Bogus “Missing or Corrupt ... Ntfs.sys” Yeah they’ll say anything. ... More completely, the error message was Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: System32/Drivers/Ntfs.sys when a precious Averatec XP laptop got in a snit. ... But the message was bogus; it’s probably got nothing to do with your Ntfs.sys file, although the evil message continued by suggesting you waste hours getting out your original CDROMs and trying to replace the file — which, in my case and probably yours, would have been completely useless — and impossible in my case and probably yours, since I’m at least not insane and don’t install my XP from Microsoft distribution media but use the wipe CD or whatever that comes with the computer.... It was bogus because a Knoppix (Linux rescue) CD was also unable to boot from the CDROM — and it doesn’t use the hard drive.... It was bogus, because cooling the wretched laptop off with a fan for half an hour made it rebootable, both for XP and Knoppix, and nary a peep from the troublesome and seemingly omnipotent Ntfs.sys.... And when it failed subsequently, you could see both Knoppix and XT crashing — weird video artifacts, etc. ... Not, presumably, Ntfs.sys. Public Service I’m providing this selfless if probably invisible public service because I spent many happy hours googling for “missing corrupt ntfs.sys”, joining many puzzled pilgrims, many of whom referred to a Microsoft site where the giant helpful monopoly explains this might happen when you try to convert your FAT32 system to NTFS. ... But I’m not doing that, most of the people on the web weren’t doing that, and probably Ntfs.sys is just the first thing the wretched start-up code tries to load off the hard drive, which has already been screwed-up by some other imaginative failure of the computer hardware — apparently, in my pitiful experiments, involving heat. Tuesday, April 18, 2006 5:15 pm

Newbigin’s Harmless Windows/Linux Utilities: Explore2fs and Rawwritewin Explore2fs lets me read files from a linux ext2/ext3 partition on a shared Linux/Windows machine. This is no mean feat; I know of one other command-line utility that sort-of does it — but Explore2fs is a lovely GUI. (About a megabyte.) Rawwritewin reads/write a diskette to/from a file image. This used to be an almost essential part of getting a Linux system running, particularly a dual-boot shared Linux/Windows system, but is fading away, certainly since many systems don’t have a diskette drive anymore. (~ 1/2 megabyte.) Now with unlikely read broken diskette feature! ... The admirable Newbigin cavorts at www.chrysocome.net, where the original versions of these programs + source can be found; my contribution, aside from random hackery, was to get them to run a little better (?) in Windows 98; both include John Newbigin’s source + my tiny hacks, as well as ready-to-run executables. — Wednesday, January 10, 2007 5:31 pm But why not just mount your Linux drives in XP with fs-driver? Why not indeed? Over at http://www.fs-driver.org/index.html one of these kindly Germans Stephan Schreiber maintains an XP file system driver which did indeed seem to mount an elderly Mandrake system of mine. ... You can supposedly write to the ext2/3 Linux system, but I checked the “don’t do that” checkbox during the install. ... But it might work! And the thing stays there after a reboot! ... And I could scan it in my OwenShow; which is good, since this is the very Linux system on which I do the minimal Linux development of OwenShow itself. ... And the system needs one of these things, so I can rearrange the backup system which was — gasp! — copying to a Windows 98 machine I’ve had to consign to the island of lost computers.... All-in-all, a grand improvement on the not-ready-for-prime-time Ext2fsd at http:// ext2fsd. sourceforge. net/; ext2fsd is open-source and all, and fs-driver isn’t (but still free, although you can and should donate), but ext2fsd is entirely too cranky in my experience, while fs-driver has survived minutes of testing.... — Thursday, June 12, 2008 5:53 pm

No Support for Emachine I sent this email to emachine’s email help center: Every time I run the Nvidia control panel thing, it crashes. As does “desktop / right-click / NVIDIA Control Panel”. By “crash”, I mean it reports some weird error in a box and doesn’t start. ... As is reported by numerous users on the web. When I tried to get hold of your download page here, it crashed with a script error. Could you suggest where I might find a download that’d fix this problem? Including my model number and serial number in their computerized form. ... This is the reply: Thank you for contacting eMachines. I’ll be happy to assist you. Before troubleshooting with your computer, I need POP (Proof Of Purchase) to register your computer. The only acceptable POP are: Original proof of purchase, email from the Retail of order confirmation, or a reprint of the receipt from the Retailer. You can fax the appropriate documentation to 254-298-4233. The fax details should include the following. -Name -Phone number -Address -Serial number -A short statement that the fax is for proof of purchase. -All information should be typed or written in black or blue ink ***Please reply back with the exact model number of your computer. Have a nice day Respectfully, eMachines Online Technical Support I hope that warms your heart. ... Of course, emachines wouldn’t do something like lose my fax; or — it’d be such a coincidence — have a broken fax machine that day? ... Or — this paperwork is so terrible, isn’t it? — need more important information? ... Or take three weeks / months / years to respond? ... Oh no, that could never happen.... ... As it turned-out, I could adjust my screen resolution with “Control Panel / Display” which is all I wanted to do. ... But if you’re expecting support of any kind from emachines — well maybe you should look elsewhere.... — the genuinely-saddened programmer Friday, January 16, 2009 2:37 pm Winexposé did it? Tuesday, June 9, 2009 2:49 pm. A wonderful free program I found on the web “winexpose” may have fought with the Nvidia control panel and made it GPF. ... At least, when I told winexpose to stop using DirectX, I think the Nvidia thing started working. ... The dates aren’t quite right — it appears I started using winexpose after 1/16/09 — but the records at the laboratories are often quite fragmentary and who knows.... Winexposé is a wonderful program that does like the illustration, at the stroke of a hot key: shows you all your windows, even — especially! — the ones that have hidden themselves beneath the other debris, and lets you switch to one of them with a mouse click. (Like the Exposé feature on the Mac incidentally.) ... As far as I can tell, it’s never been ready for prime time, and it looks much uglier after I told it not to use DirectX, but definitely seemed to work better, and not just with the Nvidia control panel. I believe the author has moved onto at least one commercial successor, although no one admits anything. ... Of course, you’re still going to get no support from Emachines....

JGO4: A Windows Sound Card Oscilloscope I Stold See, my Hammond Chord Organ scope went up and broke on me; it’s cowering under a table now, waiting for my tender ministrations which are not likely to be successful. ... So I replaced it with my pocketscope, and all is serene and sweet. ... However, now my imaginary attic recording studio has no oscilloscope! ... How can I produce imaginary sweeping works of strangely-antique beautiful music without a scope to debug my perilously-weird recording equipment!?!? ... Of course for years, people have used the sound card inputs wasted on the typical PC for just this purpose. ... And some evil people wanted money for their efforts!! ... But Gary Darby not only provides free software, he has free Delphi source! ... So I gave him $20, and proceeded to mutilate his careful work, producing JGO4 which I in turn offer to you, today no charge! If you need to do real oscilloscope work, as I have occasionally done in my real engineering-type endeavors, then you need a real oscilloscope. ... If you’re curious about some waveform you can manage to get on a miniplug and insert into your sound card — why then, this kind of program probably won’t make things much worse!... Hostile Threat As usual I warn you that ANYTHING you do with this software is YOUR FAULT, YOURS ALONE, and if an entire 12 miles around your humble apartment or other dwelling place is reduced to glowing ash — IT IS ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT. Mr. Darby has thoughtfully made this stuff available for free, and so I in turn, and so you are doomed! — a thing of shreds and patches Wednesday, April 22, 2009 7:26 pm P.S. In my very brief survey of these things on the web, I should mention va.zip “Visual Analyser 8” which I found at http://www.hitsquad.com/ smm/programs/VA/ download/ and you might too. It doesn’t come with source, but it has many features and was by far the best of the 3 or four I found. ... Immediately-obvious wacko weirdnesses included inability to set both channels to same time base or scale input signal down (turn down volume). ... Still there are so many features! A H/W Interface? Wednesday, July 22, 2009 11:06 am. Here’s what I concocted so I could connect to various otherwise-useless laptops (with Vista, for instance) running JGO4. ... I’ve only tried it with signal generators, so heavens knows what it’s good for; perhaps I’ll find-out someday. ... The “?” switch cuts the signal in half, and the zeners supposedly protect the laptop from overvoltage but your computer will set itself on fire instantly — if not sooner! ... Also apparently laptop microphone inputs (they often don’t have line inputs) have odd DC voltages lingering about, intended to run your microphone, and this circuit does nothing for that except, hopefully, swamp them via low resistance. These laptop microphones are also monophonic, even ’though they appear to have stereo mini plugs; http://www.epanorama.net/links/pc_sound.html seemed to be useful about PC sound, but then his microphone circuit didn’t seem to correspond to mine. ... I hooked-up with a mini-stereo-two-RCA conversion cable, and I just pick the RCA plug that seemed to have results. ... Thus does science march forth! This circuit also works (?) with desktop line inputs, and with both kinds is useful because of the volume control: the idea is there’s no calibration anyway (the PC oscilloscope can’t tell you what the voltage magnitude is), and I want a nice signal filling the display. ... However, the circuit deliberately throws-away signal; if you want to see a low-level signal on your PC scope (1.) don’t do that; PC’s are too noisy anyway; and (2.) this wretched concoction is definitely the wrong idea.... Notes 1. Actually in an amazing turn of events, I was able to fix my RCA WO-33A scope! ... I actually examined the schematic, figured-out why the power tube I replaced blew again — it made a loud “bang bang bang” noise — which reason was a totally shorted .5uF 1000 Volt enormous capacitor. Which I replaced with two paralleled .22uF 1000V Metal Polypro Digikey part # 495-3616-ND capacitors. This is probably the first time I have actually fixed one of these tube things with actual electronic-type knowledge — this triumph somewhat dimmed by the probability that I blew the capacitor in the first place because I didn’t turn the thing off with the intensity pot, like I’m supposed to, so that wacko voltages don’t appear on that capacitor. ... Of course we modern in-a-hurry-type technicians don’t have time for such fripperies.....