Power Supplies

The computer’s components would not be able to operate without power. The device in the
computer that provides this power is the power supply (Figure 1.36). A power supply converts
110 volt or 220 volt AC current into the DC voltages that a computer needs to operate. These
are +3.3 volts DC, +5 volts DC, –5 volts DC (ground), +12 volts DC, –12 volts DC (ground),
and +5 volts DC standby. The 3.3 volts DC and +5 volts DC standby voltages were first used
by ATX motherboards.
FIGURE 1 . 3 6 A power supply

Power supplies are rated in watts. A watt is a unit of power. The higher the number, the
more power the power supply (and thus your computer) can use. Most computers use power
supplies in the 250- to 500-watt range.
Classic power supplies used only three types of connectors to power the various devices
within the computer (Figure 1.37): floppy drive power connectors (Berg connectors), AT system
connectors (P8 and P9), and standard peripheral power connectors (Molex connectors).
Each has a different appearance and way of connecting to the device. In addition, each type
is used for a specific purpose. Newer systems have a variety of similar, replacement, and additional connectors.

Expansion Slots

Fig:1.4




The most visible parts of any motherboard are the expansion slots. These look like small plastic
slots, usually from 3 to 11 inches long and approximately 1⁄2 inch wide. As their name suggests,
these slots are used to install various devices in the computer to expand its capabilities. Some
expansion devices that might be installed in these slots include video, network, sound, and disk
interface cards.
If you look at the motherboard in your computer, you will more than likely see one of the
main types of expansion slots used in computers today:
 ISA
 PCI
 AGP
 PCIe
 AMR
 CNR
Each type differs in appearance and function. In this section, we will cover how to visually
identify the different expansion slots on the motherboard.
ISA Expansion Slots
If you have a computer made before 1997, chances are the motherboard has a few Industry
Standard Architecture (ISA) expansion slots. They’re easily recognizable because they are
usually black and have two parts: one shorter and one longer. Computers made after 1997
generally include a few ISA slots for backward compatibility with old expansion cards
(although most computers are phasing them out in favor of PCI). Figure 1.4 shows an example
of ISA expansion slots.
PCI Expansion Slots
Most computers made today contain primarily Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI)
slots. They are easily recognizable because they are short (around 3 inches long) and usually
white. PCI slots can usually be found in any computer that has a Pentium-class processor or
higher. Figure 1.5 shows an example of several PCI expansion slots.
AGP Expansion Slots
Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) slots are very popular for video card use. In the past, if
you wanted to use a high-speed, accelerated 3D graphics video card, you had to install the
card into an existing PCI or ISA slot. AGP slots were designed to be a direct connection
between the video circuitry and the PC’s memory. They are also easily recognizable because
they are usually brown, are located right next to the PCI slots on the motherboard, and are
shorter than the PCI slots. Figure 1.6 shows an example of an AGP slot, along with a PCI
slot for comparison. Notice the difference in length between the two.
PCIe Expansion Slots
The newest expansion slot architecture that is being used by motherboards is PCI Express
(PCIe). It was designed to be a replacement for AGP and PCI. It has the capability of being
faster than AGP while maintaining the flexibility of PCI. And motherboards with PCIe will
have regular PCI slots for backward compatibility with PCI.
FIGURE 1 . 5 PCI expansion slots


FIGURE 1 . 6 An AGP slot compared to a PCI slot

There are seven different speed levels for PCIe, and they are designated 1X, 2X, 4X, 8X,
12X, 16X, and 32X. These designations roughly correspond to similarly designated AGP
speeds. The slots for PCIe are a bit harder to identify than other expansion slot types because
the slot size corresponds to its speed. For example, the 1X slot is extremely short (less than an
inch). The slots get longer in proportion to the speed; the longer the slot, the higher the speed.
The reason for this stems from the PCIe concept of lanes, which are the multiplied units of
communication between any two PCIe components and are directly related to physical wiring
on the bus. Because all PCIe communications are made up of unidirectional coupling between
devices, each PCIe card negotiates for the best mutually supported number of lanes with each
communications partner.
AMR Expansion Slots
As is always the case, Intel and other manufacturers are constantly looking for ways to
improve the production process. One lengthy process that would often slow down the production
of motherboards with integrated analog I/O functions was FCC certification. The
manufacturers developed a way of separating the analog circuitry, for example, modem and
analog audio, onto its own card. This allowed the analog circuitry to be separately certified
(it was its own expansion card), thus reducing time for FCC certification.
This slot and riser card technology was known as the Audio Modem Riser, or AMR.
AMR’s 46-pin slots were once fairly common on many Intel motherboards, but technologies
including CNR and Advanced Communications Riser (ACR) are edging out AMR. In addition
and despite FCC concerns, integrated components still appear to be enjoying the most success
comparatively. Figure 1.7 shows an example of an AMR slot.
CNR Expansion Slots
The Communications and Networking Riser (CNR) slots that can be found on some Intel
motherboards are a replacement for Intel’s AMR slots. Essentially, these 60-pin slots allow
a motherboard manufacturer to implement a motherboard chipset with certain integrated
features. Then, if the built-in features of that chipset need to be enhanced (by adding Dolby
Digital Surround to a standard sound chipset, for example), a CNR riser card could be added
to enhance the onboard capabilities. Additional advantages of CNR over AMR include networking
support, Plug and Play compatibility, support for hardware acceleration (as opposed
to CPU control only), and no need to lose a competing PCI slot unless the CNR slot is in use.
Figure 1.8 shows an example of a CNR slot.
FIGURE 1 . 7 An AMR slot

FIGURE 1 . 8 A CNR slot

Get rid of a Spyware carrying program that won’t uninstall

The uninstaller that comes with a malicious program isn’t likely to do much good. Still, you might run it with Revo Uninstaller a freebie that launches an app’s own uninstall function and then scans the hard drive and registry for left over’s. if that doesn’t work, try to manually delete the program file or folder. If Windows won’t permit that, check out cedrick collomb’s free unlocker . once you installed, unlocker comes up automatically when Windows refuses to delete , move or rename a file or folder; or you can launch it from the file or folder’s context menu. It also shows you that you what processes are hanging on to the culprit and lets you kill them. You can also try Windows’s system Restore.

In windows XP, select start>all program>Accessories>System tools>>system restore> choose restore my computer to an earlier time, and then click next. Pick the earliest restore point available, and follow the prompts.

In Vista, Click start>type rstrui and then press, Select choose a different restore point, click next and check show restore points older than 5 days. Click next, finally, pick the earliest restore point you see available and follow the prompts.

If that fails to solve things, run system restore in safe mood reboot your PC and press just before Windows loads. At the resulting menu, select safe mood with Command prompt and pick your operating system. At the command prompt type C:\windows\system32\restore\rstrui (just rstrui in vista) press and then run system Restore from there.

Still can’t get rid of the various thugs? Try hijack this ( adwarefixit.com ) a free utility that creates a very technical report on your system’s suspicious windows behavior. You probably won’t be able to make heads or tails of it, but plenty of Internet forums exist where friendly people can help you decipher Hijack this reports and can recommended a course of action.

In nothing else works, reformatting your hard drive is the last, desperate measure to take, but back up all of your data first. In fact, if you already have a full backup of your data, make an extra backup anyway, the more the safer.

Livescribe Pulse Rewrites Note Taking

The pulse “smartpen” from Livescribe is part pen, part recorder, and part nothing you’ve ever seen before.

The pulse records sounds through integrated stereo microphones and then creates audio notes that it “ties” to your written notes. The device works with special notebooks and ink cartridges; the paper bears scarcely noticeable dot patterns that provide a reference grid. This allows the pen to jump to specific moments in your note-taking history and playback audio or voice notes recorded at that time.

To record audio while you write, you tap the printed “record” button at the bottom of your sheet of paper .when you are done recording, you tap “Stop”. The pulse records audio with surprising clarity and directional precision: the pen’s on-board microphones performed well in my tests.

Livescribe gives you two ways to playback notes.

One is to tap a printed pattern at the bottom of each page, bringing up the menu on the pen’s OLED screen. You then select the day and time of audio to play back.

The second way to play back audio is by tapping written notes in your notebook’ when you do so , you can hear the audio that was recorded at the exact moment you wrote those notes. This feature is extremely useful for recording shorthand notes and interviews.

Once you plug your pen into its USB cradle and connect it to your PC, you can se a page-page achieves of your notes. From there you can us the desktop app to listen to and manage your voice recordings.

The software is well designed, but it lacks an optical character recognition mode for converting your handwriting into text. The Livescribe pulse may have limited appeal, but it’s certainly innovative and a whole lot of fun to use.

Speed up AVG Free Antivirus

The latest version of AVG free (www.avg.com) does more than detect viruses; it has stronger protection against malware and malicious sites. But one of the new security tools, link scanner, can bog down some PCs. Link Scanner checks Google, MSN and Yahoo searches results for exploits or phishing expenditures. The tool disguises itself as an Internet explorer component so that malware programs can’t detect it and hide from it.

If link scanner is a drag on your PCs system resources, you can remove it by downloading and reinstalling AVG Free. When installation starts, chose ADD/remove components, click next for a list of components, uncheck Link Scanner, and finish the process.

You will probably need to reboot, and make sure to do a manual update to grab the most current virus definitions. To suppress any annoying warnings that link Scanner isn’t working , choose tools, Click Advanced settings*ignore faulty conditions ,check the Link Scanner check box and click OK. If you still aren’t happy with AVG try Avast Home Edition.

How do You get Windows to stop asking you for a password when you boot your PC?

Windows requires a log-in pas word for a reason: to protect you. If some one else can log in as you. They may be able to send out e-mail under your name, access your encrypted files, log in to Websites as you, and even make purchases using your credit card number.

You can protect yourself from the worst of those offenses without log-in passwords at other times. For instance, you can set up your e-mail system to require a password, and you can keep sensitive files in a True Crypt vault, but giving up the log in password removes a layer of security.

Still, if only trustworthy people have access to your PC, and if you take the right precautions, turning off Windows native password protection probably won’t do you harm.

Turning the password off is simple: select start* Run (Just start in Vista) type control user passwords2 and press uncheck users must enter a user name and password to use this computer .when you click OK or apply. A dialog box will ask you which user should be logged on automatically. Entering your name and password this onetime will free you from having to type them in again.

Load up Free Apps for Your 3G iPhone

If you want to save cash by loading, great free programs on your new toy. Here are some suggestions.

Air Me: (airme.com)This utility enables you to upload digital photos directly from your iPhone to your flicker account. Snap a pick with your iPhone camera, and Air Me geotags it (if yoy want it to) and posts it on your flicker page within a minute. The process is much easier than emailing iPhone pics to you and then uploading them manually.

AOL Radio: want to listen to tunes when your flight is delayed in Phoenix? AOL Radio scratches that itch, to the tune of more than 350 radio stations from across the United States. It’s an audio –streaming App that works staggeringly well even at the slower EDGE speeds.

Evernote: (evernote.com) Save notes, photos, and voice recording to a web storage platform that you can access anywhere, with every note. If you are planning on using your iPhone to take a lot of notes or to snap a bunch of pictures while you are out and about, this App is must –have.

Google Mobile App: think of it is Firefox 3’s “Awesome Bar” for the iPhone. This search –bar –on steroids not only suggests popular query matches for you once you type in a few letters , but also searches you phone for any contact names that start with the same letters. Tapping a search result launches it in a browser window, and tapping a contact name lets you message or call that person.

Pandora: (pandoara.com)Thanks to the iPhone version of the free music site, you may never need to use the iTunes Music store again –as long as you like your music to play randomly. Just enter an artist’s name, press the crate button and listen as your selected artist and similar acts play in no particular order.