About Technology

4 Simple Tips To Fix A Scratched Cd Or Dvd

Written by oneself on 6:48 AM

by: Shalini Agarwal

In this article I will be showing you four little known tips to fix scratched CD or DVD and recover the data within, Every user has had trouble with a scratched CD or DVD. The theory goes like this - A CD/DVD reader or player uses a laser beam to read the data on the disk. This laser beam crosses the protective plastic layer and reads the real recording metal layer. If the protective plastic layer is scratched, the laser will be unable to pass resulting in non-readable disc. In the case of data CDs the CD/DVD reader is unable to read the CD/DVD properly resulting in reading errors while in case of audio/video discs, the CD player skips when we play it.

If somehow we manage to re-smooth this protective layer then the laser will reach the data and read it, now there are many ways we can achieve this using common household item’s as discussed below:

1). Toothpaste - Yups! Toothpaste is our very first scratched CD/DVD fixer, you can use any non-gel based toothpaste for this, just put a very small amount of it on the scratched area and polish it gently using a cotton swab, sometimes the paste may cause new minor scratches but they are just superficial. Now just wash the cd using water.

2). If the above trick does not work try some metal polish like Brasso gently wiping with a soft cotton ball followed by application of Vaseline.

3). Baking Soda - make a small quantity of baking soda paste and apply using a soft cotton cloth buffing the bad scratch. Clean the baking soda before using the disc.

4). You can also try using some oil as a polishing agent this also works many times.

There are many daily use products that can be used to get the cd working just keep on experimenting, please note that you must take special care while using the above tips as

About the Author:

Shalini Agarwal is a regular content supplier for various blog's, this articles was written for technology news blog Megaleecher.net - The one stop portal for all the latest, freshest and most interesting stuff on internet.

Article Source: www.iSnare.com

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Challenges in Recovering Deleted Email

Written by oneself on 1:15 PM

by Steve Burgess

Both computer forensics experts and data recovery technicians seek to recover deleted data. Data recovery is primarily interested in bringing back files, while computer forensics tends to dig deeper, looking not just for deleted documents, but also for metadata (data about data - such as file attributes, descriptions, dates, and other information) and meaningful snippets of unrecoverable files. One area of particular interest is email.

When most documents are written to a computer's hard disk, each newly created document has its own directory entry (what the user sees as a listing in a folder). If a file has been deleted, but has not been overwritten by another document, the recovery process is a relatively trivial part of e-discovery or of data recovery. But when the data of interest is from deleted email, the discovery process is likely to differ significantly from that of data recovery. Individual emails are stored differently than individual files. Different types of email programs store data differently on the user's hard disk and require different schemes for finding useful information. As a result, the deletion of emails and recovering of deleted emails differs not only from that for other types of documents, but also between different types of email programs.

There are three main types of email in common usage - Microsoft Outlook (often paired with a Microsoft Exchange Server), text-based email client programs, and web-based email, or webmail.

In Microsoft Outlook, all emails are kept in one large, encrypted, non-text file - the PST, or Personal Folders file. Outlook has additional functions and additional content as well. There is an integrated address book, multiple mailboxes, a calendar, and a scheduler, all of which are contained in the PST file. When one looks into a PST file with a file editor or word processing application, there is little or nothing intelligible to the human eye. The file content looks like nearly random characters.

In general, the PST file must be loaded into Outlook to be read. When an email is deleted, or even when it is purged, it may be kept within the body of the single large file, but become inaccessible to the program. Some deleted emails may be recovered by manipulating the file though a manual process, repairing the resultant file, and then loading back into Outlook.

Text-based email programs include Microsoft Outlook Express, Qualcomm Eudora Pro, Mozilla Thunderbird, Macintosh Mail, and others. In text-based mail applications, each mailbox has its own file, and all emails from a given mailbox are kept in that one file. For instance, there is likely to be a single file for all of the emails in the Inbox, one for all in the Outbox, one for each user-generated mailbox, and so on. The mailbox files are primarily text files, When an individual email is deleted, the text may be "orphaned," or released from the body of the file, but may still be recoverable as a file remnant that may contain the body of the email as well as information such dates, times, and sender.

A standard data recovery process would not recover such deleted email as the mailbox that had contained them may still be intact - just not still holding the deleted email. Part of electronic discovery would include searching the unallocated (when a file is written, the operating system allocates a specific area of the hard disk to that file. When the file is deleted, that space is de-allocated, and is referred to as unallocated space) portion of the hard disk for specific terms or phrases that are likely to be within the body of suspect emails. A search may also be performed for email headers that are also text-based. The resulting data may then be gathered and displayed as text files. A third form of email is Web-accessed email. Many, if not most, commercial email providers offer the user the opportunity to access email via a web browser. America Online is another email provider that generally does not store email on the user's computer by default. Email is stored on a remote computer, or distributed across many remote computers, that may be any place on the Internet. As these computers host hundreds or even millions of users and their email, the storage of such email is extremely dynamic. When emails are erased in such an environment, remnants of individual emails and files tend to be overwritten quickly and repeatedly. There may be some remnants found on the user's computer in a Virtual memory or a buffer file, however. The recent US Attorney's scandal highlighted the use of such web-based email (see Why Email Matters: the Science Behind the US Attorney Scandal, by Steve Burgess). http://www.nowpublic.com/why_email_matters_the_science_behind_the_us_attorneys_scandal

There is always a chance that remaining deleted files, or remnants thereof may be overwritten. Due to this possibility, it is best to immediately turn off any computer where the recoverability of data is in question. The longer the computer remains in use, the greater the likelihood of useful data being irreparably destroyed. If a user's computer is likely to be used or inspected during legal matters, or if document discovery is expected, the computer should be turned off to avoid spoliation of evidence.

If precautions are taken once a file is deleted, the file is likely to be recoverable. The same is true of email. While deleted or trashed email may not be recoverable as a complete mailbox file, the content of said email and its metadata might be discoverable or recoverable through the different methodologies available to computer forensics specialists.

About the Author

Steve Burgess is a freelance technology writer, a practicing computer forensics and e-discovery specialist as the principal of Burgess Forensics, and a contributor to the upcoming Scientific Evidence in Civil and Criminal Cases, 5th Ed. By Moenssens, et al. Mr. Burgess can be reached at www.burgessforensics.com, or via email steve@burgessforensics.com

source:www.goarticles.com

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Here Are Some Things That Might Cause Monitor Problems

Written by oneself on 4:46 PM

By: Victor Epand

Recently thin horizontal bands (grey in color) have appeared on my screen. When I'm in Internet Explorer, these bands coincide with the text displayed on the screen (even when i am typing this question). Also, the 'Back' button which is green appears nearly fluorescently green instead of the usual green.

If this problem appears, You can try replacing the monitor data cable. It probably won't amount to anything useful, but it could be the cable. If it isn't, I'd say just get a new monitor because it is definitely a manufacturer hardware problem. Definitely try to test a different monitor out before you buy a new one, because if the other monitor is fine then you've singled out the problem.

The monitor only will run on default mode and it won't let me adjust resolution, and can't play games and can't even download sbc virus protections. I would suggest that you re-install the video driver, or download the most current from dell.com. I am assuming that you are using windows and know how to adjust your desktop settings. If you do not, then right click on your desktop, and select propertys, and then settings. You will then be able to select a higher resolution. If you can not, then, Select advanced, and then the monitor tab.

Verify that the monitor is listed correctly, if not go to the HP website, and look for the correct driver for the monitor, and download and install it. This should open up your choices for resolutions, color depths and refresh rates.

When I first boot the computer the monitor works fine, however, after a short time it goes blank (flickers then goes blank-gray). If I give it a whack or two on the top with the palm of my hand the display reappears and stays on without any further interruption. Is there something loose or stuck closed inside the monitor?

Please don't do anything to your display anymore, you can cause more damage. The issue is that a solder joint has failed on the pc board within the display. Most repair centers, TV or Computer, can repair this type of issue fairly cheaply. I would recommend doing this as soon as you can, since the intermittant failure can cause other issues.

My pc system is 18 months old and has been running perfectly on Windows XP. The last 4 days the monitor has switched itself off and on repeatedly when the system is booted up. The on/off button on the monitor doesn't function; it just lights for 1 second, then the screen flicks on for 1/10 second then it switches off, light on switch included, for another second. It will do this for hours. Nothing seems to help; rebooting (difficult if you can't see the screen), disconnecting power to the monitor. Then, suddenly, the screen appears and the monitor functions perfectly.

Is this a monitor or cpu/system issue? The pc has full service cover but the company who would repair the cpu say its a monitor issue and pass me to the monitor company while the monitor company say its a cpu issue and will not exchange the monitor.

If I understand your description correctly, the monitor will restore its self if you unplug it. That being the case I would suspect that the driver for your video card is suspect. I would try downloading the latest drivers for the mother board, video card, and monitor. If this fails then either the Monitor has its lowest resolution decoder chip failing or the video card is failing. The reason the monitor is flicking off and on is that it is not sure that it is getting a vertical and horizontal signal from the PC. It then goes into shut down.

The only reason this may be an errant diagnosys, is that the led on the front of the monitor, "Light", turns off as well. If it is turning amber or yellow, then this is the correct diagnosys, and the video card is likely the cause. Also be sure that the data cable from the monitor to the PC is fastened tightly to both connectors if you have connectors at both ends, if not at the PC.

Article Source: http://www.kokkada.com

Victor Epand is an expert consultant for www.BuyRAM.info/ , a computer memory Super Store. BuyRAM.info carries an excellent selection of computer memory, notebook memory, and digital camera memory for every type of computer, notebook, and digital camera on the market. Click Here to Search for System Memory by selecting the make and model of your system.

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Backups for Business: RAID

Written by oneself on 5:01 PM

Intel Matrix Storage RAID can be an important part of a multifaceted approach to protecting your business data.

Richard Morochove

There are two types of businesses: those which have experienced the gut-wrenching loss of valuable computer data, and those which will.

Unfortunately, not all businesses take adequate precautions to protect their operations from data loss. According to a recent Office Depot publication on disaster preparation strategies for small businesses, 20 percent of them do not back up their data. The study states that a company that cannot access its business data for longer than 48 hours is unlikely to fully recover from the outage.

Home Backups not Suitable

A weekly or monthly data backup may be entirely adequate for a home PC, but it falls short when it comes to protecting business data. While a home user may be inconvenienced by losing a few days' worth of e-mail messages and having to wait three or four days for a PC to return from the repair depot, a business will suffer more severe financial consequences.

If a business has no way of entering customer sales orders, issuing invoices, or managing its operations without access to its computer data, any outage that lasts more than a few hours will deliver a blow to the bottom line. How can you protect your business from this loss without spending a fortune?

The Perfect Data Backup

A perfect data protection technique should back up data speedily, conveniently, automatically, and at a reasonable cost. It should safeguard against all reasonably possible causes of data loss, from the failure of a single hard drive to a fire that destroys the office and the computers within it.

A RAID (redundant array of inexpensive, or independent, disks) setup can back up data quickly, in the blink of an eye. But RAID doesn't protect against accidental deletion of data, nor does it safeguard against a disaster that destroys an entire computer, such as a flood.

Daily backups to a tape drive or to an external hard drive provide some protection against accidental deletion of data. However, this technique backs up less frequently and requires more time to complete--sometimes several hours--than RAID. Also, it still doesn't help if a disaster destroys your building.

Periodic rotation and transport of backup tapes or external hard drives to offsite storage will protect against theft or destruction of the premises. But physical shuffling of storage media is neither convenient nor automatic.

Internet-based systems that transmit backups to remote data centers are convenient and can be configured to operate automatically. However, if your business has dozens of gigabytes of important data, a full backup can take days to complete, even over a broadband Internet connection. Monthly service fees can be pricey.

Combining Backup Techniques

If there's no one perfect data backup technique, do you just throw up your hands and hope a disaster will never strike?

Not at all. You can build a good data backup system by using more than one technique. This belt-and-suspenders approach to data protection relies on the strengths of one backup technique to offset the weaknesses of another.

Implementing multiple backup techniques will cost more than using just one. However, the value of your business data will almost certainly justify the additional cost.

Fast, Affordable RAID

I'll be addressing different backup options in more detail over several columns. But for immediate and constantly renewed data backup I can think of nothing better than using a RAID array of hard drives to store both data and important programs on your server or PC.

RAID is less expensive and easier to set up than ever. Until recently, you needed to purchase a special card to set up a hardware-based RAID array. In addition, migrating to a RAID array from an existing hard drive involved a not-insignificant risk of data loss.

Now, many new PCs come with a drive controller with RAID capabilities, whether or not it is advertised. Computer makers don't often undersell and over-deliver in this way, but I believe some do so in this case because they are concerned about the cost of supporting RAID migrations.

Intel Matrix Storage

Intel's hardware-based implementation of RAID works with recent versions of Microsoft Windows including 2003 Server, XP, and Vista. A number of popular hard drive controllers made by the chip-making giant support the technology.

To implement Intel's RAID, you must install at least one additional hard drive and load Intel Matrix Storage Console management software, which you can download for free from Intel's Web site. The site lists the supported drive controllers and includes complete installation instructions.

Fault-Tolerant RAID

A comprehensive discussion of all RAID options is beyond the scope of this column. But make sure to select a method that offers fault tolerance through data redundancy, such as RAID 1 (often called mirroring), RAID 5, or RAID 10. RAID 0, sometimes called data striping, provides no safeguards for your data; rather, it's intended to improve performance.

Implementing RAID 1 requires adding an additional hard drive of equal or greater storage capacity than the drive you already have on the PC or the server you wish to back up. If you have one 250GB hard drive, for example, you'll need to install another with at least 250GB capacity. These days, such drives are relatively inexpensive (see our latest top 10 internal hard drives chart).

Intel's Matrix Storage Console makes it easy to migrate from a standard single hard drive to a RAID 1 array with two hard drives, within 3 hours. Data on the existing hard drive is preserved. You can continue to use the PC during the RAID migration, though operations will be slower until the process is complete.

RAID 1 can noticeably improve data-retrieval performance for dual-core PCs, since information can be retrieved from either mirrored hard drive. There is no significant improvement when saving data, however. The only RAID migration drawback I have noticed is that you may need to reregister some apps, such as Adobe's Creative Suite.

When a Good Hard Drive Goes Bad

If one hard drive crashes in a fault-tolerant RAID setup, its data is safely stored on the other hard drive(s) in the array. It's a simple matter to restore normal operations.

Recently my computer froze after one hard drive failed in a RAID 1 array. Rebooting the computer required more time than usual, almost 15 minutes. However, the second hard drive took over and the computer operated normally, with no evidence of data loss.

To restore the data protection offered by RAID, I needed to install another hard drive to replace the failed device.

RAID Rocks

Performance-wise, it's hard to beat the ability to return to normal computer operations after a hard drive failure in just 15 minutes. My added cost for RAID protection was about $100 for the second hard drive and cables.

I will discuss complementary backup techniques that offset RAID's weaknesses in a future column.

Richard Morochove is an IT consultant and writer. Send him questions about using technology in your small to mid-sized business via e-mail. PC World may edit your query and cannot guarantee that all questions will be answered.

source:www.pcworld.com

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