Updated BOIS

After having some problems with my new computer freezing up, I updated its BIOS. Since doing that it seems to be running fine. This computer has a Gigabyte motherboard (GA-K8NS Ultra-939) an Athlon 64 3000+ CPU, one gigabyte of RAM, and a pair of WD 250 GB SATA hard drives using the on board RAID control in stripping mode. I used Gigabyte's @BIOS utility. I first backed up the existing BIOS then I downloaded and install an update. After rebooting the computer, I ran DivX converter which ran fine. I left the computer on over night, which had caused it to lock-up before, and this morning it was working fine.

My Upgrade

Well I upgraded my computer to an AMD Athlon 64. Everything works great except it is freezing up every now and then. This is of course the hardest type of PC problem to deal with. I am going to check with the motherboard manufacture Gigabyte for bios and driver updates and install some monitoring software to check the temperature sensors. If the problem continues I will do some searches on Google to see if others are having the same problem with this motherboard, chip, and hard drive configuration. If someone else has a better idea or a link to a website please let my know.

Call for help

Call for help is back on TV in the United States. I really enjoy listening to call for help. I have my DVR set to record it everyday. There webpage is at www.callforhelptv.com It seems strange to hear them about Canada so much, but they are being taped up there. This is really great help for someone trying to learn computer repair. I tried to answer the question before leo does. Some other links:

thisweekintech.com
leoville.tv
leo.am

Godaddy Radio

I have found a great site on the net. www.radiogodaddy.com This is another of the Bob Parsons great ideas. This is another podcast. He also has a blog at www.bobparsons.com.

I am still alive

I am still alive and working on my mcdst. Mary and I have both finished the book. I am still working on the sample questions. I should be finished by monday June 6, 2005. At which point I will start taking sample tests. Well that is all for this post. I am going to try and post more often.
Hey has anyone else noticed that the TWIT podcast has not been released yet for this week.

MCDST my Quest

This is my first post on a blog. I am hoping that keeping this blog will help me with the Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician program. My wife and I are currently reading and studying from the same book. Supporting users and Troubleshooting a Microsoft Windows XP Operating system is the name. I am working on Chapter 10 and she is on Chapter 8. In the past I have studied Visual Basic with an eye toward that certification. For 15 years I have been trying to make money using computers instead of spending money on them. The plan is this time with the help of my wife to at least achieve this level of certification.

I may go back and post some notes from the chapters I have already covered but for now I am going to start with Chapter 10 “Supporting Network Connectivity.” If this is at least partly successful, I would like to organize these notes and post them on our website www.danaus.com. Mary is also going to start her own blog. Part of it may be in Filipino and part in English. I don’t know how she will organize it but I am going to encourage her.

Chapter 10: Network Connectivity
Understanding TCP/IP
I have studied this material before and thought I had a good understanding of it. Now I am not so sure.
Setting up a computer (host) on a network
IP address required
Subnet mask required
Default gateway required
Domain Name System (DNS) optional
Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS) optional


IP address
xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx each xxx can be a number between 1 and 255
Class A networks 1-126 subnet mask 255.0.0.0
Class B networks 128-191 subnet mask 255.255.0.0
Class C networks 192-223 subnet mask 255.255.255.0
Class D networks 224-239 not used for host
Class E networks 240-255 not used for host

Private IP addresses
10.0.0.0 - 10.255.255.255
172.16.0.0 - 172.31.255.255
192.168.0.0 - 192.168.255.255 Most NAT gateway routers

TCP IP HOST file instead of DNS server
Lmhosts File instead of WINS Server

WINS server NETBOIS name server not used in windows 2000 or windows xp except for backward compatiblity.