Celestia's Hardware & Tips and Tricks Subject Closed!

[Don. Edwards]

Hello Everyone,
This is the official start to the Hardware and Tips and Tricks section.
I don't have anything to add here right now, as I have caught a cold and feel rather nasty.
For the First post I am going to delve into the world of AGP and the differences in card versions and slots. I will be adding photos to this article for reference.
So check back in a few days.

Don. Edwards

[Don. Edwards]

Hey There,
The AGP article is still in the works. I am now calling it an article because it has grown since I last mentioned it. I am still in the process of taking some pictures of the various AGP parts so bare with me on it.
In the mean time I had a question e-mailed to me by a newer Celestia user about a problem they were having after installing one of my larger textures. The problem they were having was that each time they tried to open there desired texture folder Explorer would crash. So here is what I feel is a very informative reply I gave them. Of course the name is not included.

There Question to me;

Hello Donald:

I discovered Celestia about a month ago. I have figured out many things, but now I have something that has stumped me and it is a real problem because I cannot open my texture folder anymore without getting the message:

"Windows Explorer has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience."
There are some more words and then two options: "Send Error Report" "Don't Send".

This only started to happen after I tried to open a 16K texture that I believe you provided to the community: "RealisticEarth-v4-16k"

I am able to run one 16k texture: "Mars m46 16k Normal PNG".

A few weeks back, I have tried some other 16k earth texture but my computer would only draw half of the globe so I gave up and have been using an 8k texture. I am using a 32k EarthNight texture.

I have tried to delete the "RealisticEarth-v4-16k" file from my hires folder, but windows explorer freezes my ability to do this. As it is right now I cannot do anything in the textures folder.

I am a novice in regard to the differences of different kinds of texture downloads.

I would appreciate it if you happen to know what my problem could be, that you would be so kind to offer some helpful suggestions.

My response;

Hi Celestia User,
I don't think it is the texture itself that is causing the problem. Well in one way it may be. I think you may have thumbnail view turned on in your texture folder. This will of course tell Explorer to show all your textures as thumbnail images instead of icons. This can consume a great deal of system memory and cause Explorer to crash just as you described. There are two ways to fix this. The easy way is to open any folder and make sure it is set for icon view. To do this right click in a blank area of the window you have opened and at the top of the pop-up menu select View, and then make sure that icons has a bullet or check next to it. Now go to the folder menu at the top of the open window and select Tools, then select Folder Options. Than select the View tab and hit the button the says "Apply To All Folders". This should reset all your folders to now show icons instead of thumbnails and you should now be able to get into your texture folders without any further crashing.
The other way is increase the size of the thumbnail cache. There ways to this with third party utilities or registry editing but as you are a novice I don't think I will try and walk you through this.
The only way to maintain thumbnail view and keep thoughs big textures in your folders is to add more system memory or increase the thumbnail cache. Unfortunately even with a larger thumbnail cache and 1.5gb of RAM I still have times when Explorer crashes on me trying to draw all the thumbnails of all the hundreds of textures I have. It is a limitation of Windows itself at this point. So I would highly recommend leaving thumbnail view off in your Texture folders in the future.


If this doesn't fix the problem than it is possible that a file has become cross linked. To fix this you will need to have Windows Xp run Check Disk on the next reboot of your system. To do this you will need to OPEN My Computer and right click the drive that has your install of Celestia on it. Select Properties and in the new window that pops up select the Tools tab. At the top you should see Error Checking. Click the check now button. This will open another small window with options for check disk. Make sure you have both of the boxes checked for both ?€?Automatically fix file system errors?€

[Tech Sgt. Chen]

Fabulous idea Don! Maybe I can get back into the loop and give some input. "Gee, people come and go so quickly around here!" I can't believe that after 1 year, everything I upgraded to is already getting obsolete! I gotta look into those (old) new Extended PCI slots!

[PlutonianEmpire]

I have a problem:

I downloaded something, and all of a sudden, an Internet explorer thingy was plastered onto my desktop by some sort of adware/trojan/virus/whatever. I knew it was an IE thing once i right-clicked on it. so i went down and clicked "view source" or something like that, and got the html:

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<!----
***** This file is automatically generated by Microsoft Windows *****
--------><HTML><HEAD>
****** http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=windows-1252"></HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#000000>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: url(file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Eugene/Local%20Settings/Application%20Data/Microsoft/Wallpaper1.bmp) no-repeat 50% 50%; LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: 1024px; POSITION: absolute; TOP: 0px; HEIGHT: 768px"></DIV><IFRAME
id=1
style="Z-INDEX: 1002; BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: 1024px; POSITION: absolute; TOP: 1px; HEIGHT: 767px"
name=DeskMovrW marginWidth=0 marginHeight=0 src="file:///C:/WINDOWS/screen.html"
frameBorder=0 scrolling=no subscribed_url="" resizeable=""> </IFRAME>
<OBJECT id=ActiveDesktopMover
style="LEFT: 0px; VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; POSITION: absolute; TOP: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px; container: positioned; zIndex: 5"
classid=clsid:72267F6A-A6F9-11D0-BC94-00C04FB67863></OBJECT>
<OBJECT id=ActiveDesktopMoverW
style="Z-INDEX: 1001; LEFT: -1px; VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 1026px; POSITION: absolute; TOP: 0px; HEIGHT: 769px; container: positioned"
classid=clsid:72267F6A-A6F9-11D0-BC94-00C04FB67863></OBJECT>&nbsp;
</BODY></HTML>

Screenshot:


Also, after repairing my windows console after inadvertenly messing up IE, i lost a lot of the stuff (non-celestia, thankfully) that i added to my computer, so i'm back in service pack one and had to reinstall the nvidia drivers you gave me. However, my computer is so slow i can't run celestia anymore.

[selden]

If you are running Windows, the following procedures are no longer an option.

The bad guys *are* out to get your system and use it for things you do not want to know about. The least offensive things they use hijacked systems for are broadcasting spam, porn file serving and denial of service attacks against commercial sites. And those are just the tip of the iceberg.

You *must* install WinXP SP2 and turn on the firewall. (or install a commercial firewall and keep it up to date)

You *must* keep up to date with WinXP security patches.

You *must* purchase, install and keep up-to-date (at least weekly updates) a modern anti-virus program.

You *must* download, install and keep up-to-date anti-spyware software.

You *must* run anti-virus scans regularly (weekly) on your hard disks.

If your system seems to be running slowly for no obvious reason, your system *has* been taken over and is being used for illegal activities.

I wish I were being alarmist

[julesstoop]

My advise to anyone out there:
Make sure your next computer is a Mac.

[Don. Edwards]

I think you may be looking at having to totally clean your installation now. Just installing an Antivirus program, turning on the firewall, and installing good spy ware is probably to late at this point. You have definitely lost some critical files for your OS and needed drivers for the system as well.
So I am afraid the best thing to do now is back-up Celestia and any other programs and put the system restore CD in and restore the system.

When Windows XP gets damaged there is seldom a successful rehabilitation. I have rescued some pretty damaged systems but trying to walk you through this is just not feasible at this point. Hopefully you have a way to back-up your data and as quickly as possible. Windows can tank vary fast when damage like this occurs.

Thing to do after the recovery CD has done its thing:

1. Install Service Pak 2 and all subsequent updates from the update site.

2. Reinstall your video drivers and any other software that you may have lost.

3. Go to http://free.grisoft.com/doc/2/lng/us/tpl/v5 and download AVG Antivirus Free version. This is a fully functioning Anti Virus program that is updated several times a week. I use it and recommend it to all my clients. It is better than Symantec?€™s Norton Anti Virus and McAfee Anti Virus by miles and has proven itself to me many times to be the better product. Just because you pay money for something doesn?€™t make it better. Another issue I have with Norton AV is that it is so slow. It can take 6 hours to do a scan on some systems. AVG can do it normally in well under an hour usually much less time.

4. Download Spybot - Search & Destroy 1.4 at http://www.spybot.info/en/download/index.html . This is hands down the best Spy ware remover on the market and it is free as well. It has options to immunize Internet Explorer from exploits that have been used to hose your system. It also has a feature to monitor your system for any changes to the registry and then will ask if you what the changes or not. This is good for novices but not really that important and can get in the way of doing mass installs of software after a system reinstall.

5. Try and watch out what sites you visit. I would also recommend you try and stop using Internet Explorer altogether and try one of the other free web browsers out there. I use Firefox. The only problem I have with it is that a few sites I visit are so heavily coded to work with IE they don?€™t work in Firefox. That would be the only time to fall back and use IE. At least until IE 7 becomes available. I know some people just want to use another browser. But after something like this happens it is time to do some rethinking and stop using Windows XP?€™s weakest link. If you insist on using IE than you have no one to blame but yourself if this happens again. I can be a hard lessen learned.

6. Use Window?€™s System Restore program and set a restore point. This will help a little if something should go wrong in the future. But don?€™t bank on this fixing everything. It can?€™t and won?€™t. Not until Microsoft rewrites it to do major backups of your system into an image file for restoring.

Well that pretty much covers the most important things. I hope this helps. I am sorry that this has happened but as I said above it is a lesson learned and hopefully you will be much better prepared for the future.
I wish I could wave a magic wand and make it all better for you but I can?€™t. I can tell you how to fix things and tell you how better prepare yourself for the future.

Don. Edwards

[Don. Edwards]

julesstoop,
It doesn't help to come in and say something like that. If he had wanted a Mac in the first place he would have gotten one.
Trying to convince anyone that a Mac can't get corrupted is a real dumb thing to say. I have worked on many a Mac with OS X that have been very corrupted. It may not have been a virus or web attack that did it but 9 times out of 10 it was due to one of Apples own OS X updates. So please don't be preaching about something that is a patented Apple lie.
Macintosh computers can develop faults just as any other computer can. Their Operating System OS X is just as venerable to bad programming as the PC and Windows are. As a matter of fact I can safely say I have had to fix a few more Macs due to software updating than I have with Service Pack 2 for Windows XP. At least Windows XP has a working recovery console and you can try and recover the system. OS X has nothing like this and once it gets hosed it?€™s hosed and has to be reinstalled. Apple needs a way to give you low level access via the GUI to try and repair things. That is left up to third party venders and there utilities. Those are the facts as I have experienced them. I love OS X and Apple?€™s computers.
But to go around believing they are totally invulnerable to any and all possible damage via virus, malware, bad programming is arrogant and in fact damaging to the image of Apple. They know they have weaknesses but just don?€™t talk about them. It is only spoken of in back rooms. There recent changes in CPU venders is proof that they can make a mistake. I will let you choose which side of the fence I ride on for that one.

Also if there are anymore comments on who?€™s hardware is better as was done above this thread will be closed.
I will not get into a platform war nor will I let this thread to develop into one. Nothing further on the subject of what?€™s better. This thread is about information on the hardware and software, and tips and tricks on how to make it work better. If you want to discuss the merits of your computer platform of choice DO IT ELSEWHERE!!!

Don. Edwards

[selden]

Unfortunately, MacOS is just as vulnerable as Windows. I've personally seen several that have been "rooted" in much the same way. They were taken over by automated tools that used them to attack other sites

[PlutonianEmpire]

Actually, my computer hasn't been connected to the internet since I repaired the windows thingy.

But even though, do I still need to reformat the whole thing?

EDIT: Oh, and i was using firefox when it started.

[selden]

Unfortunately, remote diagnosis of this kind of problem is essentially impossible. I'd suggest getting some professional help from a local computer repair organization, if you can afford it.

Since you're running XP, you might be able to recover by telling it to go back to a restore point taken befor the trouble started.

Unfortunately, this also is a reason why doing regular full-disk backups is a good idea. Then you can restore the disk to a known good state with no question as to whether or not some malware is still present.

[Tech Sgt. Chen]

If I may make a suggestion; Spyware Blaster is a great program that'll keep many Nasty programs from downloading to your PC in the first place. Those that have already downloaded, it'll keep them from communicating with their host. You just have to keep the signatures updated like any antivirus program and, ITS FREE!
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/

Additionally, though gaming is one of the most popular trends on the web (next to Celestia), it's also one of the most common avenues for Spyware. Be careful when installing games!

[Don. Edwards]

Spyware Blaster, Ha!
This was on several of computers run by one of my clients. Needless to say I was not impressed. All three machines had tons of spyware on them and loaded full of viruses. This is the reason Spybot Search & Destroy is the #1 product for dealing with spyware. Needless to say I quickly uninstalled Spyware Blaster and installed Spybot S&D, I also installed AVG Antivirus Free. They had been running McAfee. Needless to say both programs did their jobs and took care of all the problems. My client?€™s computers are still virus and spyware clear to this day.
It is a good idea to some research on a program before you go and install it. Certainly this is most important when it comes to programs that deal with spyware, viruses, and system utilities.
About a year ago there was a spyware program that was found to be spyware itself. It would remove competing spyware from your system in favor of its own. This did make a bit of a splash across internet news sites.
We must always be very careful about or choices in software. These little programs can be the device that can destroy all your data or be the savoir of you computer.

Don.

[Tech Sgt. Chen]

Spyware can also be installed by CD's or from other computers on a network. Spyware Blaster stops it from being downloaded from an Internet Browser. If the signatures are not kept up to date (like Antivirus software), oh well! If spyware does happen to make it onto a system (sometimes before Spyware Blaster is installed), then it will be prevented from running and/or transmitting it's info to the host. By the way, I picked up a spyware program once from an AOL Online trial CD. Just because spyware is on a computer, doesn't mean it's Spyware Blaster's fault for being there but, that should go without saying.
Consequently, I also use Spybot Search and Destroy. Have you tried the Spybot S & D immunization feature? It will notify you that Javacool's Spyware Blaster offers better immunization, even gives you the link to their Website. Just FYI.

[Don. Edwards]

Spybot also immunizes Internet Explorer from being able to download these little pests. It has an additional feature that can block any program from making changes to your registry unless you give it the ok. This is very handy for the beginner/novice. For a more seasoned PC user it can become a little bit of a pest. If you now your system, and are diligent about updating your spyware/antivirus definitions than this feature isn't needed. It is all a matter of degrees of protection.
I am not totally convinced his system was the victim of spyware or a virus. Of course again I can't rule this out either. If he had XP Pro I could through the internet delve into his system and check a few things. But Home Edition doesn't have this feature activated. Of course you would have to be willing to let someone into your system to do this. You have to build a level of trust with clients to insure there privacy. His system could simply be freaking out because of an over bloated registry with to many broken entries. Or he could also have a problem with his hard drive.
He is using a notebook computer. They are more venerable to hard drive damage than a stationary desktop computer. If I had his system in my shop I would backup his data, run a disk recovery program to look for any bad clusters and map them out, low level format the drive, use his restore CDs to restore the system software, and then return his data to the system. If in the process of disk recovery it is found that there is damage to the hard drive I would then recommend replacement as soon as possible. One or two bad clusters would be considered not to bad. When you start seeing five to ten then the drive is near its end of life. Even a new hard drive can EOL (end of life) in a short time depending on its use and manufacturer. Let?€™s face it, not all hard drives are built equal. Some are better than others. I have my favorite brands while some swear by others. I have to look at how many of any certain brand I see coming with trouble to make my choices as to what is a good drive brand and what to stay away from.

Don.

[Tech Sgt. Chen]

Don, just out of curiosity, have you or anyone else heard of issues involving missing files after Installing/Uninstalling Nvidia drivers?
A look at the desktop screenshot and a first glance of the source code (above) seems to indicate some type of transparent gif application covering his active desktop. That could prevent being able to activate the program by clicking on desktop icons. He might be better off disabling active desktop.
Additionally, the registry protection offered by Spybot S&D is the Immunization feature I was referring to. As a Pc Tech, you know that most people don't use their security software appropriately. They employ a Fire and Forget method to Antivirus, Firewalls, Anti-Spyware, Etc. That's why they hire you guys in the first place. Then, you come in, make the necessary repairs and remind them to keep everything updated, which they do for a while. Then, it's back to Fire and Forget method.

[Don. Edwards]

Tech Sgt. Chen,
You have point there. It does kind of look like he might have acitve desktop turned on. I just can't see why anyone would use this feature. I thought it was the most $&^%&% idea that Microsoft ever came up with. It is such a system hog and never really worked right from the begining. It often crashed and no one ever really made any content for it. I was happy tofinally see the option to turn it on and off dissapear in XP SP2. Of course it is still there. Its just much harder to turn off if it does get turned on. As always the right hand doens't know what the left is doing. I very Microsoft way of doing things.

[Don. Edwards]

There will be no further posts on this subject frm me.

Don. Edwards