Adding a Silencer to Noisy Nokia N Series Phones

Focus of the post :- Taking Silent Pics with Nokia N73.This trick will definitely work on other N Series Mobile.Make sure you apply a suitable hack for your symbian9 version

• Due to privacy laws in North-America , APAC and Gulf countires noisy N Series are sold which shouts at the pic when clicked.Even if privacy laws dont exist in your country there is good possiblity that you might be having a barking phone.In pre-symbian9 phones (eg:-N70,6600,6630) the shutter click could easily be silenced by putting warning tones off from the profiles section.

• Earlier this thing was not possible but now several hacks have emerged which allow unrestricted access(no Signed Apps and no Certificate Error) to the phones internal memory and ROM.

• Tested on hacked Nokia N73-5 RM-132 v4.0726.2.1.1 . I am not sure from where this hack originated but this is available on few of the forums.

Step1 : Open X-Plore and explore to "Z:\Private\10202be9\101F8809.txt" - Use Find feature

Step2 : Copy the file to C:\ or E:\ and edit the last line either in phone or on computer by opening in Notepad.

0x7 int 1 0 cap_rd=alwayspass cap_wr=alwaysfail

Replace with and Save

0x7 int 0 0 cap_rd=alwayspass cap_wr=alwaysfail

Step3 : Copy the file to "C:\Private\10202be9\101F8809.txt"

Step4 : Turn "Warning Tones off" in your active profile.

Now shoot a chick at her face without the fear of getting slapped.Click photos in examination hall,send it over Wi-Fi/Bluetooth and receive solutions from friends. 

Codeweavers Diwali Gift : Crossover Goes Free for Today Only

Focus of the post :- No,its not a diwali gift but a lost challenge where you get a  free license for Codeweaver Crossover Linux/Mac software(free engine inside)

Codeweavers CEO and Founder,Jeremy White just lost the Great American Lame Duck Presidential Challenge to George Bush.Part of the Challenge  which CodeWeavers launched in July with a challenge deadline of January 20,2009, the company said it would provide free license under Bush's administration if any of the following things happened:-

• Return the stock market to it's 2008 high; 
• Reduce the average price of a gallon of milk to $3.50; 
• U.S. jobs exceed 138 million
• Return the median home price to its Jan. 1, 2008 level; 
• Capture Osama Bin-Laden 
• Bring the average gasoline prices in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul) to $2.79 a gallon. 

Without any effort from the president the global crude oil prices fell below 100$.At the time of Lame challenge the prices were as high as $140 per barrel.CodeWeavers CEO Jeremy White saw that gas was $2.79 a gallon during a recent fill-up, "I screamed, 'Woohoo!' Then I yelled, 'Oh, crap!' as I realized every American can now have my software for free - kind of upsets my fourth-quarter revenue projections," he said.So on Tuesday 28th October 2008, all of CodeWeavers products, which allow Mac and Linux users to run Windows applications, can be downloaded for free,instead of $40.[startribune.com]

More on the Software:-
At the time of writing the post,the codeweaver's site is half-down.It is accepting email addresses for free license so get your copy here. The tribune reports Crossover for $40 but Pro version costed $69.95 when i checked the codeweavers site in June 2008.

The official codeweaver product descriptions saved on June 05,2008 from my hdd are here:-
Software by CodeWeavers
The CrossOver Difference: Superior Integration
Crossover Linux Standard and Pro Comparison
Crossover Games

More on Oil:-

Opec agrees to cut oil output (Sep 10,2008) - "Opec oil ministers have agreed to curb their collective output by more than 500,000 barrels a day.An Opec spokesman said members had agreed to cut excess production and "strictly comply" with a quota target of 28.8 million barrels per day."Since the market is oversupplied the conference agreed to abide by September 2007 production allocations totalling 28.8 million barrels per day, levels with which member countries committed to strictly comply," an Opec statement said" [via Al-Jazeera]

Oil tops $140 a barrel (June 26,2008) -Oil prices have risen above $140 a barrel on the New York stock exchange for the first time amid new warnings of future price rises and a Libyan threat to cut production.
US crude oil rose $5.50 to $140.05 a barrel in New York on Thursday afternoon, passing the record of $139.89 a barrel reached on June 16. - [via Al-Jazeera]

More on the Story:-

Codeweavers says cheap gas = free software today (October 27,2008) - Update 10/28: Welcome, Digg fans. CodeWeavers' site is getting crunched under the massive demand for the free versions of CrossOver, so there is now a minimal site at down.codeweavers.com that will accept your email address; you will be mailed your registration code in the next couple of days. [License details here]

'Lame Duck challenge' met, so software is free Credit dropping gas prices with a free software offer on Tuesday for Mac users. [startribune]

More on Codeweaver:-

"CodeWeavers is a company that sells a proprietary version of Wine called CrossOver, for running Windows applications on Mac OS X and Linux. The company was founded in 1996 as a consultancy, eventually moving entirely over to Wine development and support. The CrossOver version of Wine is regularly refreshed with the latest free Wine patches; likewise, patches from the company's employees are sent back to the project almost immediately. The Company's products include CrossOver Pro Linux, CrossOver Pro Mac, CrossOver Games for Linux, and CrossOver Games for Mac. CrossOver Server was discontinued in 2007 as CrossOver Pro replaced its functionality. The company's products have traditionally focused on making Microsoft software staples like Microsoft Office, MS Word, and MS Excel run on Linux. With the addition of CrossOver Pro Mac the company has also begun focusing on games and other applications not available natively on the Mac platform, such as MS Visio and MS Project. CrossOver Games was introduced in March 2008 and is intended to allow gaming-related patches from Wine to be incorporated into CrossOver much faster. The CrossOver Pro product line will focus on stability and in-depth testing with supported productivity software, such as Microsoft Office, and will have a slower release cycle.
CodeWeavers also provides implementation and consulting services around Wine and other open-source software projects. Google has paid CodeWeavers to improve support for Adobe Photoshop and add functionality to Wine." -- [via wikipedia]

Updates:- 

Email Received from codeweavers on 1st November,2008:-

The CodeWeavers Lame Duck Presidential Challenge

You are now registered to use the following serial number for CrossOver.
---------------------------------

MY 19 DIGIT SERIAL NUMBER
----------------------------------

To get your free software, simply enter the code above at the following URL:

http://register.codeweavers.com

Once you've done that, you will be able to log into your account on CodeWeavers' web site, and download your product.

You have until November 30th 2008 to register this code with us. After that date, the code will no longer be valid.

Limit 1 copy per customer.  Download only.

We apologize for the delay in getting this code to you. The load on our systems was far beyond our expectations.

Getting Help:
If you need further help on our software, please check the following links:

 * Online Video Help:
      http://www.codeweavers.com/products/videos/
 * Online Documentation :
      http://www.codeweavers.com/support/docs/
 * Support Wiki:
      http://www.codeweavers.com/support/wiki/

We appreciate your interest, and we hope that you enjoy using CrossOver!

• If have already installed the demo version then you can convert your demo copy by registering with the codeweaver email-address and password.

• If you dont have an internet ready machine then you can download your Crossover Pro Linux/Mac/Game from the My Downloads Section after logging into your account.This way you dont have to activate it over the internet.
  

World in Video - Some Interesting and Famous Documentaries

If you miss the history and discovery channel on the computer then this link is just meant for you.Docuwiki.net is a wiki of the forum forums.mvgroup.org.The forum has all kinds of BBC,ABC,Nat-Geo documentaries.Downloads are available through ed2k and torrents.If you arent comfortable with emule then you can try searching piratebay.org and mininova.org for the titles.The forum even provides Hi-def downloads although seeds are an issue for few of the downloads.The wiki has over 1297 documetaries in its catalogue.

Complete List of Documentaries by name 

Complete List of Documentaries by name  [wikipedia]

List of Documentaries by topic [wikipedia]

List of Documentaries by BBC

List of Documentaries by Nat-Geo

List of Documentaries by Discovery Channel
 

Documentaries Related to India:-

 The Story of India by BBC

Wild India by BBC

The Great Indian Railway by Nat-Geo

Empires of India by Nat-Geo

Born into Brothels by Ross Kaufman and Zana Briski
 

1.Blood Diamond (2007,History) - Diamonds are symbols of wealth, elegance and love around the world. But in several African nations, they have been a means to power, a reason to terrorize millions of innocent civilians, and may have even helped finance some of the world's most brutal terrorists. The human cost of the illicit global diamond trade is examined in the provocative documentary.This is one of my favourite documentaries,

2.The Story of India (2007,BBC) - The world's largest democracy and a rising economic giant, India is now as well known across the globe for its mastery of computer technology as it is for its many-armed gods and its famous spiritual traditions. But India is also the world's most ancient surviving civilisation, with unbroken continuity back into prehistory.

 

3.Inside Chernobyl's Sarcophagus (1996,BBC) - This episode won an Emmy. It covers the sarcophagus built to contain the remains of the destroyed reactor and the work of the Russian scientists, staff and soldiers who risked and continue to risk their lives in the clean-up operation.Original poster notes :"This file was digitised from a VHS recording of the programme. The picture quality is fair, however, the sound track has some occasional static, especially towards the beginning.I think this is the 1996 updated version of the original 1991 programme and includes an extra 10 minutes of interviews with several of the original scientists. It is shorter than the 60 minutes described on the BBC website and may have been edited."

 

4.Israel's Secret Weapon (2003,BBC) -Original broadcast on BBC Two on Monday, 17 March, 2003 at 2320 GMT."The United States and Britain are preparing to wage war on Iraq, for its undisclosed weapons of mass destruction.Israel's nuclear, biological and chemical capabilities have remained un-inspected.Meanwhile Mordechai Vanunu has been imprisoned for 16 years for exposing Israel's secret nuclear bomb factory to the world. Vanunu is seen as a traitor in his own country. He has been abandoned by most of his family and has spent 11 years in solitary confinement.Today only an American couple, who have legally adopted him, are among the few visitors he is permitted.This film is the story of the bomb, Vanunu and Israel's wall of silence."From the BBC press release :"Correspondent - Israel's Secret Weapon examines the story of Mordechai Vanunu who, 16 years ago, was drugged, kidnapped and imprisoned for 18 years for treason and espionage after a secret trial in Israel because he fled the country and revealed its nuclear weapons programme to the world.His lawyer, Avigdor Feldman, said: "Vanunu was treated this way out of revenge, out of a way to deter others and because actually he is the person who broke the taboo of the secrecy in the Israeli society, that's why he was treated in such a harsh way."In a probation hearing behind closed doors, Mr Feldman claimed the Israeli prosecutor argued that if Vanunu was released, the Americans would probably leave Iraq alone and press for insepctions of Israel's nuclear weapons.He said: "If Vanunu will be released, probably the Americans would leave Iraq and go after Israel and Israel's nuclear weapons."Vanunu's revelations led nuclear science experts to estimate that Israel has in the region of between 100 to 200 atomic bombs which have not undergone an independent inspection."

5.Titanic - Answers from the Abyss (1999,Discovery) - This fascinating programme follows a group of experts who hope to change all that. An arsenal of high-tech hardware will perform a deep-sea examination. Pieces of Titanic will be dissected and analysed and new techniques will reveal aspects of the tragedy never before witnessed or understood.Part two of this remarkable research study succeeds in uncovering further historical revelations. Groundbreaking underwater tests show what's never been seen, Titanic's fate once she slipped out of sight beneath the chilly ocean waves. The unparalleled team of expert investigators continues in their quest to find the truth.More on titanic here and here.

6.The Genius of Photography(2007,BBC) - In the most comprehensive look at the most influential art form in the world, the series explores every aspect of photography - from daguerreotype to digital, portraits to photo-journalism, art to advertising; in the UK, America, China, Japan, Africa and beyond. It includes interviews and encounters with some of the world’s greatest living photographers including William Eggleston, Nan Goldin, William Klein, Martin Parr, Sally Mann, Robert Adams, Juergen Teller, Andreas Gursky, Jeff Wall and many others. But as well as telling the stories behind the world’s greatest photographs and the photographers who took them, the series examines the ‘genius’ of photography itself, this magical, unpredictable and democratic medium that has transformed the way we see ourselves and our world.The series culminates in an examination of the impact of the digital post-production techniques that make anything possible, and looks at the rediscovery of techniques which are taking photography back to the 19th century.

7.The Story of Computer Games(2003,Discovery) -Since the first Pong machine was unveiled 30 years ago, computer games have become the world's second largest entertainment industry, after music. This program profiles game developers who revolutionized the industry and made playing video games a familiar household activity, and also indirectly fueled the snack food industry.Unique access to the creative geniuses of the last 30 years in a riveting voyage of innovation and blood on the carpet

8.Revolution OS(2001, J. T. S. Moore) -Revolution OS is a 2001 documentary film made in the United States, directed by J. T. S. Moore, which traces the twenty-year history of GNU, Linux, open source, and the free software movement.
It features interviews with prominent hackers and entrepreneurs (and hackers-cum-entrepreneurs), including Richard Stallman, Michael Tiemann, Linus Torvalds, Larry Augustin, Eric S. Raymond, Bruce Perens, Frank Hecker and Brian Behlendorf. [via wikipedia] - Not available through docuwiki.net [imdb]

Updates:-

9.Killing the Children of Iraq by John Pilgarin - "After Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, the United Nations (backed strongly by the US and UK) imposed harsh sanctions on Iraq that lasted for 10 years (1991-2001); the harsh restrictions on imports of everything, including access to key medicines, resulted in over a million deaths, more than half a million of which were women and children. That's more deaths than the two atomic bombs dropped on Japan and 9/11 combined. The purpose was regime change, but it never came. The overwhelming majority of those killed were the poor, elderly, women and children. Empirically, sanctions overwhelmingly punish the poor, the destitute. While the sanctions were in place, the richest people in control of the resources (Saddam Hussein et al.) still had everything they wanted: food, cars, mansions, access to the best medicines, etc. Award-winning journalist John Pilger has documented the reality of UN harsh sanctions in this hard-hitting film"

9/11 Documentaries:-

1.Fahrenheit 9-11 (2004,Micheal Moore) - To anyone who truly understands what it means to be an American, Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 should be seen as a triumph of patriotic freedom. Rarely has the First Amendment been exercised with such fervor and forthrightness of purpose: After subjecting himself to charges of factual errors in his gun-lobby exposé Bowling for Columbine, Moore armed himself with a platoon of reputable fact-checkers, an abundance of indisputable film and video footage, and his own ironically comedic sense of righteous indignation, with the singular intention of toppling the war-ravaged administration of President George W. Bush. It's the Bush presidency that Moore, with his provocative array of facts and figures, blames for corporate corruption, senseless death, unnecessary war, and political favoritism toward Osama Bin Laden's family and Saudi oil partners following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001

2.Zeitgeist, the Movie-Part II(2007,Peter Joseph) - Zeitgeist was first released on June 26, 2007 and topped the Google video charts most viewed videos.The film was translated into several languages and is distributed officially via Google Video and BitTorrent. Zeitgeist won the top award of Best Feature Documentary/Artivist Spirit at the 4th Annual Artivist Awards in 2007 in Hollywood, CA. An upcoming sequel has been announced. "Zeitgeist Addendum" will premiere at the 5th Annual Artivists Film Festival on October 2, 2008, at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, California. The film will be released for free online on October 3, 2008. [wikipedia]

3. Zero(2008) - An Investigation into 9/11, has one central thesis - that the official version of the events surrounding the attacks on 9/11 can not be true. This brand new feature ocumentary from Italian production company Telemaco explores the latest scientific evidence and reveals dramatic new witness testimony, which directly conflicts with the US Government's account.

Others:-
9/11: Press for Truth
911: In Plane Site
Inside 9/11

Before downloading the complete titles you can preview them at youtube.Most of the pics,descriptions and screenshots taken from the original wiki page.

Beetel 220BX1 - New Firmware Disables USB

Focus of the post :- Updating the firmware of Beetel 220BX1 and Beetel 220BX will disable the USB connection port .

The new firmware for BX1 disables the USB port of the modem.The software version in FW3(Beetel 220BX1) and FW4(Beetel 110BX1) pics is exactly the same.This means the new firmware is meant for the newer model Beetel 110BX1 which has no USB port.

During service,the airtel engineer updated the firmware without my consent.When i asked him about the changes in the new firmware he replied that there is nothing new except the USB will be disabled.On asking further,he explained the USB caused frequent corruption of the modem settings.I told him to replace the modem with a new one.I destroyed my modem while downgrading the firmware.You wont be able to downgrade from v3.12L.The USB port is useful in connecting two systems to the internet without any hassles.

The firmware has minor changes and wont really effect the preformance.The logins http://192.168.1.1 and http://192.168.1.1/main.html has been integrated into one.Connect/Disconnect option in the modem page and a few other features.

• v3.00L (Oldest Firmware,Available for Download on the Beetel site)

Filename : T28-0q-003

Size : 1.79 MB

• v3.04L (Beetel 220BX)
  

Filename : T2H-0Q-001

Size : 1.79 MB

Download 

Changes :  Bug Fix and Enhancement History (From Release Notes)

This release contains the following enhancements and bug fixes since the previous release.

1. Blocked PPPoE Discover packet from WAN as the modem is in PPPoE mode. 

2.Don’t allow to create same PVC. 

3. Change the DSL firmware to A2pB021c. 

4. Can’t modify wan configuration via telnet menu.

• v3.06L (Default FW for Beetel 220BX1 - Recommended) 

• v3.12L (Default FW for Beetel 110BX1,Compatible with BX and BX1 also but disables the USB port on both of them)

Filename : T2HQ007
Size : 1.80 MB
Download

Beetel 220BX USB Disconnection problem
http://www.broadband4india.com/airtel-broadband/593-airtel-beetel-220bx-usb-disconnections.html
http://broadbandforum.in/airtel-broadband/10225-airtel-broadband-beetel-220bx-usb-disconnections/2/

USB Driver for Beetel 220BX1 and Beetel 220BX  

1 INDIAN iPhone ≈ 4 US iPhones [Courtesy:Vodafone,Airtel]

Focus of the post:- Neither Twice as Fast.Twice Half the Prise*

After registering for the iphone on 30th June,here is a copy of the vodafone email i received on 20th August,1.21am.

Hello Haider,

Thank you for registering for your Apple iPhone 3GTM with us.

We are delighted to announce that the iPhone 3G will be available in India from August 22, 2008.It will be available in 8GB & 16GB models, priced at Rs 31,000($721) and Rs 36,100 respectively.

Be the first to get the iPhone

We have received a large number of registrations. As there are limited stocks, make sure that you get yours first, by paying an advance of Rs 10,000 to confirm your booking.

Where can you make this advance payment?

The iPhone 3G will be available at select Vodafone Stores. All you need to do is drop in at any select Vodafone Store between August 20 and 21 and make the advance payment by cash or credit card. Don´t forget to show the iPhone booking SMS, which you would have received from us, when you visit the Vodafone Store to pay the advance. To find a Vodafone Store near you, click here

Get an appointment now. No queues for you.

Once you pay the advance, we will immediately give you an appointment date and time, starting August 22 when you can come and experience a full demonstration and collect your iPhone, all ready to use with your contacts and settings, by paying the balance amount.

Hurry! Limited stocks.

Remember, the sooner you confirm your booking, the earlier you´ll get your iPhone. We have limited stocks and it will be on first come, first serve basis.

Buy a Vodafone connection now!

As you are not a Vodafone customer, you will need a Vodafone connection for your iPhone 3G. We recommend that when you come to confirm your booking, please do get yourself a Vodafone connection too. Remember to carry a passport sized picture, photo ID proof and address proof as these are required for activating your Vodafone SIM card.

Happy to help

If you have any queries, log on to www.vodafone.in/iphone or call us on 9839098390 and we´ll be happy to help.

Hurry and be one of the first to make the iPhone 3G your own.

Regards

Vivek Gangwar

General Manager - Customer Service

This is an auto–mailer. Please do not reply to this mail. Select features and services are currently available in India. 3G features can be used on 3G networks while roaming abroad. TM & © 2008 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Brought to you by Hutchison Max Paging Private Ltd.

End of Mail

*Comparisons between iPhone 3G (8GB) and first-generation iPhone (8GB) running on EDGE

The price of the iphone in india is equivalent to contract-free iphones sold abroad.

Some Useful Data Recovery Tips

Focus of the post:- Share my data recovery experience

• Case I - Software Fault

One fine day i was just reading about NTFS partition in the OS Dinasaur book by Galvin[out of the 3 writers this is the easiest name to pronounce] for my endsem exams.I just read the line the cluster size[allocation unit] is configured when an NTFS partiton is formatted.I remembered the default cluster size was 4096 bytes,reading the book i decided to test what other cluster sizes are available."NTFS does not deal with individual sectors of a disk but instead uses clusters as the unit of disk allocation.A cluster is number of disk sectors that is a power of 2.The cluster size is configured when an NTFS file system is formatted.The default cluster size is the sector size for voulmes upto 512MB[that is 512bytes],1KB for volumes upto 1GB,2KB for voulmes upto 2GB, and 4KB for larger volumes.This cluster size is much smaller than that for the 16-bit FAT file system,and the small size reduces the amount of internal fragmentation."[OS Principles,find more here and here].Before you make some opinion about me i must tell you that i am 100% adept with partitions and partitioning.I had 3 primary partitions and 9 logical drives in the extended partition.The last two logical drives were empty for linux distros so i deleted the last drive.As soon as i clicked on "delete logical drive" the system just restarted.After the reboot i found that i had lost 3 logical drives,one of the lost logical drives had 213GB of data.The berserk WDM utility  showed 1348GB of unallocated space more than the harddisk itself!!!.I cursed the Windows Disk Management utility, it reminded one of my friends talks,he used acronis disk director for partitioning and he lost one of his paritions in a similar way.I figured out the cause for this erratic behaviour - Never mix partitioning process with different utilites.This is a rare case and the whole data recovery process costed me at least 15marks but fortunately i got a short note question on NTFS in exams for 5 marks.I tested many data reovery utilites to recover 100% (213 GB of data).This isnt a detailed review of recovery softwares but contains a important word about each one of them.

Data recovery softwares have different modes depending on how you lost your data:-Format Recovery,Deleted Reovery(accidental file deletion),RAW Recovery(last resort),etc.Make sure you choose the correct one.

Ontrack Easy Recovery
I trusted this software the most.Initially the soft didnt recognize the filenames and folder structure.But after i converted the unallocated space into NTFS volume it recognized the data and folder structure(i didnt format it).Formatting the unallocated space would have made the data recovery more difficult.After going to Advanced Data Recovery>>Select Partition>>Advanced Options:-Select partition type(NTFS),Advanced Scan,>>Select Use MFT if you havent formatted the partition.Specifying this info the software immediately recognized my old NTFS volume.The software reovered 80% of my data.The software failed to recover saved web pages that were recoverd by file scavenger.

PC-Inspector file Recovery
Good old freeware with dirty Interface.Few audio and video files were corrupted while recovering!!.But the same files were recovered correctly by File Scavenger.The software did recover gigs of webpages but most of them were corrupted.Dont forget to spend a little time with the software interface.

File Scavenger v3.2
File Scavenger is an expert with NTFS partitions.It recovered 5gigs of documents and web pages which Ontrack and PC Inspector failed to recover.Except file scavenger no other utility was able to recover 100% of my data.It can recover data from even RAID arrays.

R-Studio
Lost file names and folder structure.Poor performance.

Acronis Recovery Expert bundled with Disk Director Suite
Initially i was looking for a utility that could undelete a partition but Active@ Partition Recovery just failed to work.I tested Acronis at last and laughed on myself.One click and everything was restored back to normal!!!.The partition was undeleted in just one click.I verified the integrity of files and everything was untouched.What a fool i have been all this time testing the capabilites of the recovery softwares.

Here are few utilites that failed to recover a single BIT of data
Active @ Partition Recovery
0&0 Disk Recovery v4.1 and bunch of other lesser known utils downloaded from the internet

Lessons learnt:-
Backup your data regularly.
NeverAvoid mixing partitioning process with different utilites like Acronis Disk Director,Partiton Magic and Windows Disk Management.
Pack your PC during exams.

Do's and Donts in case you loose a partition

• Try to recover the partition with data recovery softwares that can undelete a partiton.Most of the data recovery softwares lack this mode so go for a dedicated one like Acronis Recovery Expert or DiskInternals Partition Recovery.This will save you the pain of scanning the whole file system and saving individual files.
  
• Never format the partiton with a different or same file system in case you have a damaged file system or corrupt partition table
  
• If the data recovery software doesnt pick up your lost drive then try to allocate the unallocated space and dont forget to check the "Do not format this partition" tab.
  

• Case II - Some HDD fault
  

If you broke your IDE HDD's pin or managed to burn your HDD's DMA chip then HDD will be detected in BIOS but Windows wont load(you wont be able to reinstall either).I came across two hard disks of such fault.One of which was my own Seagate 7200.7 80GB IDE HDD[3 years ago] with broken pin and another was a SATA WD 250GB disk given to me by bro's friend  for data reovery[20 days back].Initially it looked to me some OS DMA fault or virus work but the problem was with HDD itself. I tried Acronis bootable DD CD,Hitachi's DFT,Seagate SeaTool,reinstalling windows but you will get an error everywhere.I wasnt surprised on the Linux Boot as i recovered by data three years back with a KNOPPIX Live CD.This time i used Ubuntu.If you have the faulty drive installed,Windows wont even load from a working drive with the working HDD installed as primary!.Linux will take a long time to boot and even a 1GB file will take hours to copy.
Lesson learnt:- Never loose hope.

• Case III - Human Fault

I remember i was  struck with a data disaster 6 years ago when i was new with computers.At that time i was resizing my 12Gb partition to 15GB[secnodary partition] with Partition Magic,frustated by the long process i just pressed the reset button.Windows ME on the primary partition worked fine.Each bit of data was precious to me in the dialup age.I  used a utility called Drive Rescue by Alexander Grau to to recover the data .Its discontinued and it had the same interface as the new PC Inspector File Recovery by Convar.
Lessons learnt:-Always be patient.

Data Recovery using Linux

Recover data from Windows partitions using Linux -  [Download here]

The pdf "Recovering Data from Windows Systems by Using Linux" is short and precise, teaches the stuff quickly published by the Open Source Software Lab at Microsoft..Basically it teaches how to create images of partitions.Dont forget to read the comments at the original page.There are specialized linux distro's for forensic analysis and data recovery too like F.I.R.E.

HowtoGeek:Use Ubuntu Live CD to Backup Files from Your Dead Windows Computer
Darknet:Complete list of linux distro's for forensic analysis,data recovery and security

Dont forget to post your comments,questions and suggestions.

PNY 9600GT - GOD,Good,Bad or Ugly??

 

PNY VCG96512GXPB

Place of buy:-Some place in America

Date of buy:-Some time in July 

Price:-$150

I had a $150 budget for a mid-range graphics card.In India i was getting XFX 8600GT for $139(Rs 6000) so i told my friend to get a XFX 9600GT through his uncle in America.8800GT was out of budget for me and 9600GT filled the gap between 8800GT and 8600GTS so i emailed the newegg link for XFX 9600GT Extreme Edition which had the same price as standard edition.XFX gone mad with over 14 9600GT's in the lineup with Standard(650,1800)Extreme XT(680,1900),XXX(700,2000),XXX Alpha dog(740) Editions.Each of the models has its variants with difference in game bundle(Call of duty 4 or Company of Heroes),RAM and accessories.

-Standard model(4 variants) is available in plain 512MB,plain 512MB with CoH,with 1024MB DDR3 with either CoD4 or CoH;
-Extreme XT(2 variants) is available with CoH standard accessories,or with CoH better accessories bundle.
-XXX Edition(2 variants) is available with CoH,with CoD4
-XXX Alpha dog is available with either CoD4,CoH or Assasin's Creed...XFX confuses more with different model numbers for each

...but for my some reason my friend couldnt get a card through newegg and i ended up with a PNY 9600GT.So lets take a look at it......and i got lucky

Specs and chipset comparison table here and here


  
The package and accessories

 

The card is protected in a plastic enclosure and includes basic/standard accessories.Verto sounds a overclocking range but its plain vanilla 9600GT with stock speeds.The package includes:- an installation CD,quick installation guide,2 DVI->D-SUB/VGA convertors,S-Video Cable,Molex->PCI-E convertor,HDTV cable

Ripping it apart

SAMSUNG K4J52324QE-BJ1A rated for 1000Mhz

The cooling is just average when compared to other 9600GT's.Its all aluminium and uses a Chiefly Choice fanCC6010S12H(Chiefly Choice+W*L*H+S for sleeve bearing+12V+H for HighSpeed) with 4000RPM speed and 15.15CFM air flow.The card uses a reference cooler and its idle temp is around 44C.


Memory Chips

The Samsung chips are rated for 1Ghz and easily overclocks to the rated frequencies.There is no cooling on the memory chips so dont expect it to overclock further .


Warranty for America:XFX offers the best warranty options while PNY offers one year warranty which can be extended to three years if you register on their site.In India i wont be getting any warranty so i wont lend it to anyone

Pros

• Conclusion:Good
  
• The USP of this card is its price.This card is one of the cheapest 9600GT's.
• Average overclocking.Overclocked Speeds :- 725/1000 (Not final,if you want you can bring this to cons).Its completely idiotic to pay more for factory overclocked cards...you pay more for what you can do yourselves..plus the card's been already overclocked so it wont overclock that much.
  
•  There is no point in complaining the accessories bundle or the cooling part since its one of the most affordable 9600GTs.Entry level cards in this range from other brands offer the same bundle.
• Attractive SLI option.
  

Cons

• Limited warranty options when compared to XFX and game bundle.

EVGA 9600GTs and Palit 9600GT Sonic with HDMI and Displayport will be an attractive option too.

9600GT around the Web
AnandTech  Bringing Competition to Midrange  The GeForce 9600 GT Raises NVIDIA's Sub $200 Bar
Toms: Nvidia's GeForce 9600 GT Tested Conclusion
Ars Technica: reviews the NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT
LegitReviews:EVGA, Palit and XFX GeForce 9600 GT Video Card Review
EVGA e-GeForce 9600 GT SSC Review
LegitReviews:PNY Verto GeForce 9600 GT Video Card Review (June 5.2008)
Tweaktown:PNY Verto GeForce 9600GT Graphics Card
LegitReviews:Albatron GeForce 9600GT-512X Video Card Review
PCPER: BFG GeForce 9600 GT 512MB Review - NVIDIA G94 Tested
Fudzilla:XFX does three 9600GT's.htm 
Fudzilla:Zotac officially launches DisplayPort 9600GT 
Fudzilla:Zotac 9600GT has six outputs
Fudzilla:9600GT shrunk to 55nm
Fudzilla:Galaxy's low-profile 9600GT is available
Fudzilla:Sparkle 9600 GT with a dual-fly cooler 
Fudzilla:Asus OC Gear also with 9600GT
Fudzilla:MSI N9600GT Diamond has 2GB of GDDR3 with Turbo button, Hybrid Freezer and Dr Mos
Fudzilla:MSI's 9600GT Hybrid Freezer is overclocked
Fudzilla:Vvikoo has 9600GT Turbo in copper
Fudzilla:Gainward 9600GT 1024MB likes overclocking 
Fudzilla:Sparkle puts 1GB on 9600GT 
Fudzilla:XFX 9600 GT 700M XXX play hard tested
Tweaktown:XFX GeForce 9600GT XXX Alpha Dog Edition
Techtree:XFX 9600GT XXX Edition
GeForce 9600 GT Triplet
Shader Clock Overclocking Tutorial 
Update 31st August: Amdzone: 24 XFX PVT96GYDF4 GeForce 9600GTs Overclocked



About the card

This card sucks . It is dead within 8 months. Never overclocked.Cabinet always open. Looks like it died of overheating after dust buildup in the heatsink.

I dared to ignore this