Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2012 August 7

= August 7 =

Cannot access internet on laptop
Just a few hours ago my internet connection on my laptop stopped working without warning. I checked the modem/router and everything appeared fine, all the lights were on. I can access the internet on the same network through my smartphone, so I can definitely conclude that the problem is with the computer itself. I restarted it several times, nothing changed. I tried connecting directly to the LAN, not working there either. Rebooted in safe mode, still nothing. Performed system restore, again no improvement. I last performed a virus scan with AVG a couple days ago, nothing turned up then. I have the latest updates installed on my computer except for an update for my network adapter, which I ironically is what I had planned to download and install before my connection went kaput. Can anyone help me out here? I'm running Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 on an Emachine E625 if it helps. 70.52.77.249 (talk) 07:14, 7 August 2012 (UTC)


 * If you open a command window and type ipconfig, what do you get?--Phil Holmes (talk) 08:07, 7 August 2012 (UTC)


 * I get "media disconnected" for my tunnel adapter. 70.52.77.249 (talk) 08:18, 7 August 2012 (UTC)


 * Hmm. I'm not really interested in that.  Do you have an IP address for a real network adapter?--Phil Holmes (talk) 19:58, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

192. 168. 1. 134 is what I can find. 70.52.77.249 (talk) 23:32, 7 August 2012 (UTC)


 * Try the following:
 * ping www.google.com
 * ping 74.125.132.147
 * nslookup www.google.com
 * and let us know the results.--Phil Holmes (talk) 09:16, 8 August 2012 (UTC)
 * Pinged the IP address, got "Reply from 192.168.1.1: Destination net unreachable." I tried nslookup, and it said that it can't find the address for google.com. 70.52.77.249 (talk) 21:16, 8 August 2012 (UTC)
 * Have you tried restarting your router? Ssscienccce (talk) 19:46, 9 August 2012 (UTC)
 * It's not the router, it's the drivers that are the problem. Specifically the Internet Access Server that apparently doesn't have a driver. Problem is, I can't update it without internet access. I obviously can't download Windows Updates on my phone to send it to my PC. The only upside is that I'll be buying a new computer within the next week, so it'll be easier for me to resolve the issue and at least I'll a computer with working access to the internet (assuming this isn't a hidden problem with my modem). Still, I need my computer to function properly right now. There's a lot of things I can't do on a phone. 70.52.77.249 (talk) 23:55, 10 August 2012 (UTC)
 * Could be a hardware issue. Is this WiFi or a cable connection ?  If you have spare hardware available (like an extra network cable), I'd try that. StuRat (talk) 09:39, 7 August 2012 (UTC)


 * It's both. I can't connect through wifi or the cable. 70.52.77.249 (talk) 17:07, 7 August 2012 (UTC)


 * Are you using another computer to type all this, or your smart phone ? StuRat (talk) 20:02, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
 * I'm using my phone to access the web in general. 70.52.77.249 (talk) 23:11, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
 * I just ran Network Diagnostics for the umpteenth time, and it finally detected connection issues which it attributes to my modem. But I know it isn't the root of the problem, or no device would be able to access the internet through it. 70.52.77.249 (talk) 23:18, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

Standards for device-side of AC adapters
Are there any standards for the usually cylindrical ends with a hole in them with metal on the outside and inside that you plug into your device? I've never seen one made for one product that fit just right with any other product, leaving alone the issue of different voltages coming out of the transformer in the other end with the wall plug. I'm just talking about device-side dimensions. Are there any standards at all or does every device have an unregulated geometry? If there is a standard, I'd love to see a link to it. 20.137.18.53 (talk) 12:06, 7 August 2012 (UTC)


 * There are standards, but unfortunately rather too many - listed at coaxial power connector. The EU is trying to coax mobile phone manufacturers to standardise on a MicroUSB-based charging standard (ref) rather than a coaxial connector - perhaps some other devices will converge on that standard (a Raspberry Pi is powered that way, for example). -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 12:15, 7 August 2012 (UTC)


 * There's even variation on whether the negative is on the inside or outside (barrel positive or barrel negative), which means 2 connectors with the same size and same voltage can still be incompatible. It's rather horrible, as the article explains. --Colapeninsula (talk) 13:48, 7 August 2012 (UTC)


 * I have several gadgets such as |category_root|Garden+and+DIY|14418702/c_2/2|14418702|Electrical+accessories|14418903/c_3/3|cat_14418903|Adaptors|14418908.htm#pdpFullProductInformation these, which have multiple different connectors and support both polarities. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 12:38, 8 August 2012 (UTC)

Videogames
Does ebay allow you to sell a case of 24 diffrent videogames together as one item? For instance, can I can put 24 videogames together in one box, and sell the whole box for 90$ under one listing? This is so I wont have to pay the 0.5$ insertion fee for each game.

I called up customer service, and it required people to have ebay accounts. I dont have one,so they couldent answer my questions. — Preceding unsigned comment added by anon(talk) 17:19, 7 August 2012 (UTC)


 * Yes, you can sell it as a lot on eBay. --Wirbelwind ヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 17:37, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

I am aware that you can sell identical items together as a lot. I was wondering if you can sell a case of 24 different video games together in one box for 90$. — Preceding unsigned comment added by anon 17:43, 7 August 2012 (UTC) <!- Template:Unsigned IP --> Also can you sell a case of 24 different video games together in a box for 90$ on craigslist?--99.146.124.35 (talk) 17:46, 7 August 2012 (UTC)anon
 * I can't speak for Craig's list but I'm pretty sure eBay doesn't forbid you to list multiple different items in one listing provided all of the items are okay to sell on eBay.  . Their primary concern is people avoiding fees. While you mentioned avoiding fees, it doesn't sound like the sort of fee avoidance they are normally concerned about which is sellers trying to get buyers to do transactions outside eBay (for example by listing one item and saying the buyer can get another of the same item for the same price or can negotiate for other items). I'm presuming of course you plan to do as you say and sell all the items together (with the final price being the price paid for all items) without offering the seller any options. If you intend to suggest buyers can pick and choose which items they want or they bid on one item and can pay extra for any additional items, this would likely be something eBay would not agree with. Of course only eBay can answer your question for sure.
 * Bear in mind though that copyright infringement is generally a concern with software on eBay and if you're offering 24 different items together, I suspect even more so. (And being a new eBay user would be even more of a kicker.)
 * Also if your only concern is avoiding insertion fees, consider that in financial terms, there's no guarantee you will actually end up better off since it's easily possible there will be different buyers interested in different items but have no desire to pay much for the additional items you are offering. E.g. if you're selling 24 items for $90 + shipping (including handling), selling each item for an average of $4.50 + shipping (including handling) should more then make up for any additional listing fees (presuming the fees you quoted are correct and in the same currency of whatever your proposed price). The bigger concern would seem to me to be convienience for you as the seller, not having to package and ship multiple different items to multiple different buyers even if it means you won't make as much overall (ignoring the cost of your time), particularly for relatively low value items.
 * BTW, are you sure you have eBay fees correctly? As far as I know (not being an eBay seller), non business low volume sellers (under 50 items a month) don't generally have to pay insertion fees for auction style listings even with BIN (although they may have to pay for additional features) . Now 50 US cents is the normal fee for fixed price listings (BIN only). However this isn't the case for video games if sold via the eBay catalog on eBay US . More importantly perhaps, I'm not aware of any real advantage to using fixed price listings as opposed to auction style with BIN and an appropriate starting price other then a possibly lower final value fee and of course possibly lower insertion fee but the later is unlikely for a low volume seller. Since you don't even have an eBay account, it seems strange that you would be a high volume seller.
 * P.S. If you ever do get an account and ask eBay, I would avoid mentioning anything about avoiding fees. Just accurately describe what you plan to do, the reasons would likely not be their concern.
 * Nil Einne (talk) 19:34, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

Firefox tabs on Ubuntu
I'm using FF 14.0.1 on Ubuntu 12.04. When I shut down FF I usually have several tabs open. Sometimes when I start it the only tab that updates is the one I am on. The other tabs all show the name but are white instead of grey and when clicked on are blank and only then begin to update. Any idea why and where is the update all command? CambridgeBayWeather (talk) 18:13, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
 * In the General preferences section, there should be a checkbox marked "Don't load tabs until selected." Un-check that, and voilà - they should all load when you start Firefox. WikiPuppies  bark dig 21:26, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
 * Thanks. Found it but it was greyed out. Disabled Tab Mix Plus and then removed the check and then re-enabled Tab Mix Plus. See if that works later. Thanks. CambridgeBayWeather (talk) 23:38, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

Wikipedia Featured Article RSS Feed (Google Reader)
How can I make Google reader RSS feed for Wikipedia FA? I know about this, any other suggestion? -- Tito Dutta  ✉  18:49, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
 * I don't know if there's a Wikipedia-specific solution, but I often use Page2rss to keep track of webpages in GReader and find it entirely satisfactory. - Cucumber Mike (talk) 19:34, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
 * What URL I'll put there? -- Tito Dutta  ✉  01:49, 8 August 2012 (UTC)
 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Featured_articles ? - Cucumber Mike (talk) 06:41, 8 August 2012 (UTC)

Windows screen grab
Is there a way to do a screen grab, and store it to a file, from the Command Prompt, in Windows XP SP3 ?


 * This thread has suggestions. NirCmd is probably the easiest if you don't mind PNG as the output format. -- BenRG (talk) 21:12, 7 August 2012 (UTC)


 * Thanks, have you used this yourself ? StuRat (talk) 09:49, 8 August 2012 (UTC)


 * I've used NirCmd, IrfanView and ImageMagick and I'll vouch for all of them, but I've never used any of them for command-line screenshots. -- BenRG (talk) 19:25, 8 August 2012 (UTC)


 * The simplest way is to hit PrtScrn (or alt-PrtScrn to get just the foreground window) and paste it either into a document, or into Paint, where you can save the file.--Phil Holmes (talk) 09:12, 8 August 2012 (UTC)


 * You seem to have missed the part where I need to do this from the Command Prompt. The idea is that, if I can get that to work, I can then call that command from a program I write, and thus have the program do screen grabs. StuRat (talk) 09:49, 8 August 2012 (UTC)


 * If you're writing the program for Windows, it is pretty straightforward to do without external tools. It is just a few lines of GDI calls. Get a handle to the window you want to capture (or the desktop window for the whole screen) and get it's DC. Then you GetCompatibleDC and CreateCompatibleBitmap. Use SelectObject on the compatible DC and bitmap, then BitBlp from the window DC to the compatible DC. The compatible bitmap will now contain the contents of the window. 209.131.76.183 (talk) 12:03, 8 August 2012 (UTC)


 * Not op, but what is DC? 190.60.93.218 (talk) 12:15, 8 August 2012 (UTC)


 * Device Context. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 12:35, 8 August 2012 (UTC)


 * That's BitBlt. This is a fantastically simple and pleasing thing to do with GDI calls, it's true. What language are you writing it in, Stu? Card Zero  (talk) 13:48, 8 August 2012 (UTC)


 * FORTRAN. The calls 209.131.76.183 mentions look like C calls.  I'm not sure how to call those from FORTRAN, but I can run any Command Prompt instructions, and can read and write graphics files. StuRat (talk) 19:34, 8 August 2012 (UTC)


 * NirCmd looks like it does the trick very easily. If you don't like the PNG files, you can always use ImageMagick's convert.exe shell to change them to something else. --Mr.98 (talk) 22:24, 11 August 2012 (UTC)


 * Yes, that was my plan. Have you used NirCmd to take snapshots ? StuRat (talk) 23:57, 11 August 2012 (UTC)

Pretty print database
Are there any tools (preferably free and for linux) which can generate a pretty printout from a MySQL database as pdf (or any similar format)? As an example, let's say I have a database with names of people and (links to) their images. The generated pdf should then show images and associated names in a grid. If there are no such tools, perhaps there are tools which take image files and text files (with names) directly, i.e. not from a database. bamse (talk) 23:40, 7 August 2012 (UTC)


 * You could... call them from a web page and then use something like wkhtmltopdf to get an inferior format like PDF. ¦ Reisio (talk) 01:18, 8 August 2012 (UTC)
 * I think List of reporting software has the kinds of programs that do such things. 88.112.47.131 (talk) 09:46, 8 August 2012 (UTC)