A very brief Internet Relay Chat FAQ

What does the @ symbol in front of an IRC nickname mean? The people with @ symbols before their names are channel operators. They moderate what goes on within the channel and have access to special commands. They have the authority to kick out users who are being particularly offensive, for example. How do I check to see if my friends are online using IRC? If you know their IRC nickname and what...

Read More

Why when I post a message on some bulletin boards do they not show up straight away?

This happens because your browser is not set to automatically refresh the page after you post. When you are returned to the forum index you are presented with an old version of the page which has been retrieved from your internet cache (the area of your hard drive web pages are downloaded to) rather than the web server. To check that your posts have been added successfully, you can hit the 'refresh'...

Read More

What are these bootleg movies the mainstream media is always banging on about?

They are illegal copies of new and old movies (though it's the unreleased blockbusters the MPAA and Co. are most keen to stamp out), created using a variety of disparate techniques, which produce varying degrees of audio and video quality. The latest releases are reproduced and distributed either for the sheer thrill and challenge of competing with rival release groups, or to profit financially by...

Read More

How do I burn Virtual CD disk images?

Because Virtual CD doesn't by default extract the RAW data required by Nero to burn .iso files, this CD writing tool can have difficulty reconstructing extracted disk images. Luckily WinOnCD is capable of doing just that without making reference to RAW data, so I'd suggest you use this instead. In some cases it is possible to convert disk images created with Virtual CD using ISO Buster or WinISO and...

Read More

Why are images created using the bin format so much more bulky than some of the competing image structures?

Bin format files are more cumbersome because they contain extra error analyzing code, which can be used to check whether or not bin files are, or have become corrupt at any number of stages during their creation or distribution. If you discover that a bin file is corrupt you can attempt to repair it or download it again from a different source rather than wasting a recordable disk finding out. Some...

Read More

Quickie dot coms

Here's a really nifty web browsing, time-saving tip for you: whenever you type the address of a web site you wish to visit into Internet Explorer's address bar, try omitting the Ws and the .com. Just type the bit in between, press the control and enter key simultaneously and the rest will be filled in for you automatically before your browser attempts to load the site. This shortcut also works in...

Read More

Duff bins?

When I use Winrar, Winace or SFV Checker to test a home-brew disk image archive, no errors are reported, however, when I extract the bin file, Winrar/Winace reports CRC errors. If I choose to ignore these errors and burn the image anyway, will it work? This is quite a common problem, yet shouldn't always be a cause for concern. Many bin files despite containing errors will run perfectly well....

Read More

What is the c2d format?

The c2d format was originally devised by Cequadrat and is designed to be used with their homegrown CD writing application, WinOnCD. However, this is a very bulky and unnecessary download if you only wish to use it to burn one image file. Instead, you might like to try ISO Buster - a mere one meg download and free to boot. As well as offering support for WinOnCD file types, ISO Buster can handle Nero,...

Read More

One search engine or ten? Why settle for half measures?

When searching for software, clip art, MP3s, or anything for that matter, use a 'meta' search engine. Meta search engines take a query and submit it to a multitude of diverse search engines simultaneously, amalgamate the results and then present them to you in a logical, standardised format. A single search engine cannot possibly index everything the web has to offer and as a result they miss many...

Read More

Usenet and newsgroups in a nutshell. Read all about it!

The best way to help you grasp the concept of newsgroups is probably to compare them to something which you're more familiar with. So, just to make sure we're on the same page, picture an all singing, all dancing state of the art forum. Got that? Now mentally remove all the graphics, the pretty emoticons, avatars, signature graphics, the whole shebang really. Now take away the community spirit, the...

Read More

I want to backup one of my original CDs. How can I tell whether or not it has been copyright protected?

You can sometimes guess what method of protection has been implemented manually by looking at the contents or the physical structure of a CD, but a much more accurate way would be to use ClonyXXL. This completely free utility will automatically detect the presence of a multitude of different protection systems and report its findings in an easy to understand format. Once you have this vital information...

Read More

Web media divining - tools of the trade

The advent of the widespread availability of fast internet connections, coupled with an abundance of cheap web space has allowed artists, musicians, movie directors and software programmers to distribute their respective works online rather than via more traditional hard-copy mediums. To take full advantage of all the web has to offer it is necessary to seek out and get to grips with a number of essential...

Read More

How can I download files from servers that make referrer checks before permitting access?

Whenever you initiate a download using Flashget you are given the option to enter a referrer URL into the properties menu associated with the file. The space where you enter this information is located directly below the file location URL box. If you enter the URL here, you can trick the server into thinking that you are downloading the file directly from the web page where you found the li...

Read More

My game backup CD image is 700mb in size, but when burnt to a CD it only occupies 400mb. Where did the extra 300mb go?

When there is a very large discrepancy between the initial image size and the final size of your burnt CD, it is usually because the image file also contains the game's audio sound track. Because the space occupied by audio tracks isn't represented in the same way as ordinary computer data it appears as though there is much less data on the final CD than there really is. To witness this effect with...

Read More

How can I force Flashget to download file formats that aren't included in its 'monitor these types' list?

One way to do this would be to copy the link of the file into your clipboard, select 'new file' in Flashget and paste the URL into the URL dialog box, yet it is possible to achieve the same goal without leaving the web page where you found the link. This can be done by holding down your control and alt keys simultaneously whilst clicking on the link. Bear in mind that this technique also works when...

Read More

Virtual disk drives

The mystery of eternally dwindling hard drive space, in terms of unfathomability, ranks alongside such conundrums as why certain people insist on responding to each and every question with a drawling "what?" or "eh?" when they've heard you perfectly well, or why some people insist on facing the wrong way when waiting for their bus (surely I'm not the only one to have noticed this phenomenon?). I can't...

Read More

I want to get a rough idea of how long it's going to take to download a particular file. How would I go about doing that?

Pop along to Martindale's file download time calculator, enter the file size of whatever it is you wish to download and click on either the 'KB' or the 'MB' button, obviously dependent on the way in which you specified your file size (whether it was in kilobytes or megabytes). Now scroll down the table of time estimates until you reach the entry which correlates to the speed of your internet connection...

Read More

Why when I try to download a file does my download manager return a tiny web page instead?

When accessing certain servers, rather than reporting a connection error itself, your download manager transfers a web page, which when opened in your browser states the cause of the problem, much like an error log. If the file is labeled 404.html or 403.html it should be clear to you what went wrong, yet if the label isn't so helpful you can try opening the page in Notepad to see if it reveals any...

Read More

I'm trying to burn a CD image file, but it's much larger than the capacity of my CD-Rs. How do I make it fit?

CD images very often contain more data than you can squeeze onto a 650mb or 700mb CD-R, but this is nothing to worry about. You see, these inflated image files also contain all the necessary formatting information needed to reproduce the original CD. This can occupy anywhere in the region of a few, to hundreds of megabytes. However, what is important is not the size of the file to begin with, but...

Read More

How do I bypass the Yahoo Briefcase download limit?

Numerous different methods have been used in the past to bypass these limits, with varying degrees of success. Many of them involve a lot of frustrating and fiddly URL editing, and since these tend to be very hit and miss I'd recommend using a Yahoo download manager instead. One such program is Yahoo Hack, a great little tool, which in addition to allowing you to get around the download limits will...

Read More

What is an SFV file?

SFV stands for simple file verification. SFV files can be opened in any text editor and serve to verify the CRC status of a set of compressed files to ensure that the files you have on your hard drive are identical to the ones that were originally uploaded. Apparently, if you want to do it "the sexy way" you can use Hoopy's PD SFV (I don't know, I didn't write it). Not only will this utility enable...

Read More

Fontastic organization

Pssst, come a bit closer to the screen. I want to tell you a secret which will change your life forever. You need Font Lister. Yes you do, trust me, I know best. If you've ever dabbled in a spot of web or graphic design you will recognize the importance of having a good selection of fonts at your disposal. When I say 'good selection', I mean literally hundreds of the little critters, but how do you...

Read More

Spring cleaning for your registry

Almost every change you make to your system generates an entry in the registry; the heart of the Windows operating system. Over time these entries become invalid. For example, an entry which records that 'My Home Movie.avi' is stored in the folder 'c:\Brilliant Stuff' becomes useless if you subsequently move the file to another folder. Badly written uninstallers, however, are the worst culprits when...

Read More

Why is it that whenever I download a file from Yahoo Briefcase it is corrupt? Surely this is more than a coincidence?

This is a known problem with Yahoo servers and is commonly referred to as the 'extra bytes' bug. The problem occurs whenever additional bytes are tacked onto the files you wish to download rendering them inaccessible. For the files to function normally, these extra bytes have to be removed, but don't try and edit them yourself, get YBC Fix to do the job for you inste...

Read More

Why when I click on the link to a file does nothing happen?

Because some links function in the same way as pop-ups, any pop-up disabling programs you have installed can prevent the download process from initiating. You can test this theory by temporarily turning off any anti-pop-up devices and clicking on the files again. If it works you'll know what was causing the problem. Also make sure that javascript is enabled in your advanced internet options. To check...

Read More

Life's too short for re-installing

I followed your instructions in order to make a backup of my Windows partition using Ghost, but didn't include the installation of all my games in this backup. Having formatted my boot partition they no longer run from my extended partition. Is there anything I can do to fix this, or do I have to reinstall all my games? No, you don't have to reinstall all your games, which should come as a relief...

Read More

Using download managers with virtual drives

Can I use Getright to download files from Idrive? Note that subsequent to writing this entry Idrive have gone bust. Yes, but it doesn't support resuming. First of all you will have to make a few alterations to your Getright configuration. To do this, first locate the 'Tools' menu, followed by the 'Getright Configuration', 'Advanced' and 'More' options. Now change the 'User Agent' to 'Mozilla/4.0...

Read More

I am attempting to download some files from an I-drive account, but the maximum daily download limit has been exceeded. What can I do?

Note that subsequent to writing this entry Idrive have gone bust. If you have your own Idrive account you can save the files to that instead and then download from the new location. Because fewer people are likely to be downloading from your own personal account compared with a public one, the chances are that you will get a much better transfer rate. First of all you will need to download the 'Filo...

Read More

Defragging your hard drive can be fun! No, really.

Sitting in front of your monitor while your drives defragment can have a pleasant, calming influence. All your data is magically re-ordered and slotted into its rightful place without you having to lift a finger. This is very relaxing for the first few minutes, but gets a bit tedious when you're still waiting for Windows Disk Defragmenter to finish the process many hours later. It's a tough job, but...

Read More

The whys and wherefores of e-groups

An e-group is a bit like a bulletin board in that, once registered, anyone can post messages and upload attachments. At regular intervals - usually daily or weekly depending on the activity level of the group - all the subscriber's contributions are compiled in an easy to read format and made available as one long e-mail for your convenience (this is known as 'digest mode'). They key difference between...

Read More

How can I download more than two files at once using Internet Explorer?

The people at Microsoft in their infinite wisdom have set a limit on the maximum number of simultaneous connections you are permitted to make when using their homegrown browser. This limit can be exceeded by adding the following details to your registry... REGEDIT4[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings] "MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server"=dword:00000010 "MaxConnectionsPerServer"=dword:00000008 A...

Read More

Sometimes when I try to download a file I am presented with a forbidden (403) error message. What's that all about then?

403 error messages usually appear when you are trying to connect to an access restricted site, irrespective of which download manager you happen to be using. In order to gain access to the file you will require a valid login username and password - these can be entered into the properties menu associated with the file you are attempting to download. If you are using Flashget, for instance, you can...

Read More

Whenever I try to download a file from an Angel Fire server using Getright I receive a tiny web page instead of the linked file? What am I doing wrong

This is happening because Getright is sending the wrong referrer value to the server. The people over at the Getright HQ have spotted this problem and have provided a registry fix to correct it - you can download it from the FAQ section of their home pa...

Read More

I created a .bin file a long time ago and have since lost the cue sheet. What do I do now?

If it's an application which doesn't necessarily have to be installed from a CD, you can use ISO Buster to extract the .bin file to your hard drive. Once extracted, all that remains to be done is to sift through the files until you find the main installation file and run it. Otherwise you can convert the .bin file to another format before burning it. The best tool to accomplish this task is probably...

Read More

I've just burnt a data CD image, but have ended up with a useless audio CD. What am I doing wrong?

Did you load the cue sheet or just the main .bin file before writing the CD? If you've bypassed the cue file stage you've probably confused your CD writing software. Because the cue file lets your software know which mode to use when burning a CD image, if you don't open this file to begin with, it automatically uses the default setting - usually it assumes you want to make an audio CD. Another possible...

Read More

Every time I try to download a file from a Xoom server using Getright I cannot connect, so the file will not begin transferring. What's going on?

Several recent changes at Xoom have meant that files stored on their servers are inaccessible to Getright without first altering your configuration settings. Visit the advanced configuration tab found under the 'tools' menu and click on the 'more' button. Now in the 'user agent' item, pick a different value. Something starting with Mozilla should work fi...

Read More

Is it possible to download a large set of files without clicking on them one by one?

Yes - this can be done in a variety of different ways providing that all the files are stored in the same location. Hover your mouse over the first file in the set, press the right mouse button and select 'copy shortcut'. Next paste this address into your FTP client, or your download manager's FTP browser and delete the file name. Now if you press the 'connect' button you will be presented with a...

Read More