Hands-ON PROJECTS

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Proj n et w o r k
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Secure you i o n s
d d riv e pa r t i t
Man a g e h a r
ile p ho n e
up yo u r m o b
Back h o w
g ra d e k n o w -
E s s e n t i a l u p
y o u r p r in te r
p tim iz e
Clean and o c o ol
ru n n in g
Keep your PC
Anniversary Special e-book
|1
Intelligent computing CHip
Hands-ON PROJECTS
Contents
Is your WLAN secure?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Shrink your drives Partition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Printer Optimization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Degrees or Decibels?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Cleaning Inkjet Cartridges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Revitalize your BIOS!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Maintain your SMPS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Keep It Cool, Man!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Set up RAID in minutes!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Let the Air Flow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Laptop upgrades. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Upgrade external storage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Outlook mail on steroids. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Flashing Matters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Managing Address Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Data backup for Sony Ericsson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Troubleshooting drivers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Sync your PCs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Windows on Steroids. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
2 | intelligent computing CHip
Hands-ON PROJECTS
Foreword
Dear Reader,
I see, I forget. I do, I learn, I remember.
That adage best sums up the purpose of the Hands-on section in CHIP. A
workshop article in this section leads the reader through a series of steps (supported
by visuals) with the mission of accomplishing something useful.
We at CHIP believe these special articles instill confidence in the reader. When you
see someone building a PC, it becomes much easier to perform that task yourself.
And so our workshops, with their intricate instructions, details and screenshots or
photos, try to capture every step of the process. In fact, a visual workshop of this
kind is the next best thing to watching a video.
You may want to accomplish something on the Internet, or with some hardware or
software. But it would take a while to figure out all the options and every aspect of
that project. But if you read the workshop article, you gain all this knowledge in a
matter of a few minutes. And by then you are confident and ready to jump in.
This e-book is a compilation of all the workshop articles done during the year.
Theres a good chance that youll still have a few doubts or a question as you try to
do these projects. If thats the case do drop us a line at feedback@chip.in.
Team CHIP
Intelligent computing CHip |3
Hands-ON PROJECTS
Jagdish Limbachiya
Is your WLAN secure?
CHIP helps you to secure your home/office wireless network so that hackers and
malicious elements cant use it. You only need to tweak a few settings in your
routers configuration. BY Francis DSa
A
re you worried about the recent news
reports that terrorists have been using
open and unsecured wireless networks?
Here are some tips to help you secure your
home or office Wi-Fi network from intruders,
hackers and terrorists. Most wireless routers
have weak default security settings which
need to be changed in order to protect yourself
fully. But if you know how many computers are
supposed to be on your Wi-Fi network, its easy
to lock things down so no one else can get in.
Lets begin with a few basic but important
settings that need to be configured in your
wireless router. To log in to the router and
configure it, use any Web browser and enter
the IP address of the router in the address bar.
The default IP address, username and password
should be mentioned in the routers user manual.
The exact names and locations of each setting
mentioned below might differ between brands
and models, but the concepts are the same.
Browse through all the features of the router and
learn about how they affect your security.
4 | intelligent computing CHip
Step 1: Change the default password
Each router has a default username and
password, and you should change these the
moment you start configuring yours. If the
routers password is either unchanged common
or weak, a stranger might be able to reconfigure
the router and wipe out all your other security
measures, making them useless. Default
passwords such as admin are the easiest to
crack, so try to use a good mix of numbers and
characters to be on the safe side.
Passwords
Always use combinations of letters (upper
and lower case), numbers, and ASCII symbols
in your passwords to make guessing them more
difficult.
Avoid using family members names,
birthdates or common words which are known
to friends and neighbors. Try using H4Ck3r
$L4nG (hacker slang) to mask common words.
Do make it a habit to change your passwords
frequently.
Hands-ON PROJECTS
Step: 2: Change the default IP
address
Most routers have a common IP (Internet
Protocol) address which is set to
192.168.1.1, which is known to hackers.
This should be changed to a random,
uncommon IP address. Youll need to stay
within the series, such as 192.168.xxx.
xxx, but the last value can be changed to
anything you like.
Step 3: Disable the DHCP service If the routers password is weak, a stranger might Change the default IP address. This should be
be able to reconfigure the security settings. changed to a random, uncommon value.
DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration
Protocol) enables remote computers
connected to the router to obtain an IP
address and join the network without
needing to know the IP and router address
information. This is a simple and effective
way of keeping intruders away. As far as
possible, set up the computers on your
network with static IP addresses. If you
still want to use DHCP to make your own
configuration easier, restrict the number
of DHCP IP users to the number of
computers on your network. For example,
Disable the DHCP service. As far as possible, set Restrict the network mode to Wi-Fi N or B/G to
if you have five laptops running on the up the computers with static IP addresses. bar unwanted computers from your network.
network, limit the DHCP IP addresses to 5
from the default 50.
Step 4: Restrict the network mode
If your computers use Wi-Fi N or B/G,
restrict the network mode to only
that Wi-Fi flavor to prevent unwanted
computers from being able to join your
network. This isnt 100 percent effective,
but can help deter casual Wi-Fi snoopers,
especially if you use the newer N standard.
Step 5: Change the default SSID Change the SSID to some random name, or PSKs are Pre-Shared Keys, which provide
The SSID is the name of your network. disable SSID broadcast entirely if possible. stronger security than WEP or WPA.
It often reveals the name of a house
or office from where signal is coming,
allowing hackers to zero in on your location.
Change the SSID to some random name,
or disable SSID broadcast entirely if
possible. Disabling the SSID broadcast
makes your Wi-Fi router invisible to
laptops and cellphones in the area which
automatically scan for Wi-Fi hotspots and
try to join them. If hackers cant be sure
that your network even exists, they will not
bother trying to break in. It is actually just
common sense and shows that prevention Enable MAC address filters to restrict or Enable the firewall feature on your router to
authenticate computers on your network. reject anonymous Internet requests.
is better than cure.
Intelligent computing CHip |5
Hands-ON PROJECTS
Access Policies let you to allow or block certain
computers from using the network.
Monitor the routers activities by keeping a check
on the logs from time to time.
Disable remote management. This can be
misused over the Internet.
Keep an eye out for updates to the routers
firmware, for upgraded security features.
6 | intelligent computing CHip
Step 6: Opt for WPA2 or PSK security
over WEP
WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) keys can
be cracked with relative ease, so opt for
WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access), which
uses 64-bit or 128-bit encryption. PSKs are
Pre-Shared Keys, which provide stronger
security than WEP or WPA. The encrypted
keys are shared by the router and your
Wi-Fi devices. The higher the encryption
bit rate, the more difficult it is to crack.
Step 7: Enable the MAC Filter
Enable MAC (Media Access Control)
address filtering to restrict or authenticate
a particular computer on the network. A
MAC address is a unique physical address
assigned to every piece of network
equipment, which the router can use to
authenticate it. If an unauthorized computer
tries to join the network, it will simply
be rejected. This is one of the simplest
ways to prevent strangers from using and
abusing your network.
Step 8: Use the routers firewall
Enable the firewall feature if your router
has one. Usually, routers use SPI (Stateful
Packet Inspection) which reviews the
packets of data entering your network. If
your router has an Internet Filter, enable
it too. This rejects anonymous Internet
requests and keeps your network from
being pinged, or detected by other users
over the Internet. To secure your computer
against other users already on the network,
use a desktop firewall such as the free
Comodo Firewall.
Step 9: Use Internet Access Policies
This feature allows you to set parameters
for each computer accessing the network.
You can allow or block certain computers
from using the network on a specific day
or time, or even block specific websites,
keywords, applications and ports.
Step 10: Disable remote
administration
Remote management features can be
helpful and convenient if you are constantly
on the move, but can also be a window for
hackers. Enable this feature only when you
are actually travelling and really need it.
Step 11: Switch off the router when
not in use
Keep the router switched off if you are not
going to use it for long periods, such as at
night, when travelling or on holiday, etc.
Step 12: Disconnect the Internet
when not needed
If you only need Wi-Fi for home or office
networking and do not need to use the
Internet at all times, you could simply
unplug the ISPs cable from your router or
switch off your ADSL/cable modem.
Step 13: Position your router
carefully
As far as possible, position the router in
the center of your room or office. The
Wi-Fi signal emanates in a sphere with
the router at its center, potentially making
it accessible from your neighbors houses
or even the street outside. If your router
allows you to reduce its signal strength,
keep it at a level sufficient for your usage
area. You never know how many people
are actually able to detect and use your
network. Keeping the router at a height
increases the area of broadcast, so keep
that in mind.
Step 14: Update the router firmware
Keep an eye on the manufacturers website
for recent changes and developments of
the routers firmware and its updates. New
security features might become available.
Make sure you know how to perform this
procedure before attempting it though!
Step 15: Scan for signal leaks from
time to time
Scan the area just outside your home or
office for signal leaks from time to time.
You can use a dedicated Wi-Fi sniffer or
any laptop, PDA or cellphone which has
Wi-Fi built in. If you can detect your own
wireless network from the outside, anyone
else will be able to as well.
Wi-Fi frees you from wires and lets you
work conveniently and comfortably, but a
wired network is a safer option. Now that
you have all the information you need, you
wont have to worry about criminals or
mischief makers abusing your network.
francis.dsa@chip.in
 Hands-ON PROJECTS

Shrink your drive's Partition

Partition your drive in Windows Vista directly without using any special
software to create the partitions in four easy steps. By Francis D'Sa and MONALI GAIKWAD

N
ew computers usually come with
a single partition (mostly the 'C' Step 1
drive). But at times you need to
manage your important data in other
partitions too. This involves backing up
existing data, repartitioning the drive
and reinstalling the entire operating
system. What if you need to install an
additional operating system (such as
Linux or another version of Windows) on
your computer? You would need another
partition, right?
Usually, to partition the hard drive
without reformatting it, you need to use
special disk partitioning tools such as
Partition Magic or Partition Manager. If Step 2

you're a Windows Vista user, this can

be done effortlessly. This option is only
available in Windows Vista.
Make sure that the partitioning process
is not interrupted in any way (power
failures or accidental resets), as that Step 3
would cause permanent damage to your
data. Also, if possible, experiment with
the process on a spare drive before you
attempt it on the main drive. Step 4

Step 1: Computer Management

To begin the resizing process, right-click
on 'My Computer' and click 'Mange'. A
Computer Management window opens
up. To the left of the window expand
the 'Storage' section and select 'Disk
Management'. This displays all the drives
and volumes available on your computer.
Step 2: Select your drive
Select the drive to be resized, right-click
on it and select 'Shrink Volume' from the
context menu. This will display information
on the total disk space and shrinkable
amount of space available on the drive.
Step 3: Shrink the volume
Now, select the capacity you need to
shrink by and add the remaining free
space to another volume. Note that the
available shrink space will always be lower
than the amount of existing data on the
disk. Therefore you can resize the volume
depending on the amount of free space.
Select the amount of space that needs to
be shrunk, and then click 'Shrink'.
In some cases, the amount of
shrinkable space is limited as Windows
Vista needs a minimum amount of space
to perform.
Step 4: New volume
Shrinking the volume might take a while,
as this depends on the amount of data
and the size of the partitions that exist.
After the process is complete, a new
partition is created on the drive. Now,
create a new volume and format it or use
it for Linux.
The procedure can be reversed by
extending the volume too, if you want to
merge the two partitions again. But before
you begin, remember to play it safe; make
sure that you back up all your important
data to an external drive and try this
workshop at your own risk!
francis.dsa@chip.in
monali.gaikwad@chip.in

Intelligent computing CHip |7

Hands-ON PROJECTS Hands-ON PROJECTS

Printer Optimization
this, click Print Preview, preview what is
Smart commands for printing
to be printed. To alter the page orientation
Action Command
click Page Setup and select Landscape.
Window title &w
In addition, if required alter the margins.
Page address (URL) &u
If you think printing your files is digging a hole in your pocket, read on and find This alters your page layout.
Date in short format (as specified by Regional Settings in Control Panel) &d
out how you can simply play around with your printer settings and save on Use your cartridge tO the last drop:
Date in long format (as specified by Regional Settings in Control Panel) &D
valuable ink and paper. BY Monali Gaikwad Whenever your cartridge runs out of ink,
Time in the format (as specified by Regional Settings in Control Panel) &t
your printer will display a message asking
Time in 24-hour format &T
you to replace the cartridge. Before you
Current page number &p
run off to the store to buy a new one, try
Total number of pages &P
this simple trick. Remove the cartridge
from the printer and gently sway it side A single ampersand (&) &&
by side and reinsert it into the printer. The text immediately following these characters as centered. &b
The remaining ink is redistributed and The text immediately following the first &b is centered, and the text &b&b
following the second &b is right-justified.
this allows you to print a few more pages
before it is discarded. This will ensure that you do not end up paper is the most efficient way of saving
Print what you need: Instead of printing reprinting the same document over and paper. To use this option go to Printing
Jagdish Limbachiya
the entire document, print only what you over again, thus saving both ink and paper. Preferences select the option Both-sided
need. To do this, copy the required text Avoid Page Separators: Many printers printing or Duplex Printing depending

A
s you all know printing can be
very expensive. On an average,
an organization ends up spending
around 20 lakh annually putting together
the cost of the ink cartridges and paper
alone. And guess what? The numbers are
increasing rapidly every year. Even when it
comes to printing at home, it burns a huge
hole in your pocket every time you buy a
cartridge or a paper ream. To save all you
distressed souls, we have put together
some simple tricks to save on paper and
ink. Settings vary from printer to printer, so
these tricks are generalized. You will have
to play around with your printers settings
a bit to find what suits your printer the
best. And always remember the old saying
A penny saved is a penny earned. Read
on to find out more.
Tips on saving ink
Use Draft mode: The Draft or the
Economy mode on the printer utilizes
less ink, and therefore the quality of the
printout is much lighter compared to
the normal mode. Use this mode if you
need to print drafts or sample copies. To
change the setting to Draft, in Printing
Preferences, select Draft and click OK.
To print important documents or images
use the Best or Normal mode only.
Keep your printer on Standby mode: If you
frequently use the printer, do not switch it
ON and OFF every time you print. This is
because every time the printer is switched
on, it not only uses some ink during the
initialization process but it also consumes
additional electricity. To avoid this, leave
the printer in the standby mode.
Dont interrupt the print cycle: While
printing, do not switch OFF the printer
mid-cycle. But wait until it stops printing.
If you switch off the printer while the
cartridge is moving, it is forced to stop
midway. This can not only damage the
printer head, but can also cause the ink at
the nozzle tip to dry up. This can block the
nozzle and cause the ink to leak.
Use Black & White/ Grayscale mode: If
your printer uses both black and colored
cartridges, set it to the Black & White/
Grayscale mode to print text documents.
Even while printing in black, some color
cartridges mix different colors to form
black. Setting the printer to Black & White
will restrict the use of the color cartridge
to a minimum, thus saving on the color
cartridge which is expensive compared to
B&W: Heres where you choose to print your file
in Black & White or color .
the black cartridge. To set the printer to
the Black & White mode go to Printing
Preferences, select Black & White/ Print
to Grayscale and click OK. Select Color
while printing colored documents.
Options for printing web pages: Every
time you print a Web page almost
everything on the page, including the
header, footer, Web address, title, etc is
printed in addition to what is needed. To
avoid this, open the concerned website,
in the menu bar of the Web browser, click
File | Page Setup. Remove the text in
the Header and Footer box and click
OK. The printout will only include the
main content of the Web page. In case
you want to retain a part of the header or
footer enter the following in the Header
and Footer box, depending on your
requirement (refer to table).
Sometimes, when you print a Web
page, a part of the page is cropped and is
printed on a fresh sheet of paper. To avoid
Duplex printing: This is where the Print on Both-
Sides (duplex) option can be enabled/disabled.
onto a fresh Word document and print it .
Alternatively, select only what is needed,
right-click on it and click Print. Then in
the Print dialog box, click the Selection a separator page. This helps in identifying
radio button and click OK. If you intend
to print from a document that has several
pages, select and print only those that
are required. To do this, click Print, in the
Print dialog box, select the Pages radio
button and enter the range of pages to
print. For example 2-7, 11-17 etc and click
OK. This will save a considerable amount
of both paper and ink.
Tips on saving paper
Remember to check the Print Preview:
Before you print a document, always
remember to check it in the Print
Preview. This will give you an idea of how
your final printout will look and it allows
you to make the required changes to the
layout or text in advance, instead of having
to regret hitting the OK button too soon.
Header footer: While printing Web pages clear
the header and footer text box for a clean print.
include a Separator Page setting. When
different sets of print jobs are fired on
the same printer, it separates them with
Shrink your document: To accommodate
the first and last page of the various sets,
especially on a network printer. To change
this setting, click Start | Settings| Printers
and Faxes. Now, right-click on the printer
and click Properties and look for the
Separator Page option, turn it OFF and
click OK. This avoids paper wastage.
Use duplex printing: Some printers allow
you to print on both sides of the paper
automatically while some offer manual
settings. Duplex printers perform the
entire function automatically, including
flipping the paper over. Manual printers
print the even/odd pages first and then you
manually need to flip the entire set over,
insert it into the paper tray head first, with
the printed pages facing up, and continue
printing on the other side. Whatever the
method, printing on both sides of the
Print dialog box: Look within Properties to
change the printers settings.
on the printers setting and click OK. It
is advisable to set this as your default
setting for the printer.
and print two or more pages onto a single
sheet, Try formatting the font size/style
or alternatively click Print, in the Print
dialog box, select Pages per sheet and
select the required number of pages that
you want to include onto the sheet. This
will automatically shrink the document to
fit to a single page. This is very useful in
case you need to print a huge number of
pages, especially reference documents.
Recycle: One of the best ways to save
paper is recycling. So, when you need to
print draft copies, try as much as possible
to utilize used paper that has information
printed on one side. To apply this method,
click on Print and in the Print dialog box
click Properties. In the Paper Source
drop-down menu, select Manual. This
allows you to feed the paper manually into
the tray instead of allowing the internal
tray to automatically feed in fresh sheets.
And most importantly, ensure that you
always use original cartridges. This is
absolutely essential for the health and well
being of the printer. Refilled cartridges no
doubt are cheap, and can save you a few
bucks, but they may seriously damage the
printer. So the money that you consider as
a saving on the cartridge, might really not
be worth the effort.
monali.gaikwad@chip.in

8 | intelligent computing CHip SMS us! Story code: HPO to 57007 Intelligent computing CHip |9
Hands-ON PROJECTS
Degrees or Decibels?
Sacrificing some tranquility can be a smart trade-off to keep your PC healthy.
Rev up the fans to cool your hardware better. By Anand Tuliani
W
ith the performance levels of
hardware scaling up in quantum
leaps, manufacturers also have
to keep a check on power consumption,
thermal management and acoustic levels.
This is pertinent especially for hardware
such as graphics cards, hard disks and
motherboard chipsets. Despite being
equipped with heat sinks and fans of
various shapes and sizes, some hardware
runs very hot. For instance, we have
noted the temperature of AMDs new
graphics card, the HD 4850 soaring as
high as 85 degrees C under load, and that
too in an air-conditioned environment.
The reference cooling system of the
card comprises a copper heat sink cooled
by a variable-speed fanthe speed of the
fan is regulated by the onboard thermal
sensors. AMD has used such a cooler to
maintain a slim single-slot design rather
than a bulky dual-slot design. In another
instance we came across a factory-
overclocked graphics card fitted with a
passive cooling system that could easily
warm a cup of coffee! Although hardware
can withstand high temperatures,
excessive heating can lead to failure in
the long run. Also the heat dissipated
increases the temperature within the case
causing other components to heat up.
Sachin Pandit
10 | intelligent computing CHip | september 2008
PC component manufacturers have
a choice of using high-speed fans for
cooling, but then the decibel levels might
be quite annoying. Hence, its rare to
come across hardware that is powerful,
silent and runs cool as well. So what to do
if your graphics card heats up excessively
or the heat dissipated by the hard drives
increase the temperature level in the
case? Here are some tweaks to lower
the temperature levels of the processor
and graphics card, and tips to keep your
case cool. You might have to forgo some
silence but youll have a healthy and a
trouble-free PC.
Cool your case
The easiest way to achieve better cooling
in the case is to enhance airflow by
adding a few intake and exhaust fans.
Case fans are available in 80 mm, 92 mm,
120 mm and 140 mm sizes. Pick fans
of the maximum size that your case can
accommodate. Note that bigger fans spin
at lower speeds and are more silent than
smaller ones. While installing the fans,
ensure there are more exhaust fans than
intake fans. This will facilitate air intake
due to the vacuum created by the greater
number of exhaust fans blowing out the
heat from the case. The ideal locations for
intake fans are in front of the hard drive
bays and the side panel. The rear and top
of the case are most suitable for exhaust
fans. If you arent familiar with fitting
case fans heres a small tip: If the fan is
blowing air, turning it around and fitting it
the other way will make it take air in.
If youre planning to build a new PC, be
careful while choosing a PC casepick
the one that has sufficient provisions for
case fans. Look out for fans / fan grills
behind the front panel, side panel and the
top of the case. Dont hesitate spending
a few hundred rupees for a good case,
after all it houses your precious hardware.
While selecting a power supply unit,
Hands-ON PROJECTS
With the default fan setting (Dynamic Speed), the Radeon HD 4850 touches a With the fan sped set to a fixed 60 percent the temperature lowers by more than 20
scorching 82 degrees C. degrees C.
Pulse width modulated (PWM) fans can be controlled
and monitored from the BIOS. temperature that is displayed under tweaking the fan speed. For this you need cards, lowering the temperature by 10 to
the tachometers. When youre gaming, a utility called RivaTuner which can be 15 degrees C.
check if it has at least a 120 mm intake set the fan speed to around 65 percent downloaded for free from http://www. You can download and use a
fan at the base. This will further help in and the temperature will stay under guru3d.com/rivatuner. utility called GPU-Z to check the GPU
drawing the hot air out of the case while 70 degrees C. Remember to lower the Run RivaTuner and click on the drop temperature. This tweak works only
cooling the components within. fan speed after youre through with the down list that appears next to the with graphics chipsets starting from the
gaming session. Customize button under the Driver GeForce 8800 GT, since these come with
ATI graphics cards We tried this utility with the Radeon settings section in the Main tab. variable-speed fans. It wont work with
Most midrange and high-end graphics HD 4850 and the temperature dropped From the five icons that pop up, select the older GeForce 8400 GS, 8500 GT,
cards are cooled by variable-speed fans. by 20 degrees C under load. No doubt the first one which is labeled System 8600 GT, and so on. We set the fan speed
This may be effective in keeping the the card was roaring like a hair drier, but settings. This will bring up a dialog box of a 9800 GTX+ to a fixed 70 percent and
temperature and decibel levels low, but it it was running very cool. We also got the labeled System tweaks. noted a drop of 11 degrees C. If you have
might lead to overheating with graphics Radeon HD 4870 X2 running 20 degrees Navigate to the Fans tab and use the an 8800 GT with the reference single-slot
cards that have single-slot coolers. We cooler with the speed set to 70 percent. drop down list on the top right to change design, you can lower the temperature by
have noted the temperature of the Radeon the fan control to direct. up to 20 degrees C by using this tweak.
HD 3850 and HD 4850 shoot above 80 Nvidia graphics cards Drag the slider under the Performance You could easily increase the cards life
degrees C under load. Even when the card Nvidia graphics cards run cool but you 3D section to set the fan speed. A speed and performance.
is idle, the temperature doesnt fall below can further bring down temperatures by of 65 to 70 percent works best with most anand.tuliani@chip.in
70 degrees C. In such cases, setting
the fan to a fixed speed would be highly
effective at cutting temperatures.
Go to http://en.expreview.com/img/
software/0808/Expertool-ati.exe and
download the utility called Gainward
Expertool.
The utility shows up as an icon in the
system tray. Right click on it and select
the option Fan Control from the context
menu that pops up. This will bring up
a dialog box showing two tachometers
indicating fixed and dynamic speeds.
By default the speed is set to Dynamic
speed. Check the Fixed speed radio
button and click Apply. This will fix the
fan speed to 50 percent. At default settings, the GeForce 9800 GTX+ runs quite cool. It only reaches 63 By setting the fan speed to a fixed 70 percent, the temperature drops by a further
degrees C under load. 10 degrees C.
Note the change in the GPU
Intelligent computing CHip | 11
Hands-ON PROJECTS Hands-ON PROJECTS

Cleaning Inkjet Cartridges

time of leaving the cartridge soaked in 1 2
the water, remove the cartridge from the
water and wipe dry the excess water from
the cartridge carefully. Check the cartridge
again or try Method 3.
Blocked nozzles because of dried inkjet cartridges? The most probable reason
for this can be a printer left idle for a prolonged period. CHIP shows you how to Method 3
revive your printers dried cartridges with blocked nozzles. By Francis DsA Place the cartridges nozzles on a dry or
damp, lint free cotton cloth and slightly
press the nozzles to the cloth using the
gentle force of your fingers. You should
notice some ink smudging on the cloth.
This is an indication that the ink is flowing
and the cloth is trying to absorb as much
3 4
ink as possible. Continue this for around 5
- 10 minutes to allow some quantity of ink
to flow out. Again try to test the cartridge
and if it doesnt work, you can attempt
the nest method of cleaning.

Method 4
This method can possibly damage your
cartridge (try it at your own risk). Place
Pramod Jadhav
the cartridge under running warm water
for around 15 to 20 minutes. Ensure that

U
sing inkjet printers is becoming
a costly issue and hence most
people avoid using these printers
if they have other choices. However, to
keep your printers cartridges in working
condition, you have to keep printing
copies both in color and black at least
once in a week. Prolonged idle state
of inkjet printers causes the ink inside
the nozzles of the print head to dry
up, especially in the summer seasons.
Consequently, the printing gets adversely
affected in different ways.
We show you some simple and basic
steps to help clear the clogs in these
nozzles. What you will need for this
workshop: some warm water, a Petri
dish or a saucer, some ear buds, a lint
free cotton cloth, some isopropyl alcohol
(readily available at a chemist for around
Rs 40 for a 500 ml bottle).
We recommend that you read each
method mentioned below very carefully
before trying it.
Note: This workshop is only applicable for
those print cartridges which have the print
head and ink tank as one single unit. For
example: HP print heads and some bubble-
jet print heads. Canon and Epson use a
separate head unit and ink tank altogether.
If the print head of these types of printers
are having the same problem, you may try
this workshop in a similar fashion with the
print heads. The methods given below can
possibly damage the cartridge too, but its
risk worth taking as anyway the cartridge
is almost half dead. Try the workshop
completely at your own risk.
Method 1
Switch on the printer and remove the
cartridge (to be serviced) safely from the
head unit. Turn over the cartridge upside
down and you may notice a smudge or a
lump of dirt and ink accumulated on the
Requirement: Isopropyl alcohol, saucer, warm
water, lint-free ear buds, absorbent cotton cloth.
nozzles. Clean this part carefully using a
standard ear bud (ensure that is dry) to
get the lump of residue off the nozzles.
Then use another ear bud dipped in warm
water (just dampen the ear bud, dont
wet it completely) or isopropyl alcohol and
clean the nozzles again thoroughly. Make
sure you dont apply too much pressure to
the nozzles.
At this stage you can check whether
the cartridge is working by inserting it back
into the printer and taking a test print. If it
does not work, then try Method 2.
Method 2
Dip the part of the cartridge which has
the nozzles (not the whole cartridge) in
a Petri dish or a saucer containing warm
water for an hour or two, or more, if
needed. Make sure you do not dip the
whole cartridge or else this may damage
the circuitry and the cartridge may be
rendered useless.
This method should dampen the dried
ink settled on and inside the nozzles to
a certain extent. You may find the area
of water around the nozzles getting
colored due to bleeding from the cartridge
nozzlesthis is a good sign. After some
you do not flow too much water over the
cartridge. Just release a thin stream of
warm water from the tap and place the
cartridge under it in such a way that the
water flows only on the nozzles and not
on the circuit strip.
This method ensures that the heat
from the warm water and the flowing
stream loosens the dried ink and some
of it also enters the cartridge. Once you
are satisfied with the water flow over the
nozzles, wipe off the excess water using
the cotton cloth and insert it into the
printer back again. Try printing to check if it
works or else try Method 5.
At this stage, if the printer releases
smudged or faded prints, then try a
number of more prints till the prints are
satisfactory. The reason for smudged
prints may be the water inside the nozzle
pathway which may have mixed with the
ink, making the ink thin and diluted.
Method 5
Take a Petri dish or any flat saucer, keep
the cartridge nozzle facing down in it, and
fill it with isopropyl alcohol to an extent
that it does not raise above the level of
the nozzles to the circuit board. Isopropyl
alcohol is a cleaning agent and is widely 5
used in cleaning electronic circuit boards
to get rid of grease and stubborn dust. It
is a volatile liquid and does not leave back
any stain or residue.
You can buy this alcohol at any
computer hardware store or a chemist for
around Rs 40 per 500 ml. Beware of the
duplicates sold in the market which may
be mixed or diluted with waterto test it,
take a drop of it on your fingers and rub
it gently, it should disappear in seconds
and your finger should feel completely
drynot damp, moist or sticky. points of both the cartridge and the
Follow the same procedure as Method printer (where the cartridge is installed
2. Similarly you may try using Method in the printer) with a cloth dampened
3 where the cloth is dampened with with isopropyl alcohol to siphon out any
isopropyl alcohol and pressed on the corrosion or dirt residing on the contacts.
cartridges nozzles. Finally when you are You may also have to try the cartridge
done, insert it back into the printer and cleaning function (in addition to the manual
test it again. cleaning) which can be performed using
the printers function buttons or the printer
The final resort driver software from your computer.
If any of the above procedures manage If all works well, then you have
to rescue your cartridge, you can save successfully revived your dried cartridge,
a few hundred rupees before buying a or else it is time you buy yourself a new
new cartridge. Additional to the above one. We hope this works for you!
methods, you can also clean the contact francis.dsa@chip-india.com

12 | intelligent computing CHip Intelligent computing CHip | 13

Hands-ON PROJECTS

Revitalize your BIOS!

Does your computer live in 2000 although we are in 2008? Maybe it is time to
replace your CMOS battery. By AMOGH RANADIVE

E
very time Prashant boots up his Step 1 Step 2
computer, the first thing he does
is reset the time from 00:00 A.M
January 1, 2000 to the current time and
date. He has run several anti-virus and
spyware scans and has even gone to the
extent of reinstalling his operating system
more than once. What Prashant does not
realize is that his time and date settings
are not being reset by any virus! So
what could be the real reason behind his
computers desire to live in the past?
System settings like the time and Step 3 Step 4
date, boot device priority, and even
overclocking settings which are accessed
through the BIOS are stored in the
CMOS. To preserve these settings, the
CMOS needs to be supplied with power
constantly. When the PC is turned off,
this power is supplied by a lithium coin
cell located on the motherboard. It is
when the power of the battery begins
to die out that the BIOS settings keep
reverting to the defaults, leading to a
constant change in system time and date Step 5 Step 6
which is most noticeable. The CMOS
battery can drain out if your PC has not
been used for a prolonged period of time
or if your system is more than 18 to 24
months old. CHIP recommends you to
change your CMOS battery every 1-2
years. Here is how you can successfully
change your CMOS battery.
Step 1: Unscrew and open the side
panel or top cover of your PC cabinet
(depending on the type of cabinet that CMOS battery. The standard required is a A normal CMOS battery is supposed
you have). CR2032 lithium coin cell, and it generally to last for a minimum of 3 to a maximum
STEP 2: Locate the CMOS battery on the costs around Rs. 25. of 10 years. However, the battery life also
motherboard. It is a flat button cell about STEP 5: Fit the battery into the holder and depends on the type and quality of the
the size of a standard 50 paisa coin. See ensure it is fitted properly. You should battery, temperature inside the cabinet
the image for reference. hear a slight click indicating that the cell and general uptime of the PC.
STEP 3: Use a small flat screwdriver is placed properly. Hence, as a precaution, do not wait
to lever the cell out. Take caution to STEP 6: Navigate to the BIOS and enter the until your battery is completely dead.
handle it with care so as not to damage system settings such as current time and Change it every year to ensure hassle
the surrounding components on the date, boot device priority etc. Press the free computing and your computer will
motherboard and the battery holder itself. F10 button to save the settings to CMOS not have to live in the past anymore!
STEP 4: Obtain a replacement for your and exit the BIOS. feedback@chip-india.com

14 | intelligent computing CHip

 Hands-ON PROJECTS

Maintain your SMPS

CHIP shows you how to clean and maintain your SMPS. Extend the life of your
computer by ensuring your power supply unit is running cool. By FRANCIS DSA
If your SMPS is dirty, its fan may stop
1 2
rotating, resulting in overheating. Do not
open the SMPS if its under warranty.
Avoid touching internal components with
your bare hands. Heres what youll need:

a Philips screwdriver, a handy blow pump

3 4
and a brush.
Step 1: Switch off the computer, open the
cabinet and disconnect the cables running
from the SMPS to the internal peripherals.
Unscrew the SMPS and place it on a large
sheet of newspaper. Now open the four
screws located on the top of the PSU.
Step 2: Use the brush to carefully clean
the inside of the unit, the circuit board
and the heat sinks. Use the bristles to tap
stubborn dust particles settled in places
hard to reach. Finally use the air pump to
blow out the dust from the unit.
Note: Some power supplies may have a
charge remaining in the capacitors even
when there is no power. Be careful while 5 6
handling the circuit board inside the unit.
Do not touch any exposed metal parts.
Step 3: Unscrew and carefully remove the
fan from the chassis. Now clean the fan
in the same manner like the PSUs case.
Apply a few drops of machine oil to the
fan spindle, for smoother operation.
Step 4: Finally after cleaning is done, screw
the fan back onto the chassis. Screw
it back into the cabinet, reattach all the
power cables and youre done. Clean the
PSU every four months if you live in an
area where dust accumulates quickly.
francis.dsa@chip-india.com

Intelligent computing CHip | 15

Hands-ON PROJECTS Hands-ON PROJECTS

Keep It Cool, Man!

...Go!
Step 5 Step 6

Water cooling kits were always considered to be components of enthusiast

machines. Now water-cool your own PC! by Anand Tuliani and Amogh Ranadive

W
ith the performance levels of the
core components increasing,
keeping the heat levels under
control has always been a challenge.
While gaming or carrying out demanding
tasks, the CPU heat sink fan and case fans
fail to do their job well. The end results
are excessive temperature levels within
the case, and component failures due to
overheating. This is where water cooling
comes into the picture.
Water cooling kits may sound
intimidating due to the premium you have
to pay to own one, and the precision
required in installing it. However, if you
are an avid gamer or a power user, then
it is the perfect solution for you. Not only
does a water-cooler make your case look
funky, but it also reduces the noise level
significantly due to the absence of fans.
With the arrival of Nvidias Enthusiast
System Architecture (ESA), hardware
which comply to the norms can be
monitored in real-time by just installing the
nForce System Tools package. So, if your
PC case, motherboard and water-cooling
kit are ESA-compliant, you can overclock
your CPU and GPU, monitor temperature
levels, control the fan speed of the CPU
and graphics card, control the radiator of
the water-cooler, and do much more. You
can even control the speed of the water
coolers pump and monitor the amount
of coolant in the pump. We sourced an
ESA-compliant case (Cosmos 1000) and
water cooling kit (Aquagate Max) from
Cooler Master, and an nForce 780i Ultra
motherboard from Zotac. Heres how we
put all of them together and built a water-
cooled rig.
Step 1: The water cooling kit comprises
of a CPU water block, mounting brackets
for Intel and AMD CPUs, radiator, water
reservoir with pump, temperature sensors,
thermal grease, coolant, water tubing,
screws, and USB cable for interfacing the
reservoir with the motherboard.
Step 2: If youre assembling a new PC dont Step 7 Step 8
fit the motherboard into the case. You'll
need to remove it from the case if you
want to add the kit to an existing PC.
Install the CPU and spread some thermal
grease on it's surface.
Step 3: If your motherboard supports Intel
processors, turn it over and fit the back
plate behind the CPU socket. Holding the
back plate, turn the motherboard back over
and fasten the CPU block with screws.
Use the bundled socket 939/AM2 clips for
AMD processors. Step 9 Step 10

Ready, set...
Step 1 Step 2

Step 4: Now fit the radiator on top of the
inner side of the PC case or wherever
there is a provision. Some gaming cases
Step 3 Step 4 even have a provision on the side panel.
Fasten the radiator with eight screws that
are provided in the tool kit.
Step 5: Refer to the manual and cut the
water tubing into the indicated lengths.
Now connect the water reservoir, radiator
and CPU block with the tubing.
STEP 6: The back of the water-pump has
inputs for power, two radiator fans, five
sensors, USB and the inlet and outlet
nozzles. Make sure all the wires are
plugged in correctly. The USB cable
supplied with the kit will go to the USB
header on the motherboard. The two
sensors should be installed at slots 1 and
2, the other 3 slots being reserve in case
you decide to water cool your GPU as well.
STEP 7: Pull the water-pump out just enough
to reveal the coolant inlet. The provided
coolant is concentrated, dilute it with water
in the ratio of 1:3 and pour it into the pump
until it is full.
STEP 8: This is how the setup should look
like. Make sure that the pipes do not fold,
as this can disrupt the flow of coolant.
Once you power on the machine you will
notice that the coolant level in the pump
drops immediately. Once the flow is
steady, shut the machine down and fill up
the pump with the leftover coolant.
STEP 9: Lo and behold! The Aquagate Max
truly transforms an ordinary looking cabinet
into a mean machine. The Green LED fans
accentuate the look of the coolant in the
pipes and the water pump in the front
makes the rig look hot as hell!
STEP 10: You can extend the water-cooling
to your graphics card as well. The Cooler
Master Glacier 9200 is a GPU water-
cooling kit custom made for the GeForce
8800 GT and GTS 512 MB.
anand.tuliani@chip-india.com

16 | intelligent computing CHip Intelligent computing CHip | 17

Hands-ON PROJECTS
Set up RAID in minutes!
Hard drives set in RAID arrays can lead to high-speed data transfer and data
reliability. CHIP shows you how to set up a RAID array at home. By Francis DSa
W
hy would anyone want to set up
a RAID system at home? Maybe
the user requires a speedy data
transferring storage or an almost safe, fail-
proof data storage system. There might
be others who may just want to know the
difference of speeds and safety in such
systems and want to try it out. As hard
drives are getting cheaper by the month,
data storage sales are rapidly increasing,
leading to disposals of older hard drives
(though they are relatively new, fast and
have higher capacities).
So what can you do with older hard
drives? Scrapping them or selling them
at second-hand rates would yield little or
nothing, which could be around 10 percent
of its actual cost price. So why retire your
old hard drives? Instead, you can use
them in a RAID array and get more out of
your computer.
Almost all new motherboards today
support hardware RAID. Some support
only basic RAID 0 or 1 (striping or
mirroring), while others support all types
of RAID. Check your motherboard manual
or the manufacturers website if the board
supports RAID and also check the types
of arrays it can support.
In this workshop, we used one of our
computers with an ASUS M2NPVMX
motherboard and a couple of old 74 GB
Raptor hard drives phased out from our
Compatabilty Check
Look into your motherboard's manual to check if it supports RAID. If you have
misplaced the manual, download the same from the manufacturer's website.
18 | intelligent computing CHip
tests. We used them to show you how a
RAID array using old SATA hard drives can
be built in just a few minutes.
Lets get started with building your
RAID array. To demonstrate, we used
two hard drives in RAID 0 to get double
storage space while boosting the
performance of the storage medium.
To know more about the types of RAID
arrays and what they do and how they
work, refer to our article RAID Em,
an info graphic on RAID arrays in CHIP,
December 2007.
Step 1: Connect the required amount of
hard drives after carefully studying the
type of RAID arrays you will need for this
workshop. Connect the drives by referring
to the motherboard's manual. Once done,
switch on the system and press the DEL
button to enter the BIOS setup. Some
motherboards' BIOS may require pressing
the [F2] or [F10] key. Navigate to the
Advanced tab, then choose the Onboard
Device Configuration and press [Enter].
On the next screen, choose the NVRAID
configuration and press [Enter].
Step 2: Now you have entered a menu
section where the RAID has to be enabled
or disabled. Choose to enable RAID and
then select the correct hard drives and
the number of hard drives that you wish
to join into one or more RAID arrays, and
enable them respectively.
Also check if your motherboard has enough SATA ports to support the
required RAID array. (Minimum two SATA ports required for RAID 0 or 1)
Hands-ON PROJECTS
Setting Up RAID
Step 1 Step 2
A word of caution
You need to take care of a few things
before you get ready for driving your
operating system on RAID. Maintain a
data backup of the hard drive you are
going to use. Starting up a RAID system
will erase all existing data on the drives. Step 3 Step 4
You need to plan the type of RAID array
you would need. You will require a
particular amount of hard drives to have
RAID 5 or above. RAID 0 and 1 require a
minimum of two hard drives. Preferably,
the hard drives should be of the same
capacity (not mandatory), or you may lose
a certain amount of storage space from
the larger drive. You should have a stable
and powerful power supply unit. Adding
more hard drives can bring the power
supply down to its needs. Adequate Step 5 Step 6
cooling is needed for your cabinet. Make
sure you have more fans installed inside
the cabinet as additional hard drives will
generate more heat. Also, remember
that not all motherboards have similar
BIOS menus and settings. Refer to your
motherboards manual or just explore
your BIOS settings and study them before
you make any changes. Note down any
changes, if required, to undo them in the
future.
Do this workshop at your own risk.
Step 3: Enable the boot options to get the Disks section using the arrow key. RAID hardware on the motherboard will
system to boot from the CD/DVD ROM Step 5: Now that the RAID has been setup, take care of the necessary work it needs
drive in the Boot menu. Save all settings choose the option to save and exit. The to do in a RAID system. Check the type
and exit. The system should restart system may require an input to confirm of RAID setup you would need to install
and detect a new RAID array on your the erasing of all the hard drive data from on your computer before installing your
system and you will be able to see a new the array. Confirm, save and exit. software. If your motherboard does not
message on your screen prompting you Step 6: Once the menu exits, the system support RAID and you have some SATA
to enter the RAID setup menu. Press the will now restart and try to boot from the hard drives you wish to use in RAID, you
required key that features on the screen to CD/DVD. Insert your operating system can avail of a PCI to SATA RAID controller
enter the RAID setup options. CD/DVD and install it in the same fashion for your computer. Note: Only SATA hard
Step 4: In the menu RAID mode, chose as you would normally do. drives can be used to create a RAID setup
the type of RAID you want to set up. Your operating system will not even here. You can create a software RAID
From the Striping block option choose know about the RAID array running in array using Windows or Linux using both
Optimal size. Then from the Free Disks the background and will treat the hard SATA and/or PATA hard drives.
section, add the hard drives to the Array drives as one single large hard drive. The francis.dsa@chip-india.com
Intelligent computing CHip | 19
Hands-ON PROJECTS
Let the Air Flow
As computers get dusty, temperatures inside the cabinet rise. We show you how
to manage airflow inside your PC. By Sandeep balachandran
I
deally, you should clean your computer
every 6 months. But if your computer
exists in a dusty environment then
you should clean it every 3 to 4 months.
Three biggest enemies of your computer
are heat, dust and moisture, plus an
unorganized wiring of the components
increases the overall temperature of the
cabinet thus decreasing the efficiency of
your PC. Simple steps like regular cleaning
and maintenance will help take your
computer a long way.
Make sure you have disconnected your
computer from the mains before opening
up the computer cabinet. Unscrew the
cabinet cover and open it. Dusty, isnt it?
Carefully make a note of all connecting
wires, in case you forget which cable
belongs to which peripheral. Next, lay
down the cabinet on a flat surface and
CPU, Fan and Motherboard Cleaning
20 | intelligent computing CHip
remove all cables and wires.
Use the blower end of a vacuum
cleaner, maintain a safe distance of
approximately 4 inches from the cabinet
and blow away dust from the power
supply, CPU fan, motherboard, hard
drive bays etc, blow away as much dust
as possible. Be careful not to touch any
part inside the computer. Sure there will
be some stubborn dust particles which
just wont come off. This is because
dust particles combine with moisture
and get firmly stuck to the cabinet and
other computer parts. Use a soft brush to
remove the dirt by gently tapping on the
dust and then sweeping it away. Finally,
use a soft cloth to wipe the inside and
outside body of the case. Do not use any
alcohol based liquid for cleaning, as this
could damage the plastic components. Its
Step 1
Step 3
now time to clean the CPU fan.
Step 1 & 2: Carefully remove the heat sink
and clean the surrounding areas near
the CPU socket. You can refer to your
motherboard installation manual if you face
problems removing the heat sink.
Step 3: Clean all dust and dirt from the fan
blades using a soft cloth or/and brush.
Step 4 & 5: Use a soft cloth to clean the old
hard paste from the bottom of the heat
sink and the CPU surface.
Step 6: Apply a fresh coat of thermal paste
on the CPU. Ensure that you apply only
the required amount of paste. Too little
can damage the CPU, while too much
can spurt out from the sides onto the
motherboard. Use about two small drops
of paste. Once done, mount the CPU fan
back onto the CPU socket in the same
way you removed it.
Step 2
Step 4
CPU, Fan and Motherboard Cleaning (contd..)
Cable Management
The objective of cable management is
aimed at air circulation. Adding more fans
wont help in air circulation if the wires
and cables block the airflow. The best
way to resolve this problem is to neatly tie
the wires by using wire twisters or cable
ties. The flat ATA cables used to connect
the hard drives and optical discs are the
toughest to manage. You could either buy
the rounded ATA cables which are available
at a price, or you could follow these simple
steps to round the cables yourself.
Cable Management
Step 5
Step A: Choose which side of the cable you
will need for the drive. Cut the remaining
length of the cable if not required. Do not
cut the cable if you have to connect it to
another drive, or if you plan to upgrade to
another PATA drive. Note: This does not
apply to floppy drive cables.
Step B: Fold the ATA cables as shown in
the picture below. Tie the cables with wire
twisters to prevent it from opening.
Step C: Tie all loose wires together, this
will not only help in proper air circulation
but will also make your cabinet look less
Step A
Step C
Hands-ON PROJECTS
Step 6
cluttered, which results in lower overall
temperature. Do not use rubber bands as
they melt.
Step D: Once everything is clean, connect
all wires to the right slots. Now safely
plug in the power supply cable and test
to see if your system boots up. If not,
double check to see if everything has been
plugged to their respective slots. You can
keep silica gel packets to absorb moisture
and make sure you clean your cabinet
every 4-6 months.
feedback@chip-india.com
Step B
Step D
Intelligent computing CHip | 21
Hands-ON PROJECTS
Laptop upgrades
It sounds clichd but the fact is that, the more programs you install, the slower
your computer gets. So, what's the solution? Let's find out! by DUshyant Khilnani
L
aptops have made a place in our
daily lives and become an important
part of it. Today these are no longer
considered to be a luxury. They also seem
to be keeping good pace with the growing
processor technologies, new-and-improved
graphics, and higher hard disk capacities.
Of course theres much more to it than
just that, theres better and faster chipsets,
enhanced features and future-proof
indices. Looking at all the advancement,
what does one do with an old laptop?
Of course, upgrade it, simple! Since the
architecture of a laptop isnt as simple as
that of a desktop, opening it can be really
dicey. This workshop will give the step-by-
step guide.
Upgrading
Laptops differ from each other in design
Dismantling and replacing: Heatsink and CPU
22 | intelligent computing CHip
and configurations. Hence, having a
generic workshop explaining the upgrading
procedure wouldnt be possible. In this
workshop, we have used an old laptop
and a new one, so you will have a fair idea
about what to do in both situations.
We will be showing you how to open up
a laptop to replace or upgrade the internal
core components such as processor, RAM
and hard drive.
Note: Before attempting to open the laptop,
make sure that there is no supply of power
to the laptop. It's best to unplug the laptop
adaptor, if connected to a wall socket.
Step 1: Opening the laptop
Most of the latest laptops open up from
the base. If yours does too, it will be easier
for you to upgrade. Simply open the back
flap and jump to Step 2. For those who
have a laptop that opens, from under the
Step 1
Step 3
keyboard, do not bother looking at the
back. Look closely at the edge of the
keyboard, there are latches on the chassis
that secure the keyboard from all sides.
Use a flat screw driver, push the latches
down and pull the keyboard out. But be
careful, it is not entirely detached; the
data ribbon is still inside the port on the
motherboard. To release the data ribbon
use your fingers to carefully pull the lever
from both sides. Pull the ribbon gently till it
is out of the slot.
Step 2: Removing the heatsink
After the keyboard, its time to remove
the heatsink to expose the processor
underneath. So, unscrew the heatsink
from the chassis and keep the screws
in a safe place. If you lose them, finding
replacements can be difficult. The heat
sink has fans that are connected to the
Step 2
Step 4
motherboard, so make sure you remove
the connections before pulling the heat
sink out. Once that is done, you may now
take the heatsink out of the chassis. If your
laptop hasnt been serviced in a while,
dont be alarmed by the dirt.
Step 3: Cleaning the laptop
This is perhaps the best chance you may
ever get, to clean your laptop. Really,
opening up a laptop takes a good amount
of precision and patience. So lets make
the most of it; so before we upgrade the
laptop, lets clean it first. Use a normal
1-inch or 1.5-inch brush to brush off the
dust accumulated on the motherboard
and the chassis. Then use a hand blower
to blow the remaining dust away. Clean
it away from the chassis or the residue
will merely fall back in and the purpose
of cleaning is defeated. Once you see no
more dust coming out of the computer,
keep everything aside to prepare for
upgrading the processor.
TIP: You can also use the brush to clean the
heat sink. You can wipe off the heatsink
compound (thermal paste). But make sure
you have some of it handy, youll need it
while installing the new processor.
Step 4: Upgrading the processor
Lift the lever of the CPU socket to release
the processors pins, now you can pick up
the processor and keep it aside, be gentle
or you may bend the pins. Then take the
new processor and locate the triangular
mark at one of its corners. You need to
match this to the triangular notch on the
CPU socket. Once you find it, carefully
insert the processor into the socket and
check if all the pins are inserted properly.
Now lower the lever and ensure that it
Replacing: Hard drive and RAM modules
is secured back in its place. Now apply
some heatsink compound on surface of
the processor, not too much and not too
little. There you go, the processor has been
upgraded. (Well, put the heatsink back in
place toward the end, along with the other
open parts).
TIP: A processor needs to be handled with
care. Use a small plastic container and
store it in a cool and dry place.
Step 5: Upgrading the hard drive
Some extra room for storage is always
welcomed. In the latest laptops (see the
picture below, to the left), the 2.5-inch hard
drive is simply slid into the slot that houses
the SATA power and data connectors.
Just slide the hard drive out from the
slot and replace it with the new one, its
that simple. Not with all laptops however,
we say this because in older notebooks
theres a casing that houses the 2.5-inch
hard drive. This casing is fastened into
the chassis. You need to unscrew the
casing, making sure that you do not snap
the connectors. Release the hard drive
from the connectors, open the casing and
replace the old hard drive. Thats that when
it comes to upgrading hard drives.
Step 6: Upgrading memory modules
This ones really easy. If you notice, latest
laptops open from the base and the RAM
modules can be accessed from here. The
old one in the picture below (to the right),
opens from the base but only for the RAM
modules, other upgrades had to be done
by opening the keyboard. Nonetheless, the
method of upgrading RAM remains the
same for all laptops.
First hold the clamps with one finger on
either side and gently pull them apart. The
Step 5
Hands-ON PROJECTS
RAM module should automatically pop out.
Take it out of the slot and slide the new
module into the slot. Make sure that you
press the module all the way down till the
clamp clicks and secures the module in
place. Now, wasnt that simple?
Reassembly
Firstly, bring all the screws, the heatsink
and the back-panel of the laptop; back to
one place. First, you will need to connect
the keyboard's data ribbon. Pull the lever
upwards, insert the ribbon and push the
lever back in place to secure the ribbon.
Now, place the heatsink on top of the
processor, slide it a little to spread the heat
sink compound and fasten the screws back
in place. Now, for the power cables of the
fan, insert them into their respective slots
(this is important, dont forget to reconnect
the fans). Finally, screw the back panel
into its place and youre done; you just
upgraded your laptop on your own!
Maintenance
If dust seeps into a laptop then it's
operation becomes unstable: it could hang,
become sluggish and restart automatically.
Blame it on the excess heat within the
laptop. Dust finds a way in and blocks the
ventilation system through which heat is
normally dissipated. You now have the
expertise to open your laptop and clean it,
so under no circumstance should you let
the laptop die on you because of neglect,
right? Dust, water and/or moisture as well
as heat are a computers biggest enemies.
Service your laptop often, at least
periodically cleaning them is a must.
dushyant.khilnani@chip-india.com
Step 6
Intelligent computing CHip | 23
Hands-ON PROJECTS
Upgrade external storage
Running out of storage space on your external drive? Intend to buy a new one?
CHIP shows you how to upgrade an existing external storage drive. By Francis DSa
Y
ou bought yourself a 2.5-inch
external storage drive a while ago,
and now it is running out of space.
The manufacturer of your external storage
drive claims that it has no user replaceable
parts. So you may plan to buy yourself
a new one with greater capacity. But
wait, we will show you how to upgrade
the drive by safely hacking into the shell
and replacing the older drive with a new,
greater capacity drive. Its quite simple,
quick and safe; still you must do it at your
own risk. Just follow the simple steps
and save thousands of rupees using this
workshop. To demonstrate this workshop,
we used a Maxtor OneTouch Mini 80 GB
2.5-inch hard drive and upgraded it with a
new 160 GB hard drive.
Step 1: All you will need for this workshop
is one flat and one Philips-head screw
driver. Now depending on your drives
The Upgradation Process
24 | intelligent computing CHip
package type, carefully click open or
unscrew the body of the storage drive.
Be careful, you may damage the casing,
so handle it with care. Note down or
draw pictures of how you opened it, so it
becomes easier to put it back once you are
done with the upgrade.
Step 2: After the case is open, carefully
unscrew the hard drive and release the
circuit board from the hard drive by slowly
pulling it apart. If the circuit board is
mounted on the hard drive (in some cases)
you will need to unscrew the two and then
release the hard drive.
Step 3: Now that the hard drive is free, you
need to check the type of the hard drive,
whether it is a PATA or a SATA hard drive.
We found that this particular hard drive is
a SATA hard drive and so we got a SATA
hard drive upgrade for the same. You will
need to purchase a similar type of hard
drive for your upgrade. You can buy one
from any local computer hardware store
or your engineer can get one for you. Just
ask for the SATA or PATA laptop 2.5-inch
hard drive.
Step 4: Now that you have purchased your
hard drive, just retrace your steps from
where you started off and re-assemble the
storage device back again with the new
hard drive. Once it is all done, you need
to test the drive to see if it is working.
Connect the USB cord to your computer.
Right click on My Computer and click
Manage, then under the Storage section
to the left, click on Disk Management.
Your new drive will be shown. Initialize the
drive, partition it to your wish and format it.
Congratulations! You have just saved
a few thousand rupees by upgrading your
external storage drive.
francis.dsa@chip-india.com
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Hands-ON PROJECTS Hands-ON PROJECTS

Step 1: Download and install
Download the setup file from www.xobni.com. The installer file
is 3.5 MB in size. In addition to the setup file, you will also need
the Microsoft .Net framework. During installation Xobni checks if
this is installed on your computer. If not, then Xobni proceeds to
fetch and install it for you. It also offers to optionally link the Xobni
sidebar with Linked.com profiles. If you choose to do so, existing
Linked profiles of address book contacts are shown on the Xobni
sidebar (this can be turned off later). We advise you to skip this,
as it does not really contribute too much to productivity.

Sachin Pandit

Outlook mail on steroids

Heres a way to extend the functionality of Microsoft Outlook or Outlook
Express, and improve email communication too. BY BRIAN PEREIRA

T
here is no doubt that Microsoft has put
in a great deal of effort and investment
to develop Outlook Express and Outlook
email clients. Why, Outlook offers much more
than email: It is also a PIM (Personal Information
Manager) and it can be used collaboratively to
plan meetings. But when it comes to email,
there are some limitations. As the number of
messages in a mailbox increases, it becomes
extremely difficult to locate specific messages.
Yes, Outlook offers ways to sort this out with
various Views and advanced search features.
Yet these are not quite user-friendly or accurate
as one would expect. Moreover, these features
are buried deep under a heap of menus, which
at times can be rather frustrating. So, what does
one do? Abandon Outlook and use Thunderbird
or some other mail client? Well, we discovered
an efficent add-on tool for Outlook called Xobni
(Inbox spelt backwards).
Even Bill Gates acknowledges Xobni. This
is really a kind of social networking set of
capabilities but brought into Outlook itself. And
so we think its very, very cool, said Gates.
Well, lets get to the point; so what does Step 2: Indexing mail Press [Ctrl] + [Alt] + [Del] to load the Windows Task Manager.
Xobni really do? Xobni indexes all mail (in After the installation, Xobni will take some time to create an Click on the Process tab.
all folders) downloaded into Outlook. It also index. We suggest you interrupt this process by shutting down Search the process named OUTLOOK.EXE and shut it down.
indexes notes, calendars, tasks, and address Outlook (and Xobni). Restart Outlook, display the Xobni sidebar Reload Outlook and click Xobni | View Xobni Sidebar.
books. It then searches deep within Outlook and then manually start the indexing. Follow these steps. Click Xobni | Index All Mail.
and presents the user with historical information
that can be used for follow-ups, or to track
workflow and schedules. This tool analyzes
communication patterns and creates a profile
for every person that the user communicates
with. The highlight of this tool is that it is quick
in locating every message that relates to a
keyword or person.
Xobni appears as a task pane on the far right
of the screen, and when it loads it displays a
search box and lots of useful information.
The Xobni sidebar is collapsible and it can be
turned off (if you think it slows down Outlook).
But it auto loads with Outlook and begins Step 3: Xobni Setup Click the Indexing tab. It shows collapsed Outlook folders.
indexing messages in the background. We You can improve Xobni performance (and Outlook response) by Click the + sign against a folder name to expand it.
encourage you to use Xobni analytics and study tweaking some options in the setup. Choose what subfolders are to be indexed by checking or
the information and statistics that Xobni offers From the Outlook menu select Xobni | Options. unchecking the boxes alongside.
for each user profile (profiles are created for Go through the self-explained options within the General, To speed up indexing one may exclude the Archive Journal,
every user with whom you communicate). Integration and Schedule Time tabs. Notes, Tasks, Drafts, Junk Mail, and Deleted Items .

26 | intelligent computing CHip Intelligent computing CHip | 27

Hands-ON PROJECTS
Step 4: Xobni Analytics
Xobni provides you with statistics and information that Microsoft
Outlook and Outlook Express cannot. Here is some of the
information that it shows.
The total number of e-mails received and sent to a particular
person at different times of the day.
Ranks e-mail by sender (number of e-mails received from a
particular person against the total in Inbox).
Step 5: Xobni Search
Perhaps the best part of Xobni is the speed and accuracy with
which it can search for messages sent and received in the past.
Messages are searched even as you type the keyword. For
instance, type HP India in the Search box and in a few seconds
it will list all email conversations that contain these keywords.
Simply point at a particular message (in the search results)
and it will be displayed in a balloon. Double-click on the message
to open it. You can reply or forward within the Xobni window
itself, or open that message in the Outlook window. We also
CHIP Verdict
Searches with Xobni are lightning fast and accurate. This is
because Xobni creates a people-based index of all communication.
It works much like Google desktop search. The information and
statistics it throws up are much more meaningful than the summary
information shown on the Outlook home page.
Xobni has a downside too. It takes a while to load (when you opt
to view the Xobni sidebar in Outlook). And because it is indexing
messages in real-time, it can make Outlook respond sluggishly at
times. Post installation, message indexing took a long time; there
28 | intelligent computing CHip
The maximum number of incoming e-mails that you have
received, listed sender-wise.
The number of conversations youve had, and the contents of
those conversations.
The number of files exchanged as attachments and the list of
these attachments
Xobni Analytics shows this information in graphical form. To do
so, click Xobni | Xobni Analytics.
found Search useful for tracking conversations related to a
particular project. In the search results, click View Conversation
and Xobni immediately shows a list of all messages that are
linked (all the threads in the communication). It also lists the
people involved in the conversation and the files exchanged in
the conversations (attachments). This is really useful during a
project that involves dispersed teams. Of course, Outlook also
has a feature to group messages by conversation, but Xobni
makes the task really easy.
brian.periera@chip-india.com
was a moment when Outlook stopped responding. We had to shut
down Outlook from the Task Manager and restart it. But all this may
not seem too heavy a price to pay for Xobnis excellent search and
information featuresall of which actually lead to productivity.
Use Xobni if you have lots of email accumulated in your Inbox
or other folders. It will help you locate messages searched by
keyword or by conversation. To speed up indexing, we suggest that
you exclude some insignificant folders from the indexing. This is
explained in Step 3 of this workshop.

Jagdish Limbachiya
Flashing Matters
Three easy ways to flash your BIOS and keep your PC up-to-date with the latest
technologies. BY Anand Tuliani
F
lashing the motherboards BIOS is one of
the most daunting tasks. Here is a detailed
guide on how to flash your BIOS safely.
But before that, lets get down to the basics.
What is BIOS?
BIOS is an acronym for Basic Input/Output
System and is firmware that gets executed
when the computer is powered on. The BIOS
identifies and initializes the components of
Hands-ON PROJECTS
the various subsystems (processing, memory,
graphics, storage and so on) and hands over the
control of the hardware to the operating system.
It also handles functions such as power and
thermal management.
The BIOS resides on a ROM chip that is
either surface mounted on the motherboard or
embedded into a socket. Award, Phoenix and
AMI (American Megatrends Inc) are the most
popular BIOS vendors.
Intelligent computing CHip | 29
Hands-ON PROJECTS
Why should you flash your
motherboards BIOS?
Flashing the motherboards BIOS
enhances the systems stability and adds
support for newer hardware. For instance
your motherboard might be compatible
with newer processors but it might not be
able to identify them because of an older
BIOS version. At times manufacturers also
resolve a series of bugs and incompatibility
issues in the revised BIOS. Although
your system might run smoothly without
a BIOS update, its recommended to
keep your BIOS up to date for stable
performance.
Determining the BIOS version
The BIOS version is displayed at the top or
the bottom of the boot screen. It is usually
accompanied by the date on which the
BIOS was compiled by the manufacturer.
This information is needed if you want
to find out whether your motherboards
BIOS need to be updated. If you see a
full screen boot logo or a picture instead
of the boot screen, pressing the [Tab] key
switches to the boot screen. Since the
boot screen is displayed only for a few
seconds when you start the PC, you can
freeze the booting process by pressing
the [Pause/Break] key. This should make it
easier for you to spot the BIOS version.
Downloading the latest BIOS
Note down the version and date of
your motherboards BIOS and visit
the manufacturers website. Go to the
Support or the Downloads section
and look out for the BIOS for your
motherboards model. Alternatively, you
can also use the Search feature of the
website. Download the most recent
update for your BIOS and the flashing
utility. The list of changes in the new BIOS
is always present along with the download
link.
Flashing the BIOS using a USB flash
drive
The conventional method of flashing the
BIOS is first booting into DOS and then
executing the flashing utility to update
the BIOS. One of the reasons why some
people hesitate flashing the BIOS is that
30 | intelligent computing CHip
1 2
3 4
5 6
you need a floppy drive and a DOS-
bootable diskette to boot into DOS. By
using a floppy disk, you also run into a
big risk of corrupting your motherboards
BIOS. Keeping all these issues in mind,
we devised a quick and safe method of
flashing the BIOS.
Before proceeding, find out whether
your motherboard supports booting via a
USB flash drive. If youre familiar with the
BIOS settings you can find out by checking
the boot options or else you can refer to
your motherboards manual.
Insert the CHIP DVD into your optical drive
and extract the contents of the HP Drive
Key archive which you can find under the
Must Have section. Backup the contents
of your flash drive because this utility will
erase all the contents.
Plug in the USB flash drive into a USB
port and run the HP Drive Key utility from
Start menu | Programs | HP System
Tools. Click on the Next button in the first
dialog box.
1. In the next dialog box select the drive
letter that corresponds to your USB flash
drive. In most cases utility automatically
picks up the drive letter of the flash drive.
2. You will be prompted to choose from
one of the three tasks. Select the first
one which says Create New or Replace
Existing Configuration.
3. In the next dialog box, select the
second option which says Floppy Disk.
This option formats the USB flash drive as
a DOS-bootable 1.44 MB floppy disk.
4. Check the Image from file radio
button, click on the browse button and
point to the file called DOS7.img that you
extracted from the HP Drive Key archive.
Click on the Finish button after the drive
is formatted. The flash drive wont be
visible in My Computer after it has been
formatted. Eject the drive and plug it back
into the USB port.
5. Go to My Computer | Tools | Folder
Options and check the option Show
hidden files and folders. Also uncheck the
option Hide protected operating system
files.
6. Now access the USB flash drive and is self-explanatory. You simply have to
delete all the files except command.com,
IO.sys and MSDOS.sys. Download the
latest BIOS and the flashing utility for your
7 motherboard from the manufacturers
website and copy them onto the flash
drive. You can also find the flashing utility
on the motherboards driver disc.
7. Enter your motherboards BIOS settings
and set your USB flash drive as the first
boot device. Save the BIOS settings,
restart your PC and you should arrive
at the DOS command prompt. Use the
DIR command to list the contents of the
flash drive. Locate and execute the BIOS
flashing utility and specify the path of the
flash drive as the location of the BIOS file.
Hands-ON PROJECTS
Proceed with flashing and restart your PC
when its complete.
In-BIOS flash utility
Some motherboards have the flash utility
built into the BIOS itself. Updating the
BIOS of such motherboards is much
simpler. First download the latest BIOS
and burn it onto a blank CD or copy it to
a USB flash drive. Boot your PC with the
flash drive plugged in or the written CD
inserted into the optical drive and enter the
BIOS setup. Launch the flash utility from
within the BIOS and specify the path of
the optical drive or the flash drive as the
location of the BIOS file.
Flashing the BIOS from Windows
Most of the recent motherboards support
flashing the BIOS from within Windows.
After you have downloaded the latest
BIOS, insert the driver disc and locate the
Windows version of the flashing utility.
With the GUI interface, the entire process
specify the path to the newly downloaded
BIOS and hit the flash button. The flashing
process completes in a few minutes.
Some flashing utilities also support
downloading the latest BIOS automatically
from the manufacturers server via the
Internet.
Restoring the BIOS settings
When you restart your PC after flashing
the BIOS, you will encounter an error at
the boot screen. Enter the BIOS setup, set
the date and time, and select the option
saying "Load optimal defaults". Save the
settings and restart your PC.
anand.tuliani@chip.in
Intelligent computing CHip | 31
Hands-ON PROJECTS Hands-ON PROJECTS

Managing Address Books

option Set a primary key for me and click
Next. This brings us to the final screen of
the wizard, click Finish.
Export contact details from your default mail client to an MS Access database. Step 3
Print customized labels and efficiently manage your guest list By DEEPTI KRISHNAN There are two ways you can input the
data in the fields. One way is to do it
manually. However, if you already have
a complete address book in your mail
client, you can use Access to import the
information from that address book. To
transfer your Outlook Address book to an
Access database, you can do it directly
from Outlook itself. Open up your mail
client and go to File | Import and Export.
Select Export to a file and click Next.
Set Create a file of type to Microsoft
Access and click Next. Select the
Pramod Jadhav
Contacts folder and click Next. Type
the file name and location in the text field
client, then the previous step wont work.
For instance, if Thunderbird is your default
mail client and you want to import your
contacts list from that address book, first
open up Thunderbird. Click the Address
Book button, and in the window that
opens up go to Tools | Export. In the
dialog box titled Export Address Book,
type the File Name as Contacts and File
Type as Comma Separated and click
Save. This will save the address book
list as a CSV file. Now, from the Import
dialog box in Access, scroll to the location
of this file, choose File Type as Text File,
select Contacts.csv and click Import. In
the Import Text Wizard, select Delimited
and click Next. Choose the delimiter
that separates your fields to be Comma
and click Next. In the succeeding screen
check the field In an Existing Table and
Step 7
In order to print labels using the contact
information, go to Reports and click
New on the database toolbar. In the
New Report dialog, click Label Wizard
and set the table as Guests. You can
now select the size and manufacturer of
your labels. Most labels sheets have a size
written on the box. If your manufacturer is
on the list, select it and set the size, if not,
enter in the dimensions using Customize.
Here, we set in the manufacturer as
Avery and the Product Number as Avery
J8160. You can customize the font in the
next window.
Note that a font size less than 8 will
not be readable. Select the fields that
you would like on your mailing label, for
instance, FirstName, LastName, Address,
City and so on. When you want the next

T
hings can get quite daunting when
you are handling an enormous guest
list, for say, a wedding reception.
Typing in the address details and names
manually can lead to numerous small
errors with our minds busy selecting the
dinner menu, seating arrangements, and
options for the live band.
Many are acquainted with Microsoft
Words Mailing Wizard, but did you know
that you can use Microsoft Access to
import your address book from your mail
client, and print addresses immediately?
Sheets to print labels are easily available in
the market, and they come in a variety of
shapes and colors. Wow your friends and
family by customizing the label font and
design!
Step 1
Open Microsoft Access. Go to File | New
| Create blank database. If a wizard opens
up, click Cancel. This should bring up a
blank database. Note that the top toolbar
contains icons for general purposes, for
instance, New, Open, Save, as well
as Access specific icons, like Analyze,
Relationships, Properties, and New
Object. The left panel lets us switch
between the different types of objects in
a databasefrom Tables to Modules.
Step 2
Clicking on Tables will switch the view to
the Tables tab. Double-click on Create
table by using wizard. This should bring
up a dialog box titled Table Wizard. We
shall be using the format of a sample as Contacts.mdb and My Documents choose Guests from the drop down list line to start, press enter, and the shaded
table so do not exit the wizard by hitting respectively and click Next. On the last and click Finish. line will indicate the current row. You
Cancel. Change the radio button from screen, click Finish. can even type in any standard text such
Business to Personal. This will reflect Step 6 as To or include the Spouse on the
a change in the Sample Tables available. Step 4 In case you need to enter in additional label and address it to {FirstName} and
From the Sample Table list, choose An alternative method to importing your contact details to your guest list dont {SpouseName} {LastName}. Hit Finish
Guests. For now, you can import all the Outlook address book is to open up your worry about having to import in your when you are done and view your Label
Sample Fields in the table by clicking Access database. Now, go to File | Get address book all over again. The best way Report that is ready for printing. Open
the double arrow button >>. If you feel External Data | Import. In the dialog box, to accomodate those stragglers is to add up the report in Design View and insert
confident enough, scroll through all the click the field File of type and scroll them into your Access table using a handy images from Clip Art, or your photo folder.
fields available and individually select the down the list till you can select the value feature called Forms. In your Access Finally, click on Print Preview and
ones you want by highlighting the said Outlook(). However, this will only work database window go to Forms. Double confirm the aesthetics of the labels before
field and clicking the single arrow button if either Microsoft Outlook or Outlook click on Create form by using wizard. printing it out. Additionally, you can even
>. Before clicking on Next, confirm Express is your default mail client. Set the table as Guests and import all use the tables Thank You Note Sent and
that the list titled Fields in my new table the fields by clicking on >> and then Confirmed fields to track your invitees
contains the fields you want. On the Step 5 click Finish. This provides a user friendly status. So there you go, have a wonderful
following screen, you can enter a name If you dont have Microsoft Outlook or form in which you can enter your guests and well organized party!
for the table. Check the Yes field for the Outlook Express as your default mail information. deepti.krishnan@chip-india.com

Six easy steps to creating an Access database from your Address Book
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Step 6

Import Outlook contacts into Access by going to Alternatively, export your Address Book from Enter your Guests contact information manually Create a customized Label Report in Access to View your Label Report in Print Preview mode to Extra: Export contacts from your Thunderbird mail
Get External Data from the File Menu. Outlook to Access via Import and Export. using the Form Wizard tool in Access. print out the mailing labels. confirm the contacts name and addresses. client as a CSV file, and import it into Access.

32 | intelligent computing CHip Intelligent computing CHip | 33

Hands-ON PROJECTS
Jagdish Limbachiya
Set up and use MyPhoneExplorer
1 2
1. Download and install MyPhoneExplorer
from http://www.softpedia.com/get/
Mobile-Phone-Tools/Sony-Ericsson/
MyPhoneExplorer.shtml. You may also
avail of this 3 MB file from the CHIP DVD.
Install this freeware using the regular
installation method and run the application.
Now, the software is ready for use.
34 | intelligent computing CHip
Data backup for
Sony Ericsson
Do you fear losing precious data from your Sony
Ericsson mobile phone in cases of theft, damage or
virus attacks? This is how you can backup your entire
Sony Ericsson mobile phone data. By Francis DsA
T
here may have been (or can be)
instances in your life when your
mobile phone was stolen, lost or
even attacked by viruses. You may not
mind losing the handset so much, but the
data inside the phone, be it your SMSs,
phone numbers or even your personal
videos and pictures, may have had integral
and primary importance to you.
CHIP brings you a short workshop on
how you can back up the entire contents
of your Sony Ericsson mobile phone.
Store the data from your phone onto
your computer to later restore it on your
new phone, or just for safety purposes.
All you need to do this is a free utility
called MyPhoneBackup which you can
download from the Internet, your mobile
phone and a cable or Bluetooth to connect
2. Plug in the Bluetooth dongle and install
the drivers. Start the Bluetooth service on
both the computer and the mobile phone.
Search for the mobile from the computer
and add/pair them together using the
necessary pass codes. Once the devices
are paired, it will show up in the window.
Your mobile is now ready for use.
4 5
6 7
8 9
it to your computer. This freeware can also
help you do loads of other things such as
making calls or sending SMS directly.
We simply connected a Sony Ericsson
mobile phone using a standard Bluetooth
dongle in this workshop. Follow these
simple steps and keep your data safe.
10 11
3 camera. Copy ringtones, movies,
12 13
3. You will need to add a COM port for
your mobile phone service. Double click
on the Bluetooth icon in the system tray,
then choose COM Ports | Add | Outgoing
connection. This is necessaryyour
computer needs to access the mobile
phone using a COM port because
MyPhoneExplorer needs this port.
Hands-ON PROJECTS
4. Start MyPhoneExplorer and click File |
Options and under Connections choose
Search For Device. You rmobile phone
will be automatically scanned and set.
Click OK
5. After the phone is found, click F1
or File | Connect and after the phone
is connected, specify a name for your
phones profile.
6. The moment your phone is connected,
MyPhoneExplorer will then sync and
download all information from your phone
to the computer.
7. Click on Extras | Create backup to
start the backup procedure of your phones
contents to the computer.
8. Check the Files options and choose
the necessary contents of your mobile
phone, apart from the contacts, events
and tasks, for backup.
9. After you have chosen what you need
to backup from your phone, click on
Create Backup and your phones contents
will be backed up to the computer. Give a
name to the backup file or just leave it to
the default file name which indicates the
date and time the backup was done.
Additional functions
1. Edit and use the Calender functions of
the phone. Set Appointments, Reminders
and Alarms and make Notes too.
2. Send SMS directly from your computer
via the mobile phone.
3. Transfer pictures taken from your
applications and themes directly by simply
using the drag and drop feature.
4. Add or edit the phone book entries
on the SIM or phone memory and
synchronize it to your phone later.
5. Check the memory status of your
entire phone in one screen. Keep a check
on your phone with a live feed on details
like the phone and battery temperatures,
battery voltage, phone signal strength,
phone model and EMEI number, and
firmware version.
6. If thats not enough, check this one out.
Control the keypad (indirectly, control the
mobile phone) and play songs, send SMS
and even make a call without touching
your mobile phone physically.
francis.dsa@chip-india.com
Intelligent computing CHip | 35
Hands-ON PROJECTS
Troubleshooting drivers
When reinstalling Windows, you'll need device drivers too. CHIP shows you how
to backup drivers for a speedy, one-touch re-installation. By DUshyant Khilnani
W
hen reinstalling Windows, it can
be really annoying to find that
the driver disc for one or more
components is damaged or misplaced.
At best, you could create a couple of
backup DVDs or CDs of all the drivers for
your system. However, when it comes to
re-installing Windows, you want the drivers
to be at hand, not hunt for them, or worse,
swap driver discs. So whats the solution?
Thought youd never ask!
Well there are utilities available on the
Internet, which scan the computer for
hardware devices (onboard and discrete).
They can create backups of the existing
drivers onto the drive for future usage.
Whenever you reinstall Windows, all you
have to do is backup your data, format the
root partition, install Windows and restore
the backed up drivers. Isnt that much
more convenient? Lets see how it's done.
Backing up and restoring drivers
36 | intelligent computing CHip
DriverMax
This application backs up drivers from
your computer for quick retrieval and also
offers other features. As you can see in the
screenshots, the user interface is neat and
simple to use. Lets proceed.
Step 1: Install DriverMax by double clicking
on the installation file and keep following
the simple on-screen instructions.
Step 2: At the main screen, select the first
option 'Driver operations'. Now click on
'Export drivers' and follow the instructions
given by the Wizard, and select the
drivers that need to be backed up.
Step 3: This screen'Drivers'shows
a list of installed drivers in the system.
Each entry is explained in brief. If you
need details of a particular driver, click
on 'Details'. Youll see the driver files and
the device that is using them. Here, you
need to select the drivers for backup,
Step 1
Step 3
by checking the relevant boxes. Instead
of running through the entire list, opt
to directly choose a particular driver for
backup, say 'Display'. Use the drop-down
menu at the bottom-right corner of the
screen, to do so. Once selected, click
'Next'.
Step 4: On this screen, enter the path,
where you want to save the drivers and
click 'Next'. Choose any drive, except the
system partition. Drivers for the chosen
devices are now saved. Click on 'Close' at
the bottom right your screen.
Note: You can also select all the drivers,
even if they're not third-party hardware.
Step 5: Restoration of drivers is done
ideally, when you've finished installing
Windows. After installation completes,
repeat Step 1 and on the main screen
of DriverMax, select the option 'Import
drivers'. Click on 'Next' in the following
Step 2
Step 4
screen. Now, the next screen asks you for
the path where the backup is saved. Enter
the path and click 'Next'. The drivers will
be stored in the specified path and display
the result in the following screen. Now,
select the drivers for recovery, click 'Next'
and when asked to confirm, click 'Next'
again. Wait for the installation to complete.
The next screen will give you a report and
will ask you to restart the computer. Ensure
that, you reboot your system after the
drivers are installed.
Now your computer should be up
and running just the way it was before.
DriverMax offers other features such as
updating drivers, identifying unknown
devices, and so on. However, in order
to use them, you need to create an user
account with DriverMax. Nonetheless,
the basic backup and recovery is possible
without creating an account.
Driver magician
This program also backs up device
drivers and restores them just like the
DriverMax. However, the evaluation copy
of Driver Magician allows the user to only
Step 1 Step 2
restore the display and network adapters.
Nonetheless, lets see how it works.
The installation is simple. Double-click
on the installation file, it takes only about
five minutes to complete the installation.
Step 1: Once you reach the main application
window, create a back up of all the device
drivers (onboard and discrete). Windows
generically supports some of these
devices. So you have an option to choose
to back up only third-party hardware drivers
or make a backup of ALL the drivers.
Step 2: When using an evaluation version
of the application, the software prompts
you with a message regarding its restricted
utility. On proceeding, another message
pops up saying Driver restoration process
will start, during the restoration process
the computer may seem to have no
response, please don't interrupt it. Do you
wish to continue? Click 'Yes' to continue.
The application scans the system
and shows you which drivers need to be
updated. However, updating the drivers
with the evaluation version is disabled.
TIP: You can also use Driver Magician to
uninstall drivers from your system.
Hands-ON PROJECTS
Driver conflicts
Sometimes, in spite of installing the
drivers, some devices may malfunction or
not work at all. Take a look at these tips;
these will help to tackle similar problems.
When drivers are installed, its always
better to reboot the machine for the
drivers to take effect. If the device
doesnt work after that, Right-click on
My Computer and go to 'Properties |
Hardware | Device Manager'. The yellow
exclamation marks indicate that the
corresponding devices arent functioning
properly. Here, either the drivers are
missing, corrupt or simply unsuited.
Solution: Uninstall the ones marked in
yellow, do not reboot, install the fresh
drivers and reboot the system. This
should solve the problem.
Make sure you download the correct
drivers, because third party devices and
peripherals have variants that require
hardware-specific drivers.
Always visit the manufacturers website
before hunting for drivers elsewhere.
This will save you lot of time and effort.
Intelligent computing CHip | 37
Hands-ON PROJECTS
Name of the motherboard
Dire situation
Lets look at another situation now. What
if you have already reinstalled Windows
without backing up the drivers? Only to
realize later, that your driver disc is corrupt
or you cannot find it. You might say that
you would obviously check the driver
disc before reinstalling Windows. What if
Windows crashes and the drivers arent
with you?
The situation is not as bad as it sounds.
There are ways to get device drivers from
the Internet and the good news is, most
of them are available for free. But what
if youve already installed Windows, and
there is no sound or the display is not
proper or there's no Internet connection
and so on?.
Downloading drivers in this case is out
of the question because the drivers for the
network card arent installed. No problem,
ask your hardware engineer if he has the
drivers for the motherboard. If you have
an old computer and its out of warranty,
ask a friend to download the drivers and
give it to you on a CD. A CD will definitely
work because an optical drive picks up
the drivers from Windows. If your friend
38 | intelligent computing CHip
LAN (left) & audio (right) chips
agrees to help, how would he/she know
which chipset (motherboard) you are using?
Its the chipset that needs the drivers
because thats what drives a motherboard.
The simplest way to find out is by referring
to the model number of the board. Search
for it on Google with specific search-
strings such as the name of the chipset
followed by the word drivers as in Intel
965 drivers. The best place to find the
drivers is at the chipset manufacturers
website. So if you know which chipset it is,
thats half the battle won. This brings us to
the next question.
Which chipset is used on the board?
Good question! Its simple; refer to the
user-manual. The technical name for a
chipset is northbridge (NB), so if you
come across the term, youre on the right
track. If you dont have the manual, try
looking for it on the board. But, do not
open the cabinet if you dont know what
youre doing; ask a professional to help you.
The NB has the chipsets name written on
it. NB is the biggest chip embedded on the
board and it sits closest to the processor, it
isnt hard to find.
Actually, the northbridge doesnt control
everything on the board, the southbridge
too shares the workload, but once you
search for the northbridge. You will mostly
find a driver bundle for the board or drivers
for individual onboard devices.
Use discrete components?
If you use discrete components ()such as
a discrete graphics card or sound card),
then they must have been bundled with
a manual. If not, search for the model
number on the component itself. You can
follow the same search pattern, described
earlier with the motherboard, for these
components.
Thanks to the Internet, access to
data has become extremely convenient.
By using search engines, you can
locate drivers for practically all the core
components and peripheral devices
available today, except for ones that are
long obsolete. In any case, if you have a
question regarding this workshop, or any
other computer-related query, do drop
us an e-mail. Remember that drivers are
important, and should be updated often.
dushyant.khilnani@chip-india.com
 Hands-ON PROJECTS

Sync your PCs

Very often you need to synchronize your data between your
office/home desktop with your travel laptop. CHIP shows you
how to make a two-PC peer-to-peer network to transfer and
synchronize your data. By Francis DSa

W
ith the dip in laptop prices and their
improving feature sets, a lot of people
have become proud owners of mobile
computers. And this population is only on the
rise. You must be often traveling between cities
with your laptop. Your desktop at home or office
is used to download intense amounts of music
or videos, which usually keep you occupied
during those long trips. You could also have a
pile of presentations and work documents on
your computer at home or at the office that you
would like to copy onto your laptop to make a
presentation. A thumb drive is a low-capacity
option which makes it inconvenient for
transferring huge data files. With a thumb drive,
you might have to copy several batches of files
if you have large amounts of data to be copied.
Besides, the transfer speeds can be really slow.
An external USB hard drive is a better choice,
but is another expensive bulky unit to carry
around. So what is the best way to transfer data
from your desktop to your laptop?
One option is to connect your computers
over a LAN, or local area network. But if you
have only one PC at home, it may not be
feasible to invest in network infrastructure.
Peer-to-peer networking using a single, cross-
crimped network cable is a better and cheaper
alternative as nearly all computers today have a
built-in network adapter.
We have put together a basic workshop to
show you how to build a cross-cabled peer-to-
peer network to help you transfer or synchronize
your data between two computers without the
need for a network switch. In this workshop,
we will teach you how to make a cross-crimped
CAT5 cable on your own. The requirements
will cost anywhere between Rs 40-60 (for a 5
meter cable). You can also buy a readymade
cross-crimped cable from the local computer
market for around Rs 150 or so. The rest of the
workshop then shows you how to set up the
Pramod Jadhav
two computers which need to be networked.

Intelligent computing CHip | 39

Hands-ON PROJECTS
Making the cross cable
What you require for this workshop:
A minimum of two plastic RJ-45
connectors, a 5 meter CAT5 cable (the
length will depend on what you require),
and an RJ-45 crimping tool.
Step 1: Measure the required distance
between the laptop and the desktop and
cut off the required length of the CAT5
cable. Now take one end of the cable
and peel off approximately 2.5 cm of
the insulating sleeve using the stripper
portion of the crimping tool.
Step 2: Separate the four colored wire
pairs from each other.
Note: Some cables have white wires
coded with lines or dots to mark the pair
while some cables dont. Remember
that each wire pair will be twisted around
each other to denote the pair.
Step 3: Cut off any two pairs that you
wont be using to make the cable. (Only
four wires or two pairs are needed for
connectivity). We chose to keep the blue
and the orange pair and chopped off the
remaining two pairs.
Step 4: Now straighten all the wires in a
neat line and align them in the following
mannerWhite Orange - Orange -
White Blue - Blue. (You can choose any
color pair to come first but remember that
each pair should consist of the twisted
pair only and nothing from the other color
pair should be used).
Step 5: The next step is to cut off the
edges of the wire using the cutter of
the crimping tool in a manner that all the
wires are now of the exact same length.
Note: Do not cut the wires too much
because if the length of the wires is too
short, they may not be properly crimped
inside the RJ45 connector. The length of
the wires coming out of the sleeve should
not be longer or shorter than 1.5 cm.
Step 6: Now separate the last wire (Blue)
from the others keeping a gap of around
cm. This is because the first three
wires would connect to pin numbers 1,
2, & 3 and the last wire would connect to
pin number 6 of the RJ 45 connector.
Step 7: Take a good look at the RJ 45
connector. Hold it in the same direction
as shown in the image with the plastic
40 | intelligent computing CHip
1 2
3 4
5 6
lock facing away from you and the golden
leads facing upwards. Now note the
pin numbers (see picture) because the
next steps would completely depend on
straining your eye to correctly insert the
right wire into the right groove. Also note
that each pin or lead has a groove to let
only one wire reach the lead.
Step 8: Now carefully insert the wires into
the connector. Carefully match the colors
with the pins and confirm they are in the
right order and groove. Double check the
connection for each respective wire and
pin. Insert the wires all the way inside the
connector by pushing it with a little force.
Wire colors should be matched in the
manner shown in the illustration.
Step 9: After you have aligned and pushed
all the wires deep inside the connector,
it is time to take a final check. Turn the
connector on both sides and look closely
to confirm if each wire has reached the
extreme top of the connector and the
sleeve of the CAT 5 cable has crossed the
lock zone (See image). If the wires are not
reaching the end and/or if the sleeve does
not cross the lock zone, there are chances
of bad connections and/or the wires may
7 3 4 5 6
2 7
1 8
9 10
11
Networking
Step 1: Let us configure the settings of
the desktop PC first. Start Windows
(we assume that most people use
Windows XP. Other operating systems
like Linux, Mac OS or older/newer
versions of Windows may follow more
or less the same settings). Click on
Start | Control panel. Double click on
Network Connections. You should find
your network card (if not installed, make
sure you do that first by installing the
necessary drivers) displayed as Local
8 get damaged respectively. Ensure proper
Connector A Connector B
RJ45 Pin# Pin# RJ45
1 1
2 2
3 3
4 4
5 5
6 6
7 7
8 8
12
Area Connection with a little red cross
indicating no connection. Right click on
the icon and select Properties. In the
next window, double click on Internet
Protocol (TCP/IP) under the section This
connection uses the following items:
This opens the Internet Protocol (TCP/
IP) Properties page. Select or enable the
option Use the following IP address: to make things simpler, we can follow this
and in the following window enter the IP
address as 192.168.0.1 and the Subnet and click Properties. In the System
mask as 255.255.255.0. Do not enter
any other settings anywhere else. Save all
Hands-ON PROJECTS
fitting to avoid problems. If you find that
the wires are too short or long, start
the entire procedure again. Do not take
any risks because once the connector
is crimped to the wire, you cannot undo
it. In such a case, the connector will be
wasted and the wire will get shorter.
Step 10: Finally after ensuring that all
wires are in place inside the connector,
its time for crimping. Insert the
connector, by holding the wire in the
crimping tool. While doing this, apply a
little force on the cable to push the sleeve
and the wires as far as it can go into the
connector and immediately press the tool
handles to crimp the connector.
Press the tool firmly to ensure a good
crimped connector and to avoid loose
connections. You should also hear a click
when you are crimping which indicates
that the sleeve has been locked in position
inside the connector.
Step 11: To crimp the other end with a
connector, follow the procedure from
step 1 to step 10 but the only difference
will be the order of the cable color. Here
follow the order of the colors as follows
White Blue - Blue - White Orange -
Orange. The rest of the procedure is the
same. Your cable should now be ready
for use.
Step 12: Insert each end of the cable into
the network port of the laptop and the
desktop PC respectively. This completes
the physical cabling. Follow the
procedures on the next page to continue
with the software settings.
settings and exit.
Step 2: Now we need to change the
Computer Name and Workgroup of the
computer. This step is optional as the
networking can be used without these
names also.
The IP address itself can be used to
access the computers on the network. But
step too. Right click on My Computer
Properties window, select the Computer
Name tab. Click on the Change button.
Intelligent computing CHip | 41
Hands-ON PROJECTS

A window pops upComputer Name

Changes. Here specify a unique name in
the Computer Name field. For example:
Desktop. In the field Workgroup under
Member of enter a unique workgroup
name, for example: Workgroup or
Home. Save all settings and restart the
computer.
Step 3: Repeat Step 1 and Step 2 on
the laptop or the second computer to
be connected. The only changes here
will be a different Computer Name
and IP Address Use a name such as
Laptop and use another IP address, for
example: 192.168.0.2. This will complete
the networking part. Keep the same
workgroup name as the other computer.
Step 4: Let us now setup sharing. For this,
let us assume you have a folder named
Music on drive D of your desktop PC
which contains all your songs. You want
to share this folder to copy your music to
the other computer. Double click on My
Computer | Local Disk (D:). Right click
on the Music folder and select Sharing
and Security. A Properties window will
come up. Here, click on the link If you
understand the security risksclick here.
This will pop up a window called Enable
File Sharing where you need to select
Just enable file sharing and click OK. your desktop. Select View workgroup computers at the same time using this
In the properties window, again, select computers on the left panel. Under method. If you need to do something
the check box Share this folder on the Network tasks you will find your two like that, you will need to make straight-
network and enter a unique name in the computers listed. Double click on the through network cables and use an
Share name field, for example: Music. required PC and then on the shared folder Ethernet switch.
Select the option Allow network users to available in it. Start copying your files to There are other third party applications,
change my files only if you wish to allow and fro. which you may find interesting, to
the other computer to write back into this Click Start, then on Run. Enter automatically synchronize your data
folder, or just leave the option unchecked. the other computers name with two between two or more computers at
Click on Apply, then OK to save the backslashes (\\), for example: \\desktop specific intervals. These applications
settings. Carry out the same procedure and hit enter. The other shared drives can help synchronize data like e-mails,
for all the other folders that require to be on your computer will be shown in an documents, songs, etc. Some applications
shared with the other computer. Do the explorer window. also compress your data and enable
same procedure on the other computer Click Start, and then Run. Enter password protection to ensure complete
too to enable sharing of folders. the other computers IP address with safety of your data. For example: Second
Note: Each shared folder will display a two backslashes (\\), for example: Copy can be used to synchronize your
different icon (a hand symbol will appear \\192.168.0.1, and the other shared e-mails, documents and much more, at
under each shared folder icon indicating drives on your computer will be shown in specific intervals which are assigned by
that the folder is shared on the network). an explorer window. you. Such applications also have facilities
Step 5: Your peer-to-peer network is now This completes the workshop to like compression, archiving, incremental
ready for use! To transfer data from one connect and synchronize data between backup etc. You can download a 30 day
computer to the other, just follow any one two computers using a simple cross- trial copy of such an application from
of the following methods: crimped cable. www.centered.com
Double click on Network Places on Note: You cannot connect more than two francis.dsa@chip-india.com

42 | intelligent computing CHip


Windows on Steroids
It may sound clichd but multiple programs slow down your computer. CHIP
shows you how to speed up your computer. by DUshyant Khilnani And Amit Patnaik
A
new computer comes with a freshly
installed operating system, such
as Windows XP or Vista. At this
point, there are a few or no third party
applications installed, the result, a speedy
startup and shutdown. However, with
the increase in storage and the release
of memory-hogging applications, things
rapidly take a nasty turn. The user tends
to install tons of third party applications
on the computer. This causes all sorts of
complications, specifically, the operating
system. So how do you rectify this ?
This workshop has various steps that
will streamline your operating system. We
recommend that you understand each tip
and try the relevant ones to get the best
results. Every step helps to free up some
amount of resources and thus helps your
operating system to breathe easy.
Step 1
TIP: Before we begin, its worth mentioning
that a majority of these steps are most
effective, if done on a fresh installation of
an operating system.
Step 1
The NTFS files system offers better
security and advanced features such as disk
compression, which in turn, makes best use
of a hard drive. However, if you are using a
hard drive which is formatted to a FAT32 file
system, dont worry; there is a way to switch
to NTFS without losing any data. Heres the
how to.
Go to Start | Run, type cmd and
click on OK. This will take you to the
DOS command prompt. Here, type the
command, convert c:/fs:ntfswithout operating system only, but there are other
the quotes of course. Here, the letter c
represents the drive letter that needs to be
Step 2
Hands-ON PROJECTS
switched from FAT32 to NTFS. Replace the
drive letter with the letter that represents
your drive. Convert all the drives in your
computer into NTFS in the same manner.
Step 2
The operating system is accessed at all
times during operation and it resides in the
system partition. If this partition is large;
it accommodates larger amounts of data
because all the programs are installed here
by default. This causes data-clutter and
fragmentation, and slows down the speed.
Assume you use Windows XP, here 5 GB of
system partition is enough and the reduction
in partition space will increase the access
time of the system files. This is for the
space-hogging folders in the root drive such
as the Program Files and Documents and
Intelligent computing CHip | 43
Hands-ON PROJECTS
Settings. The best way to take care of them
would be to have them on separate drives.
So lets make some minor changes to the
registry.
TIP: Ensure that you save these folders to
a drive that is in immaculate condition.
There should be no viruses, Trojans, bad
sectors or anything that will damage data.
Once you've have made the necessary
changes; the programs will be installed in
the specified drive by a default option.
Go to Start | Run, type regedit and click
on OK. The Registry Editor will open
up; now browse your way to find the
following entry in the left pane of this
window, HKEY_LOCAL MACHINEE
| SOFTWARE | Microsoft | Windows
| Current version. Here, look for the
stringProgramFilesDiron the right-
hand pane, right-click to modify. In the last
fieldC:\Program Fileschange the drive
letter from C to the drive of your choice.
Step 3
In the left pane, search for the entry,
HKEY_LOCAL MACHINE | SOFTWARE |
Microsoft | Windows NT | Current Version
Step 3
44 | intelligent computing CHip
| Profile List. Here, look for the string
ProfilesDirectoryon the right-hand
pane, right-click to modify. In the last
field%SystemDrive%\Documents and
Settingsreplace the %SystemDrive%
with the same drive letter that you wish to
use for Program Files. Thats about it! .
Drivers & updates: No hardware can
function without their drivers installed in
the operating system, except for IO devices
that run on generic drivers such as mice,
keyboards and such. Drivers are the most
important group of software, and must
be installed immediately after the OS is
installed. This ensures proper functionality
of the hardware. For instance, when you
install a graphics card in your system without
having its drivers in place, you will notice
that the display is not all that smooth. This is
just one example.
Keep your PC updated with the latest
updates and patches by using Windows
Updates. On the desktop, right-click on My
Computer, select Properties and turn on
the Automatic Updates.
Since most devices are found
onboard, their drivers can be installed
Step 4
from the motherboards driver disc. This
includes drivers for graphics present on
motherboards with integrated graphics.
If you use graphics cardNvidia or
ATIthen install the drivers from the disc
bundled with the card, or simply take it
from the CHIP DVD.
Step 4
Viruses, Trojans, Malware, Adware,
Backdoors, Spyware and all malicious
programs make the PC much slower.
Ensure having antivirus software installed.
It's crucial to have only one such software,
because having multiple antivirus software
mostly causes conflict and further
complications. Ensure that you keep the
Windows Firewall turned on at all times,
for additional security. Do not accept or
open suspicious email attachments and
files from know/unknown persons. Most of
the malicious programs come as spam and
are in the form of executable files having
extensions such as .com and .exe. This
doesnt mean other files are completely
safe. Keep your antivirus updated with the
latest virus definitions.
Step 5
Lets take the example of Windows Vista;
its Aero interface is visually appealing,
isnt it? But would you like to have your
desktop look as good and take 5 minutes
to open a text document? Sounds
exaggerating, but you get the point. When
using XP, turn off the unnecessary visual
effects. At least, tone it down to free up
some resources.
Right click on My Computer, go to
Properties | Advanced | Performance |
Settings | Visual Effects. Select the option
Let Windows choose whats best for
my computer, if your computer is not
sluggish. But if youre computer behaves
like a stubborn tortoise, select the last
optionCustom.
Here, uncheck all items except Show
shadows under menus, Show shadows
under mouse pointer, Show translucent
selection rectangle, Smooth edges of
screen fonts, Use drop shadows for icons
labels on the desktop, Use visual styles on
windows and buttons. Doing so will ensure
that the visual appeal of your OS isnt lost
and the system runs considerably faster.
Steps 5 & 6
Shrink the bin: By default, the Recycle Bin is
allocated ten percent of the total capacity of
each drive. By reducing this percentage, you
can easily have access to some more space.
On the desktop, right-click on the Recycle
Bin icon, select Properties and in this
window, click on the slider and move it
to the left till the displayed value changes
from 10 percent to about 3 percent and
youre done!
Step 6
During the installation of Windows, part of
the hard drive1.5 times the total physical
RAMacts as memory, termed as Virtual
Memory. Moving this allocation from the
System partition to another partition makes
the former partition smaller and faster.
On the desktop, right-click on My microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/
Computer, select Properties | Advanced |
Performance | Settings | Advanced | Virtual
Memory | Change.
In this dialog box, notice that by default,
the Page File is stored on the System
partition. So lets change that first and then
allocate the Page File from another drive.
Confirm whether the System partition,
Steps 7 & 8
Hands-ON PROJECTS
for instance C is highlighted. If it is,
then push the radio button, No paging
file. Now select another drive to allocate
the Page File, and input the value. The
recommended value should be 1.5 times
of the total physical memory. To check the
amount of memory installed right-click on
My Computer and look at the bottom-
right corner of the screen. Multiply that
amount time 1.5 and enter that value in the
first field Initial Size under Custom Size.
Then multiple that figure times two, and
enter it into the next field, Maximum Size.
Push OK and restart your computer.
TIP: Defragging the Page File also helps
in speeding up the computer. There are
utilities available on the Internet such as
PageDefrag. Download it from www.
FileAndDisk/PageDefrag.mspx.
Step 7
Quite often, one claims to have a loaded
computer, if the computer is loaded with
the correct/powerful hardware, then its
justified. But if you use a mainstream PC
and installed tons of software, then youre
Intelligent computing CHip | 45
Hands-ON PROJECTS
mistaken, your computer is not loaded
Imagine that you are a computer and
each shopping bag is a piece of software.
When you install too much software on
the computer, it cannot take the load.
Unnecessary Startup programs eat up
resources making it sluggish. Remove the
unwanted programs right away.
Go to Run, type msconfig, click on
OK. This opens the System Configuration
Utility window. Select the Startup tab and
unselect all the entries that are not needed.
Keep only the ones that are important.
Finally click on OK to reboot.
TIP: Advanced users may also refer to the
application called Sysinternals Autoruns, it
has more details options.
www.technet.microsoft.com/en-us/
sysinternals/bb963902.aspx
Step 8
Similar to Startup programs, there are
certain Services, which usually are not
used by many users. But are activated by
Quick Tips
At times, the option Add or Remove
Programs doesnt give fool-proof results.
You may use third party applications such
as Zsoft Uninstaller to completely remove
even the last pieces of the software
hidden deep inside the hard drive. It
cleans temporary files and redundant
references too. www.zsoft.dk/index/
software_details/4.
Scrap the junk: Use the free utility
Ccleaner. It cleans up the unwanted
Windows files and temporarily stored
data effectively .Its a alternative to the
Windows Disk Cleanup Wizard. Log on to
owww.ccleaner.com.
Disable thumbnail caching: When
copying image files on your computer,
Windows creates a thumbs.db file in this
folder to index the stored files. This file
usually takes up considerable amount of
space on the drive, especially if there are
too many images. You can easily stop this
from happening. Here's what you should
do. Go to My Computer | Tools | Folder
Options | View tab. Check the option Do
not cache thumbnails and click OK.
My Computer: Usually when you open
My Computer, it takes time before the
46 | intelligent computing CHip
default and use up resources. By disabling
the ones not in use, one can attain system
stability and free up some amount of
resources. Go to Start | Run, type services.
msc and click OK. Here, all the services
are listed along with their status. Lets
deactivate or set some of them to Manual.
Services to be set to Manual
Distributed Link Tracking Client
Indexing Service
Help and support
Logical disk management
Network Location Awareness
Network Provisioning Service
Services to Disable
Computer Browser (If youre your
computer is not connected to a network)
Error Reporting Service
Application Management
NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing
Remote registry
Portable Media Serial Number Service
QoS RSVP
Remote Registry
contents show up, as it searches for
network folders and printers before
the contents. To avoid this, open the
same window as done in the previous
step, hereView tabuncheck
Automatically search for network folders
and printers and click on OK.
Windows Messenger: This program
takes up a lot of memory during startup
and while Windows is running. To get rid
of this for good, Go to Start | Run, type
gpedit.msc and click OK. The Group
Policy window pops up, in the left pane,
expand and search for the entry Computer
| Configurations | Administrative
Templates | Windows Components |
Windows Messenger. In the right-hand
pane, there are two entries, the first one
being Do not allow Windows Messenger
to Run. Double click on it for properties
and select the second option enable and
click OK. Do the same for the second
entry too. This will prevent Messenger
from loading in the first place and so there
is more memory available for windows.
This is reversible if need be.
Speedy Startup: The utility Bootvis
helps in monitoring and optimizing the
Remote Desktop Help Session Manager
Secondary logon
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper Service
Webclient
Wireless zero configurations
Defrag: Suppose you have a collection of
books kept in your room, how much time
would it take you to pick each one. And what
if they were randomly scattered all over your
house? Yes, in a hard drive, the files are your
books and the hard drive is your house. Data
keeps getting scattered due to constant
installation/copying and removal/deletion
of files and applications. This is called
fragmentation.
The solution is simple, periodic
defragmentation of the drive accumulates
the data in one place. This reduces the
read-time or the seek-time as we call it.
Unfortunately , the Windows Defragmenter
is slow, so try O & O Defrag Professional
Edition as an option. www.oo-software.
com/home/en/products/oodefrag/.
dushyant.khilnani@chip-india.com
Startup of Windows. It can be used for
tracing the performance graph of the
system after waking up from hibernation
and standby. Heres a procedure to
reduce your Windows Startup time.
Download the Bootvis utility. It seems to
be unavailable at the Microsoft website,
you can get it from http://www.softpedia.
com/progDownload/BootVis-Download-
3465.html.
Install and run it. In the main window,
click Trace from the Menu Bar. Select
Next Boot | Restart Automatically After
Tracing. The two entries Number of
Repetitions and Initial Number Starting
At have a common entry, the number
1. Leave them untouched and click
OK. Bootvis will trace and restart your
system.
After the reboot, Bootvis loads on
Startup and displays the performance
graph. Here, click Trace | Optimize System
| Reboot Now. It will reboot one more time
and reduce the Windows Startup time,
effectively optimizing the system. Voila!
Watch the marathon perfromance of
Windows after conducting this worksop.
Drop us an email for queries. Best of luck!