Hack the registry to download Vista SP1 Beta

Vista Service Pack 1, still in beta, has been released to selected beta testers. If you can’t wait for the final Service Pack (I don’t care what’s your reason), here’s a tip to get it. This is from ghacks.net, and several site reports that this simple registry tweak is fool proof at the time of writing this post – unless MS finds a way to fix it.

Downloading Windows Vista Service Pack 1 from Windows Updates:

• Download Windows Vista Service Pack and unpack it to your system.
• Run SP1Beta_Hack.cmd with administrator privileges and Windows Updates afterwards. It should show KB935509 which you should download and restart afterwards.
• Run Windows Updates again, it should display KB937287. Download and restart your PC afterwards.
• Run Windows Updates for a third time. Download the now appearing KB938371, restart your computer.
• Finally, visit Windows Updates again and you should see the Service Pack 1 Beta for Microsoft Windows Vista available for download.

Removing the Evaluation Copy message:

• This is fairly easy to accomplish. Run watermark_fix.reg first
• Rename user32.dll.mui to user32.dll.mui.old in C:\Windows\System32\en-US\
• copy user32.dll.mui from the archive to that location
• Reboot Windows Vista

Warning: Do not blame me or this blog if something bad happened to your system. I’m just posting what I’ve digged on the net.

Managing Passwords

Here are some other suggestions, culled from a range of sources, for devising passwords that are both secure and easy to remember:

• Use the calendar. Type in the month, year and a few letters to identify the account, such as “sep06Budgt.” The following month, change “sep” to “oct.” No repetitions. No-brainer.
• Add characters. Take the name of the account or website, then add, say, the last four digits of a familiar phone number (though never your own). That might produce “bizblog9485.”
• Use mnemonics on random passwords. If you get a password assigned, don’t change it — just find a way to remember it. Say you got “4tgGw39DK.” That could become, “For the great Google warrior 39 Donna Karens.” Not poetry, but say it a few times and it turns into a mental tattoo. You can get random character strings from free online utilities like Passnerd.com and BizFormBar.com.
• Combine small, misspelled words. To make a password easier to remember, use words starting with the same letter and perhaps related meaning (hyheihallo), then perhaps capitalize the first letters (HyHeiHallo) or break the words up with numbers (Hi1Hei2Hallo3), or substitute numbers for some letters (h1h3ihall0).
• Use first letters of a phrase. “mygolfhandicapis6,” for example, would become “mghi6.”
• Devise a code. Nothing techy here, just a simple scrambling system. For example, if your password phrase is “MyHandicapIs6,” move one key to the right for each character: “
• Keypad scramble. Take a name or phrase you can easily remember, then type it using the phone keypad. “MyHandicapIs6″ could become “my4263422747six.”
• Scramble words. For instance, alternate the letters of each word, so “MyHandicapIs6″ could become “MHI6yasndicap.”
• Use special keys. Hold down the shift or alt key as you type part of your password. With the Alt key down on every third character, our handicap password becomes “my·anðicåpis§.”
• Add spaces. Assuming the company’s or website’s password protocol allows it, it’s a good way to foil dictionary searches. You might have “myhan dicapi s6.”
• Remove vowels. “Mhndcps6.”

Aside from these tips, you can also download free program such as  Acerose Password Vault. You install it on your computer, create one strong password that logs you into the program, then the software automatically generates and/or remembers all your other passwords.

Read full article: CBC News

How to use more than 1GB RAM on 32-bit Linux

“640K ought to be enough for anybody.” — Bill Gates, 1981.

Nowadays, many machines are running with 2-4 gigabytes of RAM, and their owners are discovering a problem: When they run 32-bit GNU/Linux distributions, their extra RAM is not being used. Fortunately, correcting the problem is only a matter of installing or building a kernel with a few specific parameters enabled or disabled.

The problem exists because 32-bit Linux kernels are designed to access only 1GB of RAM by default. The workaround for this limitation is vaguely reminiscent of the virtual memory solution once used by DOS, with a high memory area of virtual memory being constantly mapped to physical addresses. This high memory can be enabled for up to 4GB by one kernel parameter, or up to 64GB on a Pentium Pro or higher processor with another parameter. However, since these parameters have not been needed on most machines until recently, the standard kernels in many distributions have not enabled them.Increasingly, many distributions are enabling high memory for 4GB. Ubuntu default kernels have been enabling this process at least since version 6.10, and so have Fedora 7’s. By contrast, Debian’s default 486 kernels do not. Few distros, if any, enable 64GB by default.

Read full article: here

Remove the dust inside your computer

Computer owners, when was the last time you cleaned your computer especially the inside of your computer case? Haven’t tried or afraid to tinker the inside? Technibble published an interesting article on how to clean the inside of your computer case.

Computers have moving parts such as fans on their CPU’s, Power Supplies, Video Cards and in some cases, on the case itself. Each fan is important for the smooth operation of the computer because they keep the system cool. Should Dust, Cigarette Smoke (which forms a paste when in contact with dust) or Pet Hair clog up one of these fans and prevent it from spinning, can cause those parts of the computer to overheat and become damaged.

In light of this, cleaning a computer is something that should be done every 6 months to a year.