CD School House 9/CD School House 9.0 - Wayzata Technology (1994).iso/mac/TWWIN/MISC.TXT

Text File | 1992-08-25 | 26KB | 563 lines

               Pro Power Tips 1.0A (c) 1992  Scanlon Enterprises

        ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

                                OTHER POWER TIPS

        ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

        This section is devoted to tips which do NOT fit previous
        categories. This does NOT mean they are LESS important. These
        tips include tips for printers, using modems, and other hardware
        devices.



        One of the most important items for business, is computer
        security, I hope the following will aid in this endeavor.


        System Security

        If you are the owner of a 286 or 386 system then you have the
        means to add additional security to your system. If you don't
        want un-authorized users, putting software on your system, which
        may be infected by a virus, then this procedure will work for
        you. This procedure requires access to the Bios Setup. If you
        have an older AT without a Bios Setup (you have to run an
        external program to set the Bios), then I suggest you upgrade.

        First, reboot your system (hard reset, not <Ctrl><Alt><Del>) and
        during the reboot process your system will suggest entering the
        Setup Option by pressing a certain keystroke, usually
        <Ctrl><Alt><ESC>. NOTE, on some newer systems, you don't even
        have to reboot to use the HOT key sequence to start the Bios
        Setup. If you have one of the older machines, without a Bios
        Setup, pull out your Setup Disk, and start Setup from there.
        Once setup is started, select the Floppy Drive Option, and set
        The Drive to NONE. Before changing the current setting to NONE,
        write down the current setting and place the note with other
        important papers, you have regular access to. Now select exit
        and reboot. Your system will now think, you don't have floppy
        drives. If your system has two floppy drives, be sure to set
        both to NONE. When the time comes to update software, or add a
        new application, simply start your Bios Setup (as per above) and
        reset your Floppy Drive(s) selection(s) back to their original
        settings, and reboot. Perform the software installation or
        change (update), then redo the above procedure to set the
        Floppy(s) to NONE. Now unauthorized persons can't bring unwanted
        software to your system.



        External Modems Light Up

        If your external modem is having trouble making a connection,
        you might want to check the headlights (front panel lights).
        When the modem is powered up, the modem ready (MR) light should
        come on. The terminal ready (TR) light tells you, that the modem
        and your PC are in communications, and are ready to make a call.
        If you've set the modem to answer the phone, the auto answer
        (AA) light will be on. And, whenever the modem "picks up the
        phone", the off hook (OH) light should light. Once your modem
        and the remote modem make a connection, the carrier detect (CD)
        light is supposed to come on. While the modem is sending and
        receiving data, the receive date (RD) and send data (SD) lights

        will flicker. As soon as the connection is severed, the carrier
        detect light (CD) should go off. If your modem lights behave
        differently than the above, you may, have a hardware problem. If
        this is the case, call your modem manufacturers technical
        support line and report what your lights show (light
        combinations).



        Power Definitions

        AUDIT - Automated Data Input Terminal, a hand held terminal that
        stock brokers use to key in stock transactions.

        BBS - Bulletin Board System - An online computer service that
        functions as a centralized information source. Users connect
        with a BBS using a modem to download and upload and leave
        messages to each other.

        BOOT SECTOR - The first sector on any computer disk, on the
        first track. This sector contains enough information defining
        the disk's layout and programming code to load the Disk
        Operating System.

        BROKER WORKSTATION - A specialized personal computer used to
        calculate the type and number of stock transactions a broker
        would have to make at a certain market price.

        DATABASE SERVER - A specialized node on a local area network
        system, that handles database management.

        DATA DICTIONARY - A file that lists all the data formats, files
        and relationships in a database.

        DATA ENCRYPTION - Information is transformed into a random (or
        seemingly random) stream of bits to create a secrete code for
        data security (and to confuse anyone trying to access the
        information illegally).

        DISK PARTITION TABLE - A data structure stored on the boot
        sector (see BOOT SECTOR above) that describes how information is
        laid out on the disk.

        EXPERT SYSTEM - Considered a form of artificial intelligence, it
        is a computer software system, that uses stored information to
        draw conclusions about a particular issue or problem.

        FAT (FILE ALLOCATION TABLE) - The FAT tells DOS where to fine a
        file. It's a chart of numbers, that correspond to cluster
        addresses on the disk. When you or a program, you're using,
        requests a file, DOS goes from address to address in the FAT
        finding out where a files clusters are stored on disk, then DOS
        goes to each cluster so derived to get the information there-in.

        FLOATING DEFECTS - Defects on a disk that suddenly appear due to
        the drifting alignment of the drive heads. These defects may not
        have been noticed previously because they were located between
        tracks.

        HIGH DOS - The area of RAM located between 640K AND 1024K. This
        384K of memory is reserved for system use for such things as
        video memory and network interface cards. Memory managers can
        utilize some unused portions of High DOS for programs such as
        TSR's.

        ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) - An all digital

        telephone line that is capable of transmitting digital data as
        well as voice without a modem.

        LAN (Local Area Network) - A LAN, is a system of linking PC's so
        that users may share resources. A LAN lets you share files as
        well as devices such as printers or CD-ROM devices.

        NOS (Network Operating System) - A NOS coordinates a networks
        primary functions such as file transfer and print queuing.
        Banyan's Vines, Novell's Netware and Microsoft's Lan Manager,
        are examples of network operating systems.

        PASCAL - The computer programming language taught in most
        beginning computer science courses. Because it's relatively easy
        to learn, PASCAL, is the language of choice in colleges and
        universities.

        PIM (Personal Information Manager) - A database management
        system that stores and retrieves personal information, such as
        notes, memos, addresses and appointments.

        REAL MODE - An operating mode for an 80386 microprocessor. In
        this mode the 386, acts like, an 8088 processor, so only 640K
        RAM is available for use.

        SECTOR HEADER - A block of data that appears at the beginning of
        each sector on a disk. Information in the sector header lists
        the sector's physical address, including the track number,
        surface number and the sector number around the track.

        STEPPING MOTOR - The mechanical motor that positions the read
        and write heads over the correct tracks on the platter of a hard
        disk system.

        TSR (Terminate and Stay Resident Program) - Also called a Memory
        Resident or Pop-Up program. A software system, that stays in
        memory while you are executing other applications. To get the
        TSR's attention, it is common to set a Hot-Key sequence, which
        causes the TSR to Pop-Up!

        UMB (Upper Memory Block) - A free area of memory, between the
        sections actually used by hardware, and in the 384K reserved
        memory. A memory manager, like QRam can take advantage of these
        upper memory blocks, by moving TSR's and Device Drivers into
        that area.

        V86 MODE (Virtual 8086 Mode) - A sub-mode, of the protected
        operating mode, in an 80386 processor unit. When using the V86
        mode, the 386 is able to simulate the 8086 processor, operating
        in Real Mode.

        VIRTUAL DISK - An imaginary disk that is contained in RAM.
        Virtual disks can speed up some operations on your PC by
        eliminating hard disk accesses.



        Money-Saving Protocols

        If you transfer large files with a high-speed modem (9600 baud
        or faster), you can save time and money by using an asynchronous
        error-checking protocol, such as ZMODEM, windowed XMODEM or
        windowed KERMIT. Synchronous protocols like XMODEM and YMODEM
        send a block of data and wait for the remote PC to check the
        block of data before sending another, leaving periods of idle
        time on the line between blocks. Asynchronous protocols transmit

        data in one continuous stream, enabling you to make cost
        efficient use of all you phone line time.



        Now You See It With Procomm

        With Procomm and Procomm Plus, some monochrome monitors don't
        display all the text or highlighting of the help screens. If
        missing text is a problem, try starting the program with the
        "/B" option, to use ProComm's black and white settings. Type
        "ProComm/B" and you'll be able to see the status line and all
        text.



        Procomm's Handy On-Line Log

        To capture data easily during an on-line session, use Procomm
        Plus's Log File command instead of the usual method, which
        requires you to select a protocol and enter a filename. To begin
        recording just press <Alt><F1> and either enter a file name or
        simply press <ENTER> for the default file name "PCPLUS.LOG".
        Press <Alt><F1> again to finish recording . If you want to pause
        the log to skip over extraneous on-screen data, press <Alt><F2>;
        to continue, hit <Alt><F2> again. To read the log, press <Alt>-V
        and enter the file name.



        Speedy Norton Menus

        Batch File menus made with Norton Utilities' Batch Enhancer (BE)
        can be very slow if there are many BE commands, because BE.EXE
        must execute (read from disk) for each BE command. To speed up
        the process, place all your BE commands in one text file. Now,
        you can launch your menu from a batch file from a batch command
        line of "BE filename", where filename is the file containing all
        the BE commands.



        From the Oven to the Laser

        In humid climates, laser printers can warp the paper coming out
        of them and seal envelopes as well. If you have this problem,
        try baking your paper and envelopes in the oven at 125 to 150
        degrees, for 1 to 2 hours, prior to printing.



        Norton MCI From Anywhere

        Norton Commander 3.0 users can write MCI Mail with any Word
        Processor, as long as the letter starts as follows :
                Via: 1
                 To: MCI mailbox
            Subject: Subject
        After the letter is complete, save it as an ASCII file in
        Commander's OUT directory, and it will be sent out the next time
        Commander logs on to MCI. If you wish to attach a binary file,
        insert the line "Attach: drive:\path\ filename" between the
        "To:" and the "Subject:" lines.




        LaserJet Toner Down but NOT out

        If your LaserJet printer turns out pages with vertical streaks
        on them, you're running out of toner. Don't throw that cartridge
        away, yet. Take the cartridge out, hold it by the handle and the
        opposite side, rock it gently back and forth several times, to
        redistribute the toner. Now, you can print several hundred more
        copies. This is also a good bet for copiers.



        Easy Exchange Between Compuserve and MCI Mail

        It's easy to exchange messages between Compuserve's Easy Mail
        and Mci Mail. Just address as follows, inserting MCI and
        Compuserve ID numbers in place of the #s. From Compuserve to MCI
        : TO >MCIMAIL ###.#### from MCI to Compuserve : TO EMS |
        Compuserve MBX : #####,###



        Crosstalk's Screen Snapshots

        During an on-line session, you may need to save a screen of data
        to disk, such as a new host system's commands. Crosstalk XVI+
        has an obscure command that saves a snapshot of a screen to an
        ASCII file. Press "<ESC>pi <ENTER>" during the session, and
        enter a path and the file name.



        Run Programs Full Screen Under Desqview

        If you want an application to always open full screen in
        Desqview, take these steps. In the Change a Program Advance
        Options screen, give the program a 'Starting Height' of 25, a
        'Starting Width' of 80 and both a 'Starting Row' and 'Starting
        Column' of 0. Now when you launch the application, it will run
        full screen.



        Speeding Modem Dialing Through Office PBX's

        If you have a nonstandard dial tone on your office phone system,
        you may have to tweak your modem's attention (using AT) command
        strings. Start your communications software, enter it's setup
        menu, and under modem setup, find the strings that begin with
        "AT". the modem's initialization string (the longest string,
        usually), add S6=n, where 'n' is any number, in seconds (2 or
        greater) which your system takes to get an outside line (dial
        tone). Setting the S6 register forces the modem to stop
        listening for dial tone, after the 'n' number of seconds, and to
        begin the dial sequence. You can further speed dialing after the
        modem gets an outside line by adding W to the tail end of the
        command string that starts with "ATDT". This sets the modem to
        dial the phone number immediately once it hears a normal dial
        tone rather than wait the entire duration set by register S6.



        Swap Mouse Buttons

        By default, PC Tools Deluxe's shell program doesn't care which
        mouse button you use to open menus or select a file. But if you
        want to copy, delete, or otherwise manipulate a group of files,

        you must use the left mouse button. If you're left-handed,
        however, this can be a pain. The solution: Swap the mouse button
        functions by using "PCSHELL /LE" at the DOS prompt, to load the
        shell.



        Easy LaserJet Printing With Norton Utilities

        Norton Utilities 4.5's LP (Line Print) program assumes you can
        print 66 lines per page, but the HP Laser Jet allows only 62. In
        order to use LP easily with the LaserJet, create a simple one-
        line batch file of : "LP %1 /H62". Call it HPLP.BAT and put it
        in a directory listed in your system PATH variable. Then from
        any DOS prompt, enter HPLP filename, where filename is the file
        to print.



        Chameleon PaintBrush

        A lot of people use PaintBrush in more than one video mode or
        with different printers. Instead of running PBSETUP to change
        PaintBrush's defaults, create variations on the PAINT.BAT file
        generated when the program is first installed. Say for example,
        that your system (and PAINT.BAT) is currently configured for 256
        colors at 640 x 480, yet you sometimes need to run the program
        with 16 colors. Rename PAINT.BAT to "256.BAT", run PBSETUP, and
        generate a new PAINT.BAT with the appropriate settings. Exit
        PBSETUP, and rename that new PAINT.BAT to "16.BAT". Now, you can
        run PaintBrush in either mode with a few keystrokes.



        Modem Trick, Don't Compress Compressed Files

        If you own a modem with built in data compression (using MNP-5
        or V.42bis), be sure to turn off the modem compression when
        downloading or uploading files which are already compressed,
        with utilities such as ARC, LHA and ZIP. Uploading or
        Downloading a previously compressed file with a data compressing
        modem, takes more time, than up or down loading the file without
        the modem compression. Check your modem manual for instructions
        on how to turn off your modem compression.



        DeskJet 80 Column Help

        HP DeskJet printers provide near laser-quality printing at a
        much lower price. There are, however, drawbacks. For one, the
        DeskJet prohibits you from printing close to the edge of the
        paper, so text files with 80 column lines don't always print
        correctly. To fix this problem, create the following one line
        batch file, calling it something like DJ80C.BAT.

        ECHO [(s1Q[&a5[&L7.27c[&k11.25H>PRN

        Replace the above "[" bracket characters with <ESC>. Many text
        editors allow entering the <ESC> character, by holding the <Alt>
        key down and entering "27" from the numeric keypad. If your text
        editor or word processor do NOT support this feature, use EDLIN,
        which comes with DOS.




        ProComm and Auto Scripts

        Users of the popular shareware telecommunications package,
        ProComm can take advantage of ProComm's script language and
        automatically log on to Delphi and other online systems. The
        following is a listing of a ProComm script file that will dial
        the Telenet number stored as Number 1, in the dialing directory
        and automatically log on to the Delphi at 8 bits, 1 stop bit and
        no parity.

                DIAL "1"
                WAIT "3"
                TRANSMIT "!D!"
                WAITFOR "@"
                TRANSMIT "C DELPHI"
                WAITFOR "Terminal="
                TRANSMIT "D1!"
                WAITFOR "Username:"
                TRANSMIT "{YOUR NAME}"
                WAITFOR "Password:"
                TRANSMIT "{YOUR PASSWORD}"
                WAITFOR "MAIN >"
                TRANSMIT "GR PC"

        For more information on the ProComm script language, see the
        ProComm's documentation. Procomm is available for downloading
        from most major BBS systems. Many other communications programs
        also support script languages of their own. The above script
        listing, can be converted to other script languages with
        relative ease.



        Pascal TypeCasting

        Typecasting in Turbo Pascal 4.0 works very well, on variables
        and values. However, if you try to typecast a function result to
        match a variable, you will run into trouble. A solution to this
        problem, is to typecast the variable to match the function
        result. An example : POINTER(LongIntVar) :=PointerFunction;


        Special Guest Tip, from Jim Hood, Author of Prof. PC Laptop
        Tutor. If you have a Laptop computer you should order your copy
        of his great product.

        The Traveling Laptop

        Laptops are made to travel. Their small size and potent features
        make computing on the road a snap. Consider using this
        assortment of tips which seasoned laptop owners have come to
        rely on....

        Airports are a frequent transit point for laptop owners. Be sure
        to be prepared for a SPEEDY passage through airport security by
        being aware that in most cases you MUST boot up the laptop so
        that a DOS prompt, menu or other sign of visible activity is
        displayed on the screen. Security officials do this for a
        reason: if a laptop computer has been tampered with or hollowed
        out to serve as an empty shell for explosives or weapons, the
        machine will not boot up or operate. By forcing the laptop owner
        to activate the machine, airport security is effectively
        screening for tampered machines.

        Once you know this, several important tips are quite useful.
        Always carry a BOTH a fully charged battery and AC adapter with

        the laptop. No power means no possibility of booting the machine
        and your laptop might be forced to remain behind!

        To speed the process on laptops equipped with hard drives try an
        experiment. Prepare a bootable floppy disk with DOS system files
        and a short AUTOEXEC.BAT program which boots the machine rapidly
        since DOS usually tries to boot from a floppy first and then the
        hard drive second. Now time how long it takes to boot from the
        floppy as well as the hard drive. Whichever is faster is the one
        you want to use to speed your trip through airport security. But
        ALWAYS take the bootable floppy as well. Why? If your laptop
        hard drive becomes damaged in transit - a possibility in today's
        airport environments - then you have a floppy backup which will
        also get you through airport security.

        This Tip is From The PC Professor Laptop Tutor, by Jim Hood. For
        more information on this product please see the description in
        the sub section "SOFTWARE SPECIALS", in the section "Software
        Directory". PC-Learn is a MUST have for anyone using a computer
        and wants the most from their system.



        Here is another tip from Jim Hood. For more of this type of
        information, order your copy of PC-Learn


        Alternate Power

        Beginners also need to know about the alternate keyboard.
        Sometimes you need a special symbol like the cents sign, the
        British currency (pounds sterling) symbol, or the one half
        fraction sign. IBM compatible computers contain an "alternate
        keyboard" system which allows access to special math, foreign
        language and graphics symbols. The source is a special ASCII
        chart printed in the appendix of your DOS manual as well as most
        computer reference books. It's easy to use this system: while
        you are in your word processor, DOS or other program, press AND
        CONTINUOUSLY HOLD DOWN the Alt key and then USING ONLY THE
        NUMBER KEYS ON THE NUMERIC KEYPAD (to the right of the keyboard,
        not the normal number keys above the keyboard) hit the three
        digit DECIMAL number code of the special character you need.

        For example, from the ASCII table in the back of my DOS manual I
        note that the symbol for the British currency Pound is decimal
        code 156. I hold down the Alt key, press in sequence the three
        numbers 156 on the numeric keypad and finally release the ALT
        key to get the proper symbol on my screen.

        There are many useful symbols for foreign languages, math,
        fractions, foreign currency, symbols to draw boxes, lines and
        useful graphics symbols. Note that these ASCII symbols will
        usually display properly on your screen but MIGHT NOT print
        properly on your printer since some are used for special control
        codes and other activities. Many will, however, display on both
        your screen and printer.

        Jot down the codes for the most interesting ASCII symbols to
        keep near your keyboard! By the way, PC-Magazine published a
        shareware utility called ASC.COM several years ago (available
        from many computer clubs and BBS systems) which can "pop up"
        over many of your programs and display the full ASCII code table
        for quick reference and handy use if you don't want to go
        searching for the ASCII index in the back of your DOS manual.

        Before leaving the discussion about the alternate keyboard, note

        that crucial control of your printer - setting various typefaces
        and features - can be provided via a combination of batch files
        and use of the alternate keyboard. See the printer discussion at
        the end of the PC-Learn batch file tutorial elsewhere on this
        disk.

        This Tip is From The PC-Learn, A PC Tutor, by Jim Hood. For more
        information on this product please see the description in the
        sub section "SOFTWARE SPECIALS", in the section "Software
        Directory". PC-Learn is a MUST have for anyone using a computer
        and wants the most from their system.



        Section finished. Be sure to order your THREE BONUS DISKS which
        expand this software package with vital tools, updates and
        additional tutorial material for computer users! Send $24.95 to
        Scanlon Enterprises, Department TIP, 38354 17th St. E.,
        Palmdale, CA 93550. Bonus disks shipped promptly! Modifications,
        custom program versions, Site and LAN licenses of this package
        for business or corporate use are possible, contact the author.
        This software is shareware - an honor system which means TRY
        BEFORE YOU BUY. Press escape key to return to menu.