Energy Saving

As I was trying to buy a monitor for my computer, I met a salesman who gave me a great deal of information on the power saving features of the modern technological inventions in the LCD technology. However when I enquired about the power savings at the wall I was told, “We have no control over the inefficiencies of power supplied by KPLC”. With all those wonderful power saving parts at the component level, how many of them are completely eaten up by massively inefficient power supplies? The reality of the matter is this: People buying electrical appliances, be it notebook or desktop PCs or kitchen or entertainment equipment aren’t given enough information that would help them make energy smart choices. I believe it's well past time for something more.

For laptops, energy consumption is generally given by the battery life which unfortunately is typically measured by turning all the radios off (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth), putting the system into an extreme low power mode, dimming the display to a level below an acceptable point for ambient lighting, and then taking a reading. This typically results in a promised battery life that runs about 2x the actual observed battery life (in fact, it's a good rule of thumb to take the battery life promised by a notebook maker and cut it in half).

According to Verdiem and Lawrence Berkeley National Labs, better power management for every 10,000 computers can result in power savings of about 2 million KWH, which equates to the energy equivalent of 274 cars emitting greenhouse gases for one year.

I believe all Kenyans of goodwill wont hesitate to make a contribution to energy savings, particularly because energy is expensive, looking at how they have responded to the call for saving in order to help those in need for food, but right now we can't due to factors beyond our control. For laptops, this is more than just a budget issue. When buying a laptop with a DVD drive, for example, there is the idea that a consumer might actually use it for watching DVDs when it's not plugged-in to the wall socket. But most systems simply don't have enough battery life to watch a full-length DVD movie, let alone do much else.

We all have to live on this planet, and in this day and age that means making smarter energy decisions. It would be nice if somehow we could bring the necessary information to consumers so that the realities of shopping could actually live up to the ideals we aspire to.

Windows Task Manager is Disabled

The most likely cause for disabled windows task manager and registry editing is because the computer has been infected by a virus. Most often, when you try to access the registry editor through the regedit command, you receive a message that “registry editing has been disabled by the computer administrator.”

The most common cause for this is a virus that commonly comes as SCVVHSOT.EXE. If you can access the task manager, you will see this as a process running. This should not be confused with the other genuine process called svchost.exe which is a genuine windows process.

SCVVHSOT.EXE can also use the following file names:

• NEW FOLDER.EXE
• DS4.EXE
• BLASTCLNNN.EXE
• 94691636.EXE
• DD2.EXE
• DOC STAMPS COMPUTATION.EXE
• XSCVVHSOT.EXE
• DCIM.EXE
• BABY_ANNE.EXE
• MGA N LAWS 2 B.EXE
• _PALBTN.EXE
• 08-30-07.EXE

The filename SCVVHSOT.EXE refers to multiple instances of an executable program.

The most common file size is 290,419 bytes. But the following file sizes have also been seen:

• 331,776 bytes
• 300,544 bytes
• 468,448 bytes
• 290,816 bytes

The unsafe files using this name are associated with the malware group WORM.IM.SOHANAD.L.

These files have no vendor, product or version information specified in the file header.

SCVVHSOT.EXE has been seen to perform the following behavior(s):

• The Process is packed and/or encrypted using a software packing process
• Executes a Process
• Can communicate with other computer systems using HTTP protocols
• This Process Deletes Other Processes From Disk
• Adds a Registry Key (RUN) to auto start Programs on system start up
• Disables Access to the Windows Registry Editor
• Modifies Windows Security Policies to restrict/expand User Privileges on the machine
• Disables Access to the Task Manager built into Windows
• Enables the system to use a Communications Proxy Server
• Registers a Dynamic Link Library File
• The process hooks code into all running processes which could allow it to take control of the system or record keyboard input, mouse activity and screen contents
• This Process Creates Other Processes On Disk
• Disables the built in Windows File Protection System
• Makes outbound connections to other computers using NETBIOSOUT protocols

Normally an updated antivirus such as MacAfee or Kaspersky will detect this virus. However, if your system is already infected with this virus, you could try to boot your machine in safe mode and try to delete it manually. This could be almost impossible since the virus duplicated itself in every folder on your hard disk/ removable disk.

You however could first disable it from the startup items so that it does not run when you on startup as you seek to update your antivirus.

Repair Windows XP

Having problems with windows XP? Constantly receiving error messages about some start up files that could not be found or hardware? Chances are your operating system has been infected by malwares or ad ware.

If you install a good anti virus that is up to date, chances are the mal wares or ad ware will be removed. However, your system files will remain corrupt and you may continue having difficulty with your operating system. The best thing to do is to try to repair your windows installation.

A Repair Install will replace files altered by ad ware and mal ware, but will not fix an ad ware, malware problem. That is why you need first install and update your anti virus.

Before you start your repair installation, it's always a good idea to backup your important data first. However the following repair instructions will not change any of your data or installed software; if you follow these instructions your data will be perfectly safe.

Insert the Windows XP CD into your computer's CD/DVD-ROM drive, and then restart your computer. When the "Press any key to boot from CD" message appears on the screen, press a key to start your computer from the Windows XP CD.

You however need to configure your computer to boot from CD first. This is done in the BIOS Setup. To do this: from the first screen you see when you turn your computer on, press F2 or F10 or the delete button depending on your computer brand. (F2 for Toshiba F10 for HP or Compaq, Del for other brands) This should bring a blue screen titled BIOS SETUP UTILITY. Change the first boot device to CD-Rom. Alternatively, if you press F12, you should get another screen form where you can select the boot device (CD-rom)

After selecting CD as your boot device, a blue screen will appear and begin loading Windows XP Setup from the CD

When you see the "Welcome To Setup" screen, you will see the options below,

This portion of the Setup program prepares Microsoft Windows XP to run on your computer.

To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER.

To repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console, press R.

To quit Setup without installing Windows XP, press F3.

Press Enter to start the Windows Setup. Do not choose "To repair a Windows XP installation using the Recovery Console, press R". This is because recovery console simply fixes disk errors and does little fixes on Windows XP.

Accept the License Agreement by pressing F8.

Next, Windows Setup will find existing Windows XP installations. You will be asked to repair an existing XP installation, or install a fresh copy of Windows XP. If you install a fresh copy, all data on that partition will be lost! So select the option for repairing the installed Windows XP.
Setup will copy the necessary files to the hard drive and reboot. Do not press any key to boot from CD when the message appears. Setup will continue as if it were doing a clean install, but your applications and settings will remain intact.

Just follow the prompts, and have your CD-KEY ready if needed. The windows CD key should be at the back of your computer where there is a serial number