Measuring 9.6×8.35-inches, the mATX form factor motherboard from Asus also comes equipped with CrashFree BIOS 3, EZ Flash 2 and Q-Fan,MyLogo 2 features.

Features of the P5KPL-AM/PS include compatibility with the new Intel 45nm CPUs; FSB 1600 for excellent operational performance; and in-built 5000hr full Japan-made conductive polymer solid capacitors in VRM (Voltage Regulator Module) for longer and more durable lifespan.

Drivers for ASUS P5KPL-AM/PS

[just type the model number P5KPL-AM/PS at the top left side and select the OS ]

]]> http://www.technicalathma.com/2010/10/motherboard-asus-p5kpl-amps/feed/ 1 http://www.technicalathma.com/2009/08/how-to-make-your-pc-work-faster/ http://www.technicalathma.com/2009/08/how-to-make-your-pc-work-faster/#comments Sat, 22 Aug 2009 01:55:57 +0000 admin http://www.technicalathma.com/?p=397

1. First, run a scandisk or checkdisk. Let Windows fix any errors.
2. Run a disk cleanup utility…this will flush your temporary internet folder, trash can, temp system files, etc.
3. Delete any garbage files or data…if possible, run a Duplicate File Finder program.
4. Run Defrag on all partitions (NOTE: run this after you have deleted all trash and excess files!)
5. Run a registry cleaner utility and delete or get rid of any orphaned entries in that registry.
6. Check your exisiting swap file for it’s size and location (*will explain location later in the post). If you have alot of ram (i.e. 1 gig and over) set this swap file to something small, like 250 mb. The reason is that this will force Windows to load more into memory, resulting in faster performance (note: some games and applications actually require a certain sized swap file so check your applications performance after making a size adjustment for any error messages.)
7. Under XP, you can tell Windows to use Classic Style on your desktop, – this will remove the neat single click and internet-style desktop but for lower end systems this will improve performance in other areas, such as gaming and multi-tasking.
8. Run msconfig and under startup and only keep the programs that are essential to load in the tray icon (and hence stay resident in memory). Uncheck anything else non-essential, like an ATI or Nvidia control panel, Quicktime utility, Real Audio, etc.
9. Upgrade drivers! Check for the latest BIOS, video, motherboard, sound, etc drivers from the manufacturers. Alot of my friends had chipsets on their motherboard that had advanced disk management capabilities or AGP port settings but the drivers weren’t loaded for them so they were never being used. A simple upgrade realized a noticeable difference. For instance, they didn’t have the latest driver for their AGP port so it was set to 1x, instead of being used at 4x!
10. (OK, so this won’t speed up your PC but it could save you alot of time and trouble later on!) After making all these improvements, make a working backup! I use Ghost, but for XP users you can also use System Restore..

. -FOR ADVANCED USERS-

1. Take a look under the hood (for IDE owners). How are your IDE devices configured? If you have more than 1 hard drive, put the master hard drive on the primary IDE channel and the secondary hard drive on the secondary IDE channel (most motherboards have two IDE channels).
2. Place all CDROM drives, DVD readers etc. on the secondary IDE channel (or SCSI bus, etc). This will reduce I/O contention with your master hard drive which should have your OS and apps installed…
3. Remember when I mentioned the location of the swap file? OK, if you have 2 hard drives and you have one on the primary IDE channel and the other on the secondary IDE channel, move the swap file to a partition ON THE SECOND hard drive (on the secondary IDE channel). This will greatly improve system performance as the PC can write to the swap file while loading and running OS and system commands without I/O contention on the primary IDE channel!
4. Take a look under the hood (for SCSI owners) What kind of SCSI do you have? If it’s the newer Ultra 160/320 etc cards then guess what? Any devices placed on the same bus will automatically default to the slowest drive on the chain…this means that if you have say, an Ultra 160 SCSI card, and it has an Ultra 160 drive (capable of transferring 160 mb/sec) on the same chain as a SCSI cdrom drive (capable of only 40 mb/sec) then the whole bus slows down to the 40 mb/sec speed…use different chains for the slower devices and maximize those hard drives!
5. Run a utility like WCPUID and check the settings…is your CPU/front speed bus/AGP port running as fast as they should be? If not, check your drivers and BIOS configuration options. Also, are all of your chipset features enabled? If not, then enable them! (usually done in your BIOS!)
6. Dig in to the BIOS…check settings like boot order, for example…is it checking the floppy first? Change this! Select your order to reflect the hard drive first, then CD, then floppy for a noticeable boot time improvement. Also disable any non-used on board peripherals…for instance, – does your motherboard come with an on-board NIC card? Guess what, if you don’t use that NIC card and it is enabled it will eat up valuable CPU cycles and can be detrimental to your systems’ performance. DISABLE THAT .Also, see if you can play with memory timing and CPU clock frequencies (NOTE! This is for expert users only!) Set these timings to “Aggressive” and see what happens in your games and apps…Also, check to see what your video aperature is set to. If you have a video card with 128 megs of on-baord memory, your aperature should be set to this amount too. Read the BIOS owner manual for further non-general performance tricks or improvements! Do you have the latest BIOS firmware version?
7. Under hardware properties, check to see that everything is working properly, and fix any hardware contention issues. You’ll see the dreaded yellow exclamation point (!) beside any hardware component that is not working correctly.
8. Evaluate the potential for system/hardware upgrades…usually, the best bang for the buck is adding memory so buy all that you can afford (don’t go much above 512 megs for Win 98 or ME). If you have a motherboard with an 8x – capable AGP port but you are using an older 4x video card, consider upgrading to an 8x card. You get the idea here…
9. Quit using software pigs like Norton system utilities, etc. These place files everywhere and can be a real system resource hog on lower end PCs.
10. Did I mention to make a good backup? Do it now! Also, while you’re at it, run a good virus program with the latest definitions. There are more options to make your system faster, such as overclocking, etc. but (just about) everything I’ve mentioned in this tech post costs you nothing and will result in faster system performance!

Getting started

Here are some basics maintenance tasks you can do today to start improving your computer’s security. Be sure you make these part of your ongoing maintenance as well.

* Sign up for software update e-mail notices. Many software companies will send you e-mail whenever a software update is available. This is particularly important for your operating system (e.g., Microsoft VV!|VD0VV$® or Macintosh), your antivirus program, and your firewall.

1. * Register your software. If you still have registration forms for existing software, send them in. And be sure to register new software in the future. This is another way for the software manufacturer to alert you when new updates are available.

* Install software updates immediately.When you get an update notice, download the update immediately and install it. (Remember, downloading and installing are two separate tasks.)

A few simple steps will help you keep your files safe and clean.

1. Step 1: Update your software
2. Step 2: Backup your files
3. Step 3: Use antivirus software and keep it updated
4. Step 4: Change your passwords

Developing ongoing maintenance practices

Now that you’ve done some ground work, it’s time to start moving into longer term maintenance tasks. These are all tasks that you should do today (or as soon as possible) to get started. But for best results, make these a part of a regular maintenance schedule. We recommend setting aside time each week to help keep your computer secure.

* Back up your files. Backing up your files simply means creating a copy of your computer files that you can use in the event the originals are lost. (Accidents can happen.) To learn more read our tips for backing up information.

* Scan your files with up to date antivirus software. Use your antivirus scan tool regularly to search for potential computer viruses and worms. Also, check your antivirus program’s user manual to see if you can schedule an automatic scan of your computer. To learn more, read our tips for reducing your virus risk

* Change your passwords. Using the same password increases the odds that someone else will discover it. Change all of your passwords regularly (we recommend monthly) to reduce your risk. Also, choose your passwords carefully. To learn more, read our tips for creating stronger passwords

Making a schedule

One of the best ways to help protect your computer is to perform maintenance regularly. To help you keep track, we suggest making a regular “appointment” with your computer. Treat it like you would any other appointment. Record it in your datebook or online calendar, and if you cannot make it, reschedule. Remember, you are not only helping to improve your computer, you are also helping to protect your personal information.

It will also help the network on security, as it enables the use of one main PC to remove threats in all the 10 network monitors. Companies will only have to make an onetime automatic upgrade, which will cost from Rs.10,400-11,800 to set up these monitors.And the price as usual they announced Rs 11,000.

Nowadays,in computer world multi-core computers are powerful enough to run more than one monitors. The multi-computing solution from LG enables a single PC to be virtualized, so that many users can tap the unused capacity and share it as if each person had an individual computer, without compromising performance and stability or speed. These multi-computing solutions include built-in keyboard, mouse, and audio connections. The monitors connect to a PCI card plugged into the host PC that creates multiple virtual workspaces with the help of NComputing vSpace desktop virtualization software like VMware or Virtual Box.

Presently, VirtualBox runs on Windows, Linux, Macintosh and OpenSolaris hosts and supports a large number of guest operating systems including but not limited to Windows (NT 4.0, 2000, XP, Server 2003, Vista, Windows 7), DOS/Windows 3.x, Linux (2.4 and 2.6), Solaris and OpenSolaris, and OpenBSD.

VirtualBox is being actively developed with frequent releases and has an ever growing list of features, supported guest operating systems and platforms it runs on. VirtualBox is a community effort backed by a dedicated company: everyone is encouraged to contribute while Sun ensures the product always meets professional quality criteria.

For more info : http://www.virtualbox.org/

Download : Virtual Box

1 Hardware Conflict:

The number one reason why Windows crashes is hardware conflict. Each hardware device communicates to other devices through an interrupt request channel (IRQ). These are supposed to be unique for each device.

For example, a scanner usually connects internally on IRQ 6. The keyboard usually uses IRQ 1 and the floppy disk drive IRQ 5. Each device will try to hog a single IRQ for itself.  If there are a lot of devices, or if they are not installed properly, two of them may end up sharing the same IRQ number. When the user tries to use both the device at a time it has a possible to crash. This may also result to BSD (Blue screen death).

So go to * Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Device Manager.

Often if a device has a problem a yellow ‘!’ icon appears next to its description in the Device Manager. Highlight Computer (in the Device Manager) and press Properties to see the IRQ numbers used by your computer. If the IRQ number appears twice, two devices may be using it. Sometimes a device might share an IRQ with something described as ‘IRQ holder for PCI steering’. This can be ignored. The best way to fix this problem is to remove that faulty device and reinstall it.This is the best thing to prevent from conflict.

When working inside a computer you should switch it off, unplug the mains lead and touch an unpainted metal surface to discharge any static electricity. And main thing before opening have some hardware knowledge and beware of warranty seal. Means once the warranty seal is gone then you can’t claim the warranty of that product unless it expires.

2 Bad Ram

Ram (random-access memory) problems might bring on the blue screen of death with a message saying Fatal Exception Error. A fatal error indicates a serious hardware problem. Sometimes it may mean a part is damaged and will need replacing.

But a fatal error caused by Ram might be caused by a mismatch of chips. For example if one slot contains 1GB ram with 667 MHZ and other 1 GB 386GHZ these type Ram gets conflict so please use same MHZ Ram which is supported by your motherboard. This will often crash the machine if the Ram is overworked.

3 BIOS settings

Every motherboard is supplied with a range of chipset settings that are decided in the factory. A common way to access these settings is to press the F2 or Del button during the first few seconds of a boot-up.

Once inside the BIOS, care should be taken. It is a good idea to write down on a piece of paper all the settings that appear on the screen. That way, if you change something and the computer becomes more unstable, which may also damage your motherboard.

4 Hard disk drives

It is a device to store data and it should be maintain at least in a month like running defragmentation or deleting temporary files scanning antivirus programs etc. It is a good idea to defragment the hard disk once in a month or so, to prevent the disk from causing a screen freeze.

Go to

* Start->Programs->Accessories->System Tools->Disk Defragmenter

This will start the procedure. You will be unable to write data to the hard drive (to save it) while the disk is defragmenting, so it is a good idea to schedule the procedure for a period of inactivity using the Task Scheduler.

And another thing is to optimize your hard disk to run smoothly and efficiently

* Start->Settings->Control Panel->System Icon->Performance->File System->Hard Disk.

Hard disk sometimes gets full due to temporary files or cache files.

So strict instruction is to go to Start->Run->click on temp and %temp% also

* Delete all the files inside the folder

And once again go to Start->Run->prefetch

* Clear the files inside it

After these three process empty the Recycle Bin every week to free more space.

Hard disk drives should be scanned every week for errors or bad sectors. Go to

* Start-Programs->Accessories->System Tools->Scandisk.

5 Fatal OE exceptions and VXD errors

Fatal OE exception errors and VXD errors are often caused by video card problems.

These can often be resolved easily by reducing the resolution of the video display. Go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-Display-Settings

Here you should slide the screen area bar to the left. Take a look at the color settings on the left of that window. For most desktops, high color 16-bit depth is adequate.

If the screen freezes or you experience system lockups it might be due to the video card. Make sure it does not have a hardware conflict. Go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Device Manager

Here, select the + beside Display Adapter. A line of text describing your video card should appear. Select it (make it blue) and press properties. Then select Resources and select each line in the window. Look for a message that says No Conflicts. If you have video card hardware conflict, you will see it here. Be careful at this point and make a note of everything you do in case you make things worse.

The way to resolve a hardware conflict is to uncheck the Use Automatic Settings box and hit the Change Settings button. You are searching for a setting that will display a No Conflicts message.

Another useful way to resolve video problems is to go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Performance-Graphics

Here you should move the Hardware Acceleration slider to the left. As ever, the most common cause of problems relating to graphics cards is old or faulty drivers (a driver is a small piece of software used by a computer to communicate with a device).

6 Viruses

The name says it all Virtual information resource under sage.A virus infection is instability. Some viruses erase the boot sector of a hard drive, making it impossible to start. This is why it is a good idea to create a Windows start-up disk. Go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-Add/Remove Programs

Here, look for the Start up Disk tab. Virus protection requires constant vigilance.

A virus scanner requires a list of virus signatures in order to be able to identify viruses. These signatures are stored in a DAT file. DAT files should be updated weekly from the website of your antivirus software manufacturer.

An excellent anti virus programme is Sophos or Kaspersky for internet users nowadays

7 Printers

The action of sending a document to print creates a bigger file, often called a postscript file. Printers have only a small amount of memory, called a buffer or Spool in some cases. This can be easily overloaded. Printing a document also uses a considerable amount of CPU power. This will also slow down the computer’s performance. If the printer is trying to print unusual characters, these might not be recognized, and can crash the computer. Sometimes printers will not recover from a crash because of confusion in the buffer. A good way to clear the buffer is to unplug the printer for ten seconds. Booting up from a powerless state, also called a cold boot, will restore the printer’s default settings and you may be able to carry on.

8  Software

A common cause of computer crash is faulty or badly-installed software. Often the problem can be cured by uninstalling the software and then reinstalling it. Use Tuneup utilities to Uninstall or remove an application from your system properly. This will also remove references to the programme in the System Registry and leaves the way clear for a completely fresh copy.

The System Registry can be corrupted by old references to obsolete software that you thought was uninstalled.

Often a Windows problem can be resolved by entering Safe Mode. This can be done during start-up. When you see the message “Starting Windows” press F4 or F8. This should take you into Safe Mode. Safe Mode loads a minimum of drivers. It allows you to find and fix problems that prevent Windows from loading properly.

Remember to restore all the BIOS settings back to their former settings following installation.

9 Overheating

Central processing units (CPUs) are usually equipped with fans to keep them cool. If the fan fails or if the CPU gets old it may start to overheat and generate a particular kind of error called a kernel error. This is a common problem in chips that have been overclocked to operate at higher speeds than they are supposed to.

One remedy is to get a bigger better fan and install it on top of the CPU. Specialist cooling fans/heatsinks are available in computer hardware shop CPU problems can often be fixed by disabling the CPU internal cache in the BIOS. This will make the machine run more slowly, but it should also be more stable.

10 Power supply problems

With day to day power cut problems data get losed or Hard disk gets crashed to come out from it Ups is setup to prevent data loss.  A power surge or spike can crash a computer as easily as a power cut.

If this has become a nonsense for you then consider buying a uninterrupted power supply (UPS). This will give you a clean power supply when there is electricity, and it will give you a few minutes to perform a controlled shutdown in case of a power cut.

It is a good investment if your data are critical, because a power cut will cause any unsaved data to be lost.

Note : Fatal error: the system has become unstable or is busy,” it says. “Enter to return to Windows or press Control-Alt-Delete to restart your computer.  And if your Pc gets hanged while BIOS load try to remove RAM and CMOS Battery  and Storage Devices such as CD/DVD Rom./Writer and Harddisk etc and restart the PC that time what happenes it restore the settings and memory will be freed up.

Before working o this please note you must be familiar with Regedit or some knowledge is must.

Start-> Run-> type regedit and click [OK]

Go to :  HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/ SystemFileAssociations/ image/ ShellEx/ ContextMenuHandlers
then delete the Folder ShellImagePreview under ContextMenuHandlers

Note: If you want to restore the Picture and Fax Viewer :

Create the ShellImagePreview folder and create the String Value (Default)
Assign it the value {e84fda7c-1d6a-45f6-b725-cb260c236066}

NOTE: This tweak doesn’t uninstall the program. It removes the association and therefore it cannot be run.

To disable the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer, unregister shimgvw.dll.

This can be done from command prompt: type regsvr32 /u shimgvw.dll

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