Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2008 June 21

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June 21

MacBook Pro

I own a MacBook Pro and have had it for about 2 years now. For a while, I have noticed that it is not as fast as it used to be, despite there not being much data on it. Are there any Mac equivalents of Windows operations such as disc defragmentation, clearing the cookies etc that could maybe speed it up. Thanks 92.3.105.142 (talk) 08:18, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

iDefrag? · AndonicO ^Engage. 09:23, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

MacOS X will defragment the hard drive as it goes, so that's not likely the culprit. What programs are you running that you notice to be slower? How much memory does it have? Any issues with heat or odd sounds? — The Hand That Feeds You:^Bite 14:48, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

The only programs I run with any frequency would be Safari, iTunes, Microsoft Messenger for Mac, Microsoft Office programs, Google Earth and maybe Skype. When I bring up the finder, it says at the bottom of the window that I have about 45GB free and it heats up a fair bit but nothing terrible. No problems with noise. Any ideas? 92.3.105.142 (talk) 15:56, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

Open up Applications/Utilities/Activity Monitor.app and take a look at what is taxing your processor the most. Check if you are overusing your physical RAM and getting into virtual RAM—that slows things down a bit and is relatively easily fixed (add more RAM). --98.217.8.46 (talk) 16:19, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

I find that iWork is less bloatware than Microsoft Office - or you could reinstall Mac OSX.78.148.84.85 (talk) 20:24, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

The learning curve with iWork '08 is small. However, there is still a learning curve. Moreover, if one has already paid the premium to buy MS Office, why would (s)he pay to buy iWork again? Kushal (talk) 21:01, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

Pages is better than word, Keynote is better than Powerpoint, and Numbers is better than Excel. A brand new clean computer is always faster than one that has been around for a while, in my experience. Make sure you have at least 20% of your disk free, or things might start seeming slow. Perhaps it's lack of virtual memory. Mac Davis (talk) 01:03, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

When was the last time you rebooted the computer, as opposed to simply putting it to sleep when you're done? OSX has trouble managing virtual memory, and the best way to clear things up is with a reboot. --67.185.172.158 (talk) 01:39, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

Um, I have had this macbook (which does not have the best heat management in the world) running for 17 or so days until System update came to personally request a reboot. I did not notice significant slowdowns. (Or maybe I had my rose-colored glasses on.) Kushal (talk) 20:54, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

Try defragmenting the virtual memory paging file. Disable virtual memory, restart, enable it, and restart again. This will write a new paging file that will be contiguous. JeremyMcCracken (talk) (contribs) 02:55, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

I am quite a computer noob and so I don't know how to do any of that. Could you direct please? 92.0.149.90 (talk) 08:40, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

Snow Leopard boot camp

I'm lucky to have gotten a copy of the Snow Leopard developer's preview. I don't want to install it, however, untill I can make sure my Boot Camp partition is unaffected. Will Boot Camp be effected if Snow Leopard is installed? --Randoman412 (talk) 16:39, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

For information's sake, I'd like to note ahead of time that Snow Leopard uses a ZFS file system, while your Boot Camp (Windows?) partition uses NTFS or FAT32. Mac Davis (talk) 01:18, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

Ok... but that doesn't answer my question. --Randoman412 (talk) 14:52, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

As it is a developer's preview, why not post this question at Apple's Developer Connection http://developer.apple.com/ Unless you really aren't supposed to have a copy. In which case you get what you deserve. --70.167.58.6 (talk) 22:13, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

Cannot add comments to article Talk page

I have twice tried to add comments to this page Talk:Alcohol_and_cardiovascular_disease but nothing happens. What is wrong please? Thanks 80.2.196.19 (talk) 17:59, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

Someone has put a reference code and not closed it, causing your additions to be hidden. I've removed it here JessicaN10248 18:38, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

Still, there's a complete article with a giant References section hiding in a Talk page. That's not right. And somehow the References switch from being numbered to unnumbered halfway through. That and other formatting weirdness makes it look like a sloppy cut-and-paste job. Maybe it should just be wiped clean. --tcsetattr (talk / contribs) 18:44, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

I noticed that too. It appears to have been added in this edit. JessicaN10248 18:47, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

Concatenate audio files

How can I concatenate audio files? I am using Linux --B. Rajasekaran 18:47, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

This page gives some info on doing that. See the "Splitting/Concatenating MP3 Files" section. JessicaN10248 19:04, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

Syncing files

Is there any way to synchronize certain files between a local computer (Windows eXPee) and a remote system (OpenBSD) over SSH? --grawity 19:27, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

rsync? --antilived^{T | C | G} 06:10, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

no rsync doesn't support ssh; use the command line functions that come with putty (which is free) Sandman30s (talk) 14:30, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

See, for example, this guide to using rsync over ssh; the -e option can be used to specify ssh instead of the default rsh. -- Coneslayer (talk) 14:48, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

So, I need a new PSU for my PC...

My current PSU is undoubtedly on its last legs - the fan is clunking, grinding, and stopping from time to time unless I perform repeated percussive maintenance. So, I'm going to get a new one. I've been browsing the interweb for online sellers with cheap prices - but unfortunately, I don't know which PSUs will work with my machine and which ones won't. How do I determine what type I currently have in my machine? Believe it or not, I've been using computers for years, but I've never paid the slightest bit of attention to the PSU. ;)

I'll be requiring a complete idiot's guide, if you don't mind... :) --Kurt Shaped Box (talk) 22:47, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

Non-server PSUs come in three major varieties: ATX/EPS, BTX, and Dell. Assuming you've got a tower, if the mainboard is on the left side of the case, you've got a BTX system; if the mainboard is on the right side, you've got an ATX/EPS system, and if it says "Dell" on the front, you've got a Dell. The power supply has a wattage rating on the side: make sure the new PSU has a wattage rating at least as high. Finally, make sure you're buying a reputable brand: the good brands can deliver more power than they're rated for, while the cheap brands will break down, explode, or catch fire if you get anywhere near their rated power.

The big problem is Dell power supplies: they've got the same connectors as ATX power supplies, but they're wired differently. If you try to use an ATX power supply in a Dell, you'll destroy the computer. --67.185.172.158 (talk) 01:50, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

If you take appropriate precautions to avoid electrical shock hazards (a very real possibility with a PSU), replacing just the failed fan is not much more difficult than exchanging the entire PSU. It's cheaper plus, you know your current PSU, it's had all the infant mortality long-since burned out of it, and it actually works with your machine. If you decide to do this, make sure that you don't open the PSU for a few minutes after you have disconnected the power supply cord; that gives the bulk storage capacitors time to "bleed off" their stored high voltage. Then open the PSU, extract the old fan, and take it with you (as a model) to your neighborhood computer geek shop where you can a buy a proper replacement. Hint: If the old fan only had a red wire and a black wire and the new fan has red, black, and yellow, ignore the yellow ("fan failure alarm") wire. Just make sure it won't short out to anything.

Atlant (talk) 11:42, 24 June 2008 (UTC)

If you can't or don't want to simply replace the fan as Atlant suggested, I would suggest getting the exact same model if possible. I've had issues where the new PSU was built slightly differently so the screw holes wouldn't line up; that's a minor headache, but not one you particularly need ;). The info about the brand and model type will be on the casing somewhere, but may be on the side against the tower wall or the flange to help hold the unit in place and not be visible in situ. Matt Deres (talk) 16:57, 24 June 2008 (UTC)

YouTube video problems

A certain YouTube video won't load for me, and I haven't the foggiest idea why. Stranger still is that when I copied the URL and pasted it into Internet Explorer (I was previously using FireFox), I was redirected to the equivalent page on the French YouTube. Does anyone have any idea of what's going on?--The Ninth Bright Shiner 23:10, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

Just a shot in the dark; maybe Flash is messed up. Couldn't tell you why it's going to the French YouTube. JeremyMcCracken (talk) (contribs) 02:58, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

Something like that happens to me too. Also, sometimes the sound just stops working. Some Flash component probably broke on my computer. Mac Davis (talk) 03:45, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

The first ten or so seconds went fine with me. Kushal (talk) 20:50, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

Linux on Playstation 2

I have a PlayStation 2 slim, US model. I have an xbox and wii and don't need it anymore, so could someone give a tutorial for putting Linux on it? Any distro will do, preferably Debian or Ubuntu. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.125.133.42 (talk) 23:12, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

This might be a good starting point: http://playstation2-linux.com/ --67.185.172.158 (talk) 01:52, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

It's impossible. Linux for PlayStation 2 requires a hard drive interface, which the slim lacks. --antilived^{T | C | G} 04:06, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

Not quite impossible, but a lot harder. I believe you can solder a ghetto hard drive to the PS2 slim. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 17:45, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

VC++ 2005 Configurations

Since the default configurations that coem with VC++ 2005 are not very good~(Debug/Release(, I often find myself changing the options for an individual project. Is there a way to make a new, custom configuration to save time? 24.125.56.9 (talk) 23:24, 21 June 2008 (UTC)