October 2008
Monthly Archive
Monthly Archive
Posted by chloe on 21 Oct 2008 | Tagged as: Bad Pool Caller
BAD_POOL_CALLER is a stop error message that is caused because of problems with the memory management. The error is seen when the computer is started up and displays the blue screen of death and gives the following message: “A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer”.
BAD_POOL_CALLER. stop: 0×000000c2 (0×000000043, 0xc2528000, 0×00000000, 0×00000000) ”
Each of these stop error parameters is for a different problem. There is a list of more than thirty such causes that can give you this error message. If the stop error is consistent every time the system is rebooted, the following method will be effective in solving the problem:
* The hardware and RAM should be checked initially.
* Boot the system once again using the OS setup CD, or use a boot setup that has a GUI like BartPE.
* With RunScanner it is possible to use a memory test tool.
* Select a single account
* If all the accounts open then the system registry hive might be the problem.
* Locate the hive damaged and rename it, do not delete it.
* Create another hive from the backup or from the restore point.
* Initially uses the latest one and keep checking the restore points that come later.
* Avoiding harvesting any replacement hives from the hard drive booted Windows.
* After which compare the hives for differences.
This is one of the ways of fixing BAD_POOL_CALLER errors. Another method is to reinstall the OS but occasionally shows a disk read error or an error on the same lines. Switching the computer off for a minute or more and then switching it on can solve it since the error is only a slight glitch in the system operation.
The BAD_POOL_CALLER is seen for the first time after installing a hardware or software it is recommended that the computer be restarted. If it doesn’t solve the problem, the installation of the hardware or software should be checked for correction. The manufacture should also be contacted if there are any Windows updates required to correct the error. If the problem persists the installed hardware and software should be disabled, and the BIOS memory options like caching or shadowing should be disabled too. The safe mode can be used as well to remove or stop components.
To enable the safe mode just press F8 when the machine is being restarted and select it from the Advance Startup options and correct the problem. The installation of the graphics card is another reason the BAD_POOL_CALLER error shows up. A simple reinstallation of the driver can solve the problem. Microsoft has also acknowledged that the BAD_POOL_CALLER Stop 0xC2 error pops up when trying to print a document that contains a corrupt font.
A hot fix is available at www.support.microsoft.com, where the telephone number can be acquired to contact support. The call to the support team is charged except if the support team has resolved that the update will solve the problem. The error message with relation to this parameter of the BAD_POOL_CALLER error is seen only in the Win2000 Professional, Server and Advanced Server Operating Systems.
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Posted by chloe on 15 Oct 2008 | Tagged as: plugin
If you’ve ever suffered from malicious third party scripts wreaking havoc with your computer, it’s likely that you’ve looked in to the safety issues of browsing online with as much protection as possible. Well, you may wish to drop by Noscript.net, a brilliant website which offers a Firefox extension to manage and control the access that websites have to your local system when executing potentially dangerous scripts.
First of all, you will need to have a browser of Mozilla origin installed. This means Firefox, Flock or Seamonkey. You will not be able to use the noscript.net software with any of the other popular browsers (Internet Explorer, Safari, Google Chrome…)
The principle of the Noscript.net plugin that sets it apart from the rest is that it works on a whitelisting basis. Most anti-virus suites work on the opposite logic, whereby only scripts that are located on blacklisted websites will be removed from the execution line. By having a whitelisting system, you can ensure that only the websites that you actually trust are allowed to execute scripts.
Adding a website to your trust list is easy and will only take a matter of moments. You can select your exact preferences. It’s possible to control settings for Javascript, Java and any kind of plugin execution.
The Noscript.net plugin is accessible in the bottom corner of the browser. A simple right click will open up options for the currently viewed website. From here you can choose whether to allow or deny access in terms of the scripting capabilities across that particular site. The one downside to such a whitelisting method is that in the time that follows your installation of the plugin, you can expect to be interacting with the plugin for as long as it takes to enable scripting privileges on the sites that you already trust.
It only takes one click per type, but if you’re a prolific user of the Internet and enjoy surfing a wide variety of sites, it’s likely that you could have your patience tested by having to loosen security for every single site that you already enjoy browsing. This, however, is only a temporary measure.
Once you’ve enabled access where necessary, you’ll find that your Internet security increases tenfold. So many anti-virus packages rely on a compromise now, fix later strategy.
With the latest version of the plugin, you can go one step further and control even the HTTPS settings from within the Noscript.net add-on. That means it’s possible to force the use of HTTPS on websites where you’re particularly concerned for your data protection. You can specify that even your whitelisted websites require HTTPS where proxy connections are concerned, as this eliminates the threat of spoofing and advanced hacker attacks.
There’s no question that Noscript.net is a brilliant little add-on for those of us who are security minded first. The Internet is developing at a rapid rate and while the large majority of websites are good doing entities that seek only to improve our browsing experience, there will always be some individuals who seek to exploit the existing Internet security loopholes. You can take a big step towards complete protection by downloading the Noscript.net plugin for safe browsing.
Posted by chloe on 15 Oct 2008 | Tagged as: Audio
Sound card problems are rife with Microsoft Windows, and can be some of the most frustrating to fix, particularly as a sound problem doesn’t always mean that you can’t hear sound altogether. It may be a problem directly related to one particular application, or it may be a distortion that defies logic. Either way, thankfully, there are fixes available that tackle the most commonly reported sound card errors. There is also a troubleshooting strategy that you can use to get to the root of the problem.
First of all, let’s take a look at some of the symptoms you can pin to a faulty sound card:
No sound at all from speakers or headphones.
A sound starts but cuts off unexpectedly, not necessarily in the same place.
A sound that cuts and scratches while breaking up.
The computer slows down dramatically when an app attempts to play sound.
The computer crashes altogether upon a sound being played.
Error messages appear drawing attention to the audio output.
You can use the default Windows troubleshooter, as provided by Microsoft, but this is not always guaranteed to work. It will often tell you the simple basics, such as ensuring your speakers aren’t failing and updating drivers from a third party provider.
Driver faults make up a huge majority of genuine sound card problems. We might have the best sound card in the world installed, with complete audio support. But think again - if the wrong driver is installed, you can forget about getting the most out of your hardware. Always ensure, when you install a sound card, that you check the manufacturer’s website and make any upgrades that are available which were not introduced early enough to be supplied with the software CD.
You should also look out for patches that have been released to cover existing problems. It can’t be stressed highly enough. Most sound card problems can be resolved by simply updating your drivers and ruling out the chances of a failed installation.
Alternatively, you might want to make sure that Windows is configured to actually use the Sound Card that you have installed. There’s an easy way to do this.
Go to Start and then Settings.
Enter your Control Panel.
Go to the Sounds menu.
Click Events and then scroll until you find an event which has a loudspeaker icon pinned next to it.
You will be able to Preview it, and from here click on Play. If your sound card is correctly setup, you will hear the preview sound. If you don’t hear a sound, it would suggest that the sound card hasn’t been set up to run at all.
If tis is the case, follow the steps below.
Go to Start, then Control Panel in your Settings.
Click on System and move to the Device Manager tab.
Make sure that the plus sign is selected next to Sound, Video and Game Controllers.
If the option had been turned off, it’s no wonder that you weren’t receiving any sound. The sound card would not have been prepared to emit any! Save and apply your changes and then reboot the computer. You should notice that the sound kicks in immediately and your sound card begins to output the desired audio.
Posted by chloe on 15 Oct 2008 | Tagged as: Drivers
Nvidia is a mainstream corporation that contributes to graphics processing technology and dominates a large portion of the market, particularly in home computing and games consoles.
The company supplies chip set motherboards, graphics cards and video cards for use with desktop PCs. The chances are if you’ve had a few PCs over the years, you’ve probably been running Nvidia technology at some point. And of course, with that hardware technology, comes the need for the correct drivers to be installed on the operating system. When you’re dealing with technology that affects the graphics and visual display in particular, it’s incredibly important to have the right driver. Anything less and the downgrade in performance will be dramatic.
Nvidia have an incredible range of products on the market. The most popular type is the GeForce, which encompasses products from the GeForce 200 Series to the GeForce 4 MX Series of modern day. These are all highly competent graphics processing units that can run on both Windows XP and Linux. If you’ve noticed that the card is failing to deliver the promised performance, it’s time to get diagnosing by checking for the latest drivers relevant to that particular hardware.
Just by visiting the Nvidia website, you can download - for free - drivers that bridge the gap between hardware and operating system and get the most out of your computer. You’ll also find support for the popular Quadro range, which specializes in accelerating computer-aided design and also digital content creation. If you’re using nForce chipsets, which are compatible on both Intel and AMD based systems, you’ll be able to download the latest drivers for these too.
So how do you know when your graphics drivers are failing you? How do you tell when Nvidia hardware is dropping below the performance peak?
Most Nvidia driver problems come from attempting to upgrade to a different driver, or allowing the graphics hardware to interact with other drivers that are installed with a third party program. You may notice that an app starts to load before turning to black with the screen failing to respond. Other systems have a built in mechanism that will return the user to the desktop upon encountering a visual display failure. You’ll typically be left with an error code, but it may be as simple as an audible beep.
Alternatively, another trait of a bad Nvidia driver is the cascading graphics effect. This is where mouseover creates a visible trail, while colours clash and objects fail to render correctly. In short, it’ll look quite obvious that you have a display problem and the buffering will be all over the place.
If you believe that the Nvidia drivers have become corrupted during an upgrade, you should attempt to remove the fault DLL during Safe Mode, or with the help of a specialized driver removal app. Occasionally registry entries can become corrupt, and simply weeding through these before installing a fresh latest copy of the driver, you should be able to fix the display issue.