Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2008 May 27

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May 27

Firefox AutoComplete

I searched on Google to no avail regarding my question related to Firefox's AutoComplete feature, so now I come here. First, as an analogy, I know that it is possible to have Firefox store only a certain number of days of history. Is it possible to have Firefox store only a certain number of days of AutoComplete history? (If it helps, I am on Firefox 2.0.0.14, but would be willing to upgrade to a version of Firefox 3.) I would prefer not to delete all of my autocomplete history, but I don't really like a month's worth of history either. :\ Any comments would be appreciated. --Iamunknown 01:58, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

I don't believe so, a quick look in firefox's "about:config" screen with the filter set on either "autocomplete" or "history" doesn't show a setting for what you're looking for. Lordhatrus (talk) 03:57, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

The autocomplete feature apparently uses the same number of days as whatever the History feature is set to. I don't think you can change it as a separate setting. See here: [1] Indeterminate (talk) 14:51, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

If it's just particular entries that are bothering you, you can get rid of them by selecting them with the arrow keys and pressing Delete. I don't know whether this also removes the page from the history. -- BenRG (talk) 18:12, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

Thanks all! I didn't know it depends upon the history feature - that's good news. If I get around to it, I might try to experiment and see if something goes away at the same time as a history item. Also, you can apparently shift+del items as well (that is one of the things I learned while Googling earlier), but I don't know what the difference is between shift+del and just plain del. Anyways, thanks again! --Iamunknown 19:26, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

hashing technique in DBMS

what is external and internal hashing.Give an eg--116.68.117.7 (talk) 05:06, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

Please check Hash function then attempt your homework yourself. Sandman30s (talk) 11:48, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

.SRF File

I've got an old video game that stores sound in .SRF Files (the first You Don't Know Jack) and I'm wondering if there's any way to convert those to WAVs or MP3s or some other sort of more usable sound file. I know that I can always play the game and then capture the sound through the sound card, but I'd like a less lossy solution if possible. 71.131.180.33 (talk) 08:14, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

Looks like a huge pain. Try here: [2] for some info that might be helpful. Indeterminate (talk) 15:32, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

Schema drawing software

What free software is there to draw a database schema? --RMFan1 (talk) 20:47, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

There's a fairly good list (with links to other lists) here. Not all are free though. If you are only interested in the pretty picture and not so much with forward or reverse engineering of the schema, OpenOffice.org has a "Visio" like drawing facility. -- ShinmaWa^(talk) 09:09, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

See Entity-relationship model#Free software ER diagramming tools and also List of UML tools (UML class/object diagrams work well for depicting database schemas). --Prestidigitator (talk) 23:53, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

Restart Windows to avoid driver-related crash?

I tend to leave my computer, running WinXP, switched on for weeks. I have been getting, for quite some time, BSODs claiming to result from a driver issue. By not restarting for extended periods, am I increasing the risk or not? (I wont consider Linux until the laborious set-up procedure for my keyboard keys, sound card, wireless card etc etc are eliminated so I must make Windows last a couple more years). ----Seans Potato Business 22:28, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

Laborious? My MICROSOFT keyboard and mouse refuse to work in Windows unless in specific USB ports and with drivers pre-integrated onto the CD using nLite, but it works out of the box with Ubuntu. Give Hardy a try...

Back to Windows: since there's always a random chance of getting a BSOD with your buggy drivers, I don't see what you mean by risk since the risk will always be there. --antilived^{T | C | G} 23:13, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

Ubuntu -- and particularly Hardy -- is horrible. Hardy wouldn't even boot on my machine. 7.10 worked, but my graphics card wouldn't work. I installed drivers for it, but no luck. I suppose the exception makes the rule in your case, but Linux has far more driver problems than Windows. If you have to use Linux, try openSUSE or Debian. Ubuntu uses the unstable version of Debian, which is the root of a lot of its difficulties. Avoid it and Fedora like the plague.--Hello. I'm new here, but I'm sure I can help out. (talk) 03:48, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

I just dist-upgrade the whole way through so haven't tried the Hardy liveCD yet, but it seems pretty nice, not much really revolutionary features though. --antilived^{T | C | G} 08:04, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

Again, YMMV. On my old computer I could barely boot any Linux distro, while on this one things worked better (not good enough, which is why I am currently using Windows). If I had to guess, I would say your graphics card is bleeding edge or exotic, but correct me if I'm wrong. I don't know how much experience you have with Linux and Ubuntu, but if it sums up to these few unpleasant experiences, I think it's unfair to deduce "Hardy is horrible" from a simple variance in your mileage.

I don't fully understand why Ubuntu uses unstable Debian either, but my understanding is that the problem can be mitigated if one uses a version that has been around for a few months. With the LTS 8.04, this should be practical. As for Debian - are you sure you would recommend it to a Linux beginner? -- Meni Rosenfeld (talk) 10:05, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

I have an NVIDIA GE Force 7300. I don't think it's exotic. I've used Ubuntu 6.06, 7.10, and 8.04. Hardy seems to have multiple issues. I managed to get it working after choosing an older kernel from the boot menu, but the screensavers wouldn't work and then some inodes somehow became corrupted. The forums are full of stuff like that. You're right about Debian, but openSUSE and Freespire are both beginner friendly. I've used openSUSE and it worked well. Seans is right about wireless drivers, too. You often have to use ndiswrapper to get them working.--Hello. I'm new here, but I'm sure I can help out. (talk) 18:38, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

It is often said that it is best to boot Windows regularly. So your problems might be related to not doing so. The only way to find out is to reboot and see if the problem diminishes.

In my personal experience, BSODs are often related to graphic cards, in particular integrated ones. If you use one try buying a cheap separate card (for 50$ you can get something several times more powerful than integrated). If you use a separate card, try reinstalling the drivers or switching to a different one (if you have one available).

As for Linux, the most accurate description is YMMV. If you haven't tried any distribution recently, try running an updated version from a LiveCD and see if things work. -- Meni Rosenfeld (talk) 09:34, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

I don't know what hardware or distro you were using, but for me, configuring my sound card consisted of running "alsaconf" and tapping "enter" a few times. Configuring the keyboard consisted of plugging it in. --Carnildo (talk) 20:16, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

My USB wireless adapter absolutely refused to work with Ubuntu until version 7.10. Then it magically started working, but it would ask for a network password on every boot. I upgraded in place to 8.04 and now it works beautifully. That's the nice thing about the open source development model: the longer a given project continues for, the more likely it is to add the features you want. « Aaron Rotenberg « Talk « 03:08, 29 May 2008 (UTC)