Q: What is S.M.A.R.T. and how does it affect my PC?
A: S.M.A.R.T. stands for Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology. It's basically a self-diagnostic for your hard drive. As it runs, a tiny CPU inside monitors certain parameters, and if they fall below a certain threshold, triggers a SMART error. With compatible BIOS and/or IDE controller, you will then see the error, which will allow you to do something about it rather than experience sudden hardware failure.

Almost all hard drives nowadays are equipped with SMART. If you want to see what kind of values your HD is putting out, download Passmark's DiskCheckup and take a look. It's free for personal use, and it's read-only.

P.S. if you do see a S.M.A.R.T. error, your hard drive is DYING. There is nothing to FIX. Save the data, and replace the hard drive.

Q: What is an .MD5 file? What do you do with it?
A: MD5 is a checksum algorithm, similar to SFV that was mentioned a little while back. This one generates a much larger value and thus is more likely to be unique, but the idea is the same: go through the file, calculate a checksum, then compare it against a pre-determined value to see if the file was corrupted during transmission.

A MD5 file would contain a filename and its MD5 checksum, presumably so a program can generate its own MD5 checksum and compare against the existing result.

By itself, the .MD5 file doesn't do anything, and usually plays no role in any installation.

The program mentioned previously, hkSFV from big-o-software.com, can also generate and verify MD5 files.

Q: Is there a program / file manager that allows me to search for files by time as well as date? The Windows // Find function just allow date, but not time.
A: Try FreeCommander available at http://www.freecommander.com/index_en.htm

Q: My 700MB CD-R's after formatting turns out to be about 650MB of capacity. Is there a way to write like 690MB to it?
A: Yes... But there's a catch.

The normal CD-R's you buy nowadays are 80 min, 700 MB standard version. You can buy extra length versions, but those are VERY hard to find, with advent of DVD burners.

The CD-R, with a bit of overhead, turns out to fit about 648 megs of data, just about. So what happens if you have a file that's like 695MB and you don't have a DVD burner, compression doesn't help, and you don't want to split the file?

The answer: Mode 2 / Form 2 burning!

There's a catch of course... CD-ROM standard includes a LOT of data checking, CRC checksums, and so on internally for error detection and correction. That's the reason for reduced capacity. If you go to Mode 2, you lose 1 of the triple redundant checks, so your data's more vulnerable to damage, scratches, and so on.

Also, the file itself will require a bit of a trick to read. You need a DirectShow filter like this one to help you read these Mode 2 CD's. But that's about the only trick.

So how DO you do it? Here's your requirements.

A CD burner and a blank CD
Mode 2 image writer
A lot of disk space (1 gig preferred, at least 750 MB for sure)
whatever media you're trying to write
Nero or any other program that burns BIN/CUE type image files to CD

The Mode 2 Image Writer is a Command-line program with a GUI component, so run the GUI to select your options and files. Make sure that the largest files (the media files) are "bolded", which means they're written in "mode 2" form (i.e. less CRC checks). When ready, assign a name and write the image (actually it writes a BIN/CUE image, not ISO image).

Now just engage the burner program, load the BIN/CUE image, and write it to the blank CD-R.

Remember, you'll need that DirectShow filter to read the Mode 2 CD's.

Q: Say there's some music video on a certain DVD that my kid really like, and I don't trust my kid to load the DVD each and every time. Can I rip just the music video onto my PC and give them a shortcut to play it each and every time?
A: Absolutely! However, this is technically illegal and a copyright violation, but we COULD argue that you're simply... exercising your right to a backup as you're not using both copies simultaneously. So, here goes.

First, insert your DVD into your PC's DVD drive.
Second, you'll need to download "DVD Decrypter". I can't give you a link, but it's easy to find if you use Google. Download it and install it.
Third, run DVD Decryptor, pick IFO mode, and read the DVD. It should give you a list of all the different "VOB" files on the DVD, which are the actual video contents. The long one is probably the movie, and the short ones are the music videos. You'll need to try a few to get the right one, or pick rip them all.
Fourth, pick the right VOBs, and extract/rip appropriate ones to your HD.

The VOBs can be played by most media players, including BSPlayer, but if you want to go one step further... Use a converter to "transcode" it such as DVDx (which will transcode from VOB to MPG) or any other tool you want, to create the ultimate result. Enjoy!

Q: What are .SFV files? What is a CRC32 checksum?
A: SFV = Simple File Verification. Basically it appears like this:

Initial D - Live Action Movie.sfv, which contains

; Using hkSFV on 11.29.2005 at 22:27:48
; http://www.big-o-software.com
;
;/----
; 730357760 03:40.56 2005-11-21 Initial D - Live Action Movie.avi
;\----
;
Initial D - Live Action Movie.avi 0ac923f4

It says it's generated by hkSFV, file size, date, name, etc. And generated a CRC32 of 0ac923f4.

Some programs will automatically check SFV files when it unpacks an archive. SFV uses CRC32, which is an older and less accurate algorithm, but it is quite fast. A 700 meg file can generate a full CRC32 checksum in less than 2 minutes, even on an ANCIENT 400 MHz machine. On a modern machine, it should only take seconds.

Sometimes on Bittorrent, you may see the checksum embedded in the filename, like:

[L-E&IDE]_Initial_D_Fourth_Stage_Ep_16_[E87966A3].avi

Where [E87966A3] is the CRC32 checksum.

Sometimes you may see alternate checksums, such as MD5, SHA1, and other algorithms. Those basically generate a longer checksum, and is helpful when you need to generate a short but unique ID based on the content of the file. Any change in the file, and the ID will change. Thus, they can be used as unique file ID, as well as a file integrity check.

Q: Is there a free utility I can use to send e-mail from command-line, not using an existing e-mail client?
A: Try Blat

Q: I want to install Apple's QuickTime 7, but I don't want iTunes. Is there a way to get QuickTimes Player by itself without iTunes bundled with it?
A: As it turns out, there is, but it's pretty well hidden. However, I'll just link it for you... Enjoy. Apple - QuickTime - Download - Standalone QuickTime Player

Q: Is it possible to "share" a single PC among multiple users?
A: Yes. Ikonnet's HiShare (see link below) allows up to 3 additional "workstations" to be created from a single PC provided you add additional video cards (and mice and keyboard via USB) with appropriate software.

Link to One PC Multi User System - Hishare

Q: I somehow destroyed my WINSOCK configuration. Internet connects, but browser doesn't work. What should I do? I am on Win98, by the way.
A: This can get complicated. You will need your Windows 98 CD. First thing you need to do is try to open up Start / Control Panel / Add/Remove Programs, click on Windows Setup, then locate the "communications" subgroup. UNcheck it, apply, OK, then shutdown and restart. Then get back in, same place, open the details in the Communications group, then check "dial-up networking". Then apply, OK, etc. The computer should load a few files (put in Windows CD as applicable), and restart. Hopefully that'll reset your Winsocks. If not... Summon professional help.