Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2010 November 14

= November 14 =

internet homepages and tabs
I have currently Internet Explorer 8, and was wondering, is there any way of setting it such that, without changing my current homepage, when I open a new tab it comes up with Wikipedia straight away, rather than the usual page of options? The only way I can see from a quick look around the toolbars is having the site open as a second tab every time I start the internet, which I do not particularly want.

148.197.121.205 (talk) 11:28, 14 November 2010 (UTC)


 * Set Wikipedia as a shortcut in your Favorites Bar. Then to open it in a new tab middle-click it, or right-click and chose Open in New Tab (assuming you're on a PC). --jjron (talk) 12:08, 14 November 2010 (UTC)

Desparately needed drivers for the ethernet contoller
Hola..! I have searched for the needed drivers but couldnt find any link to download for free. Anyone if help me, it'll really be appreciated. Some of its specifications are: Ethernet Controller .... Unknown device from Dell Computer Corp .... Chip: Intel Corporation 82544XT PRO/1000 MT Gigabit Ethernet Controller Full Details PNP ID VEN_8086&DEV_100E&SUBSYS_01511028&REV_02 Windows Detective Device .. Ethernet Controller Detected Chip Vender ...Intel Corporation Detected Chip ... 82544XT PRO/1000 MT Gigabit Ethernet Controller Detected OEM Vender ....Dell Computer Corp Detected OEM Device ...82544XT PRO/1000 MT Desktop Adapter

I also have PCI Simple Communications Controller drivers missing... It's specifications are: ..Unknown Device from Intel Corporation ..Chip: Intel Corporation 536EP V.92 PCI Modem Full Details PNP ID VEN_8086&DEV_1040&SUBSYS_10008086&REV_00 Windows Detected Device PCI Simple Communications Controller Detected Chip Vender Intel Corporation Detected Chip 536EP V.92 PCI Modem Detected OEM Vender Intel Corporation Detected OEM Device PRO/Wireless LAN 2100 3B Mini PCI Adapter I'll be really greatful..--119.153.56.37 (talk) 13:11, 14 November 2010 (UTC)


 * Assuming the PC has not been radically changed from the time it was purchased from Dell, the Dell website should be able to provide all the drivers used in their computers. Go to their website for your country (maybe this page) and enter the Service Tag (it should be on a small sticker somewhere on the computer's casing).  That should give you access to the available support information including driver downloads, user manuals, memory upgrade options, etc.  Astronaut (talk) 01:51, 15 November 2010 (UTC)

Ping Localhost
I asked a question a while ago about why pinging localhost on my own Windows 7 computer suddenly stopped working (old question). The answer seemed to be that Microsoft doesn't like ping and disabled it, and that there's some arduous and undocumented method you have to go though to enable the "echo server". However I discovered today that pinging my ip address from this site works as expected so my computers echo server must be online and working. But I still can't ping localhost from my own computer. Does anyone have any idea how to fix this? 82.44.55.25 (talk) 16:07, 14 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Are you sure it's your computer responding to the ping, and not a modem/router ? Unilynx (talk) 16:44, 14 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Yes, I followed the instructions from the last thread on blocking ICMP packets with the firewall. When I do, pinging from that site fails. 82.44.55.25 (talk) 17:28, 14 November 2010 (UTC)
 * You mean with the Windows firewall? Also I can't recall and am lazy to check but are you pinging localhost or 127.0.0.1? Nil Einne (talk) 12:51, 15 November 2010 (UTC)
 * localhost should point to 127.0.0.1, so it should not matter. However, it is perfectly possible (in theory and in other OSs, at least; I do not know anything about Windows) that the echo server is disabled on 127.0.0.1, but listens on the interface assigned to the external IP address. 82.*, can you ping your real IP address (not localhost) from your computer?—Emil J. 14:49, 15 November 2010 (UTC)
 * I've tried pinging "localhost", "127.0.0.1", "::1", and my ip address from my computer. All fail with "request timed out". I looked in the host file too in case something had gone wrong there, but localhost is still set to 127.0.0.1 82.44.55.25 (talk) 14:54, 15 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the clarification but are you referring to the Windows firewall of the computer that doesn't respond (with which you blocked ICMP packets and pinging from the remote site fail)? (I'm trying to understand why you believe it was your computer not the modem responding.) Also have you tried pinging the IP address of the computer as Emil suggested? BTW, have you ever on the current OS installation, installed any other firewall or other network software likely to screw around with the network stack like any sort of virtual machine software, Hamachi, bandwidth monitoring software, blocking software, AFS clients, Cisco clients etc? Some searches finds these as common culprits for problems and they can become reenabled unexpectedly (and can sometimes still cause problems when disabled I know this from personal experience too) and even if uninstalled could potentially have left something unwanted. Nil Einne (talk) 15:38, 15 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Yes, I blocked ICMP with the Windows firewall on my computer. When I did, pinging from the remote site stopped working. But when I removed the block in the Windows firewall, pinging from the remote site works again. I assume if it was the cable modem responding to the ping that pinging from the remote site would work regardless of what I set in the Windows firewall. Yes, I've tried pinging "82.44.55.25" from my computer but it doesn't work. I had not installed anything recently when the problem began back in September, since then I've only updated Firefox a few times. 82.44.55.25 (talk) 15:59, 15 November 2010 (UTC)
 * In that case I agree it does seem to be your computer responding to the remote computer. Does your computer actually see 82.44 as belonging to itself? I think it may from memory of the problems you had trying to share your connection, but it always pays to be sure. To find out, try ipconfig /all and see (it should show 82.44 somewhere). You will probably need to run this with an admin account with UAC permissions if relevant. You can also post the while result here or somewhere else with a link here, it may help although I admit your question is somewhat outside what I've much experience with and I've never been good at remote diagnostics so not promosing much. Nil Einne (talk) 17:36, 16 November 2010 (UTC)
 * I appreciate the help. This is the output from ipconfig /all;

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name. . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown-PC Primary Dns Suffix. . . . . . . :  Node Type. . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No  WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No  DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : cable.virginmedia.net

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Media State. . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected Connection-specific DNS Suffix. :  Description. . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek PCIe FE Family Controller Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-24-21-1A-8E-CB DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No  Autoconfiguration Enabled. . . . : Yes

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 2:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix. : cable.virginmedia.net Description. . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8139/810x Family Fast Ethernet NIC Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-40-E1-22-19-18 DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes Autoconfiguration Enabled. . . . : Yes Link-local IPv6 Address. . . . . : fe80::9553:47f2:a891:b37e%24(Preferred) IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 82.44.55.25(Preferred) Subnet Mask. . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.254.0  Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : 16 November 2010 05:34:23 PM  Lease Expires. . . . . . . . . . : 21 November 2010 03:44:11 PM  Default Gateway. . . . . . . . . : 82.44.54.1  DHCP Server. . . . . . . . . . . : 62.30.112.122  DHCPv6 IAID. . . . . . . . . . . : 402669793  DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-12-87-29-C8-00-24-21-1A-8E-CB

DNS Servers. . . . . . . . . . . : 194.168.4.100                                      194.168.8.100   NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Tunnel adapter isatap.{435811AD-783E-453D-8997-F1544F3D38D2}:

Media State. . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected Connection-specific DNS Suffix. :  Description. . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0 DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No  Autoconfiguration Enabled. . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 12:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix. :  Description. . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft Teredo Tunneling Adapter Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0 DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No  Autoconfiguration Enabled. . . . : Yes IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 2001:0:5ef5:79fd:202c:1b28:add3:c8e6(Pref erred) Link-local IPv6 Address. . . . . : fe80::202c:1b28:add3:c8e6%11(Preferred) Default Gateway. . . . . . . . . :  NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled

Tunnel adapter isatap.cable.virginmedia.net:

Media State. . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected Connection-specific DNS Suffix. : cable.virginmedia.net Description. . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter #2 Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0 DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No  Autoconfiguration Enabled. . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter 6TO4 Adapter:

Media State. . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected Connection-specific DNS Suffix. :  Description. . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft 6to4 Adapter Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0 DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No  Autoconfiguration Enabled. . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Reusable Microsoft 6To4 Adapter:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix. : cable.virginmedia.net Description. . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft 6to4 Adapter #2 Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0 DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No  Autoconfiguration Enabled. . . . : Yes IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 2002:522c:3719::522c:3719(Preferred) Default Gateway. . . . . . . . . : 2002:c058:6301::c058:6301 DNS Servers. . . . . . . . . . . : 194.168.4.100                                      194.168.8.100   NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled


 * 82.44.55.25 (talk) 18:12, 16 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Actually on Windows 7 it's not uncommon localhsot will point to ::1 AFAIK. (And yes this was significant given the info at the time since most likely the external site was pinging the IPv4 address so if the OP had not tried 127.0.0.1 but only ::1 it could indicate the echo server was disabled for IPv6 or something of that sort.) Nil Einne (talk) 15:18, 15 November 2010 (UTC)

RAmos T9 and Android
Does the RAmos T9 portable media player run Android? If not are there any good portable media players out there running android with a screen that is at least the size of that of the iPod Touch? --Melab±1 &#9742; 19:10, 14 November 2010 (UTC)
 * just get an iPod touch. It's obviously what you really want, and you'll go through 2-3 media players of different kinds which you won't really be satisfied with and which, in total, you'll spend like twice the money on as just buying one iPod touch.  Owner satsifaction is really high, so I am sure you will like it, and you can have it for years.  also, you will not be seen as nerdy.  91.183.62.45 (talk) 10:24, 15 November 2010 (UTC)
 * You might consider the upcoming T11pro: see here or other in the T11 series. 212.123.243.220 (talk) 12:54, 15 November 2010 (UTC)

html
In html, I know how to specify alternative text. But how can you specify an alternative image? 82.44.55.25 (talk) 22:43, 14 November 2010 (UTC)


 * Why don't you tell us what you think an alternative image would do? Alternative text is there for people with text-only browsers. It's not clear to me what an alternative image would be for then, if that's the analogy. (In Netscape Navigator, there was an IMG attribute called LOWSRC that let you designate low-res versions of images. But it's not standard and probably no modern browsers support it, as far as I know.) Depending on what you want, there might be a Javascript work-around. But there's no standard "alternative image" option. --Mr.98 (talk) 23:01, 14 November 2010 (UTC)
 * I was thinking that if an image displayed on a page became unavailable, for example the site it's hosted on being down or the image being deleted, a different image could be displayed in its place. Perhaps the same image hosted on a different server, or a "this image is gone" image placeholder. 82.44.55.25 (talk) 00:42, 15 November 2010 (UTC)


 * (What if the alternative image is not available?) You could do this with Javascript, but it isn't standard HTML at all. Here's one such implementation. It could be modified to be more general (e.g. to have every image have its own unique fallback), pretty easily, if you wanted.--Mr.98 (talk) 01:08, 15 November 2010 (UTC)

…or… …as desired; http://w3.org/TR/html401/struct/objects.html#idx-accessibility-1 ¦ Reisio (talk) 08:24, 16 November 2010 (UTC)