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Dual-Booting Windows XP and Vista
—Neil Randall, freelance writer
Just when you have Windows XP working exactly the way you want, along comes Windows Vista. You want the new OS, but you need to keep the old one as well. Do you need to buy a new PC?
No way: Dual-boot instead.
Dual-booting means installing two operating systems on your computer and, at start-up, choosing which one to launch. Each OS runs independently of the other, with its own settings and its own installed programs. You can install two or more instances of Microsoft Windows XP or of Vista, or any combination of Win XP, Vista, Linux, and older Windows versions. But right now, I'll focus on how to add Vista to your existing Win XP system.
Before starting, you need either a separate partition on your hard drive or a separate drive; if you install Vista on the partition where Windows XP is already installed, Win XP will no longer run. Open My Computer, and make sure it shows multiple hard drive icons (one for each partition). Now check whether the second partition has enough space for Vista (at least 20GB to 30GB if you plan to install major programs). If not, or if you don't have a second partition, start with step 1 to create one. Everyone else can skip right to step 2. — next: Step One: Set Up Partitions
1 Set Up Partitions
Partitioning programs such as Norton Partition Magic makes partition creation and management reasonably easy. Use the Resize command to shrink your existing partition and then the Create option to make a new one. After a reboot (which can take some time) your new partition will be in place. — next: Step Two: Install Vista
2 Install Vista
At this point, you install Vista, either from within Win XP by inserting the Vista disc and letting Autorun do its thing, or by inserting the disc and rebooting the system (as long as your PC is configured to read the optical drive before the hard drive).
Choose Installation Type
You have two main tasks during the installation. First, on the "Which type of installation do you want?" screen, choose Custom; selecting Upgrade changes your Win XP installation into Vista, which of course won't result in a dual-boot environment. Then, on the subsequent screen, you have to tell Vista where you want it installed; this is where you choose the new partition.
Start It Up
After that, just wait for the installation to finish. Your PC will reboot itself more than once, and with each reboot you'll see your new Boot menu, with Earlier Version of Windows at the top and Microsoft Windows Vista—highlighted—next. Use the arrow keys to select the OS you want to load, and press Enter. — next: Step Three: System Check
3 System Check
The installation process warns you if you select a partition on which you already have Windows installed. If that happens, click Cancel and choose the correct partition. — next: Step Four: Tweak It
4 Tweak It
Once Vista is installed, you can configure the Boot menu. But where earlier versions of Windows conveniently used the boot.ini file to store boot details, Vista uses the Boot Configuration Data (BCD) store—bcdedit.exe from the command prompt—and this utility is stunningly unintuitive. You're better off downloading VistaBootPro (www.vistabootpro.org) or EasyBCD (www.neosmart.net), both of which give you a GUI environment to work with. — next: Finally, Two Warnings
Finally, Two Warnings
1 The BCD provides a more robust start-up environment for Windows, but the downside is that if you want a multiboot system, you must be sure to install Vista last. If you put Vista on a machine and install Windows XP afterward, Vista won't start, because Boot.ini, which Win XP adds automatically, will render the BCD useless (although you can recover it by running the fixntfs.exe utility from within Win XP).
2 Even when your Win XP/Vista machine is happily dual-booting, one problem remains. As you work in Vista, the System Restore utility automatically creates restore points—and you can create them yourself—that let you launch the system in a previous state and recover from errors. But when you exit Vista and launch Win XP, the older OS deletes the Vista restore points.
WHAT IS HDTV !
High definition television is a new digital form of television. To be really straight to the point, HDTV just looks much better then old fashioned TV. Comparing TV with HDTV is like comparing for example a cassette tape to a CD, or a VHS tape to a DVD. The higher quality is because of the sharper images that can be displayed on a special HDTV. Furthermore the TV-signal of HDTV is digitally compressed; this allows it to contain more information.
HDTV resolutions
The quality and sharpness of an image shown on a TV heavily depends on it's resolution. Standard television (NTSC) uses a resolution of 720 by 468 pixels. Basically HDTV comes in three types of formats:
-1280 x 720p (720p)
-1920 x 1080p (1080p)
-1920 x 1080i (1080i)
P and i stand for progressive and interlaced. Progressive means each frame contains a full picture, interlaced means that every frame displays all odd lines or all even lines. Interlaced frames succeed each other so rapidly that you will not notice the missing lines. Nevertheless Progressive scanned images often look better compared to interlaced ones.
Digital Television and HDTV
Digital television is an enhanced form of analog television. It is compressed digitally in order to send and receive more detailed information via the same 6Mhz cable. Therefore you need a decoder to decompress the digital signal it receives and send it to your (HD)TV. HDTVs have a digital receiver built into the TV itself. If you have a normal TV or a so called, "HD-ready"-TV, you will need to have an external receiver to decompress the signal. Digital television does not mean it is automatically HDTV; just some forms of digital-TV are HDTV. Like a pigeon is a bird, but a bird is not necessarily a pigeon. This is as simple as it sounds, but a lot of people tend to mix things up when they get misinformed or overloaded by information.
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In the eventuality that your computer will have a Operating system problem, it could be very helpful if you regularly backup your registry files. If you have a backup of your registry files, it could enable faster recovery of your computer. It is also a good practice to make a backup if you are installing new software. There are some utilities to easily accomplish this task. Contact Voda for more information.
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Saving Office 2007 Documents in Compatible Formats
The default format for saving files in Office 2007 are far different from the default formats for saving files in earlier versions of Office. If you save a file in Word 2007 using the default document format (.docx) and e-mail it to someone who is still using Microsoft Word 2003, they will not be able to open it.
That's because this new file format is not backwards-compatible . So if you're the only one at work using the newer version of Office and everyone else is using something else, you'll need to change the default format to something your colleagues can open and work with. In this instance, you'd choose the Word 97–2003 format. A file saved in this format will be fully compatible with previous versions of Word.
The same is true of other Office applications. In Excel for example, the new default file format for saving a workbook has an .xlsx suffix. Again, this format is not compatible with earlier versions of Excel.
To change the default choice for saving files in any application:
- Open any Office application. In this example, we'll use Excel 2007.
- Click the File button and click Excel Options.
- Click Save in the left pane.
- For Save files in this format, select Excel 97–2003 Excel Workbook, as shown in Figure 7-6.
- Click OK.
Note that unlike the previous settings for a Skin and for ScreenTips, you need to change your default file format for each program individually. That is, selecting the "Excel 97–2003" setting won't make Word also save its files in the Word 97–2003 format.
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If there is a topic that you would like to see covered in a Voda newsletter please email us at
newsletter@vodagroup.com
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Are you ready for a new printer or multifunction product? HP provides you with three replacement models for each older product sku. Click here to learn more!
See brand new, amazing 3D views that make using maps more exciting than ever.
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Strategies for Maximizing the Life of Your Hard Drive:
By Alex Bezborodov
If I asked you the question: which part of your computer is the most fragile, what would you say? What if I asked: which part is most important to you?
Often, the answer to both of these questions is your Hard Drive.
Your hard drive is likely one the most important things you own. It contains work data, school data, emails, photos, music, movies, tax information, etc… Incidentally, the hard drive is also one of only two moving components in your computer (the other being your optical drive). The following is a list of important maintenance and monitoring techniques you can use to maximize the life of your hard drive and prevent data loss.
Hard drives are physically fragile – handle with care Statistics show that 25% of lost data is due to a failure of a portable drive. (Source: 2001 Cost of Downtime Survey Results)
Contrary to its seemingly rugged appearance, your hard disk is a very delicate device that writes and reads data using microscopic magnetic particles. Any vibration, shock, and other careless operation may damage your drive and cause or contribute to the possibility of a failure. This is especially relevant for notebook users, as they are most at risk of drive failure due to physical damage, theft, and other causes beyond their control. That’s why we recommend regular backup of notebook hard drives, as often as possible.
Possible solutions include external USB or Firewire drives (although these are prone to the same risks), desktop synchronization, or backup at a data center through the web.
Hard drives write data in a non-linear way forcing it to become fragmented.
When files accumulate on your hard drive, they do not just get written in a linear fashion. A hard drive writes files in small pieces and scatters them over the surface. The fuller your hard drive becomes and the more files you save and delete the worse file fragmentation can be. Hard drive access times increase with fragmentation since your drive must work harder to find all the pieces of the files. The more fragmented your data is, the harder the actuator arm has to work to find each piece of a file.
A case in point: Disk fragmentation is a common problem for users of Outlook Express and database software. Each time outlook saves new mail, it does so in a different physical location from the previous time. This results in extreme fragmentation, causing longer hard drive access times and forcing more strain on the heads. This strain can eventually lead to a head crash, and often that means a virtually unrecoverable drive. Finally, in the event of a total crash, a fragmented drive is much more difficult to recover then a healthy defragged drive.
Luckily, Windows makes it remarkably easy to defrag your hard drive, simply launch the Disk Defragmenter utility (Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools), choose which disk or partition you’d like to defragment and set it to work overnight or while you are not actively using your computer. Defragmentation will speed up your computer and ensure a longer life for your hard drive.
A very small power surge can fry a hard drive – use a UPS and turn off your computer when you can
Another little-known fact about the fragility of your hard drive is its susceptibility to electrical failure. An electrical failure can be caused by a power surge, lightening strikes, power brown-outs, incorrect wiring, a faulty or old power supply, and many other factors. If a power surge enters your computer, it may do an unpredictable amount of damage, including destroying your hard drive’s electronics or crashing the heads and possibly resulting in total data loss.
The best way to protect your computer from such dangers is to use a highly rated protected power bar or an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS). Although these devices won’t eliminate the chances of a crash, they will serve as effective protection in most cases. Also, you can minimize the danger of an electrical problem and reduce wear of your hard drive by turning off your computer or using power-save modes whenever possible. It’s a known fact that 100% of drives fail, the question is when will it happen and will you be prepared? Make sure to check out the knowledgebase section of our website for more detailed information on how electrical power affects your computer.
Be SMART, monitor the health of your drive to prevent unexpected crashes
All modern hard drives have a self-monitoring technology called SMART (Self Monitoring Analysis & Reporting Technology). What most people don’t realize is that the majority of hard drive failures do not have to be unexpected. Most failures occur as a result of long-term problems which can be predicted. By regularly monitoring disk health and performance, you can know about potential hard drive problems before you lose any of your data.
Several excellent utilities are available, including DiskView and Stellar SMART for standard IDE and SATA desktop drives. Also available are tools that monitor the health of SCSI drives and full RAID Array systems. Ariolic Software offers a great utility called ActiveSMART.
The only fool-proof way to prevent data loss is... Backup!
If you only take one of the suggestions here to heart, let it be this one: always back up your important data. After all the monitoring and all the prevention measures are in place, one fact still remains: all hard drives fail. Backing up regularly will ensure that you’re never caught without your critical data. For individuals, the simplest solutions include external portable hard drives, dvd’s, and online storage. For businesses, we recommend renting space at a secure data centre and implementing a disaster recovery plan, regardless of the size of your business.
I hope that the above techniques give you some idea of the importance of hard drive maintenance and provide some insights in how you can protect yourself from data loss.
Cleaning a Laptop LCD Screen
One of the most common things I get asked is how to safely clean a laptop screen. By far the best way is to use a microfibre cloth. These can be found cheaply on Ebay or in the shops and do an excellent job. Here's how they work....
Microfibre cloths do an excellent job of picking up dust and removing smudges. They will even remove oily fingerprints from a surface without spreading it around and without any additional cleaners. They are environmentally & economically friendly by reducing money spent on cleaners, paper towels and trash that has been generated.
Please note: Treat any of the following screen types as you would an expensive camera lens, using high quality cleaning materials and tested techniques.
- LCD screens are not glass! The LCD surface is made of a soft film that is vulnerable to scratches, damage by sharp articles and/or improper cleaners.
- Most cathode ray tube (CRT) type monitors have anti-glare coatings to help reduce reflections; scratches and/or harsh cleaners can damage this surface.
- Many large screen and projection type TV's have a screen that is made of a plastic or acrylic type material. These type screens require special attention to clean properly and safely.
- Plasma screens are made of glass substrate but are usually coated for glare reduction.
- Glare reduction add-on screens are coated for reduced reflection.
- Most HDTV's have surface coatings for glare reduction.
As you can see, most screens have an anti-glare coating that can be permanently scratched, so make sure your cleaning cloths do not contain any sand or grit that could damage the screen surface.
The following instructions are good, general and safe methods for keeping your screen clean without causing surface damage. Use your Microfibre screen cloths and do not apply excessive pressure.
The most common type of screen cleaning is dust on the surface of the screen. Use the microfibre screen cloth without any type of additional cleaner for everyday type screen dusting.
For more stubborn dirt, smudges and/or fingerprint removal, use the orange microfibre screen cloth sprayed with water or moistened under the tap.
Turn off your monitor or screen. This is a safety issue; also, it is easier to see the screen surface against the dark background.
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I have a printer hooked up to one computer on my network that I want to print to from another computer. Is this possible and if so, how do I do this?
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Yes this is possible and generally fairly easy to accomplish this . Connecting a printer to a computer and sharing the printer from that computer is the most common solution for sharing a printer. The negative of this setup is that the host computer must always be on in order for the printer to work. This is the easiest and cheapest solution for sharing your printer between all the computers on your network.
Microsoft Windows 2000 / XP Only
- Open the Windows Control Panel which is usually located on the start menu.
- Double click on the "Printers" icon. Sometimes it is named "Printers and Faxes".
- Make sure that you have the printer already installed on the host computer.
- Right click the printer icon and click Properties. Once you are in the properties window, click the Sharing tab and make sure the printer is shared. Please make sure to name the printer something that is easy to remember.
- On the computer that you want to add the printer to, Open the Windows Control Panel
- Double click on the "Printers" icon. Sometimes it is named "Printers and Faxes".
- Double-click the "Add a printer" icon.
- Once in the Printer Wizard click the Next button to get started.
- Select either "A network printer, or a printer attached to another computer" or "Network Printer" and click Next.
- Type the name of the printer's network address. This will be the name of the computer and the name of the printer. If the host computer is called "Voda" and the printer is called "Lexmark" then the network path for our printer would be: \\Voda\Lexmark.
- Once the path has been typed in click Next.
- Windows should automatically connect to the printer and install the printer. You may be required to install the drivers for the new printer on the new computer before completing the installation.
After these steps are completed, you should be able to print to your printer as long as the host computer is turned on.
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