| VSNL mail trail |
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| So you use BSNL’s DataOne broadband connection and would prefer using a mail program like Outlook Express or Thunderbird to send and receive emails from your VSNL account? Sorry, you can’t. And it’s not just BSNL, emails cannot be sent (they can only be received) using any non-VSNL Internet service provider’s (ISP) connection for a VSNL email account, since POP access is not allowed. The workaround: try using VSNL’s web interface (http://webmail.vsnl.com) and send/receive email like you would for any other email service such as Hotmail or Yahoo. The other option is to buy an Internet pack from VSNL itself. |
Nishant Roy: My PC configuration is: Intel 845-GVSR motherboard, Pentium IV 2.4 GHz processor, 256 MB DDR RAM, 80 GB HDD, Windows XP Professional. When I defragment my hard drive, the four partitions take up 74.49 GB. Does the operating system take up the rest of the space? Is there a way of installing Win 98 and Win XP Home on my computer without deleting Win XP Pro?
I have a Samsung Trution MultiMedia keyboard with the driver installed. When I try to put the PC on Standby, ?device driver interfering with standby? message appears. When I press the keyboard?s Sleep button, the PC restarts and Scandisk starts running.
Is it safe for DDR RAM and SD RAM to coexist on my motherboard?
Recently, I installed an anti-virus which showed only 125 MB RAM free. How can that happen?
TechTalk: Hard disk manufacturers specify the drive size in decimal notation (1 KB=1000 bytes) instead of the binary notation (1 KB=1024 bytes) used by the computer. Thus the discrepancy. Partitioning and formatting the disk and file system overhead take up further space, leaving around 95 per cent of the size advertised.
Win 98 should be installed first and then Win XP Home and Win XP Professional, in separate partitions. You can instal the other two operating systems without deleting Win XP Pro from the first partition. Create a Win XP rescue disk and edit your boot.ini file after all installations are complete.
Your keyboard driver software is either corrupt or in conflict with other system software. Download and instal the latest driver from the manufacturer?s website.
Intel 845GVSR motherboard supports only DDR SDRAM modules so, there?s no question of SDRAM and DDR (SD) RAM coexisting.
Your system software and active programs, including those running in the background, are using up the rest of the memory. Windows can free up more RAM, if needed.
| On-board broadband |
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| Now work, play, surf, chat and watch live TV on flights. Singapore Airlines has become the first airline in the region to introduce broadband service in the aircraft. Connexion by Boeing, as the service is called, provides passengers with real-time and high-speed Internet connectivity. Using Connexion, passengers with wireless-enabled laptops can send and receive emails and even connect with their corporate virtual private network (VPN). A round-the-clock free text chat assistance service will also be provided to customers going online during the flight. Starting June, passengers of the airline will also be able to watch live TV on board. |
Saraswat Chakraborty: I have PIII processor with 128 MB SD RAM and 40 GB HDD. Six GB is allocated for Red Hat Linux. I have C: and D: drive partitions in the remaining 34 GB, where Win ME is installed. During booting, I used to get the option of Windows or Linux. A few days ago, I installed Win XP Pro and now I get to choose only between Win ME and XP. The Linux partition is lost. Can I format that partition and add it to any of my existing Windows partitions without formatting the entire hard disk?
TechTalk: Installing Windows after Linux overwrites other boot loaders (Lilo or Grub) and that is why you can?t access Linux. If you created the boot diskette during Linux installation, boot your PC with it, log in as root, go to the command prompt and type ?lilo? (or ?grub-install? if the boot loader is Grub) and press Enter. You should see something like ?DOS added? or ?Linux added?. Restart your PC, the problem will be fixed.
If you don?t have the boot diskette, boot your PC with the Linux CD. You have to set your CDROM as the first boot device in BIOS for this. Type ?linux rescue? and press Enter. At the command prompt, type ?chroot/mnt/sysimage? and press Enter. Next, type ?lilo? (or ?grub-install? if the boot loader is Grub) and press Enter. Restart the computer and you should have the boot prompt.
It is possible to format or convert the Linux partition(s) into Windows partition (FAT32 or NTFS) without formatting the entire hard disk by using third party softwares like Partition Magic (www.powerquest.com). However, data from the converted partitions will be lost since Linux uses EXT3 type partition.
Debashis Nag: I have PIV 2.66 GHz processor, Intel original motherboard, 256 MB DDR RAM, 40 GB HDD with Win 98 and Win XP Pro. Video playback on my PC, particularly movies, is not smooth and is often hazy. For diagnostic purpose, I used ?dxdiag? command, which displayed the message ?Error: problem getting extra display info, result code=ox80004005 (generic failure)?. I have installed DirectX 8.1 but it didn?t help.
TechTalk: Download and instal the latest software and driver files for your motherboard and graphics card from the manufacturer?s website. Try installing the latest version of DirectX (9.0c). You can download it from http://www.microsoft.com/wi-ndows/directx/default.aspx. It will upgrade your version of DirectX and also fix corrupt or missing files. Try using a video-playing software like Cyberlink's PowerDVD (http://www.gocyberlink.com).
Write in with your computer- related problems to TechTalk. Be sure to include the configuration of your PC and be specific about the problem. Write to techtalk@abpmail.com
