February 2, 2010

STRANGE CHARACTER ?ӱ WHEN YOU TRY TO PING SOME IP ADDRESS

Filed under: Fixes, Technology — Tags: , , — SpaCeTraNce @ 6:20 pm

When you open a command prompt and try pinging a IP address or a name like www.google.com you get a strange character on the screen. The strange characters resemble the letter o and the letter y with two dots above it.

To fix this problem you need to run the following command at the command prompt.

c:\NETSH WINSOCK RESET

Then reboot your computer and you should be good to go.

I offer free advice and fixes via my blog usually for my personal reference. By using any of the advise in this blog you understand that you are using it at your own risk.

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January 15, 2010

How to set a password on a wireless router.

Filed under: Fixes, Technology — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , — SpaCeTraNce @ 5:38 pm

Every day someone will ask “how do i set a password on my wireless router”.

I will give you detailed instructions on how to do just that.

I will be using the Linksys wrt54g for my example. If you have a different model wireless router you can still follow the instructions.

There are a couple of steps involved.

First we will find the IP address of the router. Which will be the “default gateway” of your computer.
Then we will connect to the configuration screens in your router.
Then change the password.

1. Click on Start->Run(if using vista/seven type the command from step 2 in the “search” field and press enter)

2. Type “cmd” w/o the quotes.

3. At the MS-DOS prompt type ‘ipconfig’

4. Make note of the “Gateway Address” IP address.

5. Open a web browser(IE or Firefox) remove the address that is in the address bar and type in the numbers that you made note of in step 4. Press enter

6. You should be prompted for a username and password. The default for most linksys devices. Is admin/admin. If that doesn’t work lookup the model number and cross reference it with this list: http://www.phenoelit-us.org/dpl/dpl.html

Now there are a couple of ‘passwords’ that you can set. When people ask to set a password for a wireless access point they are usually referring to the ‘network key’. This ‘network key’ will secure your wireless network so unauthorized people cannot connect to your Internet. There is also a ‘administration password’ which is the password you typed in step 6 to access the configuration screens. I advise changing both. Be sure you write these downs and don’t lose them. I usually write them down and tape them to the wireless router (make sure you don’t cover up ventilation slots).

Note: The below direction are for a wrt54g. Your screens may differ but the idea/concept will be the same.

7. To set the network key: Click “Wireless” -> “Wireless Security”

8. Choose WPA/Personal then enter your desired wireless key. I do not advise using WEP it is easily hacked in about 2 minutes.

9. To change the administration password: Click “Administration” and change the password.

If you ever forget these password there is a small “reset” button which you can press with a ball point pen. Press and hold that down for about a minute and you will back at the factory default settings. Therefore all password will be cleared/reset.

Good luck,
–SpaCeTraNce

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December 10, 2009

How to test your own fax machine.

Filed under: Technology — Tags: , , , , , — SpaCeTraNce @ 3:54 pm

If you are living in the United States of America you can test your fax machine using the National Fire Protection Association’s Fax on Demand service.

Go to: http://www.nfpa.org/itemDetail.asp?categoryID=487&itemID=17976&URL=About%20NFPA/Contact%20Us/Fax%20on%20demand&cookie_test=1 and follow the directions.

I found this to be a very handy feature. Plus you will receive some valuable information regarding fire protection. ;)

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October 30, 2009

Using robocopy to copy all files and folders.

Filed under: Technology — Tags: , , , — SpaCeTraNce @ 2:59 pm

Once again this is just for my reference so I don’t have to dig through the /? help file each time I want to copy all files due to windows not reloading.

robocopy /e /r:1 /w:1
Explaination:
/e copies all folders and their files.
/r:1 retries one time if a copy failed
/w:1 waits one second to perform retry

Note:
You will need to use quotations if there are spaces in the directory names. You do NOT need to add a trailing backslash if you do the command will fail.

EG:
robocopy “c:\documents and settings\your name” f:\backup\yourname /e /r:1 /w:1

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October 14, 2009

September 26, 2009

What is deficit spending economics? Will the stimilus plans work?

Filed under: Politics — Tags: , , , , , , , — SpaCeTraNce @ 1:29 pm

“After years of historic deficits, this 110th Congress will commit itself to a higher standard: pay-as-you-go, no new deficit spending. Our new America will provide unlimited opportunity for future generations, not burden them with mountains of debt.” -Nancy Pelosi, 2007

Wow what a contrast in ideology from 2007 to today!!!

What is the deficit?

That’s the amount that the government spends each year in excess of what its tax, tariff, and fee revenues bring in. The government then must borrow to make up the difference. It’s the accumulation of deficits year after year that makes up the total national debt. Source: http://ecedweb.unomaha.edu/ve/library/debt.pdf

What is deficit spending economics?

When a business borrows money to expand we call it deficit spending. When a developer borrows money to build we call it deficit spending. When a person, a business or a government agency borrows money to invest in what it is doing we call that deficit spending. Just as the developer and the business has a plan to invest make profit and pay back the money plus interest therefore the government has to have a plan to prosper and repay the money (in theory).

From what I understand deficit spending economics has its roots in what is called Keynesian economics and Roosavelt’s New Deal. The hope is that with every dollar that the government spends it will produce two, three or four dollars in the private sector.

Harvard economist Robert Barro did a study where he looked at federal spending and the gross domestic product during World War I, World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam. What he found, was surprising, the multiplier effect was 0.8% which meant that for every dollar the government spent 80 cents were added to the GDP. Which means the multipler effect is in the negative, the government was losing money on it’s ‘investment’. Mr. Barro also states, “There are reasons to believe that the war-based multiplier of 0.8 substantially overstates the multiplier that applies to peacetime government purchases.” meaning the multiplier would be even less during peacetimes. So we could being seeing a 50 cent return on every dollar that is spent to ’stimulate’ the economy. Take into account the fact that the government also has to pay interest on all the money that is being borrowed and you end up with a scary scenario. Source: Rober J. Barro, “Government Spending Is No Free Lunch: Now the Democrats Are Peddling Voodoo Economics,” Wall Street Journal January 22, 2009, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123258618204604599.html

In conclusion:

The feds are taking a huge gamble with all this spending. I hope for the sake of our children that they are right (no pun intended). I hope my gut instinct and the views of most of the working, tax paying Americans is wrong.

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September 25, 2009

Converting a FAT32 drive to a NTFS drive.

Filed under: Technology — Tags: , , , , , , , , — SpaCeTraNce @ 11:23 am

There are many reasons to convert a drive to the NTFS files system. I will spare you the reasons and just give you the steps.

NOTE: Once you convert to NTFS you cannot convert back to FAT32/16 without reformatting the drive. Windows 95, 98 and ME cannot read a NTFS drive.

1. Click Start -> Run -> Type “cmd” -> Press Enter

2. At the command prompt type: convert drive_letter: /fs:ntfs

In the example above make sure you replace “drive_letter” with the letter of the drive that you will be converting. Example: if you are converting an external hard drive that you need to backup to you may type convert f /fs:ntfs. If you were converting your system drive you would type(in most cases) convert c /fs:ntfs.

A more detailed explanation of the convert command can be found here.

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September 12, 2009

What are your disappointments in marriage?

Filed under: Life — Tags: , , — SpaCeTraNce @ 6:45 pm

The time was 10:18 we were lying in bed listening to the rain steadily fall on the roof of our small cottage-like house. Suddenly out of no where, Andrea, my wife asks me, “So honey, what are your disappointments in marriage?”. Andrea has a habit of asking random questions. I think her mind wanders around until suddenly there is something to ask… which explains why a lot of the time it is off topic.

So what are my disappointments in marriage… Honestly we have not been married long enough to be disappointed. If I had to come up with an answer to that question it would have to be… Well as I’m writing this she is watching and naming all the things she thinks I would be disappointed in; “She used to always have my lunch made for me before i went to work, dinner on the table when I got home, she can’t get out of bed, she doesn’t do the laundry, she doesn’t make me cookies all the time, she leaves piles of clothes everywhere”. All the things she mentioned have nothing to do with why I fell in love with her in the first place. My love for my wife is not based on what she does for me but rather who she is. I am proud to be the husband of my wife… and for now I have no disappointments.

While my wife and I were courting, a friend and I were driving down the road talking about the future and the past. John said to me, “The day that you quit opening the door for your wife or start walking three feet in front of her, as if you were superior to her is the day you quit deserving her. Always cherish your wife because she is a gift from God”.

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