Computing desk
< May 6	<< Apr \| May \| Jun >>	May 8 >

Welcome to the Wikipedia Computing Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

May 7

DOS

1. If Windows 2000, XP, and Vista had DOS support, would DosBox exist?

2. Why did they even remove the DOS support from those operating systems?

3. Does Microsoft know about DosBox?

143.238.237.25 (talk) 01:47, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

MS-DOS is only 16-bit and whilst the Windows 9x tree could use 32-bit file access, it was still running on a 16-bit operating system. To be able to run a true 32-bit (or higher) operating system (Windows 2000, XP, Vista) removing DOS was the only logical option. ZX81 ^talk 03:09, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Of course Microsoft knows about DOSBox. --Andreas Rejbrand (talk) 07:44, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

They didn't just remove DOS from Windows, they started from scratch with a completely new operating system, like Apple did going from OS 9 to OS X. Windows 2000/XP/Vista (32-bit) do have some DOS support—they recognize MS-DOS executables and fire up an emulation environment, though it's pretty limited (unlikely to work with any graphical games). If you want DOS support in the sense of booting your whole system into DOS, you could probably still do it if you wanted to, but do you really want to? People aren't writing DOS drivers for new hardware any more. At the very least your sound card wouldn't work. I don't know if modern hard drives would work, so you might end up running off of floppies, if you even still have a floppy drive. DOSBox is better. Microsoft could write an emulator to compete with DOSBox, but I don't think there'd be any money in that. -- BenRG (talk) 22:20, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

See Virtual DOS machine (ntvdm) and Windows on Windows. These are two programs already used in Windows to emulate DOS and provide backward compatability.--24.9.71.198 (talk) 22:37, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

MP3

Are there any free programs that can convert MP3 to MIDI? If so, could you please direct me to one? 143.238.237.25 (talk) 02:26, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

This is like creating a vector image from a photograph, i.e. very difficult. The opposite (MIDI->MP3 or vector image->bitmap) is much easier. --Andreas Rejbrand (talk) 07:45, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

There are a lot of programs for this, some of poor quality and some quite expensive but some are free. GN Midi have a free wav2midi utility[1], if you already have an MP3 decoder (or you can download e.g. Audacity [2]). There's a lot of paid-for software but most of them offer free trial versions[3]. Unless people have recommendations, you'll have to try one of those (I used one a while ago but can't remember which; it wasn't great.) --Maltelauridsbrigge (talk) 16:00, 8 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Dual-booting Win7/WinXP help

I had a dual-boot system running the Windows 7 RC, and Windows XP Home. I deleted the Windows 7 partition, and resized the main one back to take up the entire HDD. Now, when I turn my computer on, it still comes up with the dual-boot menu, and selecting Windows 7 results in an error message. How do I get rid of the dual-boot menu? 144.138.21.41 (talk) 07:45, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

First of all it's wise to make a backup just in case, but if you have an XP CD (not a recovery CD) you can boot from that and select "repair using recovery console". When at the prompt simply type the following three commands without the commas pressing enter after each: fixmbr, fixboot, exit (and the machine will reboot after that last one). You SHOULD find the XP bootloader has been restored and your machine starts again without the Windows 7 bootloader/menu. As mentioned above though, please take a backup first! If you have a "Recovery CD" this won't work and you won't have these options - Those CDs are destructive created by the system manufacturers which will wipe the entire harddrive and put it back as when you first received the machine (losing all your files and programs). ZX81 ^talk 12:27, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I have a recovery CD, but it seemed to work anyway (strange). Thanks for that! But out of curiosity, is there a way to do it without the CD? Thanks!144.138.21.235 (talk) 21:51, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

In XP's System->Startup there are settings displaying the startup order. Remove/edit carefully to get the desired result. feydey (talk) 11:30, 8 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

That wouldn't work. Vista and above use a completely different boot manager. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Washii (talk • contribs) 04:52, 9 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Vista, Core 2 Duo and 64-bit MSIs

Windows Vista Home Premium correctly identifies my dual-boot ThinkPad T61's CPU as an Intel T7300 Core 2 Duo, and the 64-bit version of Kubuntu 8.04 works fine on it. However, when I downloaded the 7Zip MSI packages, Windows told me of both the x64 and IA-64 versions, "This installation package is not supported by this processor type. Contact your product vendor." I ended up using the 32-bit version. Is this a bug in the MSIs or in Vista? Neon Merlin 07:59, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Are you using 64-bit Windows?F (talk) 10:34, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Following on from what the above wrote, it sounds like you're only using 32-bit Vista which is why the x64 installer won't work (Vista doesn't even come in an IA-64 versiom so there's no way that one will work). If you download the 32-bit MSI from the same page (second link down), does that work? To check which one you are using load "Control Panel" and select "System". On that screen that appears you'll see a part that says "System type" which will be either 32-bit or 64-bit. ZX81 ^talk 12:17, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

@

How to write @ on Mac? Kurtelacić (talk) 10:16, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

For which keyboard layout? File:Apple-wireless-keyboard-aluminum-2007.jpg clearly show the @ symbol as the shift character on the number 2 (ie. you hold down shift and press the "2"). Of course, it might be in a different location if your keyboard is not a US English layout. You user page suggests you might prefer to use a Croation/Slovene keyboard; File:Qwertz-si.svg is the layout for a Croation/Slovene PC keyboard, which suggests @ is accessed with Alt-GR + V. However, Apple keyboards don't have the AltGr key and instead use the Option key.

To summarise: If using a Mac US keyboard, use Shift + 2. If using a Mac Croatian keyboard, try Option + V.

Astronaut (talk) 13:39, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I took the liberty of fixing your qwertz link. --Sean 14:05, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

That's been helpful. Thanks! Kurtelacić (talk) 21:27, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

How about an ANSWER!!! [converting VOB to MP4]

(ec) Fine then. Let's try this again.

I have a video in VOB format with:

Variable Bit Rate Video Stream (12.8 Mbps, 9800 kbps nominal)
Constant Bit Rate Audio Stream (448 kbps)

I would like to convert this video to MP4 iPod format, but am unsure what bitrates to use so as to get the best quality. Video quality must not be so low as to cause noticeable artifacts in the video, and Audio quality must not be so low as to cause random static or buzzing in the audio stream. I'm using SUPER to convert the videos and it would be a LONG conversion process. Numbers are good. Thanks in advance. Buffered Input Output 12:41, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

There is no need to be rude. How can you possibly demand an answer from volunteers? If no-one replies then it's safe to assume no-one knows. Try posting in a more relevant forum or newsgroup. It may well be that, someone who doesn't check the reference desk each day does know the answer, but will now choose not to answer you because of your rude demanding tone. - 194.63.116.72 (talk) 14:04, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

perhaps you missed my above question, not set to a rude tone at all Buffered Input Output 16:04, 7 May 2009 (UTC) [reply]

The instructions at the top of this page tell you it might take several days, you only waited two. Be patient! --Tango (talk) 16:43, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Use a quantizer, set to 4 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.44.54.169 (talk) 14:26, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

It's not possible to say a good bit rate without knowing the video resolution and the frame rate, but obviously the higher the bit rate the higher the video quality is going to be. Ultimately though you'll need to trial and error it until you find something that you're happy with. To speed things up don't encode the entire video, only encode 60 seconds of it until you find a quality you're happy with. I'm not sure it's any help, but on my 320x240 phone I create Xvid AVI files (not MP4) at the same resolution, but with a frame rate lowered to 12fps and a bitrate of 250kb/s (2 passes) and an audio rate of 112kb/s and I find this produces very watchable video with low filesizes, but your mileage may vary. ZX81 ^talk 18:28, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

how do i do that on SUPER? It conveniently lacks a help file. PS--Sorry, everybody... :( Buffered Input Output 12:38, 8 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Open source Java programs

I am working on some Java development projects. To learn more advanced coding techniques, I like to look at source code from top quality open source projects to see how and why others do things in the way they do. For php, there are scores of open source projects. For Java, I'm especially interested in end-user applications and Java web start applications, but it would be helpful to look at any high quality Java code.

I already know about and am using GeoServer, along with NASA World Wind and GeoTools which are SDKs/libraries. Aside from these, I'm not so sure what some of the top quality open source projects are and would like some suggestions. --Aude (talk) 14:51, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

The Eclipse IDE is developed in Java, so that might be a good one to look at. Rjwilmsi 18:35, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

And the Vuze/Azureus BitTorrent client is open-source Java (though it doesn't use the Java windowing toolkits). It may not be particularly well documented, and sometimes it seems the files are a mess, but they may be worth a look too. (Warning: There are lots of files in Vuze). Washii (talk) 23:26, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

LG KP500 Mobile Phone

I know it isn't really computing but its technology so I thought this was the most appropriate place to post. Anyway my sister gave me a LG KP500 'Cookie' mobile phone for my birthday that she got 2nd hand off ebay but I've no clue on it. I know I need a Sim card but how do I tell if it has been unlocked so it'll take a sim card from any phone company & how do I get it unlocked if it hasn't been? Also is it possible to get a pay as you go sim card (contract?) for it & how would I do that? I'll need to get a charger & download the instructions book from the net anyway (all I've got is the phone) but is there anything else I need? Thanks AllanHainey (talk) 15:46, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

One fairly sure way of knowing if it's unlocked would be to temporarily borrow two SIM cards (different operators) from friends and try them in the phone. If they both work it's probably not locked. ZX81 ^talk 18:17, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

In the UK at least, you will find that the mobile phone operators will happily sell you a pay as you go SIM card for a nominal charge of £1 or so. You should be able to order these off their websites. just borrow SIM cards from a couple of friends to see what networks your phone will work on. Rjwilmsi 18:38, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

New gTLD Applications

Where on ICANN's site can I find a list of all new gTLD applicants and which gTLD they're applying for for the current "New gTLD Application Proccess"? --Melab±1 ☎ 21:52, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Viruses

Hi, I have AVG and I have just had it scan for viruses, it found these...

\\?\globalroot\systemroot\system32\gxvxcmikhcfvqilgxmuuoxynpcuxiifvwvowu.dll

It identified this as a "Trojan horse clicker.YPK", I wasn't sure whether to get it to deal with it because its in system32 and I know thats important and so I didn't want to destroy the computer on a false positive.

C:\ProgramFiles\Internet Explorer\Iexplore.exe [3732]

This was also identified as a "Trojan horse clicker.YPK", isn't this just internet explorer? or should I move it to the virus vault?

More importantly when I search something in Google the links redirect to adverts about half the time, the problem is AVG can't find the virus doing this. I have googled this issue and many of the sites suggest the users running HijackThis to find problems, but ont get it to fix anything as it finds many problems, then posting what it finds on the forum and the users will tell the person what to do. The problem with these forums is they are very specific to each user. Can any one help with this?

Thanks very much for anyway in which you can help. 92.0.157.174 (talk) 21:59, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

You've made the right choice in asking for help. First off, don't panic; malware can and will be removed. :-)

As for the Trojan that AVG detected it is almost certainly not a false positive. In this case it appears to be a redirection Trojan.

As for the second detected threat; did you make a typo? Internet Explorer's executable is supposed to be "iexplore.exe" under "C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer"

HijackThis would probably help in removing this infection however it is not necessary right now. It can be run after the clean-up process to help to check that the malware on your computer has been removed.

To help prevent problems resulting from malware removal and to help prevent re-infection, please:

Disable Windows System Restore
Update Windows using Windows Update

Additionally, please provide the following details:

Your version of Windows
Your version of Internet Explorer
The version of AVG you are using

--Initial Steps for Removal of Malware--

Update and scan with whatever version of AVG you are using. Please post the log here but within collapse templates (Ideally you should register with Wikipedia so you can post the logs to your user talkpage). Please use {{collapsetop}} and {{collapsebottom}} at the top and bottom of any logs, respectively, for any logs you post throughout this malware removal process. This does not appear to be a major infection at the moment but that cannot be determined until you post your logs.
Download, install, update, and scan with Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware Please post the log here afterwards.
Download, install, update, and scan with SUPERAntiSpyware Please post the log here afterwards.
- If necessary, (Both programs will alert if necessary) reboot to finish removal of malware

These are the initial steps for removal of malware. If necessary, I will list further steps to complete removal of malware.

--Xp54321^{(Hello! • Contribs)} 22:34, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Xp54321,

Thanks for your help, I have now made an account.

For the second threat it was a typo, its ‘’’C:\ProgramFiles\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe [3732]’’’.

I have now disabled Windows System Restore. On Windows Update is says I have no high priority updates so I haven’t updated; there were 3 software and 2 hardware updates but they were really random such as some tool for smart card vendors.

Version of Windows:Windows XP, Home Edition, Version 2002, Service Pack 3

Version of Internet Explorer: Internet Explorer 7.0.5730.11

Version of AVG: AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 8.5.325

My AVG is up-to-date, after I scan; how do I post the log? and what is the log?

Once again, thanks. Random_Elephant 23:58, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

The "log" is a record of events, usually detected threats and things such as updates or the disablement of components. I see you're using AVG Free. (As I suspected) Well, now you know why I don't recommend it. ;) I usually recommend that AVG users move on to avast! or Avira AntiVir instead. Now, I haven't used AVG Free in a long time, (Not since about early September of 2008 I think) but the log should be under "History" I believe. When you find the log screen please look for an "export" option. This should export the log to a text file that you can then copy and paste here (Within the collapse templates). [Would any AVG Free users on this Reference Desk please help out? AVG Free is not something I use ;)] Please post also the logs of Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware and SUPERAntiSpyware after you scan with them.--Xp54321^{(Hello! • Contribs)} 02:49, 8 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, here is the log that AVG made. I downloaded and installed Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware but it wouldn't open when I clicked the logo. I also downloaded SUPERAntiSpyware but it wouldn't even let me install it, every time I tries it experienced an error and needed to close.

I also noticed that I have Spybot - Search & Destroy, but when I tried to open it it also wouldn't open.

Thanks, Random_Elephant 17:38, 8 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Uh-oh. The infection may be worse than I thought. Be warned also that AVG Free did detect password stealing ware (PSW) and also Trojan Bankers (Trojans designed to steal personal information, especially banking details). Monitor your finances and online accounts closely over the next few months. :| Not being able to install Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware or SUPERAntiSpyware is a potential sign of malware that will, unfortunately, be hard to remove. [It could be other things however] Under these conditions I'd normally use a bootable disk to remove malware. [Do you have a Windows Install CD handy? If you do, you'll be able to create an excellent malware-destroying Ultimate Boot CD] It appears that AVG did not remove the infected Internet Explorer executable. Please switch to an alternate browser for now. (Firefox is highly recommended) If you do wish to use Internet Explorer as your main browser, you'll probably have to reinstall it. Internet Explorer 7 download page I will go over steps and recommendations to secure your computer later but right now removal of malware takes priority. For the moment, try renaming Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware's installer to something random and then attempt to execute it. Try the same with SUPERAntiSpyware's installer. Download, install, update, and scan with:

Please also try installing and using all of the above again, but in safe mode [With networking for updating; but since malware often downloads updated versions of itself when you are connected; don't select this option right away, go to normal safe mode and scan for and remove any threats they find first. After those threats are removed, you can reboot then go back into safe mode, this time with networking so you can update and scan again. Some malware affects even Safe Mode. If some of the above anti-malware programs fail to work in Safe Mode, just move on to the next one] (Press F8 upon boot) Good luck. Following this, we'll look for any rootkits on your computer and also run HijackThis.--Xp54321^{(Hello! • Contribs)} 20:39, 8 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

VLC media player

For all its specialised features, why, why, WHY... does this program not have options that you can SAVE to get it to

open as a maximised window by default
repeat the file indefinitely by default

Some of the most commonly desired features are not even included (or if they are I can't find them). What the hell were the programmers thinking? I'm raging right now.--Yo Dawg! What's Going On Today? (talk) 22:39, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Why the FUCK is there no options menu? I can't control my anger here.--Yo Dawg! What's Going On Today? (talk) 22:40, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

OK fixed the latter problem it seems but I rage at annoying programs.--Yo Dawg! What's Going On Today? (talk) 22:44, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

So tell me, how do you get this program to run in a maximised window (NOT fullscreen) BY DEFAULT and get rid of that STUPID thing when you open a file and it displays the file's name at the bottom? I hate programmers sometimes, they're such idiots.--Yo Dawg! What's Going On Today? (talk) 22:51, 7 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Media Player Classic, an alternative player, has a lot of really nice interface tweaks, and most of its options can be specified on a command line or saved in a shortcut. Nimur (talk) 01:28, 8 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

It strikes me that perhaps you would get more knowledgeable responses at the official VLC forums, especially to questions like "why is it like this", as it's a little unlikely that one of the designers of VLC is hanging out here. -- Captain Disdain (talk) 05:05, 8 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

and unlikely a counsellor to help you manage your inner rage... Sandman30s (talk) 07:50, 8 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

VLC appears to have command line options that will do what you want (-f -L). If you don't need a GUI, you could also use mplayer, which can do this as well (-fs -loop 0) and is far less buggy than VLC. -- BenRG (talk) 10:51, 8 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]