3TB Hard Drives Coming, but You’ll need a new Computer

Hard drive manufacturer Seagate has confirmed to UK website Thinq that 3TB hard drives are definitely on the plan for 2010.

The only problem? If you’re using a 32-bit version of a Windows operating system (which is – most people), you may end up seeing as little as 990MB of that huge storage capacity because of limitations to the Logical Block Addressing (LBA) measures used to access the space. Current PC standard for LBA cannot address more than 2.1TB of storage in a single drive.

The limitation appears set to become the "Y2K problem" for hard drives with the limitation of the LBA system setup by Microsoft and IBM back in 1980. Apparently, no-one expected anyone to need more than 2.1TB of storage.

Seagate product manager Barbara Craig told Thinq support for Long LBA is required for both hardware and software to handle the new drives which limits operating system support to 64-bit Windows 7 and Vista plus modified versions of Linux. The new 3TB drive won’t work with Windows XP at all.

The problem with hardware is more difficult to fix.

Drives of greater than 2.1TB will also require a GUID Partition Table – a system implemented in Apple computers – because the old Master Boot Record (MBR) method of noting storage particulars again can’t work with drives greater than 2.1TB. Intel announced last year that it was looking to improve the old DOS-look BIOS system with EFI – Extensible Firmware Interface.

However, very few PC motherboards currently support EFI and that pretty much knocks things on the head right there in terms of upgrading.

So if you’re thinking about turning your PC into a storage farm, chances are you’re going to need to start from scratch with a new PC to go with it.

Source: Techlogg.com

Fix 16-bit MS-DOS Subsystem Error Massage

This addition you get further information to troubleshoot error "16-bit MS-DOS Subsystem" error message when you run an MS-DOS or 16-Bit Windows program in Windows Server 2003 or Windows 2000 Server"

If you try to run an MS-DOS-based or a 16-bit Windows-based command on a Microsoft Windows Server 2003-based or a Microsoft Windows 2000 Server-based computer, you may receive one of the following error messages:

16-bit MS-DOS Subsystem
path to the program you are trying to start or install
C:\WINNT\system32\config.nt The system file is not suitable for running MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows applications. Choose 'Close' to terminate the application.

16-bit MS-DOS Subsystem
path to the program you are trying to run
config.nt The system file is not suitable for running MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows applications. Choose 'Close' to terminate the application.


16-bit MS-DOS Subsystem
path to the program you are trying to run
C:\WINNT\system32\autoexec.nt The system file is not suitable for running MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows applications. Choose 'Close' to terminate the application.


This issue can occur if any one of the following files are missing, damaged, or not located in the %systemroot%\System32 folder:

Autoexec.nt
Command.com
Config.nt

This post provide step by step Computer repair and troubleshooting tips to fix this issue

Follow the Steps

1. Insert the Windows Server 2003 CD or the Windows 2000 Server CD into the CD drive.
2. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
3. Type the following commands, and press ENTER after each command:
expand D:\i386\config.nt_ %systemroot%\system32\config.nt

expand D:\i386\autoexec.nt_ %systemroot%\system32\autoexec.nt

expand D:\i386\command.co_ %systemroot%\system32\command.com

exit
Note The description of this procedure assumes that your CD drive letter is D. If your CD drive letter is not D, substitute the correct drive letter.
4. Start or install the program. If the issue is resolved, do not complete the remaining steps. If the issue is not resolved, go to the next step.
5. Start Notepad, and then type the following commands.

Note The Command.com file is not edited or created in the following process. Because of this, you may have to expand the file from your CD-ROM. See step 16 for instructions on how to do this.

dos=high, umb
device=%SYSTEMROOT%\system32\himem.sys
files=40

6. On the File menu, click Save As.
7. In the File Name box, type Config.nt, and then click Save. Close the Config.nt file.
8. On the File menu, click New.
9. In the new blank document, type the following entries.

@echo off
lh %SYSTEMROOT%\system32\mscdexnt.exe
lh %SYSTEMROOT%\system32\redir
lh %SYSTEMROOT%\system32\dosx
SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 P330 T3

10. On the File menu, click Save As.
11. In the File Name box, type Autoexec.nt, and then click Save. Close the Autoexec.nt file.
12. Start Windows Explorer. Locate the Config.nt file, right-click the Config.nt file, and then click Copy.
13. Right-click the %systemroot%\System32 folder, and then click Paste.
14. Locate the Autoexec.nt file, right-click the Autoexec.nt file, and then click Copy.
15. Right-click the %systemroot%\System32 folder, and then click Paste.
16. Expand the Command.com file from the Windows Server 2003 or the Windows 2000 Server CD-ROM. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
2.

expand cd-rom:\i386\command.co_ drive_letter:\system_root\system32\command.com

exit

17. Verify the existence of the folder to which the TEMP and TMP user environment variables are mapped. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, click Run, type sysdm.cpl in the Open box, and then click OK.
2. In the System Properties dialog box, click the Advanced tab, and then click Environment Variables.
3. In the User variables for UserName section, locate the TEMP and TMP variables. They are listed in the Variable column.
4. For the TEMP and TMP variables, note the corresponding folder that is listed in the Value column.
5. Start Windows Explorer. To do this, click Start, click Run, type explorer in the Open box, and then click OK.
6. Locate the folder that is specified for the TEMP and TMP variables. Make sure that this folder exists.

Note To locate the folder, you may have to turn on the feature that shows hidden files and folders. To do this, follow these steps:
1. On the Tools menu, click Folder Options, and then click the View tab.
2. Under Hidden files and folders, click Show hidden files and folders, and then click OK.
18. Restart your computer.

How to restore the disabled startup programs

This post provide further information about How to restore the disabled startup programs after an upgrade from Windows 98 or Windows Millennium Edition to Windows XP. After you upgrade your computer from Microsoft Windows 98 or Microsoft Windows Millennium to Windows XP, the programs that previously loaded during the startup process may not be listed in the notification area (the system tray), and they no longer start automatically when you start your computer.

This behavior can occur if Windows XP removes all of the program files (all of the .lnk and .exe files) from the Startup menu and the Run key in the registry, except for the "known good programs," which are not removed. You can observe this behavior after Setup is complete and you have logged on to your computer for the first time. The files and values are moved to a hidden folder and registry key. Then, the Microsoft System Configuration Utility (Msconfig.exe) is populated with the Startup tab information.


To Fix windows Operating System issue, reinstall the values to the registry and the programs from the Startup folders:

1. Click Start, click Run, type msconfig, and then click OK.
2. Click the Startup tab.
3. Click the Restore Startup Programs option.
4. Select the programs that you want to restore, and then click OK.
5. Restart the computer.

NOTE: This option is not available if Windows XP Setup did not disable any programs from loading during the startup process.

How to remove unsigned drivers

All the drivers that are included with Windows XP use digital signatures to verify that they have been tested by the Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL). Many third-party programs are written for Windows XP must install additional drivers that have not been tested by WHQL. Therefore, they do not receive a digital signature.

Note Some third-party vendors have tools that they can use to generate a valid digital signature even if these products were not tested by WHQL. The following procedure cannot be used to determine whether these drivers are installed.

Windows XP includes the File Signature Verification tool (Sigverif.exe). You can use this tool to find all files on your computer that are not digitally signed. For the purposes of Windows XP clean-boot troubleshooting, you have to test only the files in the %Windir%\System32\Drivers folder.

To use the Sigverif.exe tool, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Run, type sigverif in the Open box, and then click OK.
2. Click Advanced, click Look for other files that are not digitally signed, click Browse, locate the Windows\System32\Drivers folder, and then click OK two times.
3. Click Start.

After Sigverif.exe is completed, a list of all unsigned drivers that are installed on your computer appears. Above given tips if creating any problems to unsigned driver contact to operating system support technician

Setup repeatedly stops and restarts in Windows XP

This issue may occur if your hard disk is damaged or corrupted. You receive the error messages because the Setup program is trying to repair the problem on your hard disk.

You receive the following error message when you try to format your hard disk during setup:
Setup has performed maintenance on your hard disk. You must restart your computer to continue with Setup.

You receive the following message during setup:
Setup is unable to perform the requested operation on the selected partition. This partition contains temporary Setup files that are required to complete the installation.

The computer stops responding (hangs or freezes), and then you receive the following fatal error message:
An error has been encountered that prevents setup from continuing. One of the components that windows needs to continue setup could not be installed. Data error "cyclic redundancy check"

Note: When you restart your computer after you receive these messages, Setup starts again, and the process may repeat.

To resolve this issue, use the following Steps in the order that they are presented until the issue is resolved.

Step 1: Let the Setup program repair the hard disk
Repeat the cycle of running Setup, restarting your computer when prompted, and then allowing Setup to repair the disk. Setup may successfully complete after several repetitions. If the cycle continues after several repetitions, go to Step 2.

Step 2: Run "chkdsk /r" from the Recovery Console
To run chkdsk /r from the recovery console, follow these steps:

1. Restart the computer.
2. When the "Welcome to Setup" screen appears, press R to start the Recovery Console.
3. If you have a dual-boot or multiple-boot computer, choose the installation that you need to access from the Recovery Console.
4. When you are prompted to do so, type the administrator password. If the administrator password is blank, press ENTER.
5. At the command prompt, type chkdsk /r, and then press ENTER.
6. When Chkdsk has finished running, read the results, and then take any necessary steps to complete the process. For example, you may be prompted to run chkdsk /f to fix certain problems.
7. Restart the computer, and then try to run Setup again.

Step 3: Replace your hard disk drive
If your hard disk drive is damaged and cannot be repaired, you may have to replace it. Contact your computer manufacturer, the retailer where you bought it, or a qualified computer repair technician for information about replacing your hard disk.