Wikipedia:Reference desk archive/Computing/2006 August 10

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[edit] static ip, no connectivity?

When I plug into my router I get limited or no connectivity and a strange IP/subnet is assigned. I went in and manually added a IP/subnet for my PC so now I can ping my router, but I can't get internet from it. Any ideas?

Have you manually set the DNS server as well? Try setting it to the same IP as the gateway you set. digfarenough (talk) 04:22, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] user data

I found a file on my computer in the AllUsers folder entitled 'ntuser.dat'. When I opened it I found the data for the location on my computer and 'en.wikipedia.org' appears to be the user. Where can I get info on what this file is for, and how and why it was created on my computer on 7-3-2006. (I have used Wiki considerably longer). It is distinct from a cookie.

I also forgot to log into Wiki when I first tried to post this request to this page and found that by IP address had been blocked. Amerindianarts 07:10, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

Search before asking. Thanks [1]
ntuser.dat is a registry hive file that loads as HKEY_CURRENT_USER when a user logs on. The HKEY_CURRENT_USER (ntuser.dat) contains the user profile for the user who is currently logged on to the computer. The user profile includes environment variables, personal program groups, desktop settings, network connections, printers, and application preferences.
You can edit HKEY_CURRENT_USER of other users by loading this hive under HKEY_USERS (you must log on as administrator to edit this hive).
It’s one of your Registry files. Unlike the other Registry files, this one is stored in your personal Documents and Settings folder and contains the entire contents of the HKEY_LOCAL_USER branch of the Registry. You can’t delete it because it’s in use and protected, and you wouldn’t want to because otherwise you’ll mess up your whole computer! It will grow as you install more software that creates keys and sub keys in this branch of the Registry, and so is perfectly normal. To summarise: leave NTUSER.DAT alone.
--mboverload@ 08:28, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

I don't mean the .dat, but the text file 'ntuser.dat' which references Wikipedia as a user. It doesn't grow like the .dat you refer to and was only created last month. The .dat you mean was created when the computer was loaded. The one I refer to is recent.Amerindianarts 09:11, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Thin clients

Network computers and thin clients have become buzz words now-a-days. A high bandwidth connection is required between the thin client and the server (where hard disk and programs are stored). I just want to know what is the bandwidth required between the thin client and the server computer. Is it 1 Mbps or 2Mbps or 100 Mbps?

Completely depends on what you're planning on doing and your intended setup. --mboverload@ 08:26, 10 August 2006 (UTC)
It also depends on how "thin" the client is. Some smart clients support caching, while others are much like dumbterminals, with little or no capacity for processing. Jdstroy 04:42, 13 August 2006 (UTC) (See RDP, VNC, or the like.)

[edit] Moving the contents of one wiki into another

Hi, Im having trouble trying to merge an old wiki into my current wiki. The information in the older wiki is just too much to write out again so i'd prefer to investigate other options first. I'm using version 1.7.1 mediawiki and MySQL 4.1 with MySQL Administrator.

I have a backup of the old database i want to include in my new wiki, but i don't want to overwrite any of the current wiki database contents.

Can anyone help?

Cheers

[edit] How would one connection be shared evenly between two PCs?

If I were to move in with someone, and we each had our own PC, how would we share an internet connection? I mean, we can't each have our own DSL connection, so we'd have to share a service. What would plug into the phone line, so each PC can plug into that device? Is there any way to make sure the two PCs share an equal amount of bandwidth (as in, they get 50% each) when they're both active, but when one's turned off, the other gets 100% of the bandwidth?

There are many routers/hubs/shared access points (whatever the marketing departments want to call them these days). I use Linksys. You plug your DSL modem into the router (that's the name I'm going to use). My router has 4 network jacks in it. So, I can plug up to four computers directly into it with a standard cat5 network cable. --Kainaw (talk) 15:18, 10 August 2006 (UTC)
The one time I had a DSL line (earlier this year) the phone company provided a combined DSL modem/wireless router. One could access it without wires, or plug up to 4 ethernet cables in the back. --Gerry Ashton 16:43, 10 August 2006 (UTC)
for the 50/50 thing, you'll need to flash your router with some freeware like dd-wrt or Alchemy. I don't think the standard linksys firmware provides features like bandwidth limits.

[edit] ANSI Standard text

copied from the Science section The German user http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benutzer:Nightflyer searches for the German article on ANSI/EIA/TIA-232-F-1997 the text of the standard (free of cost). Thanks --Historiograf 02:19, 10 August 2006 (UTC) http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Bibliotheksrecherche

ISO and ANSI standards are copyright, and generally not available without cost. This is how the standards bodies cover their running costs. Sometimes the final draft can be found, but this often changes in the standard. It's worth checking with different standards bodies, as the same standard may have quite different charges. Notinasnaid 09:06, 10 August 2006 (UTC)
Comment. Please try to avoid Copyright Paranoia. You can legally use standards without paying as library patron or in another way. Fair use allows to mail privately the text to another person. There are many libraries or institutions which have the text and could help. --Historiograf 14:38, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Quake, Quake II

Where can I download Quake and/or Quake II for single and multiplayer? I have an old version of Quake that runs on an old, old Win 95 PC but it won't work on my newer XP system. Any ideas?

If there was an online resource that let you read about things like Quake, I'm sure there would be information about GLQuake and WinQuake. --Kainaw (talk) 19:41, 10 August 2006 (UTC)
aha! Success, it works!
but How about Quake II? I checked Quake II and there's some stuff about hwo the game was released in open source...is there a version I can download without having to compile the game myself? I don't understand all this open source stuff.


It's highly unlikely there's a (legal) version you can just download and run. I'm pretty sure Quake II was never released as shareware.
Quake II was released for download from Id. The catch is that it came only with demo data files. You have to buy Quake II (what is it, $5 off EBay now?) to get the real game data files. That is the model for all of the Quake games - engine is free, data files cost money. --Kainaw (talk) 11:56, 11 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] list of IP's on network

How do I get a list of all the IP addresses on my network? Is there a simple DOS command to do this?

If you want to know all the potential IP addresses on your network, just check the network address and netmask. If you want to know all the active IP addresses, it's harder; the best way is to use a portscanner like nmap on the "ping scan" mode (which only checks which hosts are up, but does not do an actual port scan), but even then some hosts can hide from the scan. Also note that you should only run a portscanner if your network administrator allows it; running one without being explicitly allowed to can anger your network administrator. You do not want to anger your network administrator. It can also crash some devices on your network (but the "ping scan" mode is usually safe). --cesarb 20:36, 10 August 2006 (UTC)
net view will give you a list of all the ip addresses connected to the network.

[edit] Archiving data

Which is a better choice price-wise and chance-of-not-being-able-to-retrieve-data-in-a-decade-wise:

1. burning DVD's to back things up 2. External hard-drives

Burnable DVD's and CD's do not have longevity to make them a good option for archiving. In my opinion, if you get high-quality DVDs, you will get at least 10 years out of them, if not more. Note that the pressed copies you buy with movies on them are not the same material as the burnable ones. So, don't use their longevity as a comparison. --Kainaw (talk) 19:37, 10 August 2006 (UTC)
What's wrong with a tape drive?
Print-through for one thing. Although the article addresses it as a problem with audio-recordings, the same thing can happen with computer tapes, which usually are recorded with analog devices, unless one gets into higher end, more expensive options. --LarryMac 14:41, 11 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] amazon s3

Is amazon s3 a webhosting service or a storage system? Can I use that for web hosting needs? (There was no customer service in their website and thats why I am asking here)

I don't think it's a webhosting service. It seems like the file can only be acessed by the uploader or someone the uploader as authorized. Wizrdwarts (T|C|E) 01:14, 11 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] FTP behind two routers

Do I need to do some port forwarding with my routers to be able to download files via FTP?

You'll need to use passive mode on the client and consult the server configuration and/or documentation to find out what ports it uses for this. These ports will then need to be redirected. --Pidgeot (t) (c) (e) 23:51, 10 August 2006 (UTC)