Contents
Warranty, Disclaimer and Copyright Policy
Introduction
What Should be in a PC Technician’s Tool Kit?
Troubleshooting:
Static Discharge Causes Flaky Damage
Windows Startup Modes for Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting a Dead PC
Hard Drive Does Not Boot
No Computer Sound
Your Computer Can't Keep Time
Understanding Your Computer:
PC Disk File Systems
Understanding Computer Memory
Understanding the Software Layers of a Computer
What's With All Those Error Messages?
Device Driver Basics
Plug and Play Resource Allocation
Basic Computer Thermodynamics
Working With the Registry
Computer Maintenance:
Why Not Defragment Your Hard Disk Today?
Upgrading Your Computer:
Installing Memory
Installing an Internal Hard Drive
Partitioning Your Hard Disk
Web Resources:
PC Technical Support Links
Microsoft's Support Websites
Warranty, Disclaimer and Copyright Policy
This material is provided on an "as-is" basis, and Bucaro TecHelp
makes no warranty or representation, express or implied, with
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In no event shall Bucaro TecHelp be liable for direct, indirect, special,
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No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the
information contained herein. Although every precaution has been
taken in the preparation of this manual, Bucaro TecHelp assumes no
responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither is any liability assumed
for damages resulting from the use of the information contained
herein. This information is provided with the understanding that
Bucaro TecHelp is not engaged in rendering medical, legal,
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By using this material, the user assumes complete responsibility for
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Contents
If you're having a problem with your PC you can learn how to fix it at
bucarotechelp.com. In addition to tons of information that teaches
you about computers and how to upgrade and maintain them, there
is an extensive PC troubleshooting section.
Introduction
Image proving your boss with a hand-written report. That would be
one sure way to prove that you're non-productive and computer
illiterate. And in todays world being computer illiterate is synonymous
with being totally illiterate. For better or for worse, computers are
here to stay. Without one you would be relegated to third class
citizenship.
Unfortunately, a PC Running Microsoft Windows is about as reliable as
a 75 Gremlin. Although it's probably easier and cheaper to fix the
Gremlin. For repairs, you could take your PC back to the place you
purchased it - if you never want to see it again. Or maybe you could
take it to an independent shop where they charge you $100.00 just
to set it on the bench, and then charge you another $200.00 to
replace the hard drive (the actual problem was a loose connector).
The wise thing to do would be to learn how to maintain and repair
your own PC. That's what this ebook is all about. You'll learn
everything from how to make your PC more friendly, how to make it
start faster, how to make it connect to the Web faster, to how to
bring a totally dead computer back to life.
How do I know all this? I have been a computer hobbyist since about
1981. My first computer was a Commodore Vic 20. The first computer
that I built myself was an IBM XT clone. The operating system I used
was DOS version 2. I have built many PC's since then. I have
probably tossed out more obsolete computer hardware and software
than most people have seen in their lifetime.
This ebook also provides you with many important resources. Sources
for free technical information. Sources for freeware and shareware PC
diagnostic software. Web sites that give you free technical assistance.
With these resourses you could start your own PC repair shop and
charge $100.00 an hour!
I don't get many chances to fix PC's now days, because whenever I
start walking toward one that's acting up - it starts working again - all
by itself. Especially if I have a screwdriver in my hand. So go ahead
and read through this ebook. Someday you too will have your PC
trained to obey.
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Contents
What Should be in a PC Technician’s Tool Kit?
If you're a computer enthusiast or an aspiring PC Technician, maybe
you're wondering exactly what items you need to create a PC
Technician’s tool kit. The toolbox itself should be a medium sized
plastic toolbox. To fill the toolbox, start collecting the items listed
below.
Hand Tools
A technician's tool kit should have a selection of the following hand
tools, especially in the smaller sizes.
• Philips screwdrivers
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Regular screwdrivers
Nut drivers
Needle nose pliers
Regular pliers
Wire cutters
Adjustable wrench
Hex Allen wrenches
Torx wrenches
Special Tools
You may not use these special tools on a regular basis, but they will
come in handy when you run into complications.
• Magnetic grabber
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Pincher type grabber
Small soldering iron
Wire strippers
Scissors
Flashlight
Magnifying glass
Multi-meter
Parts
This is only a partial list of spare parts that it would be nice to have
on hand.
• AC power strip
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
AC power cord with "equipment" end
40 pin ATA (IDE) cable
34 pin floppy cable
Network cable (RJ-45)
Printer cable
Printer cable 25 pin DB to Centronix converter
Keyboard cable AT DIN connector to PS-2 connector converter
Serial port 25 pin DB to 9 pin DB converter
Serial port 9 pin DB connector to PS-2 converter
Power supply Molex to "mini" connector converter
Materials
You may not need these materials on a regular basis, but they will
come in handy when you run into complications.
• Electrical tape
• Solder
• Heat sink compound
• Stranded wire
Software
• DOS 7 boot disk
•
•
•
•
•
Windows boot disc
Seagate Disk wizard on bootable floppy or cd
Western Digital Data Lifeguard Tools
Evaluation Version Antivirus software (Norton’s or McAfee's)
Diagnostic Utilities
Download free diagnostic programs such as #1-PC Diagnostics
Company's #1-TuffTEST-Lite.
• Windows system files on CD-R Immediately after you install a
fresh operating system, you should copy the operating system files to
a CD-R. When Windows informs you that it has a problem because a
system file is corrupted or missing, the quickest way to restore that
file is to copy it from your system files on CD-R.
• Collection of drivers on CD-R Every time you solve a problem by
downloading a driver, you should add that driver to your collection
and keep them consolidated onto a CD-R.
Special Items
• Anti-static wrist strap
Professional PC Technicians know how to handle PC components
without using a static strap. (Hint: make sure the PC is plugged in
and turned off, then keep one hand on the metal chassis while you
work.) But as a rule you should use an anti-static strap whenever
working inside the PC chassis.
• USB port external hard disk or CD-R
Your customer’s (or your) computer may be unstable or you may
have to perform a risky procedure to repair it. Before beginning that
procedure, ask the customer which files he doesn’t want to loose if
something goes wrong. Off-load those files to an external drive.
• A lot of patience
This is the most important item in the PC technician’s tool kit. The
best way to have patience is lower your expectations. It's never a
quick and easy fix. Expect complications to develop, don't get
disappointed or flustered when they do. You can minimize the impact
of complications if you are prepared by having the items listed above
in your PC Technician's tool kit.
Contents
Static Discharge Causes Flaky Damage
Some time ago I purchased a motherboard, CPU, and memory from a
local computer store. The sales person did me the "favor" of plugging
the CPU and memory into the motherboard. I held my breath as this
was done with no care whatsoever taken to prevent damage from a
possible electrostatic discharge.
A static discharge can damage or destroy integrated circuit
electronics. The problem is that you may not see a visible spark. You
may not know that a static discharge occurred. And, you're lucky if
the static discharge totally destroyed the circuit.
Often a component is only damaged and appears to work. This type
of damage can produce occasional or frequent errors. This is what
technicians call "flaky" because the failure does not occur reliably
enough to be able to track it down.
The technician can't determine if the errors are caused by software or
hardware. All they can do is keep changing things and waiting to see
if the problem goes away. This is very time consuming and costly.
The proper way to handle computer circuits is to wear a grounded
wrist strap. Any electrical charge that builds up on your body is then
immediately conducted to ground. But experienced technicians have
tricks for controlling static electricity.
One trick is to leave the circuit board laying on top of an anti-static
bag or anti-static foam as much as possible. Another is to leave the
computer plugged into the AC outlet with the computers power switch
off. This places ground on the computers metal case. Then the
technician works with one hand always on a metal part of the case.
Any electrical charge that builds up on your body is then immediately
conducted to ground the same as with a wrist strap.
The important thing is to take static discharge seriously. Don't stick
yourself or someone else with a flaky computer because you were too
lazy to take basic care to protect against static discharge.
Contents
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Windows Startup Modes for Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting a Windows problem is a bit difficult when the system
freezes up or the display becomes unintelligible. You need a way to
get Windows to bypass some of its complexity and bloat so the
system can start, allowing you to perform troubleshooting. Windows
provides several alternate startup modes just for that purpose.
To access these alternate startup modes, you need to press the [F8]
key while the computer is starting up, immediately after the BIOS
startup messages, and before the Windows logo appears. It's a mater
of timming, (I actually just keep tapping the [F8] key while the
computer is starting until the Advanced Boot Options screen
appears).
The Advanced Boot Options menu will display as shown above.
Use the up or down arrow keys to highlight the selection of your
choice, and then press the [Enter] key.
Start Windows Normally allows you to get out of the startup menu
and resume starting Windows normally in case you pressed the [F8]
key accidentally.
Safe Mode bypasses most startup configuration files, including most
of the registry. It starts windows without most of the drivers. It loads
only generic mouse and keyboard drivers and the default VGA driver
(Vga.sys) which uses 640 x 480 resolution in 16 colors.
Safe mode lets you work with "bare bones" Windows. You have
access to your drives, so you can copy or delete files. You can use
System Restore to take your computer back to a restore point where
it worked. You can use the Registry Editor to inspect or edit the
Registry. Or you can use Device Manager to roll back a device driver
that may be causing the problem.
Safe Mode with Networking is the same as Safe Mode, except it
loads drivers that allow you to access the local network or Internet to
get help or download files. Safe Mode with Command Prompt can
be used when the other Safe modes don't work. It provides a DOS
prompt where you can, for example, type
C:\Windows\System32\rstrui.exe to start System Restore from a
command prompt window.
Enable Boot Logging mode causes Windows to attempt to start
normally, but to log its startup activity in a file named ntbootlog.txt
stored in the %SYSTEMROOT% directory (normally C:\Windows). You
can then reboot to Safe Mode and open the log file in Windows
Notepad or DOS Edit and search for a line that contains the word
"failure".
If Windows freezes before completing startup, the last line in
ntbootlog.txt might provide a clue as to the cause of the problem.
You may find that one or more steps fail during the startup process.
Don't assume those are the cause of your current problem. Those
steps may have been failing all along and you didn't know it.
Enable low-resolution video mode starts Windows using your
current video driver with low resolution and low refresh rate settings.
You can use this mode to reset your display settings or to
troubleshoot video display problems.
Last Known Good Configuration. Every time Windows shuts down
successfully, it stores a backup copy of the registry. Last Known Good
Configuration uses the most recent backup copy of the registry to
start your computer.
Directory Services Restore Mode Starts a Windows domain
controller running Active Directory so that the directory service can
be restored. This option is intended for network administrators.
Debugging Mode Starts Windows in an advanced troubleshooting
mode. This option is intended for IT professionals and system
administrators.
Disable automatic restart on system failure Windows is
configured by default to automatically restart after is crashes (maybe
you won't notice that it crashed). You can't do much to fix Windows if
it's stuck in a loop where it fails, attempts to restart, and fails again
repeatedly. This mode prevents Windows from automatically
restarting if an error causes Windows to fail.
Disable Driver Signature Enforcement A driver is a very critical
piece of software that works between the operating system and the
hardware. In the past, poorly written drivers have caused problems in
Windows. For that reason, Microsoft places a digital signature in any
driver that they have tested and approved. Windows is configured by
default to not start with unsigned drivers. However, just because a
driver is unapproved by Microsoft, doesn't mean it will not work.
Disable Driver Signature Enforcement mode allows Windows to load
unsigned drivers.
What can you do in safe mode to troubleshoot your computer?
• You can use System Restore (Start | All Programs | Accessories |
System Tools) to take your computer back to a previous point in time
where it worked properly.
• You can use Control Panel (Start | Control Panel) utilities to
change settings in Windows.
• You can use Device Manager (Start button | Control Panel |
System and Maintenance) to disable, rollback, or update device
drivers and configure hardware installed on your computer.
• You can open the System Information utility (Start | All
Programs | Accessories | System Tools) to view details about your
computer's hardware configuration, components, and drivers.
• You can open Event Viewer (Start | Control Panel | System and
Maintenance | Administrative Tools) to view a detailed log of system
and program events that occurred on your computer.
• You can use the Registry Editor In the Start menu select Search,
in the Search box type regedit and press [ENTER]. Making changes to
Windows registry files is more for PC technicians and system
administrators.
• You can open a Command Prompt (Start | All Programs |
Accessories), which allows you to use DOS commands. Using DOS
commands is for more for PC technicians and system administrators.
• You can use Windows Notepad to view the log file if you started
the computer in Enable Boot Logging mode.
If Windows freezes up or the display becomes unintelligible, you can
bypass some of Windows complexity and bloat by choosing an
alternate startup mode. One of these alternate startup modes may
provide you some clues as to the source of the problem, or permit
you to troubleshoot.
Contents
Troubleshooting a Dead Computer
The Windows startup sequence is nightmarish, bloated,
overcomplicated mess. If you fully understood it, you would think it a
miracle that Windows starts at all. If you have ever experienced your
computer freeze up part way through the startup sequence, or beep
and spew out error messages rather than starting up, you may think
your computer is dead for good. But understanding the Windows
startup sequence can help you to diagnose the problem and bring it
back to life.
Power-on Self-Test
When you first turn your computer on, it has no intelligence at all. It
doesn't enough know how to read a floppy disk or hard disk. The
computer uses a small program stored in a read-only memory (ROM)
chip call the Basic Input Output System (BIOS) on the motherboard
to load the operating system. But first the BIOS performs a Power-on
Self-test (POST) to check the computers major hardware
components.
The first step in the POST is to hold the CPU (Central Processing Unit)
in reset until the power supply sends the "Power Good" signal. If you
have an improperly installed expansion card or cable, or if a
component has failed, it may overload of the power supply preventing
the Power Good signal. The power supply itself may have failed.
If the Power Good signal is received, the CPU comes out of reset and
begins executing POST routines in the BIOS to check the computers
RAM (Random Access Memory), keyboard, serial port, parallel port,
video adapter, floppy drive, and hard drive.
The BIOS requires some RAM in order to work, so the first thing POST
does is test part of the systems RAM. If that test fails, your computer
won’t boot. To troubleshoot when your computer stops this early in
the boot process, remove all RAM chips and install a known good chip
in lowest bank of RAM.
Until the video driver is loaded, the only means of communication the
computer has is a small speaker inside the computer to send beep
codes. For example, it may emit three beeps if it finds a bad memory
chip, six beeps if it finds a bad keyboard.
Unfortunately there is no standard for POST beep codes. If your
computer is beeping when it tries to start, you will need to find out
exactly which BIOS your motherboard uses and contact the
manufacturer for the meaning of the codes. Most BIOS chips are
made by American Megatrends, Inc (AMI).
Many POST routines use a single beep to test the speaker itself or to
indicate successful completion of the POST. If your computer emits
only a single beep on startup, you probably don’t have a POST
problem. The situation is complicated by the fact that many
expansion boards have BIOS chips that are an extension of the
motherboard BIOS. The motherboard BIOS scans for other BIOS’s on
drives and expansion boards. Some expansion board BIOS chips also
emit a single beep when they are initialized.
Most video adapter board BIOS chips contain a character ROM that
permits them to display text on the screen before the video drive is
loaded. After the POST sequence has progressed to the point that it
has checked out and initialized the video adapter, it begins
communicating by displaying messages on your computer screen.
Unfortunately, sometimes you can’t see the POST messages because
the computer manufacturer displays a logo on the screen. If your
computer gets stuck with a logo on the screen at startup, try pressing
the Escape key to remove the logo.
DOS Boot Sequence
If the POST competes successfully, the BIOS begins searching drives
for a code pattern called the "Volume Boot Sector". The BIOS will
search the drives in the order configured in CMOS (Complementary
Metal-oxide Semiconductor). Computers store a partial inventory of
the computer’s hardware in a CMOS setup chip. This chip is the
battery backed up and stores the clock/calendar that sets the system
date and time.
The Volume Boot Sector identifies partitions and extended partitions.
The partition identified as the "Master Boot Sector" contains the
partition table that identifies the partition that is active and bootable.
The Volume Boot Sector checks the root directory of the bootable
partition for the files IO.SYS and MSDOS.SYS. For Windows 95
systems, IO.SYS is renamed WINBOOT.SYS and combines the
functions of IO.SYS and MSDOS.SYS.
If a CONFIG.SYS file is present, it is read by WINBOOT.SYS and any
statements in that file are processed. Many hardware and software
installation programs write entries to the CONFIG.SYS file. You can
troubleshoot this file by opening it in an ASCII text editor and typing
REM before a suspicious entry. Then restart the computer. REM
disables the entry by marking it as a remark or comment to be
ignored. If you find the entry is not a problem, you can remove the
REM statement.
If an AUTOEXEC.BAT file is present, WINBOOT.SYS loads
COMMAND.COM to process any statements in that file. Many
hardware and software installation programs write entries to the
AUTOEXEC.BAT file. You can troubleshoot this file by typing REM
before any suspicious entries and restarting the computer.
Windows Boot Sequence
Next WINBOOT.SYS determines the configuration of your system. It
reads the CMOS chip and polls the devices in your system to
determine their configuration (interrupt, DMA channel and I/O
address settings) WINBOOT.SYS also looks for configuration
information in the SYSTEM.DAT registry file. Next WINBOOT.SYS
loads WIN.COM.
WIN.COM loads the virtual memory manager VMM32.VXD and reads a
registry key in hkey_local_machine and proceeds to load the static
VXD drivers listed there. The driver files themselves are stored in the
windows\system\vmm32 folder.
Next VMM32.VXD checks for the file SYSTEM.INI and if it exists, it
loads any device drivers called for in that file. After the static VxD’s
are loaded, VMM32.VXD switches the processor to run in protected
mode and the Configuration Manager loads any required dynamic
VxD’s and verifies resource allocation, checking for conflicts.
Static VxD’s are device drivers for the keyboard, mouse, video display
and network card, that are loaded on startup and are always in
memory while you use windows. Dynamic VxD’s are device drivers
that are loaded by specific devices when they are needed.
Windows then loads both 16-bit and 32-bit versions of the critical
operating system files; KRNL386.EXE, KERNEL32.DLL, GDI.DLL,
GDI32.DLL, USER.DLL, and USER32.DLL. Then it checks for the file
WIN.INI, and runs any commands in that file if it exists. If a
WINSTART.BAT file is present, Windows loads COMMAND.COM to
process any statements in that file.
Next Windows begins reading keys in the registry under
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE to determine if it needs to run any programs
before it presents the user login dialog box. After the user logs in,
Windows begins reading registry keys under HKEY_CURRENT_USER
in order to configure the machine for a specific user.
Troubleshooting Options
You can troubleshoot startup problems by making Windows create a
log of its startup process. When you see the message ’Starting
Windows", press F8 to get the System Startup Menu. Select "Create
boot log" from the menu. The log file created, BOOTLOG.TXT, is very
large. You can scan the log for failures to load or initialize drivers.
The situation is complicated by the fact that the log may list many
failures that existed all along and have nothing to do with your
current problem.
Other System Startup Menu modes you might find useful for
troubleshooting are Safe Mode and Step-by-Step Confirmation. Safe
mode starts Windows with a minimal set of drivers allowing you to
use the Device manager to troubleshoot hardware conflicts. Step-byStep Confirmation mode prompts you at every step of the startup
sequence, giving you the option to bypass a step if you suspect it as
the cause of the problem.
It would require a large book to describe every detail and every
possible problem that can arise during the bloated, overcomplicated
Windows startup sequence. But understanding the Windows startup
sequence and the startup modes that can be used to troubleshoot a
problem can help you bring a dead computer back to life. Now if we
could only get Windows to work and shut down reliably!
Contents
Hard Drive Does Not Boot
When your computer does not boot, the first thing a technician must
ask is; what do you mean by "it won't boot"? Many times the problem
is simply that the user doesn't have their monitor turned on, or that
they received the "Invalid system disk" message because they left a
floppy in the drive. Or does the user mean WINDOWS won't start?
A problem can occur in the boot sequence even before the hard disk
comes into play. When a computer first starts, its Basic Input/Out
System (BIOS) performs a Power On Self Test (POST). Before the
computer is ready to use the display, it communicates using beep
codes. After the display is initialized, it sends codes to the screen.
If your computer stops with an error code on the screen, you need to
find out who made your computers BIOS and check the website of
the BIOS manufacturer for the meaning of the error code.
When your computer boots, the BIOS reads the hard disk's partition
table in order to find the boot record. If the partition table is
damaged, the message "Invalid drive or drive specification" will be
displayed. The partition table does not change after the drive is
partitioned and formatted unless it has been damaged, possibly by a
virus.
If the boot record is damaged, you will receive the message "Invalid
system disk". If the partition table and boot record are good, the
computer will read the hard disk's File Allocation Table (FAT) in order
to start loading Windows operating system files. If the FAT is
damaged, you will receive the message "Sector not found reading
drive C".
If you do not receive any beeps, error codes or messages and your
computer still will not boot, then the problem is Windows will not
start. Note: the POST makes a single beep to test the speaker; this is
not an error.
If you have a damaged partition table, boot record, or FAT, you can
use Nuts & Bolts Disk Minder or Norton Disk Doctor to make a repair.
You must have the utility on a bootable floppy disk and execute it
from the floppy. Or you can install a new hard drive and load
Windows and one of the above utility suites on the new hard drive.
Then configure the old drive as slave and repair it from the new drive.
Note: If your hard drive makes a loud whining noise when you first
start your computer, you need to run out and get that new hard drive
now.
The first step to repair a computer that won't boot is to find out what
"it won't boot" means. If during boot you did not receive any of the
errors mentioned above, that probably means Windows won't start.
How to repair that problem is covered in another article.
Contents
No Computer Sound
Today’s computer equipped with a sound card is capable of
generating sound from many different sound and music format files.
Formats include WAV, MIDI, MP3, and many more.
Conversion of these sound format files to actual audio relies on
several layers of software and hardware. The most basic sound
format file compatible with the Windows operating system is the WAV
file format. Before troubleshooting any of the more complex formats,
make sure that your system is capable of playing WAV files.
The Windows operating system has a built-in program called Sound
Recorder to record and play WAV files. To open Sound Recorder,
select Start | Programs | Accessories | Entertainment and click on
Sound Recorder. In the Sound Recorder program, select File |
Open. In the Open dialog box, navigate to C:\Windows\Media and
select one of the WAV files to play. Click the Open button and then
the Play button (right arrow).
If you hear the WAV file play, then your basic sound configuration is
working properly. If you did not hear the WAV file play, continue
reading (troubleshooting problems with the more complex sound file
formats will be covered in future article).
The first thing you should do is eliminate the obvious possibilities.
Many speakers have a volume control on one of the speakers. Many
times I have thought that the sound was not working in one of my
programs, only to find that someone turned the volume control all the
way down.
You can test your speakers by plugging them into the headphone jack
on your CD-ROM drive and playing a music CD. This bypasses the
sound card.
Check the Windows Volume Control by right-clicking on the speaker
icon in the Task Bar and Selecting "Open Volume Contols" in the
popup menu that appears.
Open the Multimedia utility in Control Panel (Start | Settings |
Control Panel) and select the Audio tab. Make sure that your
soundcard’s Playback device is selected in the Playback section.
If that looks correct, open the System utility in Control Panel and
select the Device Manager tab. In Device Manager, open the
Sound video and game controllers branch. Click on the name of your
sound card to select it, then click on the Properties button. In the
Sound Card Properties dialog box, select the General tab and
verify that Disable in this hardware profile is not checked. Select the
Driver tab and make sure that a driver is selected. Click on the
Resources tab and make sure there is no conflicts.
Resource conflicts related to sound cards are usually caused by
sharing an IRQ (Interrupt Request). The default setting for a sound
card is usually IRQ 5. The sound card should not share an IRQ with
any other device.
If you can’t determine the reason why the sound card does not work,
or you can’t solve a resource conflict, you may need to uninstall and
re-install the sound card.
To uninstall the sound card, open the Add/Remove Programs
utility in Control Panel. Scroll through the list of installed software
and select any programs related to your sound card. Click on the
Add/Remove button to uninstall the program.
Open the System utility in Control Panel and select the Device
Manager tab. In Device Manager open the Sound video and game
controllers branch. Click on the name of your sound card and then
click on the Remove button.
After removing the sound card's software and drivers, turn off the
computer and physically remove the sound card. I like to restart the
computer without the sound card to make sure Windows plug-an-play
can’t find any of the software components of the sound card. Then
turn off the computer and re-install the sound card in a different slot.
You may have to switch slots with another card.
If your computer can play WAV files, then that verifies that your
sound card has been installed properly and your speakers are
working. Playing more complex sound file formats like MIDI or MP3
requires more layers of software. We will cover how to troubleshoot
those in future articles.
Contents
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Your Computer Can't Keep Time
A computer needs a certain amount of information to operate; for
example, the date and time, the amount of memory installed, the
number of drives and their configuration, and so on. In the early days
of computers, either the user typed in this information each time the
computer started, or it was set using DIP switches and jumpers.
Today, computers store this information in a CMOS chip that uses a
small battery to retain the information when the computer is shut off.
CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) is type of chip
that consumes very little power; therefore, while the computer is
turned off, the battery discharges very slowly. But the battery will
totally discharge if you leave your computer turned off for a year or
so. Even if you turn your computer on every day, the battery is
designed to last only a couple of years. Occasionally a battery will fail
prematurely.
Today's plug-and-play computers can detect most of the necessary
settings, but if your CMOS battery is dead, your computer will not be
able to retain the date and time. The computer will also lose any
custom settings, for example, the boot sequence. If you set a
password in CMOS, you may be locked out of the computer. If the
CMOS battery does fail, you might receive the message "System
Configuration Lost" when you start the computer. It would be wise to
record all the CMOS settings as a precaution.
To record the CMOS settings, watch for an on-screen prompt when
you first start your computer. The prompt tells you to press a key,
usually the Del or F2, to enter CMOS. To enter the CMOS
configuration utility, you have to press the indicated key while the
message is on the screen. After the CMOS configuration screen
appears, follow the instructions provided to page through all the
screens and record all the settings.
If your computer loses its time setting overnight, the CMOS battery
may not be holding a charge. The CMOS battery is located inside the
case on the motherboard. Changing the battery is usually a job for a
computer technician. In fact, a layman might not even be able to find
the battery.
If you want to locate the CMOS battery in your computer, be aware
that a static discharge from your hands can damage components
inside the case. After taking proper precautions, open the case and
look on the motherboard for a battery. If you have a diagram of your
motherboard, locate the battery on the diagram first.
Different motherboards use different types of batteries. The battery
may be shaped like a barrel or a coin. Some motherboards use a
component that resembles a chip which contains the CMOS and the
battery (made by DALLAS or Benchmarq). Batteries come in different
voltages, so make sure you get an exact replacement.
Sometimes the battery is mounted in a holder. Sometimes it is
soldered to the motherboard. De-soldering and re-soldering a battery
is usually a job for a computer technician. An inexperienced solderer
can cause a lot of damage. If you want to try to do it yourself, first
practice on an obsolete circuit board. You may change your mind.
If the CMOS battery has failed because it's too old, this might be an
opportunity to upgrade your motherboard. When upgrading a
motherboard, the most important considerations are to make sure
the new motherboard is the correct form factor for your case, and
that the new motherboard has the correct bus connector slots for
your expansion boards.
Contents
PC Disk File Systems
The first PC file system, called FAT because it used a "File Allocation
Table", was developed in the early 1980’s for floppy disks. The File
Allocation Table, a map of the location of files on the disk, is located
near the beginning of the disk. A disk contains two copies of the FAT,
in case one gets damaged.
The FAT file system divides a disk into sections called "clusters". The
size of a cluster depends on the size of the disk. Since the largest 16
bit number is 65,535 (64K), the disk can be divided at most into 64K
sections. For example, a 512MB disk would have an 8KB cluster size.
512MB / 65,535 = 8KB
When a file is written to the disk, a cluster is the minimum allocation
unit. So on a 512 MB disk, a 1KB file wastes 7KB of disk space.
Explorer would report the file size as 1KB, but the wasted space
would be deducted from the free space on the disk.
A file is written to the first unused block of space on the disk. As files
are deleted and rewritten in a different size, unused blocks of space
become discontiguous. Parts of individual files become scattered
across the disk. That’s why it’s important to defragment your hard
disk occasionally.
A 2GB FAT disk would have a cluster size of 64KB. In this case, a 1KB
file wastes 63KB of disk space. No matter how large a file is, unless
the file’s size can be evenly divided by the size of a cluster, some
space is wasted in the file’s last cluster.
2GB / 65,535 = 64KB
The waste situation was getting out of hand, so the size of a FAT
partition was limited to 2GB. In the middle of Windows 95 operating
system production, Microsoft released OSR2. This revision increased
the size of FAT entries to 32 bits. The 32 bit file system was named
FAT32, and the 16 bit file system became referred to as FAT16.
Because the largest 32 bit number is more than 2 trillion, the FAT32
cluster size was fixed at 4KB. This helped the disk space waste
problem, but the FAT system could not accommodate features like
security and damaged file recovery that are required for an advanced
operating system. For this reason, Microsoft developed the NTFS
(New Technology File System).
The NTFS Master File Table and all other file system information is
contained in separate files. The maximum NTFS partition is 16
exabytes (an "exa" is a decimal number 19 digits long). NTFS sets
the cluster size depending on the size of the partition, but you can
choose a cluster size when you format a disk.
NTFS can perform file compression and decompression transparently.
When you save a file to a compressed folder, it is automatically
compressed. When you open a compressed file, it is automatically
decompressed. You can also compress individual files by simply
setting the files compression attribute.
NTFS can perform file encryption and decryption transparently.
Encryption and decryption work automatically similar to compression,
but with one warning. Once a file is encrypted, only the user who
encrypted the file, or the configured "recovery agent", will be able to
decrypt that file. If the user who encrypted the files leaves, you could
lose access to those files permanently. Be sure to assign a qualified
recovery agent before using file encryption.
NTFS allows you to set disk quotas. A disk quota sets the maximum
amount of disk space that can be used. You can specify a disk quota
for an individual user, or for all users. One warning when setting a
disk quota: when a user exceeds the disk quota, they will receive an
"out of disk space" message and they may be unable to continue
working.
You might think that selecting NTFS instead of FAT32 for your file
system would always be the correct choice. But all those advanced
features require overhead. A NTFS system’s performance can be
20%, slower than an equivalent FAT32 system, or even slower if
compression or encryption is used. You should choose NTFS only
when security is more important than performance.
Contents
Understanding Computer Memory
Understanding computer memory is important because your
computer's memory is where the action is. Sure your computer's
central processing unit (CPU) may be the computer's brain, but what
good is a brain without memory?
Because memory is such an important part of the computer, it has
been redesigned and tweaked over the years to make it store more
data and work faster. That has resulted in all kinds of technical terms
and contractions. In this article, I attempt to clear up some of these
terms and give you a basic understanding of computer memory.
When you work with an application on your computer, it is loaded
into "main memory". There are other kinds of memory besides main
memory. For example, there is "flash BIOS" memory and "cache"
memory. In fact, I could argue that a computer consists mainly of
memory. Even the CPU consists mainly of a type of memory called
"registers". In this article, I focus on main memory.
Memory is actually an array of "cells". Each cell holds a binary bit,
either 0 or 1. The cells are arranged in rows of 32 cells to store each
"word". A word might contain the bits to code a single number or a
single character. Each word can be accessed by it's address. A
computer does not have to access the addresses in numerical order.
It can store or retrieve a word from any address at random, hence
the term "random access memory" (RAM).
Because a computer needs millions of memory cells, they have to be
cheap. The cheapest memory cell is an extremely tiny capacitor. In
reality "0" means no electric charge is stored in the cell and "1"
means an electric charge is stored in the cell.
A tiny capacitor can store an electric charge, but that charge
dissipates off within a few milliseconds. To prevent loss of the data,
the computer uses circuitry that repeatedly scans all the memory
cells and refreshes the charge in any cells that contain a "1". This
circuitry operates between accesses of the memory by the CPU and
other components. This continuous recharging is referred to as
"dynamic" refresh, hence the term "dynamic" RAM (DRAM).
I am always surprised at how many people who work with computers
don't understand what a "bus" is. It's very simple. You need a wire to
connect to a memory cell. Instead of a wire, a circuit board uses a
copper "trace" inside or on the surface of the circuit board. To access
a word of data, you need 32 parallel traces. You also need a few
traces to carry the signals that control whether you are reading or
writing the memory. This describes the "data bus".
To access a word of data, you need to provide the address of the
word. It requires 64 parallel traces for the "address bus". There are
many other parallel groups of traces on the circuit board that conduct
various communication and control signals, each of them is referred
to as a "bus". The most important signal tracing around the circuit
board is the system clock.
The system clock is the "heart beat" of the system. It is a continuous
stream of electric pulses at a very high frequency. If you have a 1.2
GHz computer system, then your system clock pulses come at a rate
of 1,200,000,000 per second. Memory can be accessed on the rising
edge of the system clock. In other words, memory reading and
writing is synchronized to the system clock, hence the term
"synchronous" DRAM (SDRAM).
SDRAM comes in a 168-pin dual inline memory module (DIMM)
package. It comes in two speeds, 100 MHz (PC100) and 133 MHz
(PC133). It comes in 3.3 volt and 5.0 volt versions. Some SDRAM
contain extra circuitry called "error checking and correction" (ECC)
that stores extra bits along with the data. The extra bits are used to
verify the integrity of the data and correct any errors.
New systems use a type of memory that can access data on the rising
edge and the falling edge of the system clock pulses. This means
your computer can access the data in memory at double the rate,
hence the term "Double Data Rate SDRAM (DDR-SDRAM).
DDR-SDRAM comes packaged in a 168-pin DIMM. It comes in two
speeds, 266 MHz (PC2100) and 333 MHz (PC2700). If your
motherboard has more than one memory module slot, and you have
only one memory module, you might be required to install the single
DIMM in slot 1.
Some Intel motherboards use Rambus DRAM (RDRAM). RDRAM uses
a proprietary communications channel to access memory. RAMBUS is
packaged in a 184-pin RAMBUS In-line Memory Module (RIMM).
There are two connectors on an Intel Rambus motherboard, each
must contain either a RIMM or a C-RIMM. A C-RIMM (continuity
RIMM) does not contain memory. It is a module that provides a path
pass-through for the signals.
If you have an older computer, its main memory may use "fast page
memory" (FPM) or "extended data output" (EDO) memory. Some of
these used a special "parity bit" to validate the integrity of the data.
These older types of memory came packaged in a 30 pin single inline
memory module (SIMM) or a 72 pin SIMM.
If you want to upgrade your computer's memory, make sure you are
using the correct type of memory for your motherboard. It's
important to study the manual that came with your motherboard to
determine exactly what type and speed of memory is required.
Contents
Understanding the Software Layers of a Computer
You're typing in a word processor and you decide it would be nice to
have a hard copy. You select File | Print in the menu and the printer
comes to life, feeding out a copy of your document on paper. It
seems like a simple process, but in reality your request passed
through many layers of software before reaching your printer.
Although you requested the print through a menu of your word
processing application, that application did not contact the printer
directly. Instead, the aplication made a request to the computer's
operating system. Remember, today's computers are multi-tasking.
That means they can perform more than one task at a time. The
operating system mediates the priority of multiple tasks requesting to
use a hardware device.
The operating system did not contact the printer directly. Remember,
today's computers can have a multitude of different hardware
attached. There are thousands of different kinds of printers, and a
computer may have several printers attached. Instead, the operating
system communicates with a piece of software called a "device
driver", specific to the printer that you selected.
The device driver did not contact the printer directly. Instead, the
device driver contacted a program called the BIOS (Basic
Input/Output System). Whereas all the programs up to this point had
been loaded from the computers hard drive, the BIOS was loaded
from a memory chip. Finally, the BIOS communicates directly with
the electronic circuits of the printer.
The above explanation describes the common software layers of a
computer. Each of the software layers described above may itself
consist of many layers. An application may communicate with the
operating system through a piece of software called a DLL (Dynamic
Link Library.
The operating system especially is constructed of many layers.
Sometimes the operating system is described to be like an onion. At
the center of the onion is the operating systems kernal. Only other
layers of the operating system are allowed to communicate directly
with the kernal. The outer layer of the operating system consists of
programs called services which applications can communicate with
directly.
It is possible to communicate with the printer directly (well almost).
Most operating systems have a command line interface that lets users
communicate more directly with the operating system and with
hardware devices through the BIOS. The most familiar command line
interface is the DOS Command Prompt.
At the DOS command prompt you can type "print" followed by the
name of a document and a printed copy will be generated. But don't
expect fancy fonts or formatting. Although the command line
interface can be very powerful for some tasks, for other tasks it is
very crude.
When you first start your computer, it has no software loaded. You
could say your computer is "brain dead". It doesn't even know how to
use the hard disk drive to load the operating system.
The BIOS is non-volatile memory built into the computers
motherboard. Non-volatile means that the instructions in the memory
are not lost when you turn the power off.
When you first start your computer, it is hard-wired to start reading
the first instruction in the BIOS. The BIOS is not usually all in a single
chip. As the BIOS starts, it looks for other parts of the BIOS that
reside in chips on expansion cards. From these instructions, it learns
how to check itself out (Power-on Self Test) and how to locate and
load the operating system. The computer "BOOTS" (pulls itself up by
its bootstraps).
The last thing the BIOS does is locate the drive containing the
operating system and begin loading the operating system. Because
the hard disk has vastly more storage capacity than a BIOS chip, the
operating system software can be large and powerful. As the
operating system loads, it begins loading device drivers and
configuring the hardware.
In the early days, BIOS programs where stored in ROM (read only
memory). Todays computers usually store BIOS programs in a type
of memory, called "Flash memory" that can be rewritten. This allows
you to reprogram the BIOS to fix bugs, or to update it. For example,
You might download a BIOS update program from the Web and run it
from a floppy disk.
The important thing to understand is that your computer has layers
of software. You should understand where each layer resides in the
path from user to hardware. You should now understand that when
you dial out with your web browser, the request is passed to the
operating system, which passes it to the modem driver, which
communicates with a BIOS on the modem. That BIOS is the program
that actually works the electronics of your modem.
Contents
What's With All Those Error Messages?
Your software application pops up an error message with some
cryptic message like "Unexpected Application Error", "General
Protection Fault" or "Illegal Operation". You don't have a clue as to
what the message means. Illegal Operation! What did you do wrong?
YOU didn't do anything wrong. Somewhere along the line a
programmer did something wrong. In this article, I'm going to give
you some insight into those cryptic error messages.
General Protection Fault (GPF)
Each application running on your computer stakes out a 4GB area of
memory to park itself and all of it's data. All other applications
(including other instances of the same application) are forbidden from
using that memory area. If an application tries to store something in
another applications memory area - BAM! General Protection Fault!
GPFs can be caused by the operating systems overcomplicated
memory management scheme. To understand how complicated that
scheme is, realize that your computer may not even have 4GB of
memory and hard disk space combined, but you can still run multiple
applications that each think they have 4GB of memory to work with.
That's real smoke and mirrors!
As complicated as that scheme is, GPFs are rarely caused by the
operating system. That's because every operating system uses the
same time tested and proven memory management scheme. GPFs
are usually caused by an application programmers coding error. Here
are some other possible causes of GPFs.
• Bad memory chip
• Failing hard disk
• Computer overheating
Illegal Operation
This error is not caused by an illegal operation by you. Your
application tried to perform an illegal operation. One example of an
illegal operation is "divide by zero". Enter a number in your calculator
and then divide it by zero. Your calculator will display the message
"Error". It's illegal to divide a number by zero.
Somewhere in the applications sequence of operation, a
mathematical operation resulted in a value of zero. The programmer
didn't test for this before they used the number as the divisor in
another mathematical operation. Result, Illegal Operation!
There are many other possible illegal operations. An Illegal Operation
error is almost always the result of a programmer's error.
Unexpected Application Error (UAE)
When a programmer creates the code for an application to write to a
file, they must first put code to "open" the file. If an application tries
to write to a file without opening it first, you get the message
"Unexpected Application Error". There are many other possible UAEs.
An UAE is almost always the result of a programmers error.
One thing I've learned as a programmer is that users will always find
a way to break your program. A programmer designs the application
to be used in a logical manner. Users never read the help file. They
just start executing menu selections in an irrational manner. The
program crashes.
Let's make one thing clear. It is the programmers duty to anticipate
every possible way that the user can operate the application, and to
code provisions to protect the program and the user from undesirable
results. With a large, powerful and complex application this requires
an enormous amount of testing and debugging time.
The concept of "beta" software (and most freeware and shareware) is
to toss the application out to the public and let them do the testing.
For the application developer, this has advantages and
disadvantages. Advantage: they get better testing and it's free.
Disadvantage: The public doesn't understand "beta" software and the
application may get a bad reputation as being buggy.
Nonsensical Error Messages
You accidentally try to save a file to a drive that doesn't exist and you
get the error message "Error, choose another color". Nonsense error
messages result from the way error messages are coded into a
program. For example, an application may have six different places in
the code where it opens a file. The programmer can code the error
message "File doesn't exist" six times, or the programmer can code a
list containing all the error messages used in the application and then
reference the message in that list.
The list may contain hundreds of messages. Now, while coding, the
programmer needs another error message. The programmer can add
an accurate message to the list, or choose to reference an existing
message. The lazy programmer chooses to reference an existing
message in the list that only vaguely relates to the actual error.
Next time your application pops up some cryptic error message, you
now have some idea as to what the message means. Most errors are
not caused by something the user did. They are caused by
programmers mistakes. You also now know why you sometimes get
nonsense error messages.
Contents
Device Driver Basics
Most people understand that the "hardware" part of their computer is
the real physical parts, like the keyboard, mouse, modem, hard drive
and so on. They understand that the "software" is computer bits
stored on the hard drive, CD-ROM, or other storage media. But most
people are a little hazy about exactly what a "driver" is.
In this article, I'm going to reveal in plain English what a driver is,
why we need drivers, and exactly where the drivers are hiding. To
give you a basic understanding, I'm going to go back, way back, to
the early days of computers.
The Early Days
The year is 1981 and the world is in the midst of a severe resession.
IBM's main frame business has slowed and the company is losing
money. Up until now they had been laughing at the array of
microcomputers on the market: Atari, Commodore, sinclair. Toys
really, mostly used to play computer games.
The problem was, these "toys" were selling like hot cakes. IBM had to
get into that market and get into it fast. They didn't have time to
design and build a computer complete enough to compete in the
market, so they built an "open system". They used commonly
available electronic components and they published every design
detail (including the code), and they even provided plug-in slots so
that others could build components for their computer.
And people did provide components for the IBM PC. They provided
video cards, memory expansion cards, input-output port cards, game
port cards, hard disk interface cards, and much more. How were all
these various devices able to interface with the PC's operating
system? That's where a "driver" comes in.
A hardware device is constructed with various electronic components
using various control signals, but the software interface to the
operating system is standardized. A device's interface to the
operating system must follow the interface specification. A driver is a
piece of software that translates the hardware's control signals to
signals that the operating system expects, and translates signals
from the operating system to the hardware's control signals.
When the computer is started up, it would look in the "system"
directory for files with the extension ".drv" and load them into
memory. Specific files like autoexec.bat, config.sys, and win.ini were
used to inform the operating system about drivers. Hardware would
be configured through these files, or through jumpers located on the
device itself.
The driver specification evolved along with the PC. Today when a PC
starts, it executes the program ntdetect.com which queries the
hardware components and builds the registery key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\HARDWARE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet. This
key exists only in memory and is created each time the computer
boots. If all the drivers are loaded successfully, a copy of the key is
saved as ControlSet00X.
Under the registery key CurrentControlSet, the subkey Enum contains
a subkey for each harware device on the computer. Each device key
contains fields for Hardware ID, Driver ID, Device Parameters, and
other configuration data. The 32-bit drivers are files with the
extension ".sys" and can be found in the folder C:/winnt/system32.
Driver Signing
Microsoft has been the brunt of much criticism because of the poor
reliability of the Windows Operating System. I feel that much of this
criticism is justified. On the other hand, as I described in part 1 of
this article, the PC was designed by IBM as an "open" system. Anyone
can sell a hardware device (or software) for the PC. Should Microsoft
be held responsible for the quality from a third-party?
As I described in Part 1 of this article, the operating system doesn't
interface directly to a hardware device. There is a piece of software
called a "driver" that translates the hardware's control signals to
signals that the operating system expects, and translates signals
from operating system to the hardware's control signals. Obviously,
the hardware manufacturer provides the driver.
Because the driver works between the operating system and the
hardware, a bug in the driver can cause a serious problem. Many of
the problems with Windows have come from bugs in third-party
drivers that Microsoft had nothing to do with. For this reason,
Microsoft created a Hardware Quality Lab to test drivers. A hardware
manufacturer can submit their driver for testing, and if it is passes
rigorous compatibility testing, it receives Microsoft's digital signature.
You may have received a message during the installation of a
hardware device warning that the driver was not signed. Why would a
hardware manufacturer fail to have their driver certified by Microsoft?
The computer hardware market is very competitive and the
manufacturer might want to bring a new product to market before
thorough testing can be completed. Or maybe they don't want to or
can't afford to pay Microsoft for certification. The question is, should
you click on the "Continue" button to install the unsigned driver?
In my experience, I have never been able to trace a problem to an
unsigned driver. If it's your home computer and you performed a
back-up recently, go ahead and install the unsigned driver. If it's a
computer on a corporate network, you may want to back-out of the
installation and see if you can locate a signed driver first. Many times
a manufacturer will release a product with an unsigned driver, then
later provide a signed driver as a free download from their website.
If you decide to go ahead and install an unsigned driver, you can
always update the driver later. If your computer works with the
unsigned driver, I would not update the driver. When it comes to
updating drivers (or the computers BIOS) I go by the old saying, "if it
ain't broke don't fix it".
To update a driver, select Start | Settings | Control Panel and doubleclick on the System Properties Utility. In the System Properties
Utility, select the Hardware tab and click on the Device Manager
button. In the Device Manager window, right-click on the device in
the list and select Properties in the popup menu. In the Properties
dialog box, select the driver tab and click on the Update Driver...
button.
In the Properties dialog box driver tab, you may have noticed the Roll
Back Driver button. If your computer has problems with the new
drive, you can click on the Roll Back Driver button to roll back to the
previous the driver. Driver roll back saves only one previous driver,
so if you update a driver, then update it again, the original driver is
gone. If the computer has problems with the new driver, always roll
back to the original driver before trying a different one. That way
you'll always have the original driver to roll back to.
Contents
Plug and Play Resource Allocation
Your computer has many devices connected to it. Your key board is a
device. Your mouse is a device. Your modem is a device. Even a port,
like a USB port, is a device. You can add a device to your computer
by installing it into an expansion connector on the the motherboard of
the computer. In order to operate, resources need to be allocated to
the device.
One of the most important resources a device needs is an Interrupt
Request (IRQ) line. An IRQ signals the processor that the device
needs attention. For example, each time you press a key on your
keyboard, an IRQ is sent to let the processor know that the keyboard
needs attention. A device also needs to be allocated a set of memory
addresses where commands can be sent to it and it can send
responses.
Many devices need to be allocated an area of memory to store data
and/or a Direct Memory Access (DMA) channel. A DMA channel allows
a device to create a data stream directly between it and the
computers memory without passing through the processor.
One of the most important structures in a computer is the system bus
located on the motherbord. The processor, chipset, memory, and
expansion slot devices communicate over the bus. Early PCs used a
bus called Industry Standard Architecture (ISA). When you installed
an expansion card into the ISA bus, you had to set IRQs and other
resources with jumpers and/or DIP switches on the card. ISA devices
cannot share resources, each ISA device must have its own IRQ.
• You can have more than one ISA device configured for the same
IRQ, as long as only one of the device drivers is loaded at any one
time; otherwise, you'll get an IRQ conflict.
Since a computer has only a limited amount of resources, the number
of devices that a computer could support is limited. One of the most
limited resources is IRQ lines. A PC has only 16 IRQs. Common
devices such as the keyboard, mouse, floppy drive, and hard drive
use a standard set of resources.
Standard IRQ assignments
IRQ Device
0
System Timer
1
Keyboard
2
IRQ Controller 2
3
COM2
4
COM1
5
LPT2
6
Floppy Drive
7
LPT1
8
Real-Time Clock
9
ACPI
10
unallocated
11
IRQ Holder
12
Mouse
13
Math Coprocessor
14
Primary IDE
15
Secondary IDE
In 1993, Microsoft and Intel developed Plug and Play (PnP) to solve
this problem. One of the main structures supporting PnP is the
Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus. Along with a PCI bus,
the computers BIOS, operating system, and hardware devices must
be PnP compliant. One of the key features of PnP is that when
installing a PCI card, you do not need to use jumpers of DIP switches
to set the IRQ or I/O address for the card, the PCI bus controller does
this for you.
The Windows 2000/XP operating system component responsible for
PnP is the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI). ACPI
allows devices to be controlled by the operating system to perform
power management. ACPI may put a device in a power saving state
such as Standby, Suspend or Off. ACPI also allows dynamic handling
of events like the addition or removal of a USB device.
During the boot process, the BIOS builds a table to record which IRQs
have been used by legacy ISA devices and then assigns the unused
ones to the PCI bus controller. The PCI bus controller, which is part of
the motherboard chip set, manages the PCI bus and the expansion
slots.
Each PCI device communicates its resource requirements to ACPI.
Based on the resource requests that each device makes, ACPI assigns
resources such as IRQs, I/O addresses, and memory locations, and
DMA channels. ACPI can reconfigure resource assignments when
needed, for example, when a device is added to the system.
The PCI bus overcomes the limitation in available IRQ's with a feature
called "PCI steering". PCI steering makes it possible for several
devices to use the same IRQ. PCI steering allocates an IRQ called the
"IRQ Holder" for PCI steering. The PCI controller steers that IRQ to its
own interrupt systems on the PCI bus. These interrupts are called A,
B, C, D, and so on to avoid confusion with the numbered system
IRQs. One interrupt is assigned to each PCI expansion slot.
To see which IRQ has been assigned to the IRQ Holder for PCI
steering, open the Control Panel "System" utility. In the "System
Properties" dialog box, select the "Hardware" tab and click on the
"Device Manager..." button. In Device Manager's "View" menu select
"Resources by type", then open the "Interrupt request IRQ" branch.
• Note that Windows 2000 uses IRQ 9 for PCI Steering, so never set
a device to IRQ 9.
PnP resource allocation removes the need to use jumpers of DIP
switches to set the IRQ and other resources for devices. But PnP
involves a complex interaction between the computers BIOS, chipset,
PCI bus, operating system, and PnP devices.
Contents
Basic Computer Thermodynamics
That desk in front of you and everything else around you is made up
of atoms. An atom consists of electrons orbiting around a nucleus. An
atom is increadibly tiny. You could line up 10 million of them inside a
millimeter. What if we could scale up an atom so that the nucleus was
the size of a basketball? The orbits of its electrons would then be 15
miles away.
From this you can understand that atoms are almost all empty space.
The nucleus of the atom is composed of quarks. If you could see a
quark or an electron up close, it might appear as a tiny vibrating glow
of energy. It turns out this world that is causing us so many problems
and so much stress is mostly an illusion!
The electrons orbit the nucleus at about the speed of light. If you
could see them, they might appear as a blur. They do not orbit in a
plane like the pictures in books. They create a shell. Sometimes two
or more atoms will share electrons, causing them to link together
forming a molecule.
Looking at that desk in front of you again, it looks pretty solid.
Actually, unless your desk is floating in deep space where the
temperature is close to absolute zero, the molecules of your desk are
vibrating like crazy. Picture the molecules bouncing around and
smacking into each other like balls on a pool table.
If you have ever played pool, you're very familiar with how when a
pool ball hits another pool ball, it transfers it's energy to the second
pool ball. When heat causes molecules to vibrate, they transfer
energy between each other in a similar fashion. This action is called
"conduction".
Now picture the CPU of a computer cooking away because the
designer wants to push too much power through a small piece of
silicon. If we don't take away that heat as fast as it's created, that
CPU will fry!
The problem is usually solved by mounting a heat sink on the CPU.
Conduction causes the heat to move from the hot CPU to the cooler
heat sink. Because air doesn't conduct heat as well as metal, We
apply a thin layer of heat sink compound between the CPU and the
heat sink to fill in any gaps.
You'll notice that a heat sink has fins on it. The fins allow the heat
sink to conduct the heat to the air adjacent to the fins. The fins
provide more surface area to aid in conduction. Eventually the
adjacent air will get as hot as the heat sink and conduction will cease.
If we move the air away from the heat sink, it will take the heat
energy with it. A fan mounted on the heat sink is used to move the
air. This method of heat transfer is called convection. Eventually all
the air inside the computer case will get hot, so fans are used to blow
the air out of the case of the computer.
The heat has moved from the CPU, to the heat sink, to the air inside
the case, to the air in the room where you're sitting at your computer
desk. The room starts to get hot, and eventually the air conditioner
turns on.
You can view an air conditioner as a "pipe". A fan blows the hot air
from your room through fins that transfer the heat to a liquid. The
liquid is piped to fins outside the house. A fan blows cooler outside air
past the fins to remove the heat from the liquid.
The air conditioner has an evaporator valve that changes the liquid to
a gas after the heat is removed. In a gas, the molecules are further
apart than in a liquid. This causes it to cool down quite a bit more.
The gas goes through the fins inside the house, picking up heat. It is
then compressed into a liquid to concentrate the heat so the outside
fins can remove the heat more efficiently.
Shuttle's I.C.E. (Integrated Cooling Engine) Heat Pipe uses a very
similar method to cool a CPU. The CPU has a heat sink with copper
heat pipes. The heat of the CPU causes liquid coolant inside the heat
pipe to change to a gas. Convection created by the pressure of the
gas moves the coolant to a second heat sink where a fan is used to
blow the heat out of the computer's case. Releasing the heat causes
the coolant to change back to a liquid. Gravity then carries the
coolant back to the CPU heat sink.
One last method of heat transfer we haven't discussed yet is
radiation. Some of the heat of the CPU and the heat sink is released
as infrared radiation. Similar to light (although invisible to human
eyes), the radiation strikes the insides of the computer case, causing
it to get warm. Ultimately the computer case itself acts as a heat sink
conducting heat to the outside air.
This article explains the three ways - conduction, convection, and
radiation - that heat is transported from a computer CPU to the air
outside the computer case. You now understand the thermodynamics
of a computers and why it is important to maintain its various
components.
Contents
Working With the Registry
The Registry is the central database for everything about your
computer. It stores configuration information about the operating
system, hardware, software, and types of files on the computer.
The registry database consists of "keys" and "values". A key is a
"place" to store a value. A key may store many values, or it may
have subkeys, each which store values. The Windows 2000 registry
has five top level keys as listed below.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE Hardware configurations
HKEY_CURRENT_CONFI
Operating system settings
G
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT Files types and software objects
HKEY_USERS
All users configurations
HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Currently logged in user
configurations
The Registry is normally modified through Administrative or Control
Panel utilities, but it is possible to edit the Registry directly. Making
an incorrect modification to the Registry can cause your computer to
fail to start, so it's wise to backup the Registry before making any
changes.
To backup the registry, you can export it to an ASCII file with the
.reg extension. You can export the Whole Registry or just a branch of
the Registry. First select or create a folder where you would like to
save the exported registry. To export the Registry, open the Registry
Editor program by selecting Start | Run and typing regedit in the Run
dialog box.
In the Registry Editor programs Registry menu, select Export Registry
File... In The Export Registry File dialog box, navigate to the folder
where you would like to save the exported registry. Then enter a
name for the exported registry file (for example reg_date). Make sure
the Save as type: drop down list has Registration Files selected. This
will automatically add the .reg extension to the file. In the Export
Range section, set the All radio button. Then click on the Save
button.
If you export the entire registry, the .reg file will be quite large,
between 20MB and 30MB. You might want to export only a specific
branch of the registry. To export a branch, highlight the branch in the
left pane of the Registry before selecting Export Registry File... in the
Registry Editor programs Registry menu. In the Export Range section,
make sure the Selected branch radio button is set.
One reason to export a Registry file is to be able use a text editor to
search it. The Registry Editor prgram has a Find... function in the Edit
menu, but it's more difficult to use.
• Do not double-click the file to open it in a text editor, as the default
action for a file with the .reg extension is to merge it back into the
Registry.
• Before you edit the registry file, make a backup copy.
Right-click on the file and select Open with... in the popup menu, or
drag and drop the file to Notepad or Wordpad. Then use the
capabilities of the text editor to search and edit the exported registry
branch.
After you have completed editing the file, you can import it back into
the Registry by selecting Import Registry File in the Registry Editor
program's Registry menu, or by double-clicking on the file name.
The Registry is normally modified through Administrative or Control
Panel utilities, but by using the method described in this article it is
possible to safely edit the Registry directly.
Contents
Why Not Defragment Your Hard Disk Today?
Does your computer run as fast as it did the first day you brought it
home from the store? If you have been using it for several months or
more, more than likely it has begun to operate more slowly. There
can be many causes for this, for example too many processes running
simultaneously, or invasion by spy ware or a virus. But the most
common cause is a fragmented hard disk.
First let’s understand what disk fragmentation is. A hard disk is
constructed of disk shaped platters with a magnetizeable coating their
surface. As the platters spin at a very high speed, tiny coils skim over
the surface of each platter reading and writing data. Each of the
circular paths on a platter is called a “track”. An arch section of a
track is called a “sector”.
When a file is written, it is written to the first unused sector on the
disk. When your computer was new and all the software was
consecutively written to the hard drive, your hard drive looked similar
to that shown below.
While using your computer, you delete file A, write file D, and Enlarge
file C and File A. This causes the data on your hard disk to be
arranged as shown below.
Now you can see that in order to read file A from the hard disk, the
read coil has to search and skip for the scattered bits of the file. As
files are written, deleted and rewritten in different size, unused blocks
of space become discontiguous. Parts of individual files become
scattered across the disk. Your computer takes longer to load
applications and data files.
And this is a simplified diagram, image how a real hard disk with
hundreds of thousands of files looks after months, or even years of
removing and rewriting files. That’s why it’s important to defragment
your hard disk occasionally. Use the following step-by-step plan to
defragment your hard disk today.
1. Use Control Panel’s Add/Remove Programs utility to uninstall any
software applications that you no longer use.
2. Delete any data files that you don’t need. If you have a lot of data
files that are questionable, archive them to a CD-R.
3. Use Start | Programs | Accessories | System Tools | Disk Cleanup
to delete any cached Internet files, temporary files, and other junk.
4. In Windows 98/Me, use Start | Programs | Accessories | System
Tools | ScanDisk to locate and repair any damaged files.
5. If an application writes to the hard disk during defragmentation,
Disk Defragmenter will start all over again. You need to shut down
any unnecessary running applications. Press Ctrl-Alt-Delete to open
Task Manager and see if any Applications are running.
In Windows 89/Me the only tasks you need running are Systray and
Explorer. Windows 2000 doesn’t list Systray and Explorer in Task
Manager, so you can shut down any applications listed. Select the
name of the application and click on the End Task button. You are
now ready to start Disk Defragmenter.
6. On a large hard disk defragmentation can take a long time, so
make sure you start Disk Defragmenter at a convenient time when
you will not need to use the computer. Select Start | Programs |
Accessories | System Tools | Disk Defragmenter.
In Windows 98/Me click on the Show Details button to view an
amazing graphical display of the defragmentation process in action.
While it’s not very productive to sit and watch this display, it is very
interesting, and you might make up the time by having a faster
computer afterwards.
Contents
Installing Memory
The most important part of installing memory is to make sure you are
using the correct type of memory for your motherboard. Its important
to study the manual that came with your motherboard to determine
exactly what type and speed of memory is required.
It is also important to avoid creating an Electro-static discharge
(ESD) while handling the memory module. ESD is a spark of static
electricity that can damage the memory module. The proper way to
handle static sensitive eletronic components is to use a grounded
wrist strap. If you don't have a wrist strap, you can discharge any
static electricity from your body to ground by placing one hand on an
unpained part of the metal chasis while you work.
If your motherboard is an older design, it may use Synchronous
Dynmaic Random Access Memory (SDRAM) in a 168-pin Dual In-line
Memory Module (DIMM). SDRAM comes in two speeds, 100 MHz
(PC100) and 133 MHz (PC133). It comes in 3.3 volt and 5.0 volt
versions, with Error Checking and Correction (ECC) or non-ECC.
New motherboards usually use Double Data Rate SDRAM (DDR
SDRAM) packaged in a 168-pin DIMM. DDR SDRAM comes in two
speeds, 266 MHz (PC2100) and 333 MHz (PC2700). If your
motherboard has more than one slot, and you have only one memory
module, you might be required to install a single DIMM in slot 1.
To install a DIMM, note how the module is keyed. It can be plugged in
only one way. Push open the ejector tabs on both ends of the
memory socket. Firmly press the module into the socket until the
ejector tabs snap into locked position.
Some Intel motherboards may use RAMBUS packaged in a 184-pin
RIMM. RAMBUS comes in speeds from 300 MNhz (PC300) to 1.066
MHz (PC10660). It may be ECC or non-ECC. There are two
connectors on the motherboard, each must contain either a RIMM or
a C-RIMM. A C-RIMM (continuity RIMM) does not contain memory, it
is a module that provides a path pass-through for the signal.
Contents
Installing an Internal Hard Drive
Installing a new hard drive remains one of the most popular upgrade
projects for PC users. And it's easy to see why. Today's drives are
bigger than ever and bargain priced, and they offer a performance
boost, as well. You need that extra space for the increasingly roomy
OS installs and gigabyte-eating applications that are the norm these
days. And don't forget graphics, audio and video files.
Seagate 200GB HD The Barracuda 7200.7 200GB hard disc drive
delivers 7,200 RPM access speed and an Ultra ATA-100 interface for
high-performance desktop applications.
While the 5400 rpm drives are slightly less expensive than the 7200
rpm models, the latter deliver a genuine performance boost in the
form of quicker access times and improved data transfers. Still, if you
want the best performance out of your new drive. Your PC must have
onboard Ultra DMA/100 support.
Seagate 40GB The Seagate 40GB hard drive handles the common
uses of today's PCs, such as games, photo and video editing,
advanced applications & MP3s.
• It's interesting how they always show the inside of hard drives. The
disc or platter you see in the picture above is actually sealed in an air
tight container. Your hard drive will not come sawed open like this!
Because your new hard drive will be bigger and faster than the one
your PC currently uses, plan on making the new drive your primary
drive the new home for your operating system and applications. You
can attach your old drive as a secondary hard disk and use it for
archives and less frequently accessed data.
System and hard drive configurations may vary. These instructions
are provided for reference only, please refer to the manufacturer's
manual or web site for instructions on their specific drives.
Modern computers have two IDE channels, Primary and Secondary.
Each channel can support a Master device and a Slave device. The
hard disk should be installed on the Primary channel as the Master
device.
In the instructions that came with your hard disk, locate the
information about jumper settings. The hard disk should have a
jumper on the rear next to the IDE cable connector that sets the
drives Master or Slave configuration.
1. Set the jumper setting on the hard drive to primary or master
drive (default setting). If it is not, simply move the jumper over to
master. If you are using the drive as secondary hard drive move it to
the "slave" jumper setting. Refer to the documentation for proper
placement of jumper settings.
Newer motherboards have a "cable select" feature that, when used
with a special cable, automatically sets the hard disk’s Master or
Slave configuration. The jumper on newer hard disks may be set to
"cable select" by default. If you don’t know if your motherboard
supports cable select, move the jumper to the position for Single
drive (this is the only drive on the cable).
2. Install the hard drive into an open 3.5 drive bay.
To install the hard disk, use an internal 3.5 inch internal drive bay if
your computer has one. An internal bay does not have a removable
cover and you don’t need to uncover the hard disk because you will
not physical access to the hard disk after the case is closed.
Slide the hard disk into the drive bay with the circuit board facing
down and secure it to the side rails with two screws on each side.
Modern computers have two IDE channels, Primary and Secondary.
Each channel can support a Master device and a Slave device. The
hard disk should be installed on the Primary channel as the Master
device.
• The terms IDE, EIDE, and ATA are commonly used interchangeably,
although technically they can mean different things.
An ATA/33 IDE cable has 40 conductors and 40 pins. If your
motherboard and hard disk are compatible with the ATA/66 or
ATA/100 interface, make sure your IDE cable has 80 conductors and
40 pins.
3. Install a 40-pin connector IDE cable from the hard disk to the
Primary IDE channel connector on the motherboard. An IDE cable has
three connectors. The middle connector is usually closer to the end of
the cable that connects to the hard disk. Make sure that you correctly
position the connectors pin 1 at both ends of the cable.
Locate the primary IDE controller (or IDE 1) on your motherboard.
Pin 1 is identified by a red line on the ribbon cable. The red line
usually goes towards the inside of the hard disk. Identify pin 1 on the
motherboard IDE connector by a label on the motherboard or from
the motherboard diagram.
4. Plug a power cable into the hard disk power connector.
You are now ready to install your operating system.
Seagate’s ultra-fast 60GB hard disc drive delivers 7,200 RPM access
speed and an Ultra ATA/100 interface for mainstream and highperformance desktop applications. This drive features superior
performance, quiet acoustics, and Seagate’s comprehensive 3D
Defense System, for the highest security of your data.
The Seagate 60GB hard drive handles the common uses of today's PC
users, such as games, photo and video editing, advanced
applications, MP3's and the usual Internet downloads. And with the
8.9ms access time, these functions will be performed swiftly!
Besides delivering a massive 80GB of storage space and 7200 rpm
speed, along with ATA/100 interface, this Seagate U Series drive
includes Seagate's breakthrough SoftSonic FDB motor for the quietest
operation of any 7200 rpm drive made. And Seagate protects your
data like no other drive with 350 Gs nonoperating shock and a 3D
Defense System that's proven # 1 in reliability testing. A huge 2MB
Cache Buffer means fast data rate transfers and the DiscWizard
software makes Seagate drives the industry''s easiest to install.
Free Seagate Utilities
Packaged with your new hard drive (also available for free download)
are special utilities to simplifies installation and help achieve the full
capacity of the drive by overcoming legacy BIOS limitations.
DiskWizard and Disk Manager
DiscWizard and Disk Manager Seagate simplifies installation of your
new Medalist and Medalist Pro drives with its exclusive Windowsbased disc drive installation program. This software overcomes
certain system BIOS and operating system limitations that can
complicate the installation of higher-capacity ATA (IDE)-interface
drives. DiscWizard also includes Disk Manager, a DOS based
program, to help achieve the full capacity of your drive by
overcoming legacy BIOS limitations.
Ultra ATA/100 Configuration Utility
Ultra ATA/100 Configuration Utility Seagate Ultra ATA/33/66/100
drives can be configured for Ultra ATA modes up to and including the
maximum the drive is capable of. Use this utility to select or to verify
a compatible Ultra ATA mode for your drive and system. CAUTION:
This is a powerful utility. Improper use could render your drive
inoperable, read the UATA100 FAQ before using.
Contents
Partitioning Your Hard Disk
There are several reasons why you might want to divide your hard
disk into partitions. For example, you might want to keep your
operating system and your data on two different partitions. That way
you can re-install the operating system (or a different operating
system) without losing your data. Or, you might want to be able to
dual-boot or multi-boot with different operating systems on the same
computer.
There are several ways to partition a hard disk. If you already have
data on the disk, then you need Partition Magic or System
Commander. Both of these utilities come with a nondestructive
partitioner.
If you can lose the data on the hard disk, You can use the fdisk DOS
utility. If you are adding a second drive, you can run fdisk from the
MS-DOS prompt in Windows. If you are repartitioning your old drive,
you can place a copy of fdisk.exe and format.com on a boot disk.
Note: Older hard drives used an overlay driver program to support
partitions over 512MB. You can’t use fdisk with a drive that uses an
overlay driver.
New hard drives usually come with a partitioning utility on a floppy
disk. And, most operating systems can partition the hard disk as the
first step of setup.
There are two kinds of partitions, primary and extended. An operating
system must be on a primary partition. A hard drive can have up to
four primary partitions. If you use fdisk to create partitions, be sure
to set the partition you want to boot from as active. If you want more
than four partitions, you can create three primary partitions, and one
extended partition. The extended partition can be divided into logical
drives until you run out of letters of the alphabet.
If want even more partitions, or more storage space, you can install a
second hard drive. Each ATA (EIDE) channel on your motherboard
can accommodate two hard drives. One drive will be the master, the
other will be the slave. A jumper on the hard drive is used to set
which is the master and which is the slave. Some computers use the
drives position on the interface cable to define the master and slave.
Note: You may need to set your computers BIOS to recognize a
second drive. This is done by pressing the appropriate key (usually
Del, Esc, F1 or F2) during boot-up.
Windows always labels the active primary partition as C:\. Other
primary partitions are labeled D:\, E:\...and so on, then logical drives
are labeled. If you have more than one hard drive, then the first
primary partition on the second drive is always labeled D:\, the first
primary partition on the third drive is labeled E:\... and so on. Then
the next letter is assigned to the second partition on the first drive ...
If this method of assigning letters to partitions seems confusing welcome to the world of Microsoft.
Contents
PC Technical Support Links
• AllExperts is the largest question and answer service on the Web.
They have thousands of volunteers, including laywers, doctors,
engineers and scientists waiting to answer your questions. All
answers are free and most come within a day.
This site has a mind-boggling number of categories; however, thay
don't have a Computer Troubleshooting category. You have to select
a specific category like Operating Systems - Focus on Windows or
Software - Desktop Publishing. This is a very extensive website, but
fast and easy to navigate. You can also browse previously asked
questions.
• Computing.Net Features Ask Computing.Net, a concept based
search engine were you can enter a search question. They also have
support forums, a large search based FAQ section, Howtos, a novice
section and much more.
• Tech Support Guy Search the forms at the Tech Support Guy Web
site for free to see if someone else has encountered the same
problem, or post a message requesting help.
• PC Pitstop provides a free suite of hardware diagnostics that works
over the Web. This site also provides good hardware troubleshooting
information.
• Protonic.com is an online community dedicated to providing fast,
free technical support to any computer user in need of it. They are
able to provide this service thanks to their countless volunteers. Their
volunteers come from all over the world. Many of their techs are
based in the USA, England, and New Zealand. To receive free online
technical support, enter a title or description for your problem in the
text box and click the "Ask Your Question!" button on the front page
of the Protonic Web site.
• 5 Star Support has over 250 volunteer technicians to help people in
need of computer help. Click the "Free Technical Support" menu,
which takes you to a page where you can receive live chat help,
forum help, or email help.
Click on the "Technical Information" drop down list for pages
containing tips, tricks, solutions and tutorials. I checked the page for
BIOS Beep Codes. Sure enough there where the beep codes of
different BIOS manufacturers. If you've ever had a really dead
computer, then I don't need to explain to you what beep codes are. If
you've never had to use beep codes - then you don't want to know!
• Startdisk's Ultimate Boot Disk is a free downloadable alternative to
Windows standard start disk. It provides troubleshooting tools,
including Startup troubleshooter.
• Trend Micro's Housecall, a free antivirus service that works over the
Web.
• Fix Your Own Printer sells Printer Repair Kits along with
instructional video tapes and videos on CD-ROM in MPEG format.
Other useful features of this Web site are the online Troubleshooting
Guides, online Technical Support, and Printer Repair Forum.
• PC Mechanic David Risley, the creator of PC Mechanic says "it's a
site with a different purpose than many of the other computer
technology sites on the internet." While sites that base themselves on
hardware reviews are a dime-a-dozen now days, David noticed a big
void when it came to truly useful information on the subject.
When you see the words "hardware reviews", read "advertising".
Well, PC Mechanic also features "hardware reviews". Hey, a guy's got
to make a living. But David was right about PC Mechanic providing
truly useful information.
At PC Mechanic you'll find step-by-step tutorials and articles in plainEnglish. You'll learn How It Works, Troubleshooting, Optimization,
and much more. Plus, you can learn from the Hardware, Software,
and General Tech Forums. Put PC Mechanic on your useful resources
list.
Contents
Microsoft's Support Websites
Possibly the largest source of free technical information on the planet,
Microsoft's support websites provide information not only about
Microsoft products, but about a full spectrum of computer and
Internet technology. For as long as Microsofts Support Websites have
been in existence, thousands of technical writers have been making a
living by scouring them and epackaging the information. Should
Microsoft be worried about this? Hell No! The abundance of third
party information is what has made Microsoft's products so successful
over the years.
• Product Support Centers Select your product from the drop-down
list or click one of the links to view support information, common
issues, downloads, related sites, instructions, troubleshooters, and
much more. You'll find links for everything from Windows XP to
DirectX games. All the information for Microsoft products is here.
• Search the Knowledge Base An advanced search application that
lets you search articles by full text, title, or article ID using keywords
or exact phrases, including Boolean search. Also provides links to the
most popular Knowledge Base articles!
• Microsoft Product Support Newsgroups Here you can select any of
the Microsoft Public Newsgroups to discuss issues with others who
use Microsoft Products, including advice from Microsoft Most Valuable
Professionals (MVPs). Read interesting posts, search for specific
topics, answer a question, or ask your peers for help by posting your
question.
• TechNet Designed to meet the technical information needs of
anyone who plans, evaluates, deploys, maintains, or supports
Microsoft business products, the TechNet support site provides
technical Briefings, bulletins and security alerts. Search TechNet for
detailed "how-to" information on Microsoft products.
• MSDN The Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) is designed to help
developers write applications using Microsoft products and
technologies. Search the online support site that provides detailed
information for development professionals concerning Microsoft
products.
When you find the information you want on one of Microsoft's support
websites, don't just save a link to the information. Information on
these sites shuffles and moves around faster than menu items in a
new version of a Microsoft application. You should save a copy of the
information if possible.
Contents
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