Computer errors can pop up when least expected, they can cause the entire system to
suddenly shut down, and they can inadvertently corrupt data to the point where it can't be
deciphered. Computer errors cannot always be avoided, however, with a little knowledge these
errors can be corrected. The key is to understand what computer errors are,is to understand what
they mean when they show up, and understand how to minimize their occurrence in the first
place.

Therefore, let us take a look here at some types of computer errors arising due to imperfect
knowledge of software installation.


1) Errors arising due to conflict of commands -- These errors arise when you give some
   command and the command requires some resource which is not available. For example,
   you might have installed a software on Windows 98 but its specification states that
   it should be installed on windows xp. In this case, as soon as the command which
   requiring windows xp resource is started, you will get an error message, simply because
   that resource will not be available on windows 98. You must,therefore, never purchase
   or install a software without knowing its operating system specifications.

2) Errors arising due to Insufficient memory -- Software programs include minimum memory
   requirements. A program that needs 20MB of memory will generate errors on a computer
   that only has 6MB of memory, if it runs at all. The same is true in case of disk space,
   monitor color, depth and resolution etc. In these situations, problems occur the
   moment that a piece of software attempts to access the hardware, memory, space,
   resolution, etc. that it cannot find. Hence, always refer to the hardware resource
   specifications before purchasing a software, or before installing it.

3) Errors arising due to old shared files.--- Some files called as the dll library files are
   shared between computer software programs. When the shared files are not upto date it
   might cause errors to appear. For instance,let's say that Program A is already installed on
   a computer and it's working just fine. Then let's say that the user of that computer downloads
   and installs Program B. Program B uses a file that Program A installed much earlier, but
   when Program B is run, errors popup. Those errors are the result of Program B attempting
   to use an outdated (shared) file that was installed by Program A. In order to fix that
   problem, the user would have to download an updated version of the shared file.

4) Errors arising due to outdated driver files.--- If your system does not have the required
   drivers than errors might crop up. If your systems has the drivers, but the drivers
   are not updated than also errors will arise. In such a case you will require your computer
   to be updated  on a regular basis.Always try to keep your computer updated in order to avoid
   the problems arising from driver software.

This article doesn't even begin to cover the entire gamut of computer errors, it only refers to the
errors due to faulty installation of the software.

        

Have you ever thought about networking your computers at home? A simple but
useful  network can be set up using the computers already available in your home. All
the persons in your home can share data, software, peripherals etc. using  home networking
and there is no need to buy separate printers, scanners etc for each member of your family.

You can use either the wireless adapters or the ethernet cards to connect the computers
to one another. You'll  first require to select the computers that you want to connect to
each other and then install the wireless network adapters or the ethernet network cards
inside each of them. In case of wireless network you will require to configure a wireless
router to connect the computers to one another. In case of ethernet network you'll have
to connect a cable to each computer that will communicate with one another, and connect
the other end to the network hub.

Once the network is physically set up please read the instruction manual of your equipment
for any further details, you can then setup the network from Windows on each machine.
Within Windows, you can set up a home network similar to the way that you set up an
Internet connection. Only this time, you'll set up a LAN (Local Area Network) connection.
 
Windows Xp can walk you through setting up a wireless LAN (peer to peer connection) after
starting the computer; you can begin by connecting  one of your machines to the network.
You can do this through Internet Explorer by typing in the address and password required to
access the router (the address and password required to access the router will be in the
router manual).

Once the network is assembled and up and running, each computer can send files back and
forth, open programs on a remote computer, play the sound files and videos located on another
computer, and share a single Internet account to browse the web, download files, or chat
with someone in an entirely different country. A single printer on only one computer in the
network can be shared by all the home users. Everyone in the home can send documents to
 it and print them out. Kids will enjoy the ability to play multi-player games and adults will
enjoy the ability to blast a single message to everyone at once or maintain a group schedule.

If you are planning to connect and share the internet using your home network, you're strongly
advised to install a protective firewall program to thwart Internet viruses, worms, or other
damaging spyware code. You should install a firewall on the computer that grants access
to the computer, and then install an anti-virus and anti-spyware program on each of the
remaining computers in the network.
 
For protecting files such as the bank statements, credit card information, etc.you can restrict
their access in one of several ways. You can put them in a new folder and then remove the
"read" permissions for that folder. Or you can specify who can and who cannot access specific
files with a password from within Windows Control Panel.

To do a quick and cost effective job, you can assemble your computers using readily available
computer kits and then join them together into a computer home network. It's a easy job to
assemble a home network, and there is no doubt that you will be able to do it all by yourself.
So assemble your home computer network and reap the great benefits right now!

        

The Epson CX6900F is a multifunction device. It functions as an inkjet color printer, a high quality
photo printer, a scanner and a fax machine.

Printing

There are four modes of printing: 1) The text only mode for taking test prints 2) The text and image
mode for printing both text and image 3) The Photo mode for printing good quality photos and
4) The Best Photo mode for printing best quality photos.

The print quality in all these modes in very good. In other printers, in the best photo quality mode,
you have to match the contrast and brightness in your software with the print behavior to get
the best quality photo prints. But with CX6900F this is not a problem. However, to obtain best quality
photos you must use a photo paper.

As for the speed, the printer is only moderate. It is not a speed machine which can be used in
the business environment, but for normal operation or home use its speed is good.

Scanner

The built in scanner has very high resolution of the order of 1200 x 2400 and this makes the Epson
good at color reproductions. There is no trace of lines in this scanner, which some scanners produce.

Ease of operation

There is a front panel with buttons and Lcd screen to make the operation of Epson very easy.
The panel  has one touch button for black and white and color copying. There is a number pad for
faxing and also buttons to choose the paper sizes.

With built-in fax and scanner, and good color and photo printing the Epson CX6900F is a good buy
as a secondary printer in the office, where the main job is done by a fast laser printer. With color
printing , scanning and faxing at the present price, it is a very good buy for the home users.

        

Hard drives can be compared by taking into account the various  factors such as the storage
capacity, rotational speed, type of interface, and buffer size.

Storage capacity

A hard drive is ultimately judged by its Storage capacity. The idea is to pack in more storage
capacity at a lesser cost. Today lower end hard drives have the capacity of 120 GB to 200 GB.
The High end hard drives have the capacity of over 500 GB.

If you are a normal user an 80 GB hard drive would be sufficient, but if you are a graphics
designer or a video editor then you will require a much higher capacity hard drive, a 500 GB
capacity or  higher . While purchasing your hard drives, you can get one 500 GB hard drive
which will provide the necessary storage space for your photos, illustrations, videos and sound
files etc. or you can also purchase two or three smaller capacity hard drives and then connect
them together to save money, rather than buying one premium 500 GB hard drive.

If you are working in a Lan environment you will perhaps require a 1000 GB hard drive or higher.
For smaller Lans and Home Lans a capacity of 250 GB or 500 GB would be sufficient. If you are
working in a Large Lan environment, hard drives can be connected as raid arrays, in order to
provide speed and data protection.

Rotational speed

It is not only the storage capacity but the rotational speed that also matters when you are
selecting a hard drive. Low end hard drives have speeds in the range of 5400 to 7200 rpm. But
most SATA and PATA hard drives today have speed of 7200 rpm. High end hard drives, which could
be used in LANs etc, have speeds of 10,000 -rpm. The faster the speed of the hard drives the
faster is the data retrieval and better the performance of the Computer.

Type of Interface

Another important consideration is the type of interface. New PC's use SATA interface, with
data transfer rates of 150 MBps or 300 Mbps. PATA drives have transfer rates of either
100 Mbps or 133 Mbps. But, there is little advantage in using one type or another as hard
drives seldom achieve data transfer rates approaching their maximum rates.

Internal hard drives are connected to the built in internal interface inside your motherboard.
You must connect the SATA hard drive to the SATA connectors and the PATA hard drives to
the PATA connectors. Apart from the built in connectors, PCI express and PCI addin cards are
also available if required, or for some reasons you cannot use the built in connectors inside
your motherboard.

External hard drives are also available and have dual interface providing both the usb and
the Firewire connections. If your system lacks USB or firewire ports than you can connect an
addin usb and firewire combo card. External SATA drives provide performance equal to the
internal SATA drives.

Network hard drives employ the ethernet connection for plugging into your network. Get an
ethernet card that includes an USB 2.0 port for adding additional hard drive to enpand your
capacity.

Buffer or Cache Size

The last consideration is that of buffer (same as cache memory) size. The Simple PATA drive
may have upto 2 MB of buffer size. SATA drives have 8 MB to 16 MB buffer size. Larger the
buffer size the better is the data flowing performance.

        

When building your own computer, we sometimes spend all our free time researching and focusing on the components inside our computer.  This means sometimes we fail to really think about the components outside the computer.  When was the last time you thought about the keyboard you were using?  Take a minute and look at it now, have you started to wear the letters off the keys?  Have you replaced the keyboard in the last year?  While you may not be able to build a new keyboard or mouse the accessories we use with our computer are as vital as the components inside our computers.  Why not use top of the line accessories and really make your computer great?

The first accessory you should upgrade is your monitor.  Upgrade your monitor now and your eyes will thank you.  Are you still using an old CRT monitor or first generation LCD panel?  Consider upgrading to a newer and brighter widescreen LCD panel.  The ViewSonic Optiquest Series Q20WB is my current favorite widescreen LCD monitor that upgraded my computer without damaging my wallet.  

Before I started to use this monitor I was constantly frustrated with dead pixels and ghosting issues with my old monitor.  Sure, I told people that the dead pixels did not bother me, but in reality every time I used my monitor (which was all day long) I saw those pixels and wanted to toss my very expensive LCD monitor out the window.  I even succumbed to the fashion of connecting two small LCD monitors in an attempt to expand my monitor real estate but I found once I connected one ViewSonic widescreen monitor, I no longer needed the dual monitor setup.

This monitor also provides a high-definition experience.  I spend my entire day writing words and not only was the ViewSonic Optiquest able to constantly deliver crisp text and vivid colors that I find very easy to read. I could also watch recorded television shows and movies on this monitor without any problems.  You will want to confirm that your video card is able to handle a high-definition widescreen monitor but if you need to upgrade your video card — all the better, right?

  I also really like the built in anti-glare screen that is standard on this monitor.  You will too if your office or computer desk is located in an area where the sun shines in during the morning or the afternoon.  Before I started to use this computer I had to work with the curtains closed every day because of the glare the sun created on my computer monitor but now I can finally enjoy my view of the water while writing.  

Using the ViewSonic Optiquest Series Q20WB monitor will open your eyes to a new form of building your own computer.  You may start to realize that not only should you spend time researching and installing the best components for the computers your build but you should spend time on your computer accessories as well.   

        

If you are reading this blog, chances are you love to build computers.  Or maybe, your trying to figure out how to build a computer and you ended up here.  Do you sometimes struggle when trying to explain computer parts to people in your family that are not builders?  Maybe your girlfriend has no idea what you spend all you time working on and you want to be able to explain your hobby.   This blog post is for her and when we are done you’ll be able to explain what a motherboard is quickly and easily.

The motherboard or logic board as some people know it is the main printed circuit board in your computer. This main circuit board holds everything in your computer together.  The CPU, memory, and all other components are either housed on this main board or attached through expansion slots and cables.  Some motherboards are designed for easy upgrade which means all you need to do is pop the old component out of a socket and insert the new upgraded component in.

Every electronic device in your home, has a motherboard.  If there is an electronic display or an automatic detection system of some kind, there is a motherboard inside.  And it really goes without saying, not every motherboard looks like the one in your computer but they do have the same function no matter what style or shape the motherboard is.  Motherboards connect all the devices and components needed to run the device together and provide the pathways for the electricity to move.  

One thing you will always hear when you set out to build your own computer, is to make sure that the components are compatible with your motherboard.  The basic operating instructions for your computer is located in a piece of software installed on your motherboard.  The software is known as the BIOS and if the BIOS does not have information on the components you are building your computer form you take the chance that the components will not work.  Many motherboards do not have an upgradable BIOS which unfortunately means that you need to replace the motherboard to upgrade your BIOS compatibility.  

If you decided to purchase abare-bones computer systemto build your own computer from or an entire PC Kit you will not need to worry about your motherboard’s compatibility for the components that are sold together.  But do make sure you take a few minutes to research whether or not any additional components that you purchase are compatible.  You would not want to spend money on parts for your new computer that do not work.  

Motherboards can last longer than hard drives and do not require the constant upgrades that memory do but if you have the same motherboard that you were using in your first computer, you should consider upgrading it at some point.  Motherboards have a limited number of connections and if your board is old enough you may be working with outdated connection types which can limit your computer building and upgrading options.  Review your motherboard’s available slots, connections, and capacity at least once every year and upgrade when you start to run out of upgrade possibilities.  You will find that if you keep your motherboard up to date you never need to worry about component capability. 

        

Today I am going to stray a little from the main discussion of how to build computers to talk about missing laptops.  Did you know that 10,000 laptops go missing at US airports each week?  I travel a lot and every time I pass through airport security, a little part of me kisses my beloved laptop good bye.  In several airports I’ve been forced to put my laptop and passport in a bin then walk away and go through another line for the metal detector.  I expected to find nothing waiting me for when I retrieved my belongings.  

With 10,000 laptops missing at US airports each week, there really must be a better way.  First, this silly need to take out shoes off must stop or else the TSA needs to set up a place for people to put their shoes on and repack their bags that is not right at the end of the scanning belt.  People start to grab stuff off the belt and some people simply do not look to see what they have.  I know, I once had my bag and my computer picked up by a sweet old woman who was collecting her families belongings.  She was not aware what the bags looked like and they went through security ahead of me.  Luckily, I saw her and chased them down.

We must all keep an eagle eye on own computer while at the airport.  Security experts recommend that when you place your belongings on the scanning belt start with your bag and other items that do not need to go in a tray.  Then place your computer in a bin and follow up with another bin that holds your shoes and misc items.  This will place your laptop computer in the middle of your belongings.  If you need to move to additional screening, take your belongings with you and once you pass through security move away from the area quickly.  Do not stand around putting your shoes back on, grab your stuff and go.  

Security experts do suggest marking your laptop with some sort of personal identification code but do not use a business card.  In some corporations this can be very difficult, I once worked for an organization that loved to place these huge asset tags on the front bezel (that contained the name of the company for all to see) of all their laptop computers and if you placed a sticker or any other identifying mark on the computer, it was seen as defacing company property.  You want to be able to identify your computer quickly on sight so come up with a method that meets your needs and the policies of your company.  

Finally, if your computer is stolen report it and follow up.  Report any theft immediately and stick around in the area.  Talk to a supervisor who can give you solid information and assist you in completing the paperwork immediately.  Over 99% of laptops stolen in the airport can be recovered quickly but people just expect that they will never see their computer again and give up.  If your running late you may need to decide if you want the laptop or your plane seat, I know what I would choose, do you?

        

If you are thinking of installing a hard disk and want to make your task easy, knowledge of partitioning, formatting and file systems is a must. This article attempts to discuss these principles in simple terms.

Storage of data on Hard drive :

A hard drive consists of circular aluminum platters which store data in the form of magnetized spots. These magnetic spots are created by the write heads moving over the platters. There are also the read and the erase heads; read heads read the data from the platters, whereas, the erase heads demagnetize the spots and erase the data. The platters rotate about a spindle at constant speed and the read/write/erase heads are positioned over specific places on the platter by means of actuator arms.

The data stored on the platters is in the form of tracks. Each track is circular in shape and the tracks are concentrically arranged from the spindle to the edge of each platter. Further, the tracks are divided into sectors, so that it is easy to search for specific data on the hard drive.

Steps in preparing a Hard drive.

Step 1: Low level formatting the Hard drive :

Low level formatting of the hard drive is a hardware specific job and is carried out by the manufacturer at the factory. In low level formatting of the hard drive the format command etches the tracks and sectors on the drive. This is the first step in the preparation of a totally blank hard drive.

Step 2 : Partitioning the Hard drive :

The next step in the preparation of the hard drive is the process of partitioning. The partitioning of the drive is carried out during the time of installation of the drive. It is the operating system that determines how to partition the hard drive and what information is to be stored during this process.

Partitioning is actually the division of the hard drive into two or more logical drives. This divides the space available in the hard drive into two or more parts. You can use one partition to install the operating system files and the software application files, whereas, the other partition can be used to store your data. This ensures that your data is secured and kept away from the application programs.

The partitions are of two types 1) Primary partitions and 2) Extended partitions. The first partition you create is the primary partition and it is compulsory to create a primary partition. After creating the primary partition you can create the extended partition. (It is optional to have a primary partition, this means you can assign the entire hard disk space to your primary partition alone) Now, you can create logical drives under the extended partition. Each partition is automatically assigned a drive letter by the operating system. So if A: and B: are the floppy disks, than the primary partition is assigned the drive letter C: the logical drives are named as D:, E: and so on. After that the other drives in your PC are assigned the successive drive letters. For example, if your PC has also a CDRom connected it is assigned the drive letter of F: and if you connect an external flash disk it is assigned the drive letter of G:.

However, in case of deletion of the partitions the procedure is just the reverse. You have to delete first the partition that you created last. You must delete the E: first, then the D: so that all the logical drives are deleted one by one. Only then you can delete the main primary partition. When you delete the partitions your data will be completely lost. Take care! If the data is important, please don’t forget to take a backup.

Partitioning procedures under different operating systems

The procedure for partitioning the hard drives varies under different operating systems.
We take a look at partitioning under the DOS 7, Windows 95 (ORS2)/98 and the Windows Xp operating systems.

Originally the Dos operating system supplied the FDISK utility to partition the hard drive. The partitioning was carried out using the FAT 12 file system (to be described in the later part of this article). The hard disk size used to be under 32MB. These lower versions of DOS are no longer used.

As the hard disk size increased the DOS 7 operating system supplied FDISK utility which could partition the drive using the FAT 16 file system. The FAT 16 file system allowed partitions upto the size of 2.1 GB max. So if the hard drive was more than 2.1 GB than it would require the drive to be partitioned into two or more parts. (Note: Partitioning a drive is a must even if there is a single partition on the drive)

Steps for partitioning under DOS 7:

1. After connecting the new hard disk and checking whether it is being sensed properly, boot the Computer using bootable DOS 7 floppy disk.
2. Start the FDISK command from the command prompt. If your hard disk was good and it was correctly installed, it will be sensed by the FDISK command and you will get the partitioning menu of DOS 7.
3. Option 4 displays partitions. If the partition information display indicates that there are existing partitions on the drive, delete these partitions by selecting option 3.
4. Select option 1. ‘Create DOS partition or Logical DOS drive’ and hit <Enter>. The ‘Create DOS partition or logical DOS drive’ menu is displayed. Again select option 1 ‘Create primary DOS partition’ and hit <Enter>.The message ‘Do you wish to use the maximum available size for a Primary DOS Partition and make the Partition active (Y/N) ‘ is displayed. Type N and press <Enter>
5. Type in the size of the primary partition (in M: ). This value can be anywhere from 1 to 2048 MB (default). Then press the <Enter> key. The message ‘Primary DOS Partition created’ is displayed. Press <Esc> to continue.
6. At the FDISK options menu 1, select 1. Create DOS partition or logical DOS drive and press the<Enter> key.
7. The ‘Create extended DOS partition’ screen is displayed. Press <Enter> to place the remaining available space on the drive into the extended DOS partition.
8. Press <Esc> to continue when the FDISK message “Extended DOS partition created” appears on the monitor. FDISK will now prompt you to create logical drives for the extended DOS partition. The message “Enter logical drive size in megabytes or percent of disk space (%)” is displayed.
9. Type the logical drive size (up to 2048MB and press <Enter>. If you choose a value less than the displayed total size, you must continue entering drive sizes until all of the available space has been assigned logical drive letters.
10. Press <Esc> to continue when the FDISK message “All available space in the extended DOS partition is assigned to logical drives” appears.
11. If the drive is going to be the primary boot drive, select 2.Set active partition and press <Enter> at the FDISK options menu. The Set active partition screen is displayed and the message “Enter the number of the partition you want to make active” appears. Then press <Enter>. You will get the message “Partition 1 made active”.
12. Press <Esc> to exit FDISK. Exiting FDISK under DOS will cause the system to re-boot. After the system re-boots, each drive letter assigned to the partitioned hard drive must be formatted with FORMAT command. You should now be able to use the drive.

Steps for partitioning under WINDOWS 95 (OSR2) , WINDOWS 98:

1. Boot the PC with the Windows 95 OSR2 or Windows 98 setup CD Rom.
2. At the Welcome to setup screen, press the <F8> key twice – this will terminate the execution of the Setup program, and take you to the E: prompt.
3. Type FDISK and press <Enter>. You’ll be prompted with : “Do you wish to enable large disk support? Y or N”
4. Type Y to create a FAT 32 partition and press <Enter>. At this point, the FDISK options menu will appear on the screen. If more than one hard drive is in the system, use option “5” (“Change current fixed drive”) to select the desired drive to partition. Be careful ---partitioning the wrong drive will render any existing data on that drive inaccessible.
5. Select option 4 for “Display partition information “and press <Enter>. If your hard drive is new, FDISK will display: “No partition Defined”. Any pre-existing
   Partitions (i.e FAT 16 partitions ) must be deleted before continuing. Remember, this will delete all existing data on the hard drive. Press the <Esc> key to return to the FDISK options menu, then select option 1 for “Create DOS partition or logical DOS drive” and press <Enter>. Next, select option 1 for “Create primary DOS partition” and press <Enter>.
6. FDISK verifies that the drive is ok and prompts you with: “Do you wish to use the maximum available size for a primary DOS partition and make the partition active (Y/N)?” Type Y and press <Enter>
7. Exit FDISK by pressing the <Esc> key until you see the message : “You must restart the system for changes to take effect.” Press the <Esc> Key to exit FDISK
   and remove the CD from drive E: Reboot the computer using <Ctrl. + <Alt> + <Del>.

Steps for partitioning under Windows Xp:

1. Insert the window Xp CD in the DVD drive.
2. At the prompt select ‘Setup Windows XP Professional Now’. Press <enter>
3. When it is asked to ‘Accept the licensing Agreement’, select the option to accept the agreement.
4. If the hard disk is not partitioned, you can create a new partition on which you can install the Windows XP Pro.
5. If the hard disk is already partitioned, you can install Windows XP Pro on that partition.
6. You can also delete one or more partitions and create a new partition having more space.
7. You can create only one partition on which you will install Windows XP Pro. After the installation you can use Windows Xp Disk Management to partition the rest of the hard disk.
8. Windows Xp pro allows you to select the file system, either the NTFS file system or the FAT 32 files system. Select whichever file system seems suitable.
9. Window Xp pro will format the partition with the file system you have selected.
   

High level formatting of the Hard drive :

Merely by partitioning the hard drive it is not possible to store the files on the hard drive. After the partitioning is over, each partition requires to be formatted with the high level format command. The high level formatting is carried out by giving the format command in DOS through the command prompt or in Windows through the Windows setup. Just like partition command the format command destroys all the data on the volume which you are formatting.

Though the format command has the same name, it is different in different operating systems. For example, a DOS 7 format command formats the drive with a FAT 16 file system. The Windows 95 (OSR 2) operating system formats the drive with the FAT 32 or FAT 16 file system (as per your selection). The Windows Xp formats the drive with FAT 32 or NTFS file system (as per your selection).

The high level format creates a Boot sector, two copies of FAT and a root directory in each logical partition. The high level format command creates groups of sectors called as clusters and gives unique numbers to the clusters, depending on type of file system.

File systems

Merely low level formatting a hard drive is not enough. A hard drive must be able to store and organize the data in such a way that it should allow the operating system to search and retrieve the data with ease. This can be done only if the data are arranged in the form of files and the files are stored in folders. A hierarchical system of data storage and retrieval would be an ideal solution.

Hence, the operating systems partition the hard drive and format the hard drive creating certain structures over and above defined by the low level formatting of the drive. This is known as the file system --- FAT 12, FAT 16, FAT 32 and NTFS are such file systems.
The file system is an operating system concept and the operating system takes care to store the data in form of files and folders as per its own defined standards, irrespective of the type of hard disk used.

The partitioning of the hard drive creates the partitioning information on the hard disks and the formatting creates the Boot record and two copies of FAT on the hard disks.
Formatting also creates the root directory on the hard disks. The low level format creates tracks and sectors, but the high level format creates groups of sectors known as clusters. The format command allocates a unique number to each cluster.

FAT 12 :

The clusters have a 12 bit number The total number of clusters can be 4096 (212).Since, only one file can be stored per cluster, and one cluster is 8KB, lot of space is wasted if the file size is small. Apart from this, files can be fragmented. Since, clusters are all independent they can be stored anywhere on the disk. If the files are fragmented it may cause the hard disk to do extra work, thus impairing the performance.

FAT 16:

The clusters have a 16 bit number. The total number of clusters can be 65,536 clusters. Each cluster can be 32 KB in size and stores one file. The maximum size of the partition is 2.1GB. If the physical drive is larger than 2 1GB, you must create subsequent logical drives to utilize the space. Although a 16 bit cluster number is much more efficient than a 12-bit cluster number, every file must take at least one whole cluster, even if the file size is smaller. This results in wastage of space.

FAT 32:

Windows 95 (Osr2) saw the limitations of FAT 16. It developed the FAT 32 file system. The clusters have a 32 bit number. The system accesses over 256 million clusters. This allows single partitions of 8 GB. The Large block Addressing concept does not allow the partition size in FAT 32 to be less than 528 MB.File names and directory names can be 255 characters long.

NTFS :

Windows NT 3, Windows NT 4, Windows 2000, Windows Xp, Windows Vista use NTFS file system. NTFS file system clusters have 64 bits numbers. The Cluster size ranges from 512 bytes up to 64 Kbytes. The maximum file size is 45 GB. The maximum partition size is 2 terabytes. NTFS supports file compression and decompression. With NTFS you can automatically compress folders and files and when the folder or file is accessed it is automatically decompressed. This ensures that the space on the hard disk is conserved and more space is created. NTFS supports file encryptions. This enhances the security of the System. This grants further protection to the files apart from that provided by file permissions. File names and directory names can be 255 characters long, and have Unicode encoding.

While partitioning or formatting a hard drive your decisions as to the partition sizes etc, depends on the limitations of the hard ware in your PC. These decisions will depend on whether the hard drives, the motherboard and the BIOS support this partition size. Hence, it is necessary to remember that, though, theoretically you can achieve partitions of maximum sizes, the limiting factors will have to be taken into consideration.

Hope you find this useful in installing your harddrive. Best of luck!

        

When building your own computer do you rush out and purchase the top of the line components without thinking about the software you will be running? If you spend all your time researching components and only purchase the current top of the line items, you may actually be overspending on your computer.  Plan your next computer hardware requirements around the software you will be using and you will save yourself a lot of money and time.  Concentrate on what you need and not on what you think you want, you may be surprised on how happy your new computer will make you.

The first step to planning your next computer that will meet the needs of your software is to determine what software you use on a consistent basis.  Do not sit down and try to remember all the software you use, you will forget several programs you use on a consistent basis.  I find the easiest way to make this list is to actually make a list of everything I use whenever I sit down at my computer.  Write down every application that you open, do not forget your operating system, and make this list for an entire week.  Making your software usage list may seem difficult at first but by the second day you will be in the habit. 

Once you know what software you want to use, make a list of programs that you would like to use in your new computer as well.  Are you interested in photoshop or maybe a new video game but do not have the power in your current computer to run these pieces of software?   Even if you do not have any plans of purchasing the software right now, put them on your list as software your computer hardware will need to run.

So now you have your software requirements, take a look at what software is on your list and determine what the hardware requirements are for each program.  You do not need to limit yourself to the software’s minimum requirements, concentrate on the recommended hardware configuration and try to find common similarities between the software.  This is the planning process for your new computer, take your time and be reasonable with your expectations.  Focus on items and components that your software actually needs, not on how the latest and greatest video card will fit into your plans.

Anyone who has every built their own computer has fallen into the trap of purchasing new components for their project without determining how the component will actually fit their computer needs.  I know I have done this time and time again, I read about a great new video card and I rush out to buy it.  Some women buy shoes, I buy computer components.  But trouble quickly sets in when I install the new component and discover that it is not compatible with the software I use on a consistent basis.  So, I’m off to buy something else and end up with a box full of extra components.

Imagine how much money we will all save if we simply took the time to actually determine what our computer hardware requirements are and purchasing the components that meet (and maybe slightly exceed) those requirements.  I am already planning on the shoes I can purchase with my computer component savings.

        

Video Capture and PC to TV connection.

Recording Videos on the Computer and then editing them is exciting field. This enables us to build multimedia applications, ranging from real estate, education and medicine. Another technology is the PC - TV connection. With the help of this technology we can  view the TV on our Computer Screen. In this Article we will discuss both these exciting concepts.

Construction of the Video Capture Boards.

A video capture board contains a microcontroller chip for controlling the video decoder and the image controller ICs. The video source such as the S-video, camcorder etc is connected to the input. This is split into analog Red, Green and Blue signals. The Analog to Digital IC chip converts the R, G and B signals into digital signals. This is converted into the image and stored in the system Ram with the help of the image controller IC chip.

Some video capture boards contain the video adapter sub-system to enable you to see the digitized video, while simultaneously capturing the videos. In this case the digitized video signals are again converted to analog form and the output is displayed on the monitor. This shows you the quality of the video being captured.

The sound from the video source is connected to the sound board and not to the video capture board. The sound board converts the sound signals into the digitized sound and stores it in the system Ram.

Process of storing the digitized video and sound.

The digitized video from the video source is captured and stored in the system Ram. The digitized sound is also captured and stored in the system Ram. The video and the sound are then synchronized together and the combined file is stored on the hard disk. But, before being stored on the hard-disk certain data compression techniques are applied to compress the digitized video file. Due to the compression of the video files less amount of space is required to store the files on the hard disk.

At the time of playback the digitized video file is decompressed and then the video is displayed on the monitor.

What is a Codec?

As seen above the digitized video and sound is stored in the system memory and then synchronized, compressed and saved on the hard disk. The same data is then decompressed and the data is displayed on the monitor. The job of compression and decompression is carried out by a software known as the Codec.

The full form of codec is Compression Decompression. Four major Codec technologies available today are the Cinepack, Indeo, Video 1, and RLE.

The best video codec is the Cinepack, which offers very good compression as well as fast action sequences. But it is slower as compared to the Intel’s Indeo Video codec.

PC – TV Boards.

With the help of PC-TV boards you can directly see the TV programs on your PC Monitor Screen even while you are working, at the same time, capture the video scenes from the TV programs into your hard drive.

Construction of the PC-TV board.

The PC-TV board contains the following connections :
1) TV input ---  for connecting the TV-antenna or the TV-cable.
2) Audio jack – for connecting to output sound board.
3) Video input – for capturing video from the camcorder etc
4) Audio input. – for connecting the sound input.

Either the TV-antenna or the TV-cable is connected to the TV input of the PC-TV board. Internally this is connected to the TV tuner. The tuner is controlled by the software to tune in to the particular TV program station you want to connect. The output of the TV tuner is digitized and the digital video signal is stored into the Ram of your video adapter directly. It should be noted that the process is faster than first storing the video data into the system Ram and then storing it into the video adapter memory. The video is then displayed on the monitor screen inside a Window. However, the sound follows a different path and passes through the sound channel on the PC-TV board and then to the sound board and finally to the output speakers.

Some PC-TV boards also contain the circuitry for capturing the TV programs. Such a board is actually a combination of the Video Capture and the PC-TV boards.

Truly the concept of Video capture and PC-TV is exciting and you can enhance your multimedia projects with the help of these videos.