Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2009 March 3

= March 3 =

IE 6.0: don't want to get forwarded to Dell
Whenever my old Internet Explorer version doesn't find a link target, it redirects/forwards to some annoying Dell-sponsored website. It's worst when it's not even about the main URL that I'm trying to open, but just some useless ad. For example, when I'm trying to open Merriam-Webster, I'm getting forwarded to this website: ''http://www.google.com/hws/dell-usuk-rel/afe?hl=en&channel=us&s=http://ad.turn.com/server/ads.htm?&pub=3817658&code=3817716&cch=3817687&lw=500&lh=20&l=0x0&tmz=5&area=-1&rnd=0.21679996499640325&lmd=1236041915&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.merriam-webster.com%2Fdictionary%2Fbla&ref=

Any way I can convince IE to never redirect/forward to that Dell website again?

I'm probably using IE 6.0 (the "number" is much longer and continues with strings etc.), and run it under Windows XP on a Dell computer. The problem has gotten much worse since I've started using a hosts file to block ads (works beautifully in Firefox and Opera, but not in this old IE version)... anyways, there *must* be a way to switch off the auto-forwarding? Thanks!! --Thanks for answering (talk) 01:06, 3 March 2009 (UTC) PS: Thanks for typing your response slowly--I'm not exactly computer-savvy.


 * Try editing your Internet Options (e.g. "Control Panel > Internet Options"), Advanced Tab, and disable "Search from the address bar."   This is one possible cause for the redirection.  Nimur (talk) 07:32, 3 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Sorry, I've tried and it didn't help. Any other suggestions? --Thanks for answering (talk) 07:37, 4 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Try options > advanced and turn off "show friendly HTTP error messages" or something with a similar name. -- Tcncv (talk) 07:45, 4 March 2009 (UTC)


 * I did a google search on the terms "mistype URL search dell" and turned up several useful pages including this page which instructs users to look for an uninstall a program called "Browser Address Error Redirector". -- Tcncv (talk) 08:00, 4 March 2009 (UTC)


 * It's to do with Dell branding of their PCs and all the crapware that comes with a new Dell. They have modified the error redirector to take you to their website.  Annoying as hell, but it can be by changed modifying your default search engine or uninstalled with a little effort as described by Tcncv above.  Astronaut (talk) 17:07, 5 March 2009 (UTC)


 * I just clicked the "What's this?" link at the top-right of the page, and it took me to this page which seems to answer your question. --saxsux (talk) 13:17, 9 March 2009 (UTC)

NTLM vs LDAP
What is the difference between NTLM and LDAP? I tried going through the Wikipedia article on NTLM, but could not find any information. 203.158.89.10 (talk) 04:58, 3 March 2009 (UTC)


 * You can't really compare them directly. NTLM is an aging Windows authentication protocol. It's still used in situations where security isn't terribly important for Windows computers. If you're going to compare it with anything, compare it with Kerberos (protocol). LDAP is a specification for a Directory service; almost all directory services are either based on LDAP or compatible with it to some degree. Directory services just provide searchable directories of users, computers, groups, equipment, etc. They can be configured to provide some sort of authentication scheme (like NTLM, Kerberos, or SASL) to verify the identity of users in the directory database. The Microsoft directory service is Active Directory. Apple's directory service is Open Directory, and the most well-known Open Source directory service is OpenLDAP.
 * But if you simply MUST compare them, LDAP is used in Windows domain environments, while NTLM (mostly) is not. Indeterminate (talk) 08:55, 3 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Thank you very much. 203.158.89.10 (talk) 08:42, 5 March 2009 (UTC)

PSX Emulator--Issues with Disc Spinning
Hi yet again...

I am using the most recent PSX emulator with a LEGALLY ACQUIRED BIOS. It worked fine for a while, but now my DVD drive seems to stop spinning randomly as i am playing a game (it causes a lot of bad things to happen). I have tried to use a variety of tools to force the drive to keep spinning, to no avail. And, to top it all off, yesterday Windows threw this error at me:

Data Error (Cyclic Redundancy Check)

How can i stop this message and how can i keep the drive spinning at top speed? Thanks. Buffered Input Output 13:56, 3 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Those kind of CRC errors usually mean that the DVD drive itself is failing; in a sense, it means that the drive read data from the drive that didn't match what it expected to be there. If it shows up a lot, it's a hardware problem. If you have a spare DVD drive, see if that fixes the problem. Indeterminate (talk) 21:41, 3 March 2009 (UTC)
 * I believe it could also be a scratched disc. –  7 4   23:11, 3 March 2009 (UTC)

The disc isn't scratched, and the DVD drive works fine with everything else but PSone disks. Maybe i should mention this too : ALL other discs, including PS2 and other types, work fine, but PSone discs throw CRC errors after reading *.STR files. Buffered Input Output 13:46, 4 March 2009 (UTC)


 * That sounds like some form of copy protection/DRM. It is possible that many PS1 discs contain an intentional "error" that playstation hardware either corrects or ignores. You might be able to get a DVD drive to do the same, but it's probably a non-trivial modification. –  7 4   15:48, 4 March 2009 (UTC)

Flash in Web Pages
What is the COMPLETE code for inserting flash videos/games into a web site? I know it's out there but i want the COMPLETE code because i don't have flash to do it for me. Help! Buffered Input Output 14:08, 3 March 2009 (UTC)


 * There are a bunch of ways to do it but this generally works for Flash 8:


 * The only downside is that it doesn't fail particularly gracefully. Depending on what you are doing with it, that might not matter. --140.247.243.40 (talk) 16:53, 3 March 2009 (UTC)

(Moved from misc) 3gp code for Windows Movie Maker
I have Movie Maker 2.6 on Vista and I'd like to edit 3gp clips - however, I need to get some codec. Where can I find this 3gp codec? 75.169.205.74 (talk) 22:57, 2 March 2009 (UTC)
 * Take your pick. BigDunc  Talk 17:44, 3 March 2009 (UTC)

edit conflict resolved...
 * I believe that ffdshow can directly work with 3gp, which is not a codec but a container format (a wrapper) for H.264 codecs streams. You can find binary distributions for ffdshow at the official SourceForge webpage.   Note that ffdshow is a DirectShow filter, (also not a codec), although it is built against libavcodec.  You probably need ffdshow if you are using Windows Movie Maker.  Nimur (talk) 17:50, 3 March 2009 (UTC)

Why my wikipedia english pages so strange like this
Why my wikipedia english pages so strange like this? JustbeBPMF 10:46, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

This is only occur in Firefox and in English pages? using IE displays normally?

What's wrong? I didnot change any setting?

Here is a image for that I despict that:



JustbeBPMF 10:46, 23 February 2009 (UTC)


 * I've seen this effect before by changing the text size. Try using View + Text Size + Normal and see if that solves the problem. StuRat (talk) 19:35, 3 March 2009 (UTC)


 * It looks like you are not using any of the standard Wikipedia 'skins' (I don't see any that have that tiny Wikipedia logo at top-left) - that may be deliberate - but if not, click on the "my preferences" tab in the top-left, then click on the 'Skin' tab and check the radio button marked "MonoBook (default)" - then hit the "Save" button. SteveBaker (talk) 01:20, 4 March 2009 (UTC)

Standalone virus cleaner
I've been contacted by my system admin and told to take my computer off of the network because they've detected it sending out spam messages (how does it do this? surely not through my gmail accound). I have taken it offline by removing the ethernet cable from the back, and then rebooted into linux. Is there anyway to clean my computer without it being online? I have access to the internet in linux or from another machine so I could download a program to a usb drive. Is there a way to download a cleaning program to a usb drive and have it sanitize my system? Thanks Man It&#39;s So Loud In Here (talk) 19:56, 3 March 2009 (UTC)


 * In answer to your tangential question "how does it do this? surely not through my gmail accound": no, it won't do that. Spambots have their own SMTP transfer agent built in, which they use to pretend (to other SMTP agents) that they're (e.g.) mail.whatever.com  Now some malware will attempt to harvest your address book from Outlook or the like, and use that for forged "From:" fields, but hijacking your email client wholesale, or harvesting login info for a web-based email service, is more bother than they need to do. 87.113.86.209 (talk) 21:01, 3 March 2009 (UTC)


 * In answer to your virus question, you can download the installer for a free antivirus like AVG using the linux box, copy the installer to the USB stick, put the USB stick in the stricken windows box, and run the installer from there. I think the free version will run without an internet connection (that is, it doesn't insist on validating its licence) and while you might be a week or two behind on the latest virus signatures and patches, you'll almost certainly be able to remove the malware. If AVG doesn't find anything, use Spybot - Search & Destroy to scan for more malware. 87.113.86.209 (talk) 21:01, 3 March 2009 (UTC)


 * This is a little tougher than the old days, when you could just pop in your Thunderbyte, Norton, McAfee 3 /12" floppy and clean up a computer. You may want to have a look at Portable applications.  I've found AVG can be problematic after version 7.0 due to registry entries it expects to find (same with Spybot 1.4 and above - although not as bad).  Dr. Web claims to have a Live CD that can help, and PC Tools AV is supposed to "run from thumb".  The biggest problem, is the rapid changes in the AV world - new strains, morphs, etc. at an hourly rate.  Coupled with a more complex file system (NTFS), it can often be tough to find a quick fix. I'd probably buy my system admin a cup of coffee, and ask him what he (or she) recommends. Sorry it took so long to reply, but I wanted to double-check a few things first. — Ched ~  (yes?) 17:17, 4 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Thanks for the replies, I tried AVG from a thumb but had no results. First off, this virus was nast in that windows explorer wouldn't even load unless there was an internet connection.  The only way I could get a gui to load was to do it in safe mode.  So I installed avg while in safe mode, but then it wouldn't run.  I'm not sure if it was the reason mentioned above or not.  So I just backed up my data and reinstalled windows. I am not sure what to do now, as I want protection but every AV I've used in the past slowed down my system.  Man It&#39;s So Loud In Here (talk) 19:46, 4 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Very tough to tell without eyes on - but sounds like you may have one of those winfixer/smitfraud/MS Antivirus bugs. Maybe try the tool at malwarebytes.org - see if that can get things up and running enough to install a full AV program. — Ched ~ (yes?) 20:10, 4 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Bear in mind it may not even be a virus causing this. It could simply be a misconfigured proxy. Nil Einne (talk) 09:21, 8 March 2009 (UTC)

TI 89 assembly
I have been trying to figure out how to disable breaking a TI89 BASIC program by using the "Exec [string]" command. I have found a few things relating to this, but none of them work. Does anybody know a string of op-codes for the Motorola 68000 microprocessor that will do this? Lucas Brown 42 (talk) 19:59, 3 March 2009 (UTC)