Posted by Administrator on Feb 22, 2010 in Tech Tactics | 0 comments
Question: I Need Help With A Wireless Router
I tried to log into my wireless router to change my settings and when i tried it said wrong password. so i tried a bunch of passwords none work. so is there a way to reset my password or recover the old one.
Additionally, it’s a netgear wireless router, it has no reset button and I lost the installation disk.
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Answer:
All routers have a recessed reset button somewhere on the back of the the device. You will need a small pointed device like a writing pen to press it.
All routers have this button as a physical fail safe so you can get back into the router. It’s a security measure so the owner of the system can regain control in case someone else hijacks it. Once depressed (and in some cases, held for 30 seconds), your system will revert back to the manufacturer’s default configuration, which is the configuration of the system right out of the box.
Once you regain control of the router, you can log back in using the ip address and passwords in your user manual (typically 192.168.1.1, with user: admin and a password of either admin, password, or 1234. They make the initial password easy to use. So this will be the first thing you will want to change once you reset the device).
Good Luck
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Posted by Administrator on Feb 22, 2010 in Tech Tactics | 0 comments
Question: Can you use any modem for High Speed Intenet?
Meaning say I have Comcast High Speed Internet… They gave me a modem I have to pay 4 bucks a month extra because it is there modem. Can I use my own modem so all I would have to do is plug in the cables into my new modem? Thanks.
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Answer:
You can use your modem, but you will have to call your cable company and tell them that you are using your own modem. you will also need to provide them with the MAC address of your new modem. They may ask for the MAC address of the old one, and they will definitely ask for the old one back (so they can stop charging you the extra $4)
If the modem is new, then it should conform to all of the new protocols and specs. But to be on the safe side, tell them specifically the model of the modem you are using and ask them if there will be any problems using the device at (whatever bandwidth you are paying for). Don’t stop until you get either a “yes” or a “no” answer.
Hope this helps.
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Posted by Administrator on Feb 19, 2010 in Tech Tactics | 1 comment
I had an 80 Gigabyte laptop hard drive and a laptop-hdd-to-USB adapter. However when I connect it to another computer I can’t access it and it says “Unrecognized USB device”. How can I recover the hard drive and browse through the files? The hard drive has crashed and I’m trying to recover the files, for free preferably
P.S. Also, I would like to recover the drive so it can be used again.
My Response:
Three questions:
1. Does the drive even spin up? If not, then game over.
2. Was the hard drive that died formatted with NTFS?
3. Are you connecting it to a PC running some version of Microsoft Windows?
Security descriptors in NTFS will thwart your attempts to do what you are attempting. That’s part of the security features of using NTFS.
Try this instead. If the drive still spins up, put it back in your laptop. Then go over to Lifehacker and read how to recover files using knoppix. Knoppix is based on a linux kernel and resides completely on a CD.
Create your knoppix CD, put it into your laptop and then boot your laptop from your CD drive. Once the knoppix kernel is live and active, you should be able to mount the problematic drive and copy any salvageable files over to a USB flashdrive for restoration.
See Lifehacker source below.
Lifehacker Geek to Live: Rescue Files with a boot CD
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Posted by Administrator on Jan 16, 2010 in Tech Tactics | Comments Off
Another question from one of the online forums:
My broadband speed is 1024 and the ram is 540. Should the pages download instantly or is there a 2-5 sec delay. Going from site to site appears to be a little longer.
I’m new to computer world. I went to the computer store I feel like they are trying to sell me something I don’t need. Any help is appreciated.
Additional details: I want the download to be instant. Is this possible or am I asking to much out of what I have? Thanks again for your assistance.
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You may be asking for to much. There are a number of factors that come into play here. And there are a number of things that you can do and there are some things that you just don’t have any control over.
When you say you want your pages to download instantly, there are two pieces to consider. 1: how fast can your system find the right page, and 2. how fast can that data get from where it is to where you are.
First, how fast your system finds the right page depends on how big your Internet cache is (does your system have to go over the net or is the page already loaded on your system) and on something called DNS (Domain Name Service).
Machines use addresses like 192.168.1.1. So when you type in something like www.google.com, your machine has to actually determine the address associated with that name before it can go out and access the required page. So when you type in www.google.com, your system has to determine if it knows the address for the site, and if not, then it has to request the address from a Domain Name Server (somewhere out in the cloud). Once it has the address of www.google.com (74.125.95.147), it can then go to the IP address of the machine (or system) and start requesting data.
Now for the second part, how fast can the data get from over there to over here. If you have the capability of looking at low level requests, you’ll see that bringing in a single page is composed of numerous requests, each one taking a certain amount of time. What is included in that time is not just how fast your data can travel from point A to point B, but also how fast your system can put the information together into a coherent web page, AND how fast the machine serving the data can actually send the data to you. If that server is stressed out (meaning that it’s a popular site and it is not capable of handling everybody’s request), you’ll have to wait in line to get your requests serviced.
So if you are using something like dial up with low end machine, you’ll be trying to drain a swimming pool using a straw (your dial up connection) and your cheeks (your machine). They just don’t have the power for some of the applications that are currently on the ‘net.
Now, if you have a faster, broadband connection (a big pipe) and a higher end machine (a big suction pump), you’ll do a lot better at getting information into your home. However, sometimes you won’t get anything because the pool will be dry (the server on the other end is busy filling up other pools).
Compared to dial up, broadband will do a lot better, but on occasion you will end up waiting for some pages to appear on your system and it won’t be due to anything on your side.
Hope this helps.
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Posted by Administrator on Jan 16, 2010 in Tech Tactics | 0 comments
Question: Which one is better–a 500GB external hard drive or a 500GB internal hard drive?
Well I heard bad reviews about external hard drives but there might be a brand that’s better than others? Can anybody tell me if an internal drive will last longer than an external one? I want to back up all my iTune stuff but I’d get worried it would die out. I was thinking of something that could last for more then a year, so I could buy one every year and back it up every year.
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Answer:
Most of the drives these days will last for about 5 years, the average lifespan of a drive. So as long as you don’t bang them up or subject them to cruel and unusual punishment, everything should be OK regardless of external or internal. Some pros and cons:
external:
Portable–you can take it where ever you want and can connect it to any machine (laptop or desktop).
Slower–you are using an external USB bus (unless you are using eSATA)
Not secure–With external devices you are stuck using FAT. You can’t use the NTFS (there are ways around this, but you may be subjecting yourself to severe data loss)
May require extra power input–the smaller devices (the 2.5 format drives) can get their power from the USB connection. Larger drives will suck back more power than the USB connection can deliver and will need an external source.
Internal:
Stationary–yeah, it’s inside your desktop or laptop. It’s not going anywhere.
No additional plugs are needed–power is coming from your system. If you are short on outlet, this could be a big plus.
Faster access–you’ll be using either a PATA connection or a SATA connection. SATA is capable of 3Gb/s. USB2.0 tops out at 480Mb/s.
Security–you have the option of setting up NTFS on your system in addition to FAT. Naturally, NTFS gives you a lot more security if that is a concern.
One more consideration. Putting your backup drive inside your desktop protects you against one of your drives dying, but if your desktop gets damaged or stolen, then both drives go with it. If one of your drives is external, then it’s not subject to the same conditions as your desktop.
Considering the overall rate of capacity growth, the falling cost per gigabyte (I just paid $150 for a terabyte WD green drive or 15 cents per gigabyte) and the mean-time-to-failure of today’s drives, chances are good that you’ll replace the drive long before it dies on you regardless of it being internal or external.
Check out Western Digital. They make a pretty decent product and as long as you don’t roll it down the stairs, you should be OK.
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Posted by Administrator on Jan 16, 2010 in Tech Tactics | Comments Off
I just asked a question about this but I got stuck. I enter the IP address of my router in my tool bar, then the box pops up for me to enter my username and password. If I never set one up, what is it supposed to be? The person who commented said it should be on the back of my router, but it’s not.
I have a Motorola wr850g v2 in case you have the same.
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if you never changed your username and the password from the factory default, then use the username/password combination:
admin/motorola
the default factory combination is made very simple, easy to access, and they put it in both the user manual and the setup manual. You can access a copy at the following link:
http://broadband.motorola.com/consumers/…
This is why when you first unwrap and login to your router, you want to change the admin password immediately, especially if you are talking about a wireless router. Also, you want to make sure that no one can access your administrator console wirelessly.
The last thing you want is someone on the street logging into your rig and changing your settings.
Source(s):
http://broadband.motorola.com/consumers/…
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