Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2011 May 8

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May 8

Repairing a broken pdf file

I get this message when trying to open a pdf file: xref table broken. pdftk does not work here, and so is the case of Adobe Acrobat. Actually, these programs never manage to repair broken pdfs, AFAIK. Are there any solutions that do not cost $183? I was working with PDF XChange and saving the changes. So, I have the original (not broken file) and the broken (with some changes made by me). Quest09 (talk) 00:47, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

Perhaps you could use something like the freeware HxD hex editor to compare both files, and see if you can fix it that way. Google searching for fix broken pdf freeware finds lots of advice. Interesting details at the end of the first result. 92.28.240.189 (talk) 12:31, 12 May 2011 (UTC)

Reformatting advice

So, I've got a Windows box that's picked up some malware. After repeated attempts to remove it, it just won't go away, so I've decided to reformat and start from scratch. While I'll be following the advice here, I've got a couple of other questions: My machine has a single physical HDD that's been partitioned into a C: and D: drive (C: is for programs, D: is for files) as well as a number of Alcohol 120% emulated DVD drives. If I pop in my Windows disc and reinstall, will those partitions get wiped out? If not, am I still at risk? There are no files left on them. If I am still at risk, what's the surest way to make sure everything gets nuked? fdisk? Any advice appreciated. Matt Deres (talk) 04:09, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

Yes, but you can always remake the partitions after reinstalling your OS. Then you can recreate your emulated DVD drives. General Rommel (talk) 05:44, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

I have no problem with re-making them; I was worried that they wouldn't get wiped out and potentially harbor whatever digital beasties are living on my hard-drive. Cool; thanks for the help! Matt Deres (talk) 11:33, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

Actually, by default I think they're not wiped out - you need to ensure that they are as part of the install process. --Phil Holmes (talk) 14:51, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

You are correct, and it's a simple click to do so during the formatting/installation. As I found out this morning! Matt Deres (talk) 15:28, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

Where to obtain a HyperSim card?

(I won't trust eBay until they have phone support for all)

I brought home a Softbank 920p from Japan, and the phone and its features (like the camera) stopped working a few months later. (Why not immediately?)

I was told there was a Hyper-Sim card, but none at Best Buy.

Froogle.com only shows Ebay hits, but I cannot trust that site after some harsh experiences.

Where are any other reputable sites that sell Hypersim cards? --70.179.169.115 (talk) 05:22, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

I think the problem you wil find is that a Hyper-sim isn't exactly a reputable product which is why reputable sites won't sell it --AdRiley (talk) 21:24, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

Accessing the entire Windows Phone 7 filesystem from a PC

It must be possible: how can I gain full read/write access to the file system on Windows Phone 7 over a PC without hacking/jailbreaking over a cable or other physical connection? --Melab±1 ☎ 07:20, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

How to quickly change IP addresses

My IP is getting stale, and I used to leave the modem disconnected all day while away from the apartment. That doesn't appear to work anymore, and I'm under Cox Communications. Are there other ways to change IPs? --70.179.169.115 (talk) 07:51, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

What do you mean by "My IP is getting stale"? It's not like a loaf of bread :-) --Phil Holmes (talk) 14:50, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

He asks a lot of questions. I checked the range for 70.179.*.* about a month or two ago when I first noticed them and I saw there were several IPs with the same editing pattern. ;-) Killiondude (talk) 22:45, 9 May 2011 (UTC)

I wish my IP would remain fixed! Sometimes it changes every minute, and causes problems with my e-mail. Your ISP determines how long the lease on your IP address lasts. Some assign permanent addresses, others will assign a new one if you have not used the old one for minutes/hours/days/weeks/months/years. There is no concept of "staleness" that I understand. You'll have to contact your ISP (Cox Communications) if you are having problems. Dbfirs 15:03, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

I thought you got an IP when you connected to your ISP, and a new one at each new connection. However, now I get the impression the ISP can change our IP without we noticing it or dropping the connection. 212.169.188.209 (talk) 16:15, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

At the command prompt, try typing "ipconfig /release" and then "ipconfig /renew", that might give you a new ip address. It doesn't work on my isp, the address usually changes if I have left the computer off for a few hours which I rarely do 82.43.89.63 (talk) 16:45, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

That will only affect the IP on that PC. There is usually no way to force the cable modem to get a new IP other than turning it off for a period of time. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 17:56, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

The solution used to be clone the MAC address on your router. That tricks the ISP into thinking it's a different device and requires new a IP address. There's some more information here, but with a caveat: when the ISP finds a new MAC address, they might disable your Internet connection instead for security reasons. Then you would have to call them, but you might get a new IP out of all it. The reaction to a "new" device on the network may be different for each ISP.--el Aprel (^facta-_facienda) 19:22, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

This may work. But if your ISP requires a login (using PPPoE or PPTP for example) there's a fair chance it won't. Nil Einne (talk) 21:08, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

Japanese radios

If Fukushima will become the worst nuclear accident ever, then many Japanese people will have to leave Japan. My question: Can Japanese radios be used in Germany? --84.61.132.230 (talk) 18:08, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

Analog radios should be fine. Digital radios won't work: Japan uses ISDB-Tsb, Germany uses DAB. -- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 19:15, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

Although the mains supply (voltage and plugs) is different between the two countries (see mains electricity by country), mandating adaptors and only allowing switching/switchable devices to be used (they used a transformer, which is probably daft). -- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 19:20, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

And why Germany? Why not other regions of Japan. Or Australia? (which has plenty of space). Or Brazil, which has plenty of Japanese people and plenty of space. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.169.188.209 (talk) 19:26, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

Australia might have the land, but not the water or farmland :-) Electron9 (talk) 15:58, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

AFAIK, there are some rather large Japanese communities in Germany, for example in Düsseldorf, so for a Japanese, it might feel like "little Japan" and help against being homesick.

Also, while DAB does exist in Germany, Analog AM and FM is still the norm. It's only with television that analog over-the-air signals are no longer available, and analog Sat is being turned off soon. Analog cable is going to stay for a while longer. Digital Sat and cable are already available, though. -- 188.105.115.200 (talk) 11:12, 10 May 2011 (UTC)

But, why would you worry about DAB, if you have to leave your country after a nuclear disaster? 80.58.205.34 (talk) 16:15, 10 May 2011 (UTC)

Firefox 4

Ugh, I updated to Firefox 4, and now the Go back and Go forward one page arrows don't have an accompanying list of most recent edits. I can't pull down a menu and click on a previous page, I have to use the Go back arrow and run through my past pages one page at a time (this is particularly annoying when using Wikipedia, because History articles often take a long time to load, and I can't skip past them). Does anybody know if there's a way to get a history dropdown list in Firefox 4, or if one is coming? 216.93.212.245 (talk) 18:26, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

Heh. Never mind. I can use the "History" link at the top of the page. Still, it's annoying that they do things like that without telling you. 216.93.212.245 (talk) 18:28, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

Er, no, still a problem, because the History link gives you a history of every single page visited by every tab window that you currently have open, instead of just the one window you're currently viewing.  :( 216.93.212.245 (talk) 18:29, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

Right-click on the back/forward buttons. -- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 19:11, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

Awesome. Thank you. Not exactly intuitively obvious.  :) 216.93.212.245 (talk) 20:05, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

You can also click and hold, and yeah, not obvious. ¦ Reisio (talk) 21:17, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

I agree these things are annoying. My particular pet peeve with this one is breaking control-E to go to the search window. I know they have another key for it now, though I haven't assimilated it yet.

CTRL-K? Zzubnik (talk) 14:46, 11 May 2011 (UTC)

Changing ASP.NET MaskedEditValidator error message in JavaScript?

Is it possible to change the error message of an ASP.NET MaskedEditValidator in JavaScript directly on the client side, without having to do an HTTP postback request? JIP | Talk 19:45, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

Replying to myself, after having a try at it at work: It's entirely possible, with pretty much a trivial effort. The MaskedEditValidator's error message properties are just as accessible on the client side with JavaScript as they are on the server side with C# (or another .NET language), so it's just a matter of having a JavaScript function change them. The difficult part will be in implementing the logic that figures out what the error message should actually contain. JIP | Talk 20:11, 9 May 2011 (UTC)

TR/Spy.ZBot.blxv attack

My laptop repeatedly catches TR/Spy.ZBot.blxv in a file located in C:\Windows\Temp (running on Win 7) each time I turn laptop on, causing severe freezing. Antivirus or manual removing don't help as the file appears anew each time after scan/quarantine or removal. Any suggestions how to get rid of permanently?--89.76.224.253 (talk) 22:59, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

You may have tried this already, but:

Download Malwarebytes Free. Restart Windows in Safe Mode with Networking (start pressing F8 as soon as the computer turns on - see this page). Run MalwareBytes scan (instructions here).

You could also try running Disk Cleanup in Safe Mode to empty the Temp folder (see here). --Kateshortforbob _talk 15:37, 9 May 2011 (UTC)

I would boot from a different hard disk and use Malwarebytes or another antimalware scanner. If this doesn't work, it's time for a reformat; see Wikipedia:Reference desk/Computing/Viruses. Comet Tuttle (talk) 23:37, 9 May 2011 (UTC)

This may be a case where two Trojans are working in tandem, but for whatever reason your virus detector is only identifying one of them. Make sure your virus scanner has the most up-to-date definitions file, if that doesn't work, I agree with the others that you should try a different virus scanner. APL (talk) 02:25, 10 May 2011 (UTC)