Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2008 February 14

= February 14 =

C++
Can Dev-C++ compiler compile ANSI-C++? Zrs 12 (talk) 02:09, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Dev-C++ is an IDE that uses the gcc compiler. By passing the -ansi parameter to the compiler, gcc will do that (according to the command line help, -ansi is a synonym for -std=c89 for C or -std=c++98 for C++. Edit the project files and add -ansi or -std=c++98 in the extra compiler options. That should do it. -- ReyBrujo (talk) 02:18, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Ok, thanks! Zrs 12 (talk) 02:34, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

Cannot Format Jump Drive
After I plug it in, it lights up and an E: drive shows up in "My Computer." When I try to click on the drive, I get a message to format it. I get the warning about deleting all my files, but agree anyways. However, it pops up a "Cannot Format" message. Also, when I run the error checking thing under the Properties>Tools menu, the box disappears, but nothing actually happens. Finally, I should note that on that same Properties menu, the disk size shows up as 0.

How can I get it to work? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Kuanche (talk • contribs) 02:45, 14 February 2008 (UTC)


 * Think of a train with many cars; each one connected to the car before and after it. You are using a user-level program to get the operating system to get the computer's hardware to talk to the USB system to reach the controller chip in your jump drive in hopes of getting access to the memory chip and then maybe the data in the chip.  Whew!
 * A little thought will tell you pretty much where this train is broken: between the controller chip and the memory chip. The controller chip is willing to talk to your computer, but it is unable to talk to the memory chip.  You can double-check this by testing another jump drive; if it works then everything in your computer is good, it's a breakdown inside the jump drive itself.  Unless you do microminiature circuit board repair, there aren't a lot of choices here. (Caveat emptor: fixing such devices long enough to get files back is what I do for a living, so my opinion may be biased) -SandyJax (talk) 17:09, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

Firefox bookmarks backup
Is there anyway I can back up the bookmarks in Firefox in plain links? When I open the bookmark file in notepad or Word it gives me a bunch of junk. I only have to make a copy of some of my bookmarks for a project at school, yet the rest of my folder is huge, and the project folder isn't small either, but I suppose I could copy/paste the addresses manually if I had enough time. 67.188.81.158 (talk) 03:54, 14 February 2008 (UTC)


 * If you select Bookmarks/Organise Bookmarks, then File/Export, you can save them as an HTML page, from which it would be easy to extract the ones you want. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 07:57, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
 * You could also try Foxmarks http://www.foxmarks.com --Christopher Kraus (talk) 01:06, 18 February 2008 (UTC)

Repair Office 2003
When I installed MS Office 2003 I had two hard drives - C: and G: and I have subsequently removed the G Drive. Office still works fine, except that updates fail to install (if I plug in the old G drive then they succeed). Problem is I have since wiped and reused the old G Drive, so I doubt this route will help in future. If I try and reinstall,repair or "detect and repair" I just get the error that G:\ cannot be found - unable to proceed. How can I stop it from looking for the old installation so that I can set up a clean installation just on C: ?--196.207.47.60 (talk) 04:02, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

Did you customize the installation settings in any way? Was it a "default" installation? Kushalt 12:55, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

Changing the title of an article
How do I change a title of an article? I just realized I labeled it slightly wrong... —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mooney 06 (talk • contribs) 06:07, 14 February 2008 (UTC)


 * When you have become an established user (3 days IIRC), you will have an extra button on top of each page labeled "Move", and from there you can move articles, thus renaming them. In the mean time you can put the current title of the article and the title you want to change to, and someone from here will do it for you. --antilivedT 06:48, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

Graphics card
which is better onboard graphics or Nimda GeForce Graphics card —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sedai lunga (talk • contribs) 08:47, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Generally speaking, any onboard graphics card is inferior to any currently available ATI or Nvidia card. -- Meni Rosenfeld (talk) 09:28, 14 February 2008 (UTC)


 * nVidia are currently considered the standard graphics card for gaming... depends on what you want. But, yes, as noted by Meni, onboard graphics card are only for low stress applications etc. For gaming and other high demand programs you'd want a GeForce card :-) Scarian Call me Pat  09:47, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Only recently- don't forget ATI, which has been sitting on the back burner lately but is just as good if you don't want the insane $1200 cards D\=&lt; (talk) 16:22, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

PDAs and e-books
I'm looking for a PDA, only for reading e-books in it. Any suggestions? --Taraborn (talk) 09:01, 14 February 2008 (UTC)


 * List of e-book readers? :-) Scarian Call me Pat  09:45, 14 February 2008 (UTC)


 * Unfortunately those devices are expensive, bulky and non-versatile. I think a PDA fits better my needs. --Taraborn (talk) 10:06, 14 February 2008 (UTC)


 * Category:PDAs perhaps? Scarian Call me Pat  10:18, 14 February 2008 (UTC)


 * Yes, those articles are informative but hardly answer my question, I'd rather hear someone who has some experience with PDAs for this purpose. Thanks for your answer, anyway. --Taraborn (talk) 10:46, 14 February 2008 (UTC)


 * Oh, I do apologise... I was just hoping that maybe you could run your own comparison and decide for yourself. Sometimes a PDA that suits someones needs might not be suitable for the next person... Sorry I couldn't be of any more assistance, friend. Scarian Call me Pat  11:10, 14 February 2008 (UTC)


 * I guess you didn't understand my last point, but, never mind. Perhaps somebody else has something to add. --Taraborn (talk) 16:27, 14 February 2008 (UTC)


 * I believe the Sony CLIÉ PDAs were considered good for that purpose. Since they are no longer in production, you'd have to search for a used one (which should make one fairly inexpensive).  -- LarryMac  | Talk  17:00, 14 February 2008 (UTC)


 * PDAs good for ebook reading are ones with black-and-white screens. Unfortunately, I don't think anybody makes one anymore. --Carnildo (talk) 21:33, 14 February 2008 (UTC)


 * I would definitely go for one that uses electronic ink if you're going to be reading full-length books on it. --Sean 22:56, 14 February 2008 (UTC)


 * I use iPAQ hx2700. I read *a lot* of books on it, and only occasionally do I play any games. I chose this model because it had better battery and was cheaper than similar models. But this was 2 years ago. Dunno if this would still be the best choice. And if I understand electronic ink devices correctly, you cant read them in full dark, when I found my iPAQ excellent for reading in full dark. For example while riding bus or train during night. &mdash; Shinhan  &lt;&thinsp; talk &thinsp;&gt; 17:40, 15 February 2008 (UTC)


 * Thanks! --Taraborn (talk) 19:15, 17 February 2008 (UTC)

Answer plz
Which system is faster? Please explain in detail why.First A(Processor Celeron Dual Core 2 GHz, Ram 1024 MB,Monitor 17 inch,Printer 3 in 1 lexmark,Modem GPRS 384kbps, HD 120 GB and onboard graphics) or second B(Processor Celeron 3 Ghz,Ram 1024,monitor 21 inch,Printer laser Hewlett,PCI Modem 56kbps,HD 80 GB and Nimda GeForce graphics card —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sedai lunga (talk • contribs) 09:04, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
 * This depends entirely on what you want to do with it. I'm not sure the correct question is which is "faster" since there are many measures to the quality of a system other than speed. It will also help if you specify which Nvidia Geforce card system B has. -- Meni Rosenfeld (talk) 09:31, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

Mozilla password
Does anyone know how to get Mozilla Firefox to automatically fill in a password? I'm on a proxy server and whenever I go on to a new page I have to click OK to the password several times. Is there any way I can get Firefox to fill this in instantly without asking me? I have searched the Internet but found nothing. Thanks in advance, WikiwikiJimBob. Wikiwikijimbob (talk) 11:40, 14 February 2008 (UTC)


 * Have you tried: Tools --> Options ---> Security? - There's the password options there. Scarian Call me Pat  11:42, 14 February 2008 (UTC)


 * The "remember passwords for sites" button doesn't work in this instance. I can't see any option that would work. Using a master password requires me to put that in and then to OK the proxy server's username and password. I hope that there is a way of doing it because Firefox is so much of a better browser than Explorer (and it's safer too). If you know a way to make it work, please let me know. Thanks again, Wikiwikijimbob (talk) 14:40, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
 * The Novell Bordersomething captive portal does some magic to prevent standards-complaint browsers from auto-filling the input boxes. IE just breaks that behavior because it's broken.. but your proxy login might be doing the same thing D\=&lt; (talk) 17:40, 14 February 2008 (UTC)


 * Check to see if  is present in the form tag in question. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 21:05, 14 February 2008 (UTC)


 * Where do I find the  bit? That might help. Thanks for your help so far. By the way, when I use IE I have to put the password in once and then it doesn't require it again. I didn't know if that would help solve the problem at all. Thanks again, Wikiwikijimbob (talk) 09:07, 15 February 2008 (UTC)


 * Sounds more like you're not accepting cookies- check your browser settings. The autocomplete though, go to view -> source and hit forward slash to search, then type that in D\=&lt; (talk) 14:49, 15 February 2008 (UTC)


 * I'll try that. Thanks for your help, everyone. I'm not going to be on that server for a week or so, but when I am I'll give those techniques a go. I'll let you know if it works or not. Thanks again, you've all been a great help. Wikiwikijimbob (talk) 19:02, 16 February 2008 (UTC)

Hard drive noise, and performance with external case
Hi. I'm using a WD1500ADFD, but bothered by its noise. I am considering putting it in an external case and placing that case in a more remote location. Should I expect to see a decrease in performance if the case connects to the computer via USB 2.0? What about if it connects using eSata? Is there any other simple solution to the noise problem? Thanks. -- Meni Rosenfeld (talk) 12:12, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
 * something like this perhaps http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7139401.html - couldn't find a product though - or better http://www.acousticpc.com/noise_reduction.html which has real foam products.
 * Even as an USB acolyte I can't provide any evidence under any conditions that it will be as good (let alone better than eSATA) eg slower List_of_device_bandwidths87.102.115.36 (talk) 13:10, 14 February 2008 (UTC) .. USB=Slower


 * Also found this (try "hard disk noise reduction" search for others) http://www.quietpc.com/gb-en-gbp/products/harddrivesolutions/quietdrive87.102.115.36 (talk) 13:14, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Ok, thanks! -- Meni Rosenfeld (talk) 13:57, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
 * ADVERT! I use exclusively flash based usb storage - which is fine if like me you think 8GB is a lot of memory. Ignoring any published numbers I've found much faster than any disc based storage and the silence is golden.. you just need a time machine set to +5 years to go buy your 128GB sd card ( class 4 ) for a realistic price.87.102.115.36 (talk) 14:04, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Well, I do think that 8GB is a lot of memory, but unfortunately, the people who make software and multimedia seem to disagree. I'm not really into sd cards myself, but I do plan to buy an SSD in a year or two, when hopefully they will be available in native 3.5" form, in a modest size (just for the most important stuff) at a reasonable price. -- Meni Rosenfeld (talk) 14:25, 14 February 2008 (UTC)


 * Incredible that we can fit 8 GB on a chip small enough to accidently inhale. Eventually we can probably just store data on nano-sized ships and just pour some goo into our PCs to get more storage. SSD are not a good purchase as of yet, because you pay more per gigabyte than a normal drive. But soon they will be a dime a dozen. I also recommend you mount the hard drive with rubberbands, it works wonders with the noise if you do it right. However, do it wrong and bad things will happen. 206.252.74.48 (talk) 19:35, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
 * "...mount the hard drive with rubberbands..." and "....o it wrong and bad things will happen..." Can you be a little more clear?  What bad things?  How do you do it right or wrong?  -SandyJax (talk) 17:14, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

Laptop network cables
Do laptops normally have network / ethernet jacks? Can you buy some sort of adapter for a laptop which doesn't have one? Would it connect via PCI cards or usb? Thanx xxx User:Hyper Girl 12:33, 14 February 2008 (UTC)


 * Most laptops from the last few years probably have Ethernet jacks. Laptops do not usually have PCI slots. You would probably get either a USB adapter or a PC card adapter. --Spoon! (talk) 12:38, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Thanks Spoon, I'm thinking of buying a new laptop so I'll be sure to check. Any links for the USB adapter? xxx User:Hyper Girl 13:43, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Try search "usb ethernet adaptor" they are v. easy to get - I'd provide a link but I don't know what country your in.. Amazon sell them, everyone does.87.102.115.36 (talk) 13:50, 14 February 2008 (UTC)


 * Belkin sells a USB-to-Ethernet adapter that works and is relatively inexpensive.


 * Atlant (talk) 13:52, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Thanks guys! xxx User:Hyper Girl 13:55, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
 * I'm going to toss out an arbitrary number and say that about 95% of modern laptops have a ethernet port. The Macbook Air is one the rare exceptions, but even tiny, inexpensive ones like the ASUS Eee PC have the port. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 21:00, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Also your laptop probably has at least one Mini PCI slot, though it's for internal things, nothing with jacks. D\=&lt; (talk) 17:38, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

HTML (Picture Fading)
Alright. Let's say I was editing a previously made HTML code for a background. Said background has a code on it that makes pictures seem somewhat faded. What exactly should I be looking for in order to delete this thread to make everything vivid and regular?

If you need me to post the code I shall. —Preceding unsigned comment added by EWHS (talk • contribs) 14:54, 14 February 2008 (UTC)


 * First, this page is asking questions about Wikipedia. You should ask computer (HTML) questions at WP:RD.  Second, HTML does not have the ability to fade images. --  k a i n a w &trade; 14:58, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
 * er, dude, this is RD.... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 195.194.74.154 (talk) 15:07, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Man - I jumped pages without realizing it. One minute I'm looking through WP:HELP and the next I'm here.  I need sleep. --  k a i n a w &trade; 15:09, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
 * You should be looking for a script (javascript code) " " that makes some reference to "fade". Shouldn't be too hard to find. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 195.194.74.154 (talk) 15:10, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
 * here is an example  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 195.194.74.154 (talk) 15:14, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Well, yeah, how is it doing it exactly? Is it using some odd Internet Explorer-only attribute to do it, or CSS, or something weird? It might be helpful to post what you're looking at. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 21:08, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
 * It's just CSS to get the transparency effect: for another example and CSS code see here. JavaScript is needed for fading in or out: it just gradually changes the opacity. Both IE and Firefox support it, with varied CSS parameters. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 21:22, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
 * It should just be CSS, but I recall there being some weird IE-only HTML attribute that does this as well. Hence it may be helpful if the OP posts the section of code in question. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 07:55, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

Microsoft Word question
Is there any character symbol for a check-mark? I can never seem to find it when I scroll through their 8 million other symbols. They have symbols for everything under the sun ... I can't imagine that they don't have such a common symbol as the check-mark. The best I can find is the square root symbol ... but that is not exactly a check-mark. Does anyone know? Thanks. (Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 17:36, 14 February 2008 (UTC))


 * There is one in the Wingdings font set. I was able to put it into a Word doc by using the charmap utility.  I don't know how to type it directly.  -- LarryMac  | Talk  18:01, 14 February 2008 (UTC)


 * In the Wingdings 2 font, upper-case Q and R give a crossed and ticked checkbox respectively. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 18:54, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

Microsoft Excel question
Is there any way to "hide" a value --- so that the spreadsheet uses the value in computations, but does not print it out? If so, how do you do that? And also, if so, how does the author know (later on) that there is a hidden value in the spreadsheet ... so that he does not accidentally erase it? Thanks. (Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 17:36, 14 February 2008 (UTC))
 * Perhaps you should explain in a little more detail what it is that you are after. It is possible that what you need is to use a name - you define a formula for the name in the name editor, and can then reference it in cells or other names. You can also hide an entire row or column; so you can put some formula in a cell, hide its row, and then reference it in other cells. Or you can just set the cell's foreground color to white so its value will not be visible. There are probably other tricks as well. -- Meni Rosenfeld (talk) 17:56, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Oh, I didn't notice the "so he does not erase it" bit. My first two suggestions should satisfy your need. -- Meni Rosenfeld (talk) 17:58, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Yeah, you can either change the font color to white or you could put the reference in a cell that would print on a different page and only print your main page. Useight (talk) 18:46, 14 February 2008 (UTC)


 * Meni's first suggestion would probably be my preference for a single value, but if you have more than a couple it might be better to put them on a worksheet that you then hide(Format/Sheet/Hide). This guards against accidental changes but makes it easier to see the values and change them if necessary. If you want to make it more secure you could use a macro to make the worksheet "very hidden", which means it won't show up in the list if you do Format/Sheet/Unhide. However, it's pretty much impossible to guarantee total security in such situations. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 19:00, 14 February 2008 (UTC)


 * If you click on cell properties you can hide and lock cells. Fiddling around the with "Protection" options should allow you to make it so that everything is editable except for a select number of cells. --140.247.11.3 (talk) 00:38, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

Mac OS X kext
Hi all,

does anyone know an small and open-source kext for any wired network chip? I want to port the tigon3 network driver to mac os and need somethin' small to start...any ideas?

88.64.89.40 (talk) 18:18, 14 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Not something I've done before but here are a few links that might help:, ,
 * Good luck, &mdash;Noah 00:49, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

A song i found on youtube
i was watching a video that my friend sent me and i was wonder what that song is rite after the guy in the blue shirt breathes fire. when the song that i want to know what its called comes on there is a guy spining in circles and is say 360 vision on the screen. thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.235.169.189 (talk) 20:40, 14 February 2008 (UTC)


 * You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) --tcsetattr (talk / contribs) 21:55, 14 February 2008 (UTC)


 * Incidentally, the line "Shut up, will you shut up!" is Graham Chapman as King Arthur addressing Dennis the Peasant in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Took me a moment to work that out; I thought first of the Travel Agent Skit (in which Mr Bounder says something similar to Mr Smoketoomuch), but Chapman wasn't in that one.  —Tamfang (talk) 05:46, 19 February 2008 (UTC)