How Long Will SD Cards Last?

Typically flash memory can be read and written 300–600 times. After that it will get unreliable. That being said, the user must be careful and cautious with the way flash memory cards are handled, where they are placed, what they are exposed to, etc. Just like RAM, be sure not to touch the gold bottoms of each card, as that will make it difficult for the cards to be read.

Forgot Your Windows password?

:: Method 1 ::

The easiest way to clear the Admin password in W2K or XP is with the Emergency Boot CD. In fact, download it now and burn a copy – it’s very handy in a variety of Windows crises. [http://ebcd.pcministry.com/]

:: Method 2::  (watch Metacafe.com video showing method)

Assuming you didn’t give the Administrator account a password when you installed Windows, boot into Safe Mode (repeatedly tap F8 when computer is starting up, and choose the Safe Mode option). Enter Windows via the Administrator account. Open up the Start Menu, and open up ‘Run‘. Type ‘cmd‘. The Command Line Window will open. Type (without the quotes) ‘net user [account name] /random’. A new auto-generated password will be given. Use it to enter your account upon rebooting your computer again.

:: Method 3 ::

 At the Windows login Welcome screen, type CTRL+ALT+DEL twice, The administrator account will now be shown, allowing you to enter Windows, assuming you didn’t give it a password when you installed Windows.

:: Method 4 :: (watch Metacafe.com video)

Use the Emergency Recovery Disc to reset an administrator account’s password. Watch the video to learn more.

DVD Movie ‘Freezes’ momentarily Half Way Through

This is normal on dual-layered DVDs. Most commercial DVDs are dual-layered. The pause occurs as the laser changes angle to read the second layer. If a DVD properly mastered you won’t notice the pause, but sometimes it’s difficult to avoid. This is normal and the way dual-layer DVDs are designed, meaning nothing is wrong with the DVD itself. However, if the movie is pausing or freezing throughout the film, the DVD disc itself may be damaged.

‘Run’ Commands

You can simply do a Google search to find many commands to type in the ‘Run’ dialog box. To access ‘Run‘, use Windows Key+R, or left-click the Start Menu, and left-click Run. Here are a couple of examples.

http://home.iitk.ac.in/~sansor/commands.html

http://smartbro.blogspot.com/2006/09/117-run-commands-in-windows-xp.html

Is Your Computer a Zombie?

PCs without virus protection are the most likely to become zombies, but even a protected PC can be infected if its antivirus software’s virus definitions are out of date or don’t properly detect certain compressed files.

If you are inclined to be even more proactive and you have the technical savvy, here are further recommendations
[http://isc.sans.org/diary.php?date=2004-10-11]from handler Deb Hale at the ISC:

“…Has your hosts file been rewritten? C:\windows\system32\drivers\etc

“…Do you have a lot of unidentified connects to the system? – Start – Run – cmd, at the command prompt type                   netstat -an. Take a look at the devices that are listed. Do you recognize all of the ips?

“…If you go into windows task manager (right-click taskbar, choose ‘task manager’) do you see any processes running that you don’t recognize?

“…If you are comfortable with regedit, go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE – software – microsoft – windows – current version. You should see run and run once and run services, (you may or may not see run services). Do you see any entries that you don’t recognize or look suspicious?”