line ends with line feeds" to check it and on the "Echo typed characters locally".

13. Hit now OK and close the window. Now, you can start typing characters and send them to the other PC.

NOTE: In HYPERTERMINAL tha data you are typing (sending serially) is not displayed on the screen. Whereas the data that is received  is displayed on the Hyperterminal Screen.