AmchiVasai

Windows boot.ini

amchivasai — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 03:58:43 +0000

Windows boot.ini

Boot.ini is one of the very first files that come into play when a Windows XP system is started up. It is a plain text file that is kept in the system root, so it is usually C:\boot.ini. Because it is an essential system file, the attributes are set to hidden, system, read-only to protect it. That means that it will not appear in the file lists in My Computer or Windows Explorer unless the default Windows settings are changed to show hidden files.

Boot.ini contains the location of the Windows XP operating system on the computer. If there is a multi-boot system, the locations of of any other operating systems are also contained. During the startup process, functions from the Windows XP file named “Ntldr” are in charge of getting the proper operating system loaded and Ntldr looks at boot.ini to find out where the operating systems are located and whether a menu should be displayed. Boot.ini can also include entries giving boot options such as Safe Mode or the Recovery Console.


Some examples of boot.ini files
A typical simple example	[boot loader] timeout=30 default=multi( 0)disk(0) rdisk(0)partitio n(1)\WINDOWS [operating systems] multi(0)disk( 0)rdisk(0) partition( 1)\WINDOWS= “Microsoft Windows XP Professional” /fastdetect
Example with Recovery Console as an option	[boot loader] timeout=30 default=multi( 0)disk(0) rdisk(0)partitio n(1)\WINDOWS [operating systems] multi(0)disk( 0)rdisk(0) partition( 1)\WINDOWS= “Microsoft Windows XP Professional” /fastdetect C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT .DAT=”Microsoft Windows Recovery Console” /cmdcons
Example of a dual-boot system with XP on partition 2. Note that the location of Windows Me is given as C:\	[boot loader] timeout=30 default=multi( 0)disk(0) rdisk(0)partitio n(2)\WINDOWS [operating systems] multi(0)disk( 0)rdisk(0) partition( 2)\WINDOWS= “Microsoft Windows XP Professional” /fastdetect C:\ = “Microsoft Windows Me “
Example with Safe Mode as an option and “timeout” =10 seconds	[boot loader] timeout=10 default=multi( 0)disk(0) rdisk(0)partitio n(1)\WINDOWS [operating systems] multi(0)disk( 0)rdisk(0) partition( 1)\WINDOWS= “Microsoft Windows XP Professional” /fastdetect multi(0)disk( 0)rdisk(0) partition( 1)\WINDOWS= “Safe Mode” /safeboot:minimal /sos /bootlog

Open Start-Run and enter “msconfig”. The box shown below will open.

Click the tab “BOOT.INI” and the figure shown next will open. The contents of the boot.ini file are shown and a number of configuration settings are available. In the middle right is a box where the settings for Timeout can be changed.

The command line tool bootcfg.exe

Windows XP Professional also has a command line utility for manipulating boot.ini called bootcfg.exe. (It may or may not be in a Home Edition installation. ) It is described in this Microsoft reference. It can be used in the Recovery Console to repair a damaged boot.ini file or in a command window to edit entries to the file. There are a number of different switches and these are illustrated in the output to a command window shown below

Your Choices for Changing the Boot Menu

Boot up the Windows™ 2000, XP or 2003 OS and open “Control Panel” then click on “System ” (or select “Properties” after right-clicking on My Computer). Under the “System Properties” window’s “Advanced” tab, if you click on ” Startup and Recovery” you’ll see at least two basic items in the BOOT.INI file that you’re allowed to change from this dialog box: 1) You can select the default OS to boot up, and 2) How many seconds to display the boot menu. And under Windows™ XP or 2003, you’ll find another button that gives you direct access to editing the whole BOOT.INI file! Under Windows™ 2000, you’ll need to find the BOOT.INI file on your own for further editing; such as arranging the order in which the OS selections appear in the menu. So, if you decide to delete the new OS, simply set your old OS as the default boot OS and uncheck the item for displaying the menu list (or manually set it to zero; same result). You could then safely delete the new OS partition, but not the files it added to your old partition.

Explanations for each part of BOOT.INI

[boot loader]
timeout=10
default=multi( 0)disk(0) rdisk(0)partitio n(2)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk( 0)rdisk(0) partition( 2)\WINDOWS=”Microsoft Windows XP” /fastdetect
C:\ = “Microsoft Windows“

Option	Description
multi(x)	This option is used with IDE and ESDI drives and is also used with SCSI drives for computers using Windows NT. The number used in the above example is “0″, this number is the adapter’s number and should always be “0″ for computers that rely on the BIOS to load system files. In a computer using only IDE this option will work with up to four hard disk drives. In a computer using only SCSI this option will work with the first two drives on the primary SCSI controller. Finally, if a computer is using IDE and SCSI this option will work with the IDE drives on the first controller.
scsi(x)	If the computer has a SCSI controller and is not using BIOS to load the system files, the boot.ini may have “scsi(x)” instead of “multi(x).
disk(x)	The disk on the controller. If “multi(x)” is used used, this value will always be “0″. However, if “scsi(x)” is defined, this value will be SCSI address.
rdisk(x)	Which disk on the controller is being used. In the above example we are using an rdisk of “1″, which indicates the second disk on the primary controller is being used. This value may be between “0″ and “3″ and is always set to “0″ when “scsi(x)” is being used.
paritions(x)	Which partition the operating system is on. In the above example, the operating system is on the first partition of the drive.
\WINDOWS=”.. .”	Finally, the last portion of this line defines the directory of where windows is located and what the boot menu should display as the operating system. In the above example, the boot menu would display “Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition” as a selection.

In the “[boot loader]” section above, the “timeout” entry is how many seconds (30 in this case) that the menu will remain onscreen before trying to boot up the ” default” OS.

default=multi( 0)disk(0) rdisk(0)partitio n(2)\WINDOWS: -

Most of these lines use what are known as ARC (Advanced RISC Computing) paths to specify the location of various boot partitions. Almost every machine using ATA (E IDE / IDE) hard drives will have: “multi(0)disk( 0)”. The multi(x) parameter is used to set the disk controller number, where x=0,1,2,… . The multi(x) parameter is always followed by disk(0); unless you’re using a SCSI controller without the BIOS enabled.

The second line under the “[operating systems]“ section is what you could call an alternate, backup or rescue copy of my main Win2000 OS which is located in the same volume as the main OS. A line like this will only be found if you install the Recovery Console files from your install CD onto your hard disk! Though its entry appears to differ radically from the usual
“multi(0)disk( 0)” + “rdisk(n)” + “partition(p) ” + “\ systemroot” format.

Modifying the Boot.ini

At the MS-DOS prompt, type:

c:
cd\
attrib -r -a -s -h boot.ini
edit boot.ini

While you can modify the Boot.ini file using the Startup and Recovery dialog, where you can select the default operating system, change the timeout value, or manually edit the file, the following method uses the command line utility, Bootcfg.exe.

Note The Bootcfg.exe utility is only available in Windows XP Professional. This utility is not available in Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition. Therefore, this section does not apply to Windows XP Home Edition.

1.	Click Start, and then click Run.
2.	In the Open text box, type cmd.
3.	At the command prompt, type bootcfg /?.
4.	The help and parameters for BOOTCFG.exe will display.

Adding an Operating System

At the command prompt, type:

bootcfg /copy /d Operating System Description /ID#

Where Operating System Description is a text description (e.g. Windows XP Home Edition), and where # specifies the boot entry ID in the operating systems section of the BOOT.INI file from which the copy has to be made.

Removing an Operating System

At the command prompt, type:

bootcfg /delete /ID#

Where # specifies the boot entry ID that you want to be deleted from the operating systems section of the BOOT.INI file (e.g. 2 for the second Operating system that is listed.

Setting the Default Operating System

At the command prompt, type:

bootcfg /default /ID#

Where # specifies the boot entry id in the operating systems section of the BOOT.INI file to be made the default operating system.
Setting the Time Out

At the command prompt, type: bootcfg /timeout# Where # specifies the time in seconds after which default operating system will be loaded.

Open the Boot.ini File to Verify Changes

Right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.

-or-

Click Start, click Run, type sysdm.cpl, and then click OK.

On the Advanced tab, click Settings under Startup and Recovery.

Under System Startup, click Edit.

How to rebuild the Windows boot.ini

Insert the Microsoft Windows XP CD into the computer. Note: If you have a system recovery CD or restore CD these steps will likely not work for your computer.

Reboot the computer with the CD and press any key when prompted to press any key to boot from the CD. If you do not receive this prompt and/or are not able to boot from the CD.

Once in the Microsoft Setup menu press R to open the recovery console.

Select the operating system you wish to use; if you only have Windows XP on the computer you will only have one prompt.

Once prompted for the password enter the Admin password and press enter.

Once at the command prompt type bootcfg /rebuild to start the rebuild process.

The rebuild process will step you through a number of steps depending upon how many operating systems you have on the computer and how the computer is setup. Below is a listing of the common steps you are likely going to encounter.
* Prompt for the identified versions of Windows installed. When you receive this prompt press Y if the bootcfg command properly identified each of the Windows operating systems installed on the computer. It is important to realize this command will only detect Windows XP, Windows 2000 , and Windows NT installations.
* Prompt to enter the load identifier. This is the name of the operating system for the boot.ini. For example, Microsoft Windows XP Home users would enter “Microsoft Windows XP Home edition”.
* Prompt to Enter OS load options. When this prompt is received type /fastdetect to automatically detect the available options.

Once you have completed all the available options in the rebuild and are back at the prompt type exit to reboot the computer.

How do I fix this high CPU usage svchost virus or whatever it is?

amchivasai — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 03:49:18 +0000

How do I fix this high CPU usage svchost virus or whatever it is?

Svchost, or more correctly “Service Host” is a program that is designed to run other programs and “hosts” many of the system services in Windows XP. Several copies of Svchost run more than one service, which is why when you kill an instance of svchost several things on your machine might stop working.

So why is one of the Svchosts taking all your CPU?

And what can you do about it?

The bug appears to be related to the Windows Update service – the service that you’re supposed to keep running at all times so that updates will be automatically downloaded to your machine.

A quick way to tell if this is happening to you is to download Process Explorer and right click on the svchost instance that’s taking 100% of your CPU and then click on the Services tab:

You can see that this copy of svchost on my machine is running not only The Windows Update service, but is actually running 29 services all totalled. So if you were to kill this instance of svchost you’d be killing all of those services and many features and functionality of your system would fail.

One Temporary Solution

One approach to this problem is to stop and then disable the Windows Automatic Update service. If you have it open in Process Explorer, as shown above, with Automatic Updates selected in the list then just click the Stop button. If your CPU usage then drops to more normal levels, you’ve identified the problem.

To prevent the Automatic Update service from starting again, right click on My Computer and click on Manage . Expand Services and Applications, and then underneath that click on Services. In the resulting list on the right, locate Automatic Updates :

Right click on Automatic Updates and click on Properties. Change the Startup type to Disabled:

(You can also click Stop here if you didn’t stop the service earlier.)

Click OK and Automatic Update service should be disabled.

IMPORTANT: since you won’t be getting updates automatically, you should now plan on visiting the Windows Update web site periodically to make sure you keep your Windows up to date. As we’ll see shortly, this will also become important to resolve this problem “for real

A Permanent Solution?

There isn’t a permanent solution. Not yet anyway.

There are rumors that Microsoft actually has a fix, but that you need to call up and ask for it rather than getting it through normal channels. It is not convinced that this fix is actually for this specific problem that so many people are experiencing.

There are also rumors that Microsoft will be making the actual fix available in a future automatic update. Ironic, since it’s automatic update that you may have turned off in order to work around the problem. That’s why recommend making certain you regularly visit Windows Update and take the latest fixes to keep your system up to date, not only for this issue but for any other issues that may crop up over time.

Also, remember, once the problem is fixed be sure to re-enable the Automatic Updates feature. It remains an important part of keeping your system safe and up to date.

Update!

23-May-2007

This automatic update waiting to be installed on my machine this morning:

This is the update that’s been frequently referenced as a resolution for this problem.

The interim fix involves applying two patches, in order:

First download and install the fix from KB 927891.

Second download and install this update to the Windows Update Client.

Understanding Web Addresses

amchivasai — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 10:49:58 +0000

Understanding Web Addresses

Think of the World Wide Web as a network of electronic files stored on millions of computers all around the world. Hypertext links these resources together. Uniform Resource Locators or URLs are the addresses used to locate the files. The information contained in a URL gives you the ability to jump from one web page to another with just a click of your mouse. When you type a URL into your browser or click on a hypertext link, your browser sends a request to a remote computer, called a web server, to download one or more files. Every URL is unique and identifies one specific file.

What does a typical URL look like? Here are a few examples:

http://www.learnthe net.com

The home page for Learn the Net.

ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub

A directory of files at MIT available for downloading.

news:rec.gardens. roses

A newsgroup on rose gardening.

The first part of a URL (before the two slashes) tells you the type of resource or method of access at that address. For example:

http – a hypertext document or directory

gopher – a gopher document or menu

ftp – a file available for downloading or a directory of these files

news – a newsgroup

telnet – a computer system that you can log into over the Internet

WAIS – a database or document in a Wide Area Information Search database

file – a file located on a local drive, for instance, the hard drive of your computer

The second part is typically the address of the computer where the data or service is located. Additional parts may specify the name of a file, the port to connect to, or the text to search for in a database

You enter the URL of a site by typing it into the Address bar of your web browser, located just under the toolbar.

Browsers can store the URLs that you want to revisit again by adding them to a special list. Netscape Navigator terms it Bookmarks; Microsoft Explorer terms it Favorites. Once you add a URL to your list, you return to that web page simply by clicking on the name in your list, instead of retyping the entire URL.

Most of the URLs you will use start with http, which stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol, the method by which HTML files are transferred over the Web. Here are some other things to know about URLs:

A URL usually has no spaces.
A URL always uses forward slashes (//).
If you type a URL incorrectly, your browser will not be able to locate the site or resource you want. Should you get an error message or access the wrong site, make sure you spelled the address correctly.
You can find the URL behind any link by placing your cursor over the link. The pointer turns into a hand and the URL appears in your browser’s status bar, usually located at the bottom of your browser window.

How the Web Works

The World Wide Web is the most popular part of the Internet by far. Once you spend time on the Web you will begin to feel like there is no limit to what you can discover. The Web allows rich and diverse communication by enabling you to access and interact with text, graphics, animation, photos, audio and video.

So just what is this miraculous creation? On the simplest level, the Web physically consists of your personal computer, web browser software, a connection to an Internet service provider , computers called servers that host digital data, and routers and switches to direct the flow of information.

The Web is known as a client-server system. Your computer is the client; the remote computers that store electronic files are the servers. Here’s how it works:

Let’s say you want to visit the the Louvre museum website. First you enter the address or URL of the website in your web browser (more about this shortly). Then your browser requests the web page from the web server that hosts the Louvre’s site. The server sends the data over the Internet to your computer. Your web browser interprets the data, displaying it on your computer screen.

The Louvre’s website also has links to the sites of other museums, such as the Vatican Museum. When you click on that link, you access the web server for the Vatican Museum. In this way, information scattered across the globe can be linked together.

The “glue” that holds the Web together is called hypertext and hyperlinks. This feature allows electronic files on the Web to be linked so you can jump easily between them. On the Web, you navigate through pages of information- -commonly known as browsing or surfing–based on what interests you at that particular moment.

To access the Web you need a web browser, such as Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer. How does your web browser distinguish between web pages and other types of data on the Internet? Web pages are written in a computer language called Hypertext Markup Language or HTML.

Crimsonland –:Games ::–

amchivasai — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 10:47:00 +0000

Crimsonland

Crimsonland is a no holds barred action game with no nonsense. You pick up weapons, you hose enemies. It is easy as that but oh is it fun and addictive! The Hard rock soundtrack, challenging gameplay, and incredibly fun weapons leave you wanting more, more, more! Just remember to stop and eat now and then…

Click Here To Download:

http://www.savefile .com/download/ 625002?PHPSESSID =848c836133e51bf 0f09ffae649765fa 1

How to speed up the time it takes Windows to load or boot

amchivasai — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 10:44:32 +0000

How to speed up the time it takes Windows to load or boot
There are a variety of factors (both hardware and software) involved in lowering the amount of time it takes for Windows to load. You will go over most of these ways in this page starting with changes in the system BIOS and moving onward from there.

All of these changes are optional, and do not need to be carried out. Instead, they are offered as suggestions to try to lower the time it takes for Windows to boot. Some of these changes are very advanced and should only be attempted if you are comfortable with making the changes and have your data backed up.

System BIOS Changes

One of the first places to help speed boot time in Windows is to make some simple changes to the system BIOS. The BIOS or Basic Input/Output System is a set of instructions and commands built into the motherboard that allows the computer to know what type of hardware is connected and how to communicate with that hardware. You’ll first have to gain access to the BIOS setup screen to make any changes. Do not make changes to the system settings in the BIOS lightly, one mistake can render the computer unbootable and cause more problems than its worth. For this reason, do not attempt making changes to the system BIOS unless you are willing to accept the risk along with it. With that said, you’ll want to follow the directions below and make some simple changes to speed up the boot process.

1) You must start with the computer completely off, not in sleep or hibernation mode. Then turn the computer on.

2) Enter the system BIOS screen by the manufacturers suggestion. Depending on the computer, this may involve pressing the DEL key, pressing F1, Pressing F10, holding down CTRL-ALT-S, or a variety of other keystroks to get to the BIOS screen

3) Once in the BIOS setup, look for a BOOT menu and select it with your keyboard arrow keys, Tab, and Enter.
4) In most modern BIOS screens, you’ll find an option for Quick Boot. Enable this to skip memory tests and other minor Power On Self Tests (POST).

5) Find an option for Boot Device Priority next, and change the first boot device to be the hard drive. Changing this option will speed up the boot process, but it will also not allow the computer to boot from a floppy disk or CD-ROM. If booting from anything other than the hard drive is important to you, please skip this step. If later on, you need to boot from a CD-ROM, simply re-enter the BIOS setup and make the CD-ROM the first boot device.

6) Choose the option to Exit and Save Changes and the computer will reboot.

There are other options in the BIOS to speed up boot time such as choosing the exact settings for your hard drive, and disabling AUTO DETECT of hard drives and other media. However I am skipping those changes and leaving them for a later discussion.

Changes to Windows Settings

The next group of changes to consider will be to the many Windows settings. We will use a handy tool called the System Configuration Utility to accomplish most of these changes. Follow the steps below to open and use this tool.

Startup Tab Changes

1) Click on Start, Run and type MSCONFIG and press Enter

2) Click on the STARTUP tab in the System Configuration Utility to view all the items that begin on Startup. An example is shown below.

Each item on the Startup tab that is checked loads immediately after Windows starts. If there are lots of items here, this will slow down the boot time for Windows considerably. Each of these items can be toggled on or off simply by using the checkmark box to the left of the item.

The column directly to right of the checkmark is the Name of the program, while the next column over is the location on the hard drive or other device of the file. Finally the last column shows where in the computer the file is started from. This location could be in the registry as is the case with all the locations that begin with HKLM or HKCU, or it could be in the Windows Startup folder found under ALL PROGRAMS in windows XP

You can examine each of these startup items and uncheck any that are not necessary. How do you know which ones are not necessary? Well, in most computer configurations, you’ll want drivers running for your graphics or video controller and sound card, and most likely an anti virus and firewall running. Other startup items are usually extras that could be eliminated from boot up. To discover what a particular item is used for, jot down the name for the item and go over to a site called Process Library, type in the name of the process and click Find. This is a very handy tool for discovering which startup items are truly needed.

When you are done modifying the checkmarks to the Startup tab, click OK and you’ll be asked to reboot the system.

Windows Services Changes

Once the computer is rebooted, click on Start, Run and type MSCONFIG and press Enter again. This will reopen the System Configuration Utility. Click on the Services tab, then click on the option at the bottom called “Hide All Microsoft Services” to see what unnecessary Windows services are running that can be removed. Generally speaking, you want services related to your video/sound cards and antivirus or firewall programs left running. Other services may not be essential and can be removed. Remember to only remove unessential services or you risk experiencing boot problems. Use Google to search for information on unfamiliar services.

Hardware Changes to Increase Boot Time

Adding more Memory (RAM)

Other than upgrading the motherboard and CPU, you can generally increase the amount of RAM in your computer to make it load programs and applications faster and provide a more enjoyable computing experience. You’ll want to check your motherboard to make sure you have available slots and the maximum amount of RAM you can add to your particular motherboard.

Replacing your Hard Drive with a Faster RPM Drive
If you have a slower hard drive such as a 5400 RPM or slower, you may want to consider upgrading to a faster 7200 RPM
hard drive. The difference in RPM speed will generally be quite noticeable.

Changing to Static IP

If your computer is connected to a local area network that you control and you have a DHCP server enabled on your router, during the boot process the computer queries the network to valid IP address. You can shave seconds off your boot time by assigning a valid IP address to your computer instead of using DHCP to assign it. To setup a Static IP for your computer, follow these directions.

1) Click on Start, Run
2) Type NCPA.CPL and press Enter to open the Network Connection Control Panel
3) Right-click on the Local Area Connection and choose Properties
4) Click on Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and click Properties
5) You should see a screen similar to the one below. Fill in your static IP, subnet, default gateway, and DNS server information and click OK. If you aren’t sure of your IP ranges on your router, consult your router manual or a friend that is more knowledgeable in networking terminology. Again, this is an optional item and does not necessarily need to be accomplished. Using DHCP is fine, although you sacrifice a few seconds for an IP to be assigned to from the network.