Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2013 October 28

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October 28

Can I prohibit a process from starting the Internet explorer process?

I have a donwloading software which occasionally pops out ads in IE(It also tries to open ads in chrome, but for some reason a permission is asked). I think the way described in the question might fix this. Also, Is there any way I can track down which dll contains the pop-up process so I can just delete it(if it doesn't hurt)?--163.125.89.212 (talk) 14:20, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

Sounds like you need a pop-up blocker. Also, I suggest you uninstall that particular piece of downloading software. StuRat (talk) 14:56, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

I think a pop-up blocking method of my own would be more secure. I still have some torrent downloads to finish before I can uninstall...--163.125.89.212 (talk) 15:32, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

The problem is, that download software might refuse to work if it's pop-up ads are blocked. StuRat (talk) 17:02, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

At least I should try first. I guess this isnot the case, because sometime it don't pop out onything from I start. Can anybody just help with my question please?--163.125.80.34 (talk) 22:48, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

I don't know of any way to stop a certain process from starting IE. However:

A) You could have a process running that looks for a new IE session and kills it as soon as it appears.

B) You could disable IE altogether and use another browser. StuRat (talk) 05:38, 29 October 2013 (UTC)

Copying old Amiga games to a modern PC

On impulse, I just went ahead and bought an original copy of Uridium 2 for the Amiga on eBay. Now I have a real, physical Amiga 4000, but haven't used it for several years. So I am not sure if it works any more. If it turns out it doesn't work any more, is there any way I could read the original Amiga disks on a modern PC? My current PC does have a HD 3.5" floppy drive, but as I recall, the Amiga uses special hardware in its floppy drives to access a greater amount of data on the floppies (880 kB vs. 720 on DD floppies, 1.76 MB vs. 1.44 MB on HD floppies), which PC floppy drives are unable to replicate. Amiga hard drives use the same hardware interface as PC hard drives, and I can read the Amiga FFS filesystem on Linux with a custom filesystem I have already installed, but to get the game onto a hard drive I would have to read it in a floppy drive before that. Is trying to get my old Amiga 4000 to work really the only option? JIP | Talk 18:43, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

Even assuming you can copy the game to a PC, it won't run. The Amiga has completely different hardware. AndyTheGrump (talk) 18:47, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

I do have a fully working copy of E-UAE, with a paid-for licence for the Amiga OS, on my Linux system, so if I manage to get the game onto a hard drive, I'm as good as ready to go. I wouldn't even have written this question if I thought I could somehow mystically play Amiga games natively on Linux. JIP | Talk 18:52, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

There are people who claim to have Amiga floppy drive emulators, for example http://hxc2001.free.fr/floppy_drive_emulator/. But I'm not sure that I would bother. My experience has been that floppy disks deteriorate physically over the years even if they are not used, so I think there is a good probability that your disks will not be readable even if you find a proper emulator. Looie496 (talk) 19:15, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

There's a number of ways to transfer the data which you can finby searching for your title on the web, e.g. [1]. And in fact if you just want to copy your own disks rather than game ones there is a utility described there to read the floppies directly on a PC - but it only works on Windows I think. Dmcq (talk) 19:07, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

Does your PC still have a Conventional PCI (i.e. not PCI-express) slot? If so, then the Individual Computers Catweasel will allow you to read formats which the PC floppy controller doesn't support (incl Amiga) - three caveats though:

• I've never used it, so can't vouch for it personally
• The article says that the Linux software is unofficial
• Its going to be quite hard to come by, and it may be dearer than a working A500 and a null-modem cable

Thanks, davidprior ^t/_c 19:17, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

I ran lshw_gui on my Linux PC and it reported I had one PCI bridge which didn't say anything about PCI Express. Does this mean it's a conventional PCI slot? How can I tell conventional PCI and PCI Express slots apart? Do I need a real Amiga floppy drive for the Catweasel or will a PC floppy drive do?

I have no idea whether the disks are AmigaOS compatible or not. If they are, I should be able to read them via the Catweasel. But if they're not, I will have to resort to WHDLoad. Finding a WHDLoad slave and installing it under E-UAE shouldn't be too difficult. Getting the actual game on the hard drive is going to be more difficult, and will most probably require use of my real Amiga. In any case I might try to see if my Amiga still works.

The Amiga floppy drive emulator mentioned above wouldn't be of any use. It appears to solve the exact opposite problem as I have - reading files from modern storage devices on a real Amiga, while I want to read files from real Amiga floppy disks on a modern PC. The emulator doesn't even appear to have a floppy disk slot, only an SD memory card slot. If I had the game on an SD memory card I would be all set to go. JIP | Talk 19:11, 29 October 2013 (UTC)

The different PCI slots look different, see File:PCIExpress.jpg. Astronaut (talk) 20:45, 29 October 2013 (UTC)