Safely Remove an external hard disk/USB Thumb drive in Windows 7

(THE USUAL WORK AROUND IS SHUTTING DOWN THE PC OR SLEEPING IT AND THEN REMOVE. THIS IS THE ALTERNATE AND PROPER WAY OF DOING THAT)

Powering down USB-powered external hard disk in Windows 7

USB-powered external hard disk In Windows 7, even after safely removing USB-powered external hard disk will not work in the same way as the safe removal would do in Windows XP. What it won’t do is powering down the hard drive(Hard Disk Wont spin down in Windows 7). You will notice this when you unplug the USB cable, because of the clickin sound coming from the hard disk, similar to the one you would hear if the power supply got suddenly cut off.

Steps Involved:

1) Download Sdparm for windows from
http://sg.danny.cz/sg/sdparm.html

and place it in C:\Windows\System32

2) Download Unlocker Software (google it) and install it.

3) Use unlocker software to stop processes accessing the disk. So that we made sure disk is not getting accessed.

4)To detach,  stop the usb hard disk spinning,  by entering the following  in Command prompt

( That is search cmd.exe in start in windows 7 , right click cmd.exe and run as administrator)

sdparm –command=stop [device]  (that is sdparm hyphen hyphen command=stop G:)

Replace [device] with the drive letter , and that’s it:

Example : sdparm –command=stop G:

If G is your Usb hard disk.

your hard disk will spin down , in the same way it would do in Windows after a safe removal.
Note :This how-to is based on my experience with a Western Digital WD Passport hard disk.

4) Then unplug it. (Physically pull the usb plug out)

Note : After Spinning Down the Hard disk Using sdparm “Please do not click windows safely remove function @ the taskbar as it will spin up the Hard disk again “

You can also use a batch file to spin down hard disk .

To create batch file

1)open notepad

2)Enter the following in notepad

sdparm –command=stop G:
pause

3) Save the file and name it as Spindown.bat

4)Place it in Desktop

5)Place sdparm.exe in C:\Windows\System32

5)To run it right click on it and Select “Run as administrator”..
NOTE:

If you have multiple partitions in your external hard disk select any one of the partitions in that usb hd  and unlock it using unlocker then use sdparm……..

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<HAPPY COMPUTING>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

[TUTORIAL] Disable Or Enable any device in a single click!!!

[TUTORIAL] Disable Or Enable any device in a single click!!!

Have you ever thought of scheduling your downloads in your laptop in a wifi network. And you wish to switch on wifi only at that time?

Or have you thought of disabling or enabling your Usb Ports with a single click Or any devices with a single click?
Here is the solution: (Works with windows XP, Vista ,………..)

1.    Download Devcon (Google it, you will find it in Microsoft site)

2.    Or From http://support.microsoft.com/kb/311272 (works with vista if used with skipuac)

3.    Copy Devcon.exe to C:\

4.    To know more about skipuac (TO disable UAC in vista only for specific appllcations) please visit
” http://msmvps.com/blogs/martinzugec/archive/2008/05/16/ignore-uac-for-specific-programs.aspx “  Hey thanks Martin!!!!!!!

5.    Use a batch file as follows: FOR ENABLING A DEVICE
[Open notepad and copy the following below and save as ENABLE DEVICE.bat
FOR VISTA AS FOLLOWS:
@echo off
start "" C:\SkipUAC\ElevatorRunner.exe C:\devcon.exe enable *DEVICE ID*
FOR XP AS FOLLOWS :
@echo off
start "" C:\devcon.exe enable *DEVICE ID*
]

6.    Use a batch file as follows: FOR DISABLING A DEVICE
[Open notepad and copy the following below and save as DISABLE DEVICE.bat
FOR VISTA AS FOLLOWS:
@echo off
start "" C:\SkipUAC\ElevatorRunner.exe C:\devcon.exe disable *DEVICE ID*
FOR XP AS FOLLOWS :
@echo off
start "" C:\devcon.exe disable *DEVICE ID*
]

Note 1 : SkipUAC is for Vista to Disable Uac Specific for this task!! See my next post regarding this!!
Note 2 : *DEVICE ID* is the device id for example my device id for my Wifi is :
1.    My Computer Right click
2.    Click Manage
3.    Then Click Device Manager
4.    Right Click Device you need  (here Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection)
5.    Click Properties
6.    Click Details TAB
7.    Select Hardware Ids in Properties
8.    You will get Device Id from here………

This is how we get from the window:

device properties

For Example :
[The window will look provide something  like this :
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_4222&SUBSYS_10008086&REV_02
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_4222&SUBSYS_10008086
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_4222&CC_028000
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_4222&CC_0280

So here DEVICE ID is DEV_4222

9.    SO TO DISABLE MY WIFI:
@echo off
start “” C:\SkipUAC\ElevatorRunner.exe C:\devcon.exe disable *DEV_4222*

10.    <<<<<THANK YOU HAPPY COMPUTING>>>>>

TUTORIAL: For getting better and boosted sound for Movies without distortion (Make Laptops Louder)!!!!

The Good:

1) Better Loud non distorted movie playback sound experiece in you laptop

2) Not amplyfing everything to avoid distortion

3) better sound like you here the songs in your laptops

The Bad :

Nothing..

TUTORIAL: Make movies Louder (songs arealready loud in windows media player)

1) Download and install Zoomplayer

2) Download and Install ffdshow decoder

3) In advanced settings in smartplay in audio and video decoders configure aac,ac3,lpcm,dts,dts in container and mp3 to ffdshow audio decoder

4)while playing a video fdshow audio icon appears in taskbar configure it as follows

5) In the volume tab enable volume and enable normalisation in it make Max amplification to 250%

(the max amplification value you may change it from 200 to 350 based on the sound of movies)

6)Enable Mixer and in mixer enable normalisation matrixand select the output speaker configaration correctly 2/0/2 quadro for lenovo y510/530

7)enable resample then in resample  enable resample to 48000 hz,liavcodec high quality, if lower than

8)In zoom player enable equalizer make preamp the first one a little higher( little means first possible step only in mp3 encoded movies and further more in ac3 encoded movies)

Thank you……………..

For decoding divx,xvid etc ffdshow video decoder is better if you care about quality ou can enable it in smartplay tab

Enjoyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

TUTORIAL: Enabling purevideo HD Hardware Acceleration for Nvidia 8(including 8400mgs),9,GTX series to acheive only 15%-20% cpu usage for 1080p Video (For Desktops and Laptops)

The Good:

1) only 10 – 20 % cpu is used

2) ultra smooth playback even in powersaver mode

3) Utilisation of what we have

4) More battery life and also you can multi task while playing hd

5) Cpu will run cooler

6) Better Video(image) Quality than Software Decoders

Hey Nvidia Users We have a video processor in our GPU .. Then why should we use CPU?

The Bad :

1)External Subtitles Wont Work……. (DirectVobSub Will break the Hardware acceleration)

Tutorial: FOR H.264/avc/Blueray/HD DVD

1) Update The Driver of your Nvidia 8(including 8400 m gs),9,GTX series and above to the latest WHQL driver from NVIDIA Support Site..  Now the latest is 185.85…… For Desktops and notebooks..

2)Download power dvd ultra version 8

(only powerdvd gives effecient hardware acceleration compared to intervideo windvd and arcsoft total theatre  and even Media player Classic Home Cinema)

3) In powerdvd video configaration “Enable hardware acceleration (Nvidia purevideo)”

4) Download Zoom player version 6 Max

5) In advanced options in playback take smartplay

6)In Audio and video decoders tab   in H.264 click configure and select “Cyberlink h.264/avc decoder”

7) In advanced options select video and subtitles the make the renderer to ” EVR”

Open a 1080p video in zoomplayer

9) right click on any part of the video then select filter properties the select cyberlink h.264/avc decoder then ensure whether “use dxVa is enabled if not the enable it”

10) From the next time onwards when you play HD 1080p in zoom player it will use only 10 % to 20 % cpu (Otherwise 60% to 90 %)

11) Enjoyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!

Note : You should Disable External Subtitles When using Hardware Acceleration/PureVideo HD (An easy solution is renaming the .srt file to .sr. TO reenable subtitles rename the .sr back to .srt

TUTORIAL : FOR VC1 /wmv HD/Blueray

note: VC 1 /wmv hd is extremely cpu intensive and the hardware acceleraton is not that efficient  cpu will be around 50 – 60 %

1)  Just play in windows media player or in the same zoomplayer

Note : You should Disable External Subtitles When using Hardware Acceleration/PureVideo HD (An easy solution is renaming the .srt file to .sr. TO reenable subtitles rename the .sr back to .srt

TUTORIAL : FOR MPEG 2 HD/SD/DVD/HD DVD/BLUERAY

1) In zoom player In advanced options in playback take smartplay In Audio and video decoders tab   in Mpeg2 video and Mpeg 2 transport video click configure and select “Cyberlink Video/SP decoder V8+”

2) In DVD option select decoder to cyberlink powerdvd

3) Enjoyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Note:  You should Disable External Subtitles When using Hardware Acceleration/PureVideo HD (An easy solution is renaming the .srt file to .sr. TO reenable subtitles rename the .sr back to .srt

Tutorial : Install Avant Window Navigator in Ubuntu

ut first, a little history lesson about AWN. OK? Good… You should know that Avant Window Navigator, also known as AWN, is a dock-like bar which sits at the bottom of the screen. It has support for launchers, task lists, and third party applets. To get a better idea about what we are talking about here, take a look at the image in the left!

I have tried to make this guide as simple as possible, for every user to follow it and obtain a working AWN installation in the end.

This is the easy method and recommend for all users!

Step 1 – Add the repositories

Go to System -> Administration -> Software Sources and enter your password when asked.

A new window appears, click the second tab “Third-Party Software”, then click the ‘Add’ button and paste the following lines (one by one):

CODE


deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/awn-testing/ubuntu hardy main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/awn-testing/ubuntu hardy main

Now click the ‘Close’ button of the main window. It will ask if you want to reload the information about available software. Click ‘Reload’ and wait for the Software Sources window to close.

Install AWN

Open a terminal (Applications -> Accessories -> Terminal) and paste the following command:

CODE

sudo apt-get install awn-manager-trunk awn-extras-applets-trunk

Hit the “Y” key when asked, and complete the installation. Close the terminal window and start the AWN dock from Applications -> Accessories -> Avant Window Navigator.

Windows Vista service pack 1 (sp1) Released!

It has 23 security updates, 550 hotfixes, and is packed into a 434.5MB package or 726.5MB for the 64-bit version. That’s a fat service pack if I do say so myself.

Some of the more apparent fixes include file copying ETA being more accurate, UAC should pop up a bit less in certain areas, and DirectX has been fixed to support DX9, DX10, and DX10.1 hardware. They also fixed WGA to fix the two most common exploits of the system and they’ve added some more support for third party search solutions.

Prior to getting the service pack you must have,

1)935509 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/935509/) A software update is available for versions of Windows Vista that include the Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption feature

2)938371 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/938371/) A software update is available for the Windows Vista installation components

3)937287 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/937287/) A software update is available for the Windows Vista installation software feature

What I really want to know from you, the readers, is does this new SP make Vista usable? You see I’ve had a copy of Vista Home Premium ever since it was released and I installed, and then promptly uninstalled it, shortly after I got it, but if Vista is now usable again, myself, and I am sure countless others, would be interested in knowing if its worth the update.

The link for 32 bit: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=b0c7136d-5ebb-413b-89c9-cb3d06d12674&DisplayLang=en

Artificially Raise Your Windows Experience Index

When you first install and run Windows Vista, it will calculate your Windows Experience Index score to evaluate your computer’s speed and graphics capabilities. Microsoft defines the Windows Experience Index as the following: “The Windows Experience Index is a new feature built into Windows Vista that is designed to help you better understand how well Windows Vista and other software will perform on your PC.

Your computer, running Windows Vista, is assigned a rating number called a “base score” that is achieved by measuring the capability of your computer’s hardware configuration. This base score rating will help you to more confidently buy additional hardware, programs, and software that are matched to your computer’s base score.”

WEI has been a point of contention for many Windows Vista users because the WEI scores tend to be extremely low. Unfortunately, some software requires your WEI score to be above a certain threshold for all the features to work. Fortunately, it is easy to artificially raise your WEI score by modifying the configuration file.

1. The first step is to check your current score. In order to check your WEI score, go to to Start >> Computer >> System Properties >> Performance

2 .Click Rate this computer. It will take a few minutes while Windows evaluates your computer.

3.Your baseline WEI score will now be set.

4.In order to raise this score, navigate to the following directory: C:\Windows\Performance\WinSAT\DataStore

Note: You will need to have your UAC temporarily disabled to proceed with the rest of these steps

5. You will notice one or more XML files. Every time the WEI test is run, it will create a new XML file. Open the most recent file in Wordpad (Start >> All Programs >> Accessories >> Wordpad). Lines 14 – 21 have a simple score on each line with XML tags. You can manually change these scores to whatever value you want.

6.Re-save the file with the same name and close Wordpad. If Windows prevents your from saving the file, ensure that you have disabled UAC. When you check your WEI score again, you will now notice a major improvement. Start >> Computer >> System Properties >> Performance

Your new and improved Windows Experience Index will be permanently saved until you rerun the performance test. Any features of software relying on your Windows Experience Score will now be enabled. Don’t worry if you accidentally mess up the file. You can delete the file and rerun the performance test and Windows Vista will recreate the file automatically.

How do I fix audio sync in AVI file ?

Solution 1: using AVIMUX

Step 1. Download AviMUX: Click here to download AviMUX

Step 2. Unzip it into separate folder, and launch AVIMux_GUI.exe

Step 3. Load your avi file into Avi_mux (right-click -> add). Click on the avi file to select it.

Step 4. Click the “Generate Data Source From Files” button. Information about audio and video streams will appear in the bottom window.

Step 5. Click on the audio stream. Now, you must see “delay [ms]” showing on the right side of the window.

Step 6. Enter audio delay value, for example:

If you see in the movie that a person speaks, and you can hear the voice only several seconds later (Audio is after Video), then you must choose negative value (in milliseconds), for example:
-5000 = shift audio by 5 seconds before video

If you can hear the voice in the movie too early, and only after several seconds you can see & determine who has said that (Audio is before Video), then you must enter positive value (in milliseconds):
5000 = shift audio by 5 seconds after video

Step 7. Finally, click start button, choose output avi filename. DONE!

Solution 2 : Using VIRTUAL DUB

Step 1: Select video then select direct stream copy

Step 2: Select Audio the souce stream selected there also.

Step 3: Select interleaving in audio menu and do the following

Delay audio track by XY ms is what you’re looking for…

[SOLVED]Safely Remove an external hard disk/USB Thumb drive in Vista

[UPDATED]

(THE USUAL WORK AROUND IS SHUTTING DOWN THE PC OR SLEEPING IT AND THEN REMOVE. THIS IS THE ALTERNATE AND PROPER WAY OF DOING THAT)
Powering down USB-powered external hard disk in Vista

USB-powered external hard disk In Vista, even after safely removing USB-powered external hard disk will not work in the same way as the safe removal would do in Windows XP. What it won’t do is powering down the hard drive(Hard Disk Wont spin down in vista). You will notice this when you unplug the USB cable, because of the clickin sound coming from the hard disk, similar to the one you would hear if the power supply got suddenly cut off.

Steps Involved:

1) Download Sdparm for windows from http://sg.torque.net/sg/sdparm.html#mozTocId166213

sdparm.exe is now here:
http://sg.danny.cz/sg/sdparm.html

2) Download Unlocker Software (google it)

3) Use unlocker software to stop processes accessing the disk. So that we made sure disk is not getting accessed.

4)To detach,  stop the usb hard disk spinning,  by entering the following  in  command window

(sdparm.exe should be there inside the folder and You have to run that command in elevated command prompt otherwise sdparm does not see the drive.)

sdparm –command=stop [device]  (that is sdparm hyphen hyphen command=stop G:)

Replace [device] with the drive letter , and that’s it:

Example : sdparm –command=stop G:

If G is your Usb hard disk.

your hard disk will spin down , in the same way it would do in Windows after a safe removal.
Note :This how-to is based on my experience with a Western Digital WD Passport hard disk.
NB: it looks like this how-to won’t work with some Lacie external hard disks.

4) Then unplug it. (Physically pull the usb plug out)

Note : After Spinning Down the Hard disk Using sdparm “Please do not click windows safely remove function @ the taskbar as it will spin up the Hard disk again “
You can also use a batch file to spin down hard disk .

To create batch file

1)open notepad

2)Enter the following in notepad

sdparm –command=stop G:
pause

3) Save the file and name it as Spindown.bat

4)Place it in Desktop

5)To run it right click on it and Select “Run as administrator”

Safely Remove an external hard disk in linux(tested in ubuntu)

Powering down an USB-powered external hard disk
An USB-powered external hard disk

In Ubuntu, unmounting an USB-powered external hard disk will not work in the same way as the safe removal would in Windows. What it won’t do is powering down the hard drive. You will notice this when you unplug the USB cable, because of the nasty sound coming from the hard disk, similar to the one you would hear if the power supply got suddenly cut off.

Thanks to this post on Ubuntu Forums, I’ve figured out the solution.

First of all, you will need to install sdparm:
sudo apt-get install sdparm

At this point, unmount the drive and then issue the command:
sudo sdparm –command=stop [device]

Replace [device] with whatever you need, and that’s it: your hard disk will spin down and rest, in the same way it would do in Windows after a safe removal. Now you may safely unplug your hard disk.
Notes

This how-to is based on my experience with a Western Digital WD Passport hard disk.
NB: it looks like this how-to won’t work with some Lacie external hard disks.