.Net Geek

If you are running a ADSL or ADSL2 Modem and your internet connection is not working, here are some basic steps which you can follow before calling any techsupport guy.

These Steps worked for MTNL, BSNL, Verizon, AOL and other telecom companies which provide internet connection through a phone line.

Broadly Internet connection does’nt work due to two reasons
1. Your modem is not getting proper signals from the central office or Telephone Exchange.  (No Synchronisation)
2. Connection between your modem and computer is not fine. (No Route)

How to Recognise if there is a No sync or a No Route.
Thumb rule is if DSL or Link or Ready light on your modem is Solid green it means that your modem is in sync with central office and getting proper signals. If DSL or Link or Ready Light on your modem is blinking then its No Sync.

Troubleshooting guidlines for No Sync.
Restart the Modem before doing anything else.
1. Check if there is a Dial tone in the phone line….If not call your phone provider.
2. Check if your modem is connected properly to the phonejack via a phone cable….Try to    swap the ends of the phone cable.
3. Check the modem is connected directly to the phonejack without any filter or splitter thing.
4. There should be a filter on all the analog devices which are working on the same phone line ex. Fax machine, Answering Machine etc. except MODEM (Modem should not be connected via a filter.

TroubleShooting guidlines for No Route.
1. Restart the modem
2. check the physical connection between modem and computer. Ethernet or Data light should be green on your modem

3. Ipconfig -Click Start > Run > Type “cmd” and click OK
and in the black screen type “ipconfig” and hit enter key.

IP Address………..192.168.1.11
Subnet Mask……….255.255.255.0
Default Gateway……192.168.1.1

(if could’nt get these results check the ethernet adapter and try to reinstall the drivers for the ethernet card)

4. Configure Modem.
Open the GUI of the modem by typing the default gateway of the modem in the Address Bar of  IE or any other browser.
Put the Username and password provided by your ISP.

5. Ping google.com or any other website.

Click Start > Run > Type “cmd” and click OK
and try to “ping google.com”
If google is pinging you are good to go online.
If google is not pinging then try to ping google by its IP Address

6. ping 74.125.67.100
if google is pinging by the IP address and not by google.com
then go to Run> type “services.msc”> and click ok
and restart “DHCP Client” and “DNS Client”

7. Check TCP\IP Settings

“Lan connection > Properties > Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)”  and click on “Obtain an IP Adresss automatically”.

8. Reset Socket files….God Command to fix your internet connection!
Click Start > Run > Type “cmd” and click OK
and type “Netsh Winsock Reset Catalog”

and then restart the computer. (This command runs only on windows XP SP2 or Higher Versions)

9. Disable any firewall or any other Antivirus……Happy Browsing.

In this fast paced IT world things are getting smaller, faster and better. Take the example of a pen drive. It’s now an essential component that one techie should have in widget list. So do I, but lately I have stopped using them as they are most vulnerable to a virus or worm. You can make sure that there is no one unwanted living in your hard drives but what about other’s PC, they can have viruses. And I really don’t want that my computer get affected with these things because of a pen drive which is used frequently between various devices for data transfer. Antivirus does help to some extent but seriously I cannot rely on them when it comes on my data security. What make things worst is that a pen drive execute (Autoplay) automatically when inserted into a PC. So here are my few suggestion for all to make sure things don’t run ugly when you use a pen drive.

• Make sure what are copying from a source computer. Try to copy individual files instead of a folder at once. When copying a folder it also copies the hidden content in it which is useless to you and may contain some hidden programs.
• Always copies from a secured network or computer. Source should be trusted and secured with an antivirus. Before copying it is a good idea to confirm with the owner (may be from your friend/colleague) of device if it is virus free.
• Most important, disable the Autoplay on all drives on your PC. To do this follow 1,2,3 –

1. 1. Go to start> run> type gpedit.msc
   2. Select ‘computer configuration’ from the left tree and then go to ->’administrative tempates’->’system’.
   3. In the right panel look for ‘Turn off Autoplay’, Double click on it and Select ‘enabled’ and then select ‘all drives’.

This will disable the auto-play of pen drive when you insert it in the PC. Most viruses attach them with the auto-play program and run automatically unknowingly. So the above steps make you little closure to the secure data transfer to your PC.

Last but not least, you should have an updated antivirus guarding your PC all time.

Happy Tweaking!

All windows services under Windows Os run for a specific purpose and are essential. But these services don’t run free of cost. Any service that runs on your computer requires space in memory and some processor time. By default there are some services that run and not required by all users. This is not a good idea having these turned on if you are not using them and especially if you are low at RAM (say 256 or even less). So it’s better to turn off them. Disabling the useless services will free up some amount of RAM for other applications and for security purpose also. Here I have compiled a list of services that can be disabled without affecting your normal working. Please note that these simple tweaks are most suitable for home users. (If you are using your system at office and have all those server and intranet setup, please stop here.)

Let’s go to services panel, go to Start -> Run -> and type “services.msc” and hit Enter.

Computer Browser
What it does: Maintains an updated list of computers on the network and supplies this list to computers designated as browsers.

This service can be disabled without any issue. Disabling this service still allows you surf internet and connect to a network.

Distributed Link Tracking Client
What is does: Maintains links between NTFS files within a computer or across computers in a network domain.

This service allows you to create a shortcut to a file residing on a different computer under a network. Most users (home or office) don’t use this often. Moreover this requires NTFS file system which is not used by all users.

Error Reporting Service
What it does: Allows error reporting for services and applications running in non-standard environments.

When computer encounter some error it sends an error report with system information to the Microsoft. Simply disable it.

Help and Support
What it does: Enables Help and Support Center to run on the computer.

Windows provide a help feature by hitting F1 key. If you are not one of those who are not using feature frequently, disabling this service would be good idea.

Indexing Service
What it does: Indexes contents and properties of files on local and remote computers; provides rapid access to files through flexible querying language

This service is responsible for indexing the files on you hard drive for frequent searching. If you are using other searching softwares like Google Desktop search, having this turned on is not a good option. Disable it.

Net Logon
What it does: Supports pass-through authentication of account logon events for computers in a domain.

Home users can disable it as they are generally not in a network and even office users don’t require it frequently.

NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing
What it does: Enables an authorized user to access this computer remotely by using NetMeeting over a corporate intranet.

As said above description. It is used for internet meeting when you want to expose your desktop to the remote user. Ask yourself, do you really need this. No? Why don’t disable it.

Network Location Awareness (NLA)
What it does: Collects and stores network configuration and location information, and notifies applications when this information changes.

I don’t think you need this. Go disable it.

TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
What it does: Enables support for NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NetBT) service and NetBIOS name resolution.

You won’t find it useful. Disable this.

Themes
What it does: Provides user experience theme management.

Many users like the classic interface (old style) of windows. Disable this only if you don’t want to use the cool themes of Windows XP (Default Blue/Silver/Green).

Uninterruptible Power Supply
What it does: Manages an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) connected to the computer.

There is no reason to enable this service if you don’t have a UPS that have automatic turn off feature (independent of computer). You can disable it.

WebClient
What it does: Enables Windows-based programs to create, access, and modify Internet-based files.

It’s a perfect crapshoot. Disable it.

Server
What is does: Supports file, print, and named-pipe sharing over the network for this computer.

Require only if you want to share the file and printer over a network. Disabling this wouldn’t disable the simple file sharing. It’s a good idea if a home user disables this.

Smart Card
What it does: Manages access to smart cards read by this computer.

Are you using Smart Cards with your computer? If no, disable this.

SSDP Discovery Service
What it does: Enables discovery of UPnP devices on your home network.

UPnP are external devices that are a part of intranet. Here you don’t need to confuse it with PnP devices. Disabling this would affect your PnP devices.

Remote Desktop Help Session Manager
What it does: Manages and controls Remote Assistance.

Nah! I personally wouldn’t recommend enabling Remote Assistance for security reason. You should disable this service.

Remote Registry
What it does: Enables remote users to modify registry settings on this computer.

Are you Crazy? Disable this without further questions.

Please mind you that the above list is set of settings that I have been using on my home computer for past few months. Luckily or whatsoever, I have not faced any problem till now. In fact, I am happy with the kind of performance I am having on my system. I am usually one of those who always wanted to have information what is running on my system at a given point of time and Why? Disabling the useless services not only save you extra chunk of memory but also good for security purpose. The above compiled list is totally based on my personal experience and I recommend it for other users like me. At last, if you are not ready to troubleshoot problem you are probably not the one who should try it.

Happy tweaking!

This weekend I have added some Technical Interview questions in my site. This part is still in progress. I could have added them much earlier but there was some URL Rewriting problem. Anyway I have published them without using URL Rewrite module.
You can checkout that part here – .Net Interview Questions (removed)

ASP.Net Inverview Question

Vb.net Interview Questions

.Net Framework

If you want to uninstall the windows vista operation system, then you wouldn’t be happy to know that there is no uninstalling option for Windows Vista. Yes, the Windows Vista installation is permanent. You cannot uninstall windows Vista from Add/Remove Programs.  In case of dual boot, most importantly you will have to restore the MBR to what it was before installing Windows Vista. Like in my case, I have windows XP installed on my Desktop PC and I install this Beta Trial version of Windows Vista.
(Windows Vista uses different mechanism to boot the system. Earlier OS have been using NLTDR but in the case of Windows Vista it is BOOTMGR.)
In any case, if you want to remove the Windows vista from dual boot system, follow the following steps I Performed for the same.  Remember it is not a task for faint hearted.
Given below are the steps I performed to remove the Windows Vista from my PC.

1. Boot the computer in to Windows XP.
2. Insert the Windows Vista DVD in the DVD Drive.
3. Go to “Start” and “Run”. Type in “d:\boot\bootsect.exe /nt52 ALL /force” (without quotes, d: is the DVD drive letter.).
4. Restart the computer, and you will notice the boot selection menu is gone.
5. Format the partition/drive where you had Vista installed.
6. Remove two files (Boot.BAK & Bootsect.BAK) on XP root folder (C:)

Note. Bootsect.exe is a utility by Microsoft which updates the master boot code for hard disk partitions in order to switch between BOOT MGR and NTLDR. You can use this tool to restore the boot sector on your computer.

You can type “bootsect /help” for more detailed explanation of usage.

Performing the above step helps in returning to the previous state, when I didn’t installed the Windows Vista.

Here is info about how to activate the songs comes with the Nokia N Series (ME) Mobile phones. I did about 4 hrs of Googling to find it out. To activate the songs in your mobile phone all you need to send a simple SMS message to 5555. In my case (Nokia N73 ME), it is

MAESTRO <secret code>

Send the above message to 5555. Secret code comes with the pack. You need to scratch the code that is printed on the back of pamphlet which has the list of all preloaded songs.
You will receive about 100 notifications from 5555 in your inbox in reply of the above message. They are required for activation of songs. You can delete them without opening. It won’t affect the playback of songs.

The message that you need to send can be differ, it depends on the model of your mobile. For some model it is

LEGENDS <secret code>

You see how easy it was, now groove to the music.