Showing posts with label Operating System and Utility Installation. Show all posts

Best Desktop Virtual Applications

Today, computers are so powerful that they can run different operating systems within an operating system. This can be possible using a software called desktop virtual applications or commonly called virtual machines. Both Microsoft Windows and Linux have different desktop virtual applications that can run "guest operating systems" within its operating system.

Here, we will show you the different virtual machines that are widely and commonly used. Some may be free and others are not. The free ones are good enough but if you want more of the power of virtual computers, then the paid applications should suffice your needs.


Some Of The Most Common And Widely Used Desktop Virtual Applications


1. VirtualBox (Free / Windows / Mac / Linux)

A free virtual application that can be used in Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms. VirtualBox is very easy to install and contains a huge collection of features. User friendly and can easily be installed with different software. The virtual machine also allows users to mount flashdrives, CD ROMs, and even connect to a network. This is the best desktop virtual application every newbie should try.


2. WINE (Free / Linux)

Wine is a free virtual application for Linux to let Windows-based applications to run within Linux. Though this application is still under development, its goal is to entirely remove Windows API to have other applications that runs under Windows operating system to run with Linux without any problems. As of now, more and more applications which are Windows-based are able to be run inside Linux. That is only possible using Wine. Know more here about the myths about wine.


3. VMware (VMware View: FREE VMware Workstation: Not FREE / Windows / Linux)

VMware is a favorite among many users. It comes in two versions : basic and paid versions. Using the basic version or the VMware View allow users to create and run virtual machines without any need of the added features. If however a user wants to use the more feature packed version - VMware Workstation is available at a reasonable price. VMware Workstation allow users to clone machines, take snapshots, and so many more features.


4. Parallels (Not Free / Windows / Mac / Linux)

Basically made for Mac, it also allows Windows and Linux virtualization. Parallels is also capable of direct link or access to the host pc's hardware resources. Peripheral support, synchronization, file sharing, and others are some of its great features.


5. QEMU (FREE / Linux)

Regarded to be one of the best desktop virtual applications made for Linux based on KVM or Kernal Virtual Machine. What makes QEMU stand out among the rest of the desktop virtualization solutions out there is that it would not require any administrative access to run. It also is capable of directly executing the the guests' codes instruction for the hardware resource to be used.


6. Windows Virtual PC (FREE / Windows)

This may not be your ultimate virtual desktop software as it has limited features fitted for sole Windows user. It allow users to test and install software for operating system-machine backward compatibility. A test whether Vista, Windows 7, Windows XP, or any other Windows operating system is compatible with the current computer having installed with Virtual PC.


These are some of the most common and popularly used desktop virtual applications both free and paid. Personally, I am a big fan of VirtualBox and had been using it for more than a year. Whatever suites your virtualization needs, go and just try any of those mentioned. More virtual machines are going to be developed in some years or even months to come, let us just sit back and wait for the more powerful applications and hopefully still for free.

Installing and Using Virtual Computer - Virtual Box

What Is A Virtual Machine?

A virtual machine or VM is a program (an operating system) that runs other programs within itself virtually. It is compared to as like having a physical computer within a computer. With the use of a virtual machine, we are able to run software or programs to test without risking the main operating system or host operating system. In this setup, a computer with an XP operating system can be installed with a virtual machine software like Microsoft Virtual Machine, Virtual PC, VMware, or Virtual Box, and when deployed it can be installed with any other operating systems like Linux and the other Window's Operating systems. You can then run different programs like you normally do with your computer.

The current setup of my computer is having a host operating system of Windows XP SP2 installed with Sun Microsystem's Virtual Box (which is free) and I had Windows 7 and Ubuntu 11.10 installed in it. So whenever I feel like using Ubuntu, I just open Virtual Box and run Ubuntu in it. You can have this setup too! It is so easy to install and we are providing some steps here on how to install Virtual Box in your computer.

Here's How Virtual Box Can Be So Useful





How To Install A Virtual Machine - Virtual Box

1. Download Virtual Box.

2. Unzip and run the installer, just follow the wizard and click next if your unsure what to do. The installation should be fine by clicking next even without reading its contents and warnings because the default locations and settings may not be changed at all.

3. Restart your computer.


This is how simple to install a virtual machine like Virtual Box. You also use other VM software like VMware or Microsoft Virtual Machine. The best thing with having a virtual machine is that you can easily remove the guest operating system with a click of a button. It also allows us to mount our flash drive, DVD ROM, or even connect to the internet - just like you normally with any computer! Having multiple operating system is really cool and the solution to that is having a virtual machine installed in your computer.

Computer Hardware Technicians' Favorite Tools and Utilities

Looking for some great computer hardware technician's tools and utilities? You came to the right place! Fixing computers requires you to have adequate tools and equipment. That includes primarily your screwdrivers, swap peripherals, test data cables, and installers. However in this section, we will be focusing on the different utility installers or computer technicians call it as "tools".

We do not vouch or sell the said products listed here but we as technicians, find these free and commercial products and brands favored by their performance. Again, we do not promote any of the softwares to be discussed of but rather give an honest opinion on which is right to use.

As a computer technician for almost seven years, I and my computer technician friends found some utilities that are really helpful for every learner out there and that includes you. The products and brands that will be mentioned have nothing to do with marketing or anything. We also encourage that you should use legitimate or licensed products and we hate piracy as much as you do.

If you are a student and wanting to pass computer hardware servicing nc ii, then it is a must to have the tools and utilities. By the way, we have tips on how to pass computer hardware servicing exam NC II in one of our articles.

So here are the most useful products that we feel you must have in your backseat :

1. Driver Packs - Driver packs or Driver Package is a collection of different drivers all "packed" in a single installer (CD or DVD) for easy device driver solution. The drivers included will range from chipsets, video or graphics, sound, modem, ethernet, printer, and much more. The best thing with having drivers packs is that it is handy and greatly reduces the number of cd or dvd installers that you will be bringing when doing onsite troubleshooting.

There are a number of driver packs to download out there but I suggest you to scan it first with an online virus and malware detection website like at virus total. You might as well have your own massive collection of drivers so that you can assure it is virus free. Here are some of the driver packs that we currently use.

Cobra Driver Pack 2011
10,000 Drivers
DriverPacks.net

2. Hiren's Bootable CD/ - This is a collection of freeware and shareware. This is a must for every computer hardware servicing technician. It also includes Mini Xp and Mini Linux where you can choose which of the said operating systems you wish to boot. Other utilities included in Hiren's bootable cd are for data recovery, partition recovery, windows password remover, driver backup softwares, xp and win 7 restoration, disk wiping software, and many other useful utilities.

The best thing with Hiren's is that it can be used both as a boot utility cd and a Windows utility cd too! I have been using Hiren's for quite some time now and I actually have 3 versions of the cd since its first release.

3. BackTrack - This is a very powerful Linux Based (though there are versions working for windows platform) penetration testing tool. Perfect for testing a system's security like sniffing and cracking. This tool is intended for pentest only and not to be used for wifi password hijacking as many do use this tool for evil intentions. Security enthusiasts and professional finds this list to be on top.

4. ERD Commander - A systernal tools specifically tailored for Windows platform. File system rescue and Operating system recovery are some of the features of ERD Commander.

3. Spotmau - A bootable cd used as Windows platform utility. This feature rich bootable cd is perfect for recovering XP and Vista.

4. BartPE - Considered to be one of the oldest and legit boot cd distribution. This has been my favorite for quite a while. BartPE is versatile where you can personally add up some more features or utilities. It is free to download too.

5. UBCD - One of the original boot cd readily available for free. Its collection of utilities are regarded to be one of the best.

The above mentioned tools and utilities are indispensable and essential to every computer hardware servicing technician. We will update this entry once in a while when we get more technician tools and utilities in the future. We are also currently building an utility installer pack for xp and it will be open for download very soon. So enjoy downloading and using these computer hardware servicing technicians' favorite tools and utilities. By the way, computer hardware servicing NC II students should have these tools!

Operating System Installation Checklist


Before installing an Operating System for a System Unit, one must adhere to the fact that not all machines are the same and that will include software and hardware compatibilities. Aside from that, we as computer hardware servicing technicians should be able to establish a strong background in the proper procedure of installing and operating system. In some occasion, a computer technician is satisfied with the plain installation as long as it works fine. As a responsible computer hardware servicing technician, one must consider to use utilities, ensure data security is met and the computer should be properly optimized to make an ease of use for the client. We will be listing down the things a computer technician should do or check upon when installing an operating system.


Operating System Installation Checklist for Computer Technicians

1. The most important thing a computer technician should watch for is to do backup on the files. Files are worth more than the computer you are or will be fixing. It is best to secure the files of your client's computer before beginning a troubleshooting process. Ask your client what files are necessary to backup.

2. Always bring the most crucial tools specially if you are an on-call computer technician. Here are the most important tools or things an on-call technician should always bring.

a. Installers and Utility Softwares
b. External Drive (for backup storage)
c. CD ROM or preferably a DVD ROM much better if it is portable
d. SATA and IDE (both 40 and 80 pin) cables
e. Power Cable
f. PSU Checker
g. Long Philip Screw Driver
h. A set of small screw driver and a torx screw driver set as well
i. A wide bristle brush
j. Tube of thermal grease or paste
k. Rubber eraser
l. Test peripheral like a RAM or a Video Card
m. Penlight

This will all come handy with a backpack

3. Before doing an Operating System Re-installation or Installation, confirm first that the system unit really needs to have a fresh operating system. Check and verify the integrity of the RAM, Video Card, Power Supply, and the HDD before proceeding the installation.

4. After the integrity of the peripheral has been checked and has done a file backup, consider doing a driver backup if there is no Motherboard Support CD.

5. Start the OS installation.

6. After the OS installation is finished, install your motherboard and device drivers.

7. Have your HDD share some of its space for the RAM. This is virtual memory for Windows and Swap file for Linux. In Linux, you set it during installation and in Windows you set it up at the system properties.

8. Do registry optimization.

9. Have Sysedit optimized (works well with XP) by:
a. Press "Win+R" and type in "sysedit"
b. Look for the "system.ini" tab and locate [386enh]. Make a line after [386enh] by pressing "enter" then type "Irq14=4096". Do not include "" and this is CASE SENSITIVE. Save it by going to "File" then "Save".

10. Customize the Start Menu for better navigation and reduce clutter.

11. Install the necessary softwares like MS Office, Media Player Updates, Yahoo Msgr, Google Chrome, Adobe Reader and other programs.

12. Install Disk Defragmenter like SmartDefrag and Registry Defragmenter like RegCure.

13. Delete caching files by:
a. Press "Win+R"
b. Type "Prefetch" then as the windows opens, delete it by pressing "CTRL+A" then "SHIFT+Del".

14. Run Disk Defragmenter. Run it twice then restart your computer.

15. Run Registry Defragmenter. Run it twice and restart your computer.

16. Remove some unnecessary startup items (not harmful to your system)like yahoo messenger, adobe update, skype, and etc by :
a. Press "Win+R" then type "msconfig" as the System Configuration Utility window appears go to Startup tabs and uncheck the items not necessary for startup.
b. Restart your computer.

17. Perform Disk Cleanup by:
a. Press "Win+R" then type "cleanmgr" Select drive to clean. Follow the instructions provided.

18. Set or Create a System Restore Point by:
a. Press "Win+R" then type or copy this "%systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui"
b. Follow the instruction provided then restart the computer

19. Disable AutoUpdates.

20. Install a known good antivirus and restart your computer.


You see, the antivirus has to be installed last. This is the method is being taught and used by the Computer Hardware Servicing NC II students. Hope this Operating System Installation Checklist can help you. Please do comment if you have to add something important to add.

Importance of Registry Optimizers or Registry Cleaners


You must have already heard about registry optimizers or registry cleaners and its effect on a computer's performance? It seems these programs are just hogging up our computers' RAM thus slowing our computer and there you go just waste our money. I personally had that opinion but has drastically changed my mind when I tried using a registry cleaner. Let us know the importance and benefits of having a registry optimizer installed on out computers.


What is a Registry Cleaner or Optimizer?

A registry cleaner or optimizer is a software that fixes registry issues of your computer like empty and broken registry entries since your computer greatly depends on the correct entries and configuration of the registry. An anomaly in the registry can cause unwanted behavior of your computer resulting to slow startups, slow reaction in clicking or opening programs, copying, moving, deleting of files, shutting down and many other undesirable things. This can somehow be FIXED or RESOLVED by running a registry cleaner or optimizer. And So far, the best that I have used and confidently using is regcure.


What are the Benefits of Using Registry Optimizers or Cleaners?

Registry issues or faults are or can be caused by virus infection, malware, trojan, adware, improper installation of programs, program updates, operating system and program tweaks, installation or updates or device drivers, games, chat clients and many other applications. These changes can occur with or without our knowing. With these changes,which most are undesirable can cause as mentioned earlier contribute to general slowing down of your computer's performance or worst can cause your computer to be inoperable.


regcure registry optimizer or cleaner



Are There Free Registry Cleaners or Optimizers?

Yes of course and I have used Eusing before and I find it just fine. When using the free registry optimizer, as observed it has limited capability to resolve registry issues. You may want to try these free registry optimizers first before acquiring a relatively good one. Again, I strongly suggest you choose Regcure. I should be suggesting another registry optimizer or cleaner if Regcure hasn't able to meet my expectations.

Troubleshooting NTLDR Missing in XP


Boot Loader or NT Loader or NTLDR is a program necessary for XP, Win 2003 Server, Win 200, and Win NT 4.0 to boot up or make boot selections. These NT based operating systems requires two files for booting up, namely NTLDR and NTDETECT.COM. If or either NTLDR and NTDETECT.COM is or are missing or corrupted, the operating system reports after POST a text string indicating that your Operating System can't be loaded.


NTLDR Missing Picture


Corrupted or missing NTLDR or and NTDETECT.COM is caused by either hardware or software problem. IF hardware related, the power supply or the hard drive should the most probable cause of the problem. And in some instances, a virus attack could have done the fault.

In order to fix "NTLDR Missing", we will make the process easy by using a utility called Hiren. Hiren is a bootable CD that contains many useful utilities including Mini XP. We will be using Mini Cp in this tutorial thru using Hiren's CD. You must also have your original Win XP installer.


Steps to fix "NTLDR Missing" in Xp

1. Change the boot sequence in your BIOS by pressing DEL or F2 after turning on the computer. Go to the Boot options and make your DVD ROM or CD ROM the first boot priority. Load the Hiren CD into your optical drive and press F10 to save and exit.

2. As the computer boots up it will show you a splash screen with options, choose boot from Mini Xp. Upon booting from Mini Xp, you will actually be using your RAM as the main drive. Wait until Mini XP fully boots up and be functional.

3. In the Mini XP environment you will see that it is not so different with the normal XP. Now go to "My Computer" and locate the drive which you have installed XP which is usually at drive C: by default. Try to browse the files and find both NTLDR and NTDETECT.COM, we will be replacing these files in the next step below.

4. Eject Hiren's CD from the drive and replace it with you Win XP CD. Go to "My Computer" and explore the contents of your Win Xp cd. Got to the I386 folder then find and copy NTLDR and NTDETECT.COM and paste it in your Drive C:. You should replace the existing NTLDR and NTDETECT.COM files of your Local Drive C: from the two files we copied from your Win Xp installer.

5. Eject the Win Xp installer. Restart your computer. You should be able to fix "NTLDR Missing" after.

6. If it doesn't work, please comment so we can trace which part you did miss.

NTLDR Missing NEC LL550 / G

Date Fixed : 05.04.10


Owner: Ms. Jamora
Unit: NEC LL550 / G Laptop
Operating System : Win XP SP 3

Technician: Drokz



PROBLEM :

Upon Boot Up, NTLDR Missing Error appears


CLIENT REQUEST :

File Backup and if possible just to fix the NTLDR problem and retain the settings.


INTERVENING FACTORS:

Support CD is lost

Upon checking the drivers on an NEC site, the site redirects to 121ware.com and it is a Japanese site. Since I can't find the drivers for the NEC LL550 / G Laptop at 121ware.com


OBSERVATION:

Upon turning on the system, it just displays "NTLDR Missing".

Going to Safe Mode ( Pressing f8 on startup ) on startup doesn't help either. "NTLDR Missing" Error still appears.


TROUBLESHOOTING PROCEDURE :

- Fixing NTLDR Missing error can simply be corrected using some 3rd party programs. But in some cases, it might not work. I have known 2 programs that can fix this problem, one if Spotmau and the other is ERD Commander. So I first used Spotmau to try do the trick.

- I loaded in the Spotmau boot cd and waited until the Spotmau environment appeared. And on the Spotmau console, the was an option to fix the system. I opt to roll back the good state of the Operating System but it failed. So I decided to use ERD Commander.

- Upon booting up using the ERD Commander, I tried an option to fix the system. And after awhile upon finishing the fix, the system was booted up on Hard Drive ( cd was removed ) and still the NTLDR Missing Error Still persists. So I finally decided to replace the NTLDR Files using the Win XP Installer.

- To fix the NTLDR files, the files should be replaced. In order to replace or fix the NTLDR files, we need to load in our Win XP SP2 and boot it up ( restart the system )

- You should see after awhile some options to what you should be doing in the set up. Now, I chose "Repair". A minute after, you should be prompted to choose the OS and to supply the administrator password for that installed Operating System. Then, the command line now appears. In the command line, type in "copy e:\i386\ntldr c:" then afterwards copy another file and type in "copy e:\i386\ntdetect.com c:" ( please do not include the quotation and e: should be replaced by the drive letter of your cd rom drive or dvd rom drive ). Please remember that wherever you installed your Operating system ( aside from the default partition which is c: ), copy the ntdetect.com and ntldr files to drive c:. :-) I tried copying the files to drive d: where I installed the Operating System and it DIDN't WORKED.

- After copying ntdetect.com and ntldr from the I386 folder of the XP Installer and booted up the system, everything went running well and the NTLDR Missing problem now resolved.


SUMMARY:

- Using Spotmau or ERD Commander does not always guarantee to fix NTLDR Missing problems. Sometimes, we need to manually do it by copying the ntdetect.com and NTLDR files from the I386 folder of the Win Xp Installer. This can only be achieved in the "Repair" mode of the Win XP Setup environment using command the command line.

- Somehow using Spotmau or ERD Commander makes your job quicker and there are a lot more options to do only Spotmau and ERD Commander can do like System Rollback, File Backup, Driver Backup, and many many other useful tools to play with. :-) You can also try and purchase this guidebook through Amazon to do disk defragmentation, file and system recovery, administrative tasks, and using third party programs effectively.

Computer Boots Up and brings to the Welcome Screen and Freezes

Date Fixed : 04.10.10

Owner : Ms. Elain Rebutante
Processor : Intel 1.8 GHZ PGA
Motherboard : ECS P4-M800
Memory : 256 GB
Hard Disk Drive : Maxtor IDE 80 GB
Operating System : Win XP Sp 2


Technician : Drokz


PROBLEM :

Boots up, then freezes at Windows Xp Welcome Screen. No keyboard response. System can only be shutdown by holding the power button for few seconds.


CLIENT REQUESTS:

Data Backup
Antivirus Installation
DVD RAM Installation


INTERVENING FACTORS:

ECS P4m800 Driver lost.
Possibly Defective Hard Disk ( Clicking sound in the hard drive when the system is turned on )


OBSERVATION :

- Upon turning on the system, the clicking sound of the hard disk is clearly audible. With that unusual sound, any technician can directly point out that it might be defective or most probably be causing the problem.

- As the system starts to show the Windows Welcome Screen, the system freezes and locks the keyboard.


TROUBLESHOOTING PROCEDURE

- First, we need to check if the hard disk is the peripheral that is failing. It is quite obvious that the internal clicking sound indicates a mechanical inconsistency. So I removed the hard disk and restarted the system (computer) to see if the error is really related to that of the hard drive or might be the other failing failing peripherals.

- But upon restarting, the system stalled on POST. The hard disk might not be the cause of the problem.

- So I opened the side cover of the system unit and check for blown or leaking capacitors on the motherboard because these capacitors when they malfunction gives the same problem as observed - system stalling or not no booting up at all. But as I have checked on the mobo, there seemed to be no blown or leaky capacitors. So I decided to check the other peripheral that has capacitors in it - the Power Supply Unit.

- I then removed the Power Supply from the system case. And as I opened the Power Supply Unit, I saw 3 blown capacitors! The Power Supply is practically to be replaced. It is not advisable to replace the capacitors in the Power Supply Unit for it might contribute a chain of troubles to the rest of the components of your computer including primarily your motherboard, hard disk, and your precious CPU.

- An hour after, the requested power supply arrived. After installing the new power supply, the system was turned on and it did not stall at all. It continued the Power on Self Test (POST) and seeks for a bootable disk! At last we found the culprit. I then will try to check the Hard Disk if it is still functional.

- The hard disk drive was then installed back and restarted the system unit. Not a surprise to me, there was an error indicating a disk scan or a scheduled check disk. The hard drive needs to be restored, this might be due to the defective power supply, it already affected the hard disk and should not be long enough be replaced immediately.

-So I turned off the system, installed her new DVD RAM and then run the XP SP2 cd to restore the installed XP Operating System of her computer. ( Restoring the XP OS in not yet covered in tis tutorial - you may ask for information thru commenting here and you will get your answers via email - we will discuss your problem in this blog so others may learn also. :-] )

- After the Operating System restoration, the system works just as fine but I recommended Ms. Elain to buy a new hard disk for her computer. The hard disk will fail any sooner.


REPORT:

- Stalling / Freezing on Welcome screen or on Power on Self Test (POST) was contributed by the defective power supply unit - which in the case of Ms. Elain's Computer, it was replaced.

- A defective Power Supply corrupts an Operating System ( Win XP ) , and even worse your Hard Disk Drive.

Virus Infected | Corrupted O.S.

Computer Owner: DILG
Unit: Full Tower ATX
Computer Description: Intel ® D850MV Chipset
Processor: Intel ® Pentium 4
RAM: 128 Mb (SDRAM)
Operating System: Windows SP 2


Technicians:

Mr. Ronald Suan 09269514596
Mr. Wilson Balbuena 09265150058



Observation:

>”Re-install a copy of the above file (Window root) system32\hall.dll” error report occurs upon bootstrapping.


Troubleshooting Proper:

>Re-installing Operating System (Windows Xp SP 2) without formatting the drives.

>Backup important files (word, excel, power point and other important documents, pictures, video, and others) and save it in a pen drive or other removable external media.

>Re-installing of OS (Windows XP SP 2) and formatting the drives as well as creating of disk partitions {C: and D: where the OS was installed in drive D}

>Applying disk defragmentation for both drives.

>Adding virtual memory and setting up a restoration point.

>Installing of system drivers (audio, video and LAN drivers, printer, Ethernet controllers, etc..)

>Installing of application programs and windows utilities (Windows Office 2003 and 2007, winamp, k-lite codec pack, gom player, adobe reader and others).

>Scanning the flashdrive that contains the backup files in other computer with updated and strong virus removal.

>Copying the backup files back to the freshly installed OS computer.



Trouble(s) Found / Computer Defect:

>OS Corrupted

>Infected with computer viruses namely; Trojan and Worm Agents {found during scanning of the flashdrive for virus removal}


Remedy:

>Re-installation of OS (Windows XP SP 2) and formatting the drives.


Summary:

>The computer was infected with viruses, namely Trojan and Worm Agents which causes the corruption of the Operating System. This is the main reason why the computer cannot boot up properly. In order to solve this problem, re-installation of the operating system without formatting was done in order to have a fresh copy of the operating system file and the virus to temporarily be inactive so we can backup. After the backup process, we re-installed the OS with formatting and now, the computer is functioning well and ready for operation.


Keywords : Virus Infected Corrupted O.S. (Operating System)

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