Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2010 January 13

= January 13 =

Utorrent
I installed Utorrent a few days ago. The problem is whenever I start my PC, Utorrent automatically starts at startup and starts downloading/uploading without my knowledge, reducing my Internet speed. Can anyone tell me how to stop it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.169.60.65 (talk) 05:14, 13 January 2010 (UTC) To stop it from running on startup, you can go into the uTorrent program, and in the menu bar go to Options->Preferences and in the General tab, uncheck the box which is labeled "Start uTorrent on system startup". Cheers! -Amordea (talk) 08:14, 13 January 2010 (UTC)
 * Assuming you're running a version of Windows, applications running in the background can be accessed via your notification bar (which is the string of icons next to your clock). If you do not see it, click the arrow to reveal the hidden notifications. From there you can r-click the icon for uTorrent and click "exit". This will stop the application from running.

How to charge battery w/ wind but not create a fan
If I have a fan, or a wind turbine, how can I use it to charge a battery, but once the battery has a charge (or if it does already) how can I prevent the battery from turning the fan and doing the exact opposite. I'm new to electronics and I'm teaching myself some things as a hobby, and I know almost nothing at all beyond the basics and various terms, voltage, etc. So, if anyone wants to answer please keep that in mind. Thank you =)  --Anthonysenn (talk) 09:41, 13 January 2010 (UTC)
 * With the downside of losing 0.6 V during charging, you can just use a diode. --Tardis (talk) 15:26, 13 January 2010 (UTC)


 * You would need a voltage regulator to ensure the proper voltage going to the battery— it should prevent the bleedback. ---— Gadget850 (Ed)  talk 18:58, 13 January 2010 (UTC)


 * Yes, some form of voltage regulation should always be included in the circuit connecting a wind turbine to a battery (unless you are going to sit and watch it charge, and disconnect when the wind drops). The regulator prevents overcharging as well as preventing reverse flow when the turbine stops.    D b f i r s   00:20, 14 January 2010 (UTC)

BSOD...not able to start windows...
Hi, HELP!!! I run windows 7 ultimate edition...one day my computer suddenly displayed BSOD with the following error: ***STOP: 0x0000007E(OxC0000005, Ox85D56E7A, Ox8AD1773C, 0x8AD17320). I have not been able to start my computer since...each time it shows the above BSOD and stops..even safe mode doesn't work..plz suggest some solutions.... P.S. no new hardware or driver was installed..the system was running fine just before the BSOD occured.. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Piyushbehera25 (talk • contribs) 11:18, 13 January 2010 (UTC)
 * Don't know if this helps but have you tried this. BigDunc  17:15, 13 January 2010 (UTC)

backup synchronization?
Occasionally I backup files onto an external hard drive using the basic windows copy and paste. However, when only a few files have been changed since the last backup, this method is rather inefficient since it copies everything regardless if it's been changed since the last backup or not. I believe synchronization is what I need, but I don't know what programs to use. Ideally I want something very simple, that just copies the files when I ask it to rather than scheduling or other complicated features. Any suggestions of good, reliable programs that do this? thank you :) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.43.88.124 (talk) 15:18, 13 January 2010 (UTC)


 * xcopy will do what you want. --Phil Holmes (talk) 15:21, 13 January 2010 (UTC)


 * SyncToy is simple, free, and provided by Microsoft. I use it for the same kind of tasks you're asking about.  -- Coneslayer (talk) 15:22, 13 January 2010 (UTC)
 * +1 for SyncToy, just remember that it is powerful and certain modes will delete files on either side if you tell it to. *Always* run the preview option to make sure you are aware of what you are telling it to do. --Jmeden2000 (talk) 15:51, 13 January 2010 (UTC)


 * I can recommend rsync (in particular cwrsync for Windows). -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 15:57, 13 January 2010 (UTC)

SyncToy is perfect, thank you!

Is "compiler" the right term?
If a program were built that could convert a C or C++ program into an initial configuration for a universal Turing machine or for a cellular automaton, would it be proper to call it a compiler? Neon Merlin  15:57, 13 January 2010 (UTC)


 * A compiler converts code from one language to another. If that is what you are doing, then it is a compiler.  In common use, the word "compiler" implies that you are converting from a higher level language to a lower level one. --  k a i n a w &trade; 16:04, 13 January 2010 (UTC)
 * I thought it a bit strange that this question popped up here as soon as I added "What is a compiler?" to the quiz I'm writing. -- k a i n a w &trade; 16:17, 13 January 2010 (UTC)


 * Scary isn't it!. My mum always phones just when I'm about to eat after spending an hour cooking something. Maybe we're transmit-only telepaths? MilesSmile.png--220.101.28.25 (talk) 18:39, 13 January 2010 (UTC)

Laptop meltdown: stuck in boot loop
Hi. Sorry, a long one!

I have (or had...) an Acer Aspire laptop running XP Media Center Edition. A couple of weeks ago, the mouse went alllll ttrrraaackkkkyyyyy, wouldn't move smoothly, etc. I restarted, but it wouldn't turn back on. I tried safe-mode but it wouldn't work, just froze part-way through loading; I had to hit the power switch.

I sent it in for repair at a local workshop: the guy said he converted it from FAT32 to NTFS, which made it accessible (no lost data, programs or settings) but impractically slow. He recommended I buy a new machine, with more RAM and a bigger hard-drive capacity. That's on order now, should arrive soon.

Meanwhile, I've been persevering on my current one. I found that if I booted it from a Linux Mint live-CD, it worked much better, at a very decent speed, and I could access my documents on the laptop hard-drive fine. However, today, the Linux-system turned itself off, suddenly. It did this a couple of times; I turned it back on with no difficulty. This got a bit frustrating, though, so I removed the Linux CD while the system was off, booted, and it wouldn't go: it was in a cycle of, "Choose boot option, start windows normally, last known good configuration, safe mode..." etc., but whatever I chose, the system would restart within seconds. Stuck in the cycle.

The question is this: I don't care about the laptop, or the Windows installation, or anything else. I just want my data safe. If I get a computer engineer to transfer my files from the old hard-drive onto the new, will that be possible, or could I have lost anything?

Thanks so much for your help! ╟─ Treasury Tag ► inspectorate ─╢ 18:16, 13 January 2010 (UTC)
 * Your data is probably recoverable, yes: it will involve removing the hard drive, connecting it to another computer as a secondary drive, and then copying files over. It's never guaranteed though. In the future, a) keep a backup and b) if something goes wrong and you then regain access to your files, back them up then as fast as possible. A le_Jrb talk  18:26, 13 January 2010 (UTC)

Thanks! Are the steps in this guide likely to work? ╟─ Treasury Tag ► constabulary ─╢ 19:24, 13 January 2010 (UTC)
 * Probably, yes. I've used Ubuntu to back up before. A le_Jrb talk  19:27, 13 January 2010 (UTC)
 * But as A le_Jrb  wrote: you'll need to remove the disk from your laptop and connect it to another PC, which you can then boot using Ubuntu (since you have found that the laptop crashes after a while even when booted from a live CD). As a side note: on the screenshot you linked to, there is an option "test memory", which runs Memtest86+. The laptop's symptoms could be caused by faulty RAM, and the memory test would diagnose that. --NorwegianBluetalk 20:34, 13 January 2010 (UTC)

OpenOffice - how to change the default font?
I have tried to find this information in the OpenOffice Word help, their website, and via Google, without success. How do you change the default font please? I do know how to change the font in a document by highlighting it, but that is not what I mean. I would like to create documents where the font is already what I prefer. Thanks. 92.24.99.218 (talk) 19:17, 13 January 2010 (UTC)
 * http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Documentation/FAQ/Writer/FormattingText/How_do_I_change_the_default_font%3F Half  Shadow  20:39, 13 January 2010 (UTC)

Thanks. 92.24.99.218 (talk) 20:44, 13 January 2010 (UTC)
 * That took me less than a minute. Try looking harder next time, please. Half  Shadow  20:48, 13 January 2010 (UTC)
 * How did you find it then? Its easier to find if you know where it is. 92.24.99.218 (talk) 20:54, 13 January 2010 (UTC)
 * It's a question of using the right wording. You wanted to change OpenOffice's default font, so I entered "OpenOffice change default font" in Google and bam. Half  Shadow  21:12, 13 January 2010 (UTC)

How can I run, not save, downloaded files with Firefox?
When using Internet Explorer I would often immediately run a program that I was downloading, without saving it beforehand. I did this particularly with installed programs and updates to them. There was no point in cluttering up my HD with spare copies of programs that are readily available on the internet.

But when I download a file with Firefox, it says: "You have chosen to open Something.exe Would you like to save this file?" The only two buttons offered are "Save file" or "Cancel".

How can I get it to run something without saving it please? It is inconvenient to have to navigate to somewhere to save it, and then navigate there again to delete it after instalation. Thanks. 92.24.99.218 (talk) 20:53, 13 January 2010 (UTC)


 * Sorry, I don't have the exact answer at hand yet, but if you type "about:config" in your URL field (the place you type a WWW address) and hit Enter, a giant, crazy list of tweakable configuraton parameters will appear. Google "firefox config download" for a sea of hints on download-related things you can configure on that page.  Comet Tuttle (talk) 00:55, 14 January 2010 (UTC)


 * Incidentally, IE does save the file before running it (there's no other way to do it), it just saves it to a temporary directory. Unless you empty you temp directories often, they do clutter up your hard drive just the same. --Mr.98 (talk) 01:03, 14 January 2010 (UTC)


 * Technically, Internet Explorer isn't creating any clutter (it's just using its allocated cache), but the downloaded file itself might be: When you "Run" a download in Internet Explorer, it is first downloaded into "Temporary Internet Files", Internet Explorer's cache. The maximum size of the cache is a setting you can change, and Internet Explorer deletes older items to store new items in the cache, so eventually the downloaded file will get deleted. However, when the downloaded file itself is run, it may create temporary files or folders that remain until you manually delete them. For example, when you run an install program. --Bavi H (talk) 04:17, 14 January 2010 (UTC)


 * OpenDownload by Jeremy Gillick Allows you to open any file from the internet into the OS assigned program. This is similar to IE's 'Open' or 'Run' file download functionality. This is an add-on. -Avic enna sis @ 04:02, 18 January 2010 (UTC)