Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2012 March 25

Welcome to the Wikipedia Computing Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

March 25

External hard drive problem

I've been struggling with a problem with an external hard drive for nearly three weeks. It is a 6TB drive with USB 2.0 and eSATA interfaces. It is my first eSata drive, I have only one computer with an eSATA port, and I have only one eSATA cable. It is by a major manufacturer and I got it from a reputable dealer. I use it (at least try to) on eSATA (USB 2 is too slow for 6TB).

The first one had problems - it would get to about 2.19TB and then slow to a crawl. At first it would transfer at 80-120MB/sec, but then it would drop down to under 4MB/sec. I ran their diagnostics and it locked up at about 77%. I got a replacement. It had the same problem, except that this time the diagnostics locked up at about 74%.

I got a third one, and it has problems. It passed the diagnostics 100%. But it drops down to under 3MB/sec for a while and then speed up. It did that a few times, then it dropped the speed down, and did not speed back up. This occurred a lot earlier than the 2.19TB where the problem occurred on the other two.

I've tried copying from a different disk to this one and writing to it from memory only - same problem either way.

I don't have another computer with an eSATA port or cable to test those.

I hooked it up to USB 2.0, and it is slow, but at least consistent. But USB 2 won't give the performance needed for the application.

One thing about the problem at 2.19TB - it has 512-byte clusters and 2^32 clusters is 2.199TB, so I have wondered if there is a design flaw with the eSATA interface when it gets to 2^32 clusters.

The seller will not take back computer equipment that has been opened. The maker thinks it is a "system problem".

So, where is this problem likely to be:

1. my eSATA port
2. the eSATA cable
3. the HD (eSATA interface)
4. Other Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 05:11, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

Do you use Windows XP? This article explains that Windows XP will not handle disks over 2.19TB. Newer operating systems can use the disk, although it may not be used to boot from - only for storage. The article also says 'your system's SATA controller must also be designed to recognize 4KB blocks', but I'm afraid someone else will need to explain that - I'm not really sure what it could mean. - Cucumber Mike (talk) 07:45, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

The bottom post on this page (the one by 'tfontaine') seems to offer a step-by-step solution. I can't verify if it will solve the problem or not, but you may wish to try it. - Cucumber Mike (talk) 07:52, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

I'm using Windows 7. I had done the things there - the dickdisk is partitioned to 6TB and formatted. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 14:36, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

Then I'm afraid I'm stumped. I can't find any more helpful information online. I can only suggest you contact the manufacturer again and, if they insist it is a system problem, make them tell you exactly what the incompatibility is. And I really would recommend not partitioning one's dick. - Cucumber Mike (talk) 20:39, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

Mine is all one BIG partition. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 00:02, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

Since the problem of getting to 2.2TB was with eSATA, right now I'm trying to do it with USB 2. But that is so slow, it is going to take nearly 24 hours. But in about 2 more hours I will see if it is able to go beyond 2.2TB on USB. My only other idea is if I can increase the cluster size so that there are fewer than 2^32 clusters. But I don't know if that can be done. Otherwise I'm going to call tech support again. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 01:31, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

Well, on the USB 2 connecter it got past 2.2TB with no problem. The speed is steady albeit a slow USB 2 speed. So the problem is in the eSATA somewhere. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 02:54, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

Since eSATA is just exposing the SATA controller this may depend on the SATA controller. [1] mentions that certain Intel RST drivers had problems, so I would use Windows update to update your SATA controller drivers (even if you aren't using Intel) if any updates are offered. Nil Einne (talk) 15:55, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

Accessing a web page

On List of municipalities in Rio Grande do Norte, the fifth reference there is a problem accessing; when I open the page it gives me a 505 error. Is there any way I can gain access to the page? The URL is at [2]. Albacore (talk) 16:24, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

ftp://geoftp.ibge.gov.br/organizacao_territorial/divisao_territorial/2008/dtb_2008.zip -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 16:48, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

gif breaking

They say that gifs only can have 256 colors... but I've seen images that have broke that law... they've cheated, so my question is. How there are images (animated gifs) that have 16,777,216 colors (Maybe they can have alpha channel??) and how do I make one?? 190.84.182.165 (talk) 17:34, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

The article touches on that briefly: Gif#True_color RudolfRed (talk) 17:40, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

Ohhhhh so each gif has a cutom palette... I didn't saw that one coming...... thanks.. 190.84.182.165 (talk) 18:52, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

curved writing

I need to write something such that it curves around, it'll have to be saved as part of a background image for a 3D modeling program so just for the sake of simplicity I was hoping to save it in paint, but of course it would likely have to be copied into there from somewhere else first.

So, any thoughts on where I might be able to find a program that can curve writing around to follow a set line?

148.197.81.179 (talk) 18:48, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

The free vector graphics editor Inkscape can do this. There is a tutorial for this exact application here. I don't know how well this works myself - I haven't used inkscape in years as my current workplace has a site licence for Adobe Illustrator. Equisetum (talk | contributions) 19:12, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

Microsoft Word's WordArt tool can produce curved writing, and is probably easier to use for a one-off task than Inkscape. It is considerably less powerful, though, so you may find it won't do exactly what you want. - Cucumber Mike (talk) 21:51, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

Can you better define what you mean by "curves around" ? Do you mean writing projected onto a cylinder, or just words forming a circle, like on the face of a coin ? StuRat (talk) 22:28, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

Openoffice: Alignment in enumeration (within table)

Hello,

I am rather new to Openoffice, although somewhat familiar with Word. I was wondering alignment when using enumerations within tables. I had something like this in mind:

blablablabla

1. some item and then some more

---which does not fit on one line

but I get:

blablablabla

1.--------some item and then some more

which does not fit on one line.

How can I change this? I checked a lot of properties of tables and enumerations. I even found an example in some template just the way I want it, but I cannot figure out what setting I should change?

Many thanks, Evilbu (talk) 20:25, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

This does not address your question directly – but if you have abandoned 'word ' then now go for libreoffice which starts where OpenOffice left off. OpenOffice was brilliant ( no comments please) but a company called Oracle has made LibreOffice the prime default replacement of Word. It will save going through another learning curve in the future and you will end up with a much better word processor with better support. --Aspro (talk) 21:47, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

make a folder impossible to be opened

is it possible maybe in c/c# (i know i can zip with the password but i want the folder to appear to be a normal folder). Thanx! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.0.122.9 (talk) 21:55, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

What operating system are you using? On Linux/Unix you can simply unset with chmod all the permission bits and then no one can read, write, or execute the file (except probably root). On Windows, you should can also set the RWX properties of the file for different users and groups, but I can't recall which control panel it is hidden under. Maybe just right-click on file + properites? RudolfRed (talk) 22:25, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

Programming an application to "make a folder imposible to open" (what you are programming in C or C#, I do not know) will not change the capability of another program from opening it. A PDF reader can be programed to ignore any DRM on the file, just like some other executable can ignore any conventions you put in place. An encrypted file/folder can still be opened, though it won't contain any strings that make sense. You could encrypt it, but that won't stop anything from modifying or deleting it. --Melab±1 ☎ 18:58, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

system info

I have a samsung lcd monitor

and got a few questions about it

when you bring up the system menu and go to information part of it itll say its current resolution refresh rate like this 1920x1080 67.5khz 60 hz PP or the latter could be NP so I wanna know what these two letters stand for and mean and what the difference is any one know??? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.35.21.51 (talk) 22:30, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

When you press the screen with your pinky, does it give a little? If so, I think it just means you a polypropylene LCD type screen.--Aspro (talk) 01:11, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

i dont think it has anything to do with that, cos then when you change the resolution to something that isnt its native say to 720p it changes that to NP. im just curious — Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.35.3.109 (talk) 02:49, 27 March 2012 (UTC)

That specification refers to the Sync Polarity (first letter is for horizontal, second is for vertical). Apparently some video cards will let you set those parameters. Beyond that is too technical for me. --LarryMac | Talk 12:29, 27 March 2012 (UTC)

World's longest URL?

I've just come across some URLs that are hundreds of thousands of characters long (>700k) that almost crash firefox. Why could this ever be necessary? They can be found by enlarging the images on this page and then viewing the image (obviously I'm not going to copy one here). They all start with "data:image/png;base64," rather than http - what does that mean? Cheers SmartSE (talk) 23:48, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

It's an image encoded as base64. More info at Data URI scheme 82.45.62.107 (talk) 23:51, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

Perhaps it is a Firefox feature. The URL for this image is only 82 characters long (edit: but is only a small tile from the whole image). The other image URLs are of around the same length. Astronaut (talk) 00:06, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

Thanks 82.45 - that explains it well - seems a bit stupid to use it for such a large image though. Astronaut - I can't see that image anywhere on the page I linked to.... SmartSE (talk) 01:08, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

Yes, what you describe does sound like base64. For me using Internet Explorer, your link led to the site in this screenshot. The image I selected is the middle of the three at the top. Clicking on it gives some Java driven popup with the image at the centre and a caption below. I can right-click on the image and choose properties to see the image's URL. Astronaut (talk) 03:10, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

I've just checked back at the image link I provided in my first reply. That is just a small part of the image. The whole image seems to be made of small tiles of which that is just one. This tile is another, this time showing the guys in the boat. How weird! Perhaps it has been done like that to ease the Java controls to zoom and drag the image around, or maybe to discourage casual copying. Anyway, you can click on the "View full record..." link at the bottom left of the Java popup. The full record offers you the chance to download the image. But not once have I come across a very long URL as you describe. Astronaut (talk) 03:29, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

(Note: The effects on that webpage are coded in JavaScript, which is different from Java. Example of JavaScript: Sudoku. Example of a Java applet: Seventh String Tuning Fork.) --Bavi H (talk) 03:54, 28 March 2012 (UTC)

For the purposes of this question, the distinction is not that important and to be honest I didn't look too deeply into how the popup was actually implemented. Astronaut (talk) 12:14, 28 March 2012 (UTC)

This does not answer your question, but . . . it's clear that some people want long URLs. -- Hoary (talk) 14:38, 26 March 2012 (UTC)