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May 4

which memory module?

One of the four RAM sticks in one of my computers has gone bad. Crucial gives two types that will work - one is CL=11 and the other is 9-9-9-24. I don't know exactly what is in there now. Does the new one have to match what it in there now, for compatibility and best performance? Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 00:22, 4 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Download and run CPU-Z (http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html). It will allow you to find out the exact model you have installed. As for "does it have to match", it's recommended. Worst case scenario, it'll behave like the "bad" stick it's replacing. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.120.104.138 (talk) 11:22, 4 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

If you haven't found which stick is faulty, then memtest 86 should shake the failing stick out. LongHairedFop (talk) 19:53, 4 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

The repair store located the bad one. It has a warranty from Crucial. I bought it as a two-stick kit. They no longer make that speed, so they are going to replace both sticks with matching ones of a faster speed. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 20:55, 4 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Resolved

P.S. - I downloaded MemTest86, put it on a CD, and ran it on one computer. It is a pain going through the process of getting it to boot from the CD. Then I discovered that on Windows 7 and later, if you type in "memory", it takes you to the Windows Memory Diagnostic, which you can set to run when you restart (much easier). Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 22:25, 6 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

apartments and cabling (again)

Hi, I asked a previous question about running cable through apartment walls, and received a good answer. This one doesn't directly relate to cabling, but it relates indirectly, and I feel this is where people know the most about this topic. I spoke to my dad about the cabling issue, and he says most apartment blocks are not double-walled between apartments. Does this sound right? Then there is only a single wall separating me from my neighbour, so surely no one could run a cable through the walls, and out through a wall socket. Does this sound right? Thanks, IBE (talk) 00:58, 4 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Not quite sure what you mean by double-walled. There will likely be vertical wooden supports, and drywall nailed to both sides (your apartment and the neighbor's). While this means the cable would need to pass through the wooden supports, there are probably already holes drilled through it for other wires, plumbing, etc. So, you could run a cable through those holes, or drill new holes, but this would require removing the drywall and cause a lot trouble. So, I would suggest that if the cable needs to come in from the outside, that you drill directly from an exterior wall to the interior, then run the cable along the interior walls to where you need it, which will make it visible. You can get some nice looking color-matched conduit/floor molding to cover it up. StuRat (talk) 01:21, 4 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks Stu. Double-walled means there are two walls, and a gap between them, so my apartment has a wall on its west side, then a gap, then my neighbour's east wall. But I'm told it's more likely single brick, so no gap. Don't know if there's much use of drywall in apartments in Australia (where I'm from). That's why I was thinking it probably would be single brick. IBE (talk) 02:52, 4 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

They use bricks in interior walls there ? That seems like an odd choice. They are typically used for their insulating properties, but their weight makes them only useful directly over a foundation, where they can be fully supported. An exterior wall benefits from the insulation and is over the foundation wall. StuRat (talk) 04:21, 4 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I don't know exactly how it's all built, but as I sit in my apartment and type, I assume it's concrete floor underneath my carpet, and it would be steel reinforcement running through the concrete. Most of the apartments I assume are a steel structure that of course gets built first, and then concrete fills it out. No idea how they get the concrete to disobey gravity and sit there, but that's another story. And all around me, I can only see brick walls, so I hardly knew there was any other way of doing things. I've seem American tv, but didn't quite pay attention to the walls. I hear the term "drywall" a lot on American shows, but never even knew what it meant. IBE (talk) 18:14, 4 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

See drywall. The construction method you describe sounds like a tall building. Is this what you live in ? Around here (Detroit) tall buildings are mostly for offices, and most people live in houses or small buildings, no more than 3 stories tall, with wood frame construction. StuRat (talk) 05:29, 5 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

(nb. i edited your indenting) 9 storeys, brick construction everywhere. Probably with cavities between me and the neighbour, it seems here IBE (talk) 17:29, 5 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

No one knows what sort of apartment construction is common where you are. The age and height of the building would likely make a difference, though. --76.71.6.254 (talk) 02:48, 4 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks - someone might know - eg. people who live in Australia might. Stu already seems to know a fair bit about the US, so others might know about Oz. Thanks for the input. IBE (talk) 02:52, 4 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

You're talking about bricks, but I have a suspicion that you might mean this type of precast block which are very common in partition walls in New Zealand, and I'm sure, in Australia. As far as running cables through them, they of course consist of hollow cavities down which cables can be dropped, with all adjacent cavities being filled with concrete. Akld guy (talk) 06:35, 7 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Hard drive failure

When a 1.8-TB hard drive has a total of 784 bad sectors, about how far is it from total failure? 2601:646:8E01:7E0B:9868:2BC0:E7B0:1536 (talk) 04:03, 4 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I'd swap it out. There was a Google study a while back indicating that the slightest SMART error predicted a shorter than usual drive life, though not necessarily imminent failure. Which statistic are you seeing bad sectors from? Some are more troublesome than others. Also if the error is increasing over time, that's a bad sign. Having a few remapped sectors isn't that big a deal all by itself. 173.228.123.121 (talk) 06:03, 4 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I agree (especially since, whether or not failure is imminent, my PC is working much worse lately and deteriorating noticeably) -- but, if I swap out the hard drive, do I get to keep the same OS, or does the new hard drive come with a new OS? Also, once I do get the new hard drive (or a brand-new PC), are there any tips on how to prevent the same problem from happening again? 2601:646:8E01:7E0B:9868:2BC0:E7B0:1536 (talk) 09:59, 4 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

SMART can not handle the reason of failute, is just can swap sectors an monitor failure. If the drive has a problem on a connector, flex-PCB, head driver voltage regualtor or particles soaked by the air flow of platter spin, smart can not identify the reason. --Hans Haase (有问题吗) 10:40, 4 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

New hard drives are usually sold completely empty, like a ream of blank paper. You have to copy the contents of your old hard drive onto it. If you're using Windows, Ghost (software) is or was popular for that. I've never used it so I can't report anything about it from personal experience. But unlike file copying, it copies the entire drive image including the OS and everything, so you should be able to drop the new drive in. If your system doesn't have an empty disk slot, you could do the copying with an external USB enclosure. In any case, as long as you're using the old drive, be extra sure to maintain current backups, write out any new work to at least two places, etc. 173.228.123.121 (talk) 07:12, 5 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

That's good to hear! But would it be possible to put in a new blank HD, install the OS from a CD-ROM (I happen to have a CD-ROM with Windows 7, which I like even better than the Windows 8.1 I have currently), and then install all my apps from their respective media and copy my files from my backup device? 2601:646:8E01:7E0B:BC30:FAC:AB7A:647D (talk) 11:27, 5 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Possible in general, yes sure assuming you have working backups of all desired files, working media for all your apps, the licences (including for Windows 7) etc. I am fairly surprised you have a CD-ROM of Windows 7. Windows 7 installers were generally larger than would fit on a single CD-ROM. Even cutting down on unnecessary files for versions etc, I would expect multiple CDs. Are you sure this CD-ROM is actually the Windows 7 installer and not some sort of limited recovery media or something? Anyway possible in your case is impossible to say. Notably some new chipsets and other essential components have very limited support of Windows 7. The fact that your computer came with Windows 8.1 (I assume) rather than Windows 10 reduces the chance, still even if it can work it may be far less straight forward than you would expect. (Not that having backups and working media and licences for all apps is necessarily trivial either.) Nil Einne (talk) 08:17, 6 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Just a reminder that you should always have good backuping practices regardless of whether you're using the old drive or a new drive, and yes even and SSD or RAID setup (as RAID isn't a subtitute for backups). Drives do just fail without warning, then there are all the ways you can lose data without a drive failure (accidential deletion/user error, malware, power failures, weird OS errors, natural disasters & fires....). If you have reason to think the drive is much more likely to fail, you probably should be more vigilant but ultimately without good backuping practices you could easily be one of the many people each day who find themselves without their important data. Nil Einne (talk) 12:21, 5 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

It can be very difficult to say. I've had drives go for several months with slowly increasing bad sectors. I've also had (although in the fairly distant past but many people still have this) drives just suddenly die with or without bad sectors. Even what little statistics there are out there probably are of limited utility since they may not reflect yout situation (by which I mean if you had a median or mean of your situation it could easily be fairly different as statistics are likely to be from data centres and similar who use, install, and acquire drives differently from you). Nil Einne (talk) 12:21, 5 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Updating Issues, Code: "8024200D" and "80070103".

After clicking the links (Get help with this error) individually on the "Windows Update" window, it takes me to the "Windows Help and Support" window stating the following "WindowsUpdate_8024200D" "WindowsUpdate_dt000" and "WindowsUpdate_80070103" "WindowsUpdate_dt000" in each Search bar with no suitable results.

What's the easiest way to mitigate these problems?

43.245.120.133 (talk) 12:39, 4 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

You might try searching for just the part after the underscore. I've always found it unacceptable that rather than tell you what an update is for, right in the update tool, they instead expect you to do a web search to try to figure it out. I am tempted to sneak into the homes of the developers, remove all the labels from their cans of food, leaving just the batch numbers and expiration dates, so they can do web searches to try to figure out what each contains. StuRat (talk) 14:51, 4 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

If you decide to follow through with that, let me know. I've got your back. ᛗᛁᛟᛚᚾᛁᚱPants Tell me all about it. 15:14, 4 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

8024200D refers to an issue downloading the update. Download it manually from the Microsoft update catalog (searching on the KB number) and try installing again. 80070103 refers to a driver issue; Microsoft recommends disabling the offending update. Xenon54 (talk) 15:23, 4 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

May 5

JavaScript RegExp problem

I've run into a problem writing a userscript, and need the help of someone more knowledgeable about JavaScript than myself.

Please see my post at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject JavaScript#Nested RegExp.

Thank you. The Transhumanist 11:20, 5 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

May 6

Multi-booting

How do you multi-boot Windows 7 on a computer which comes pre-installed with Windows 10? Would that allow me to bypass Windows 10's (reportedly) refusing to install/run old CD-ROM games? I have a lot of these oldies-but-goodies, and I don't want to lose them if I get a new computer! 2601:646:8E01:7E0B:4053:837:F948:BEBA (talk) 11:58, 6 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Ask for what you want (the ability to run old apps on Windows 10) instead of asking how to do something that you assume will do what you want (multi-booting). Example: "My car won't start. What is the best way to prevent ghosts from stealing my spark plugs?"

--Guy Macon (talk) 19:23, 6 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

In my case, I am not asking about compatibility mode (my apps are very platform-flexible, and one of my really old games is actually simple enough to be platform-independent, so this probably won't be an issue), but specifically about how to run them if they require a CD-ROM to start up (i.e. about how to bypass DRM protection which is (reportedly) built into Windows 10 specifically to prevent running of software from copy-protected CD-ROMs) -- will multi-booting do this? And if so, will running a Windows 7 (or Windows 8.1, or Windows XP, or Windows whatever) virtual machine achieve the same effect? 2601:646:8E01:7E0B:9917:26FA:20DC:A39E (talk) 02:09, 7 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

You will never get a good answer as long as you keep doing what the page at [ http://xyproblem.info/ ] describes.

Clearly you did not bother to read the pages I listed above (part of your ongoing XY problem), or you would have ran into the phrases "Run Games That Require SafeDisc and SecuROM DRM".

You are still deciding that you know what the solution is and instead of asking "how do I run old games" you are asking "how to bypass DVD DRM protection". A couple of the links you didn't bother to read addressed that very issue.

Here are some more links for you to ignore (provided because other users who do follow the links provided also read these answers):

--Guy Macon (talk) 03:39, 7 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

For the record, I have now read some of these pages (not all, because my hard drive is now in such bad shape that I have to reboot after loading any one of these) -- some of these pages answer my question (not all, because at least one has to do solely with compatibility mode and doesn't mention DRM at all), but this brings up other questions: (1) Besides multi-booting, running a virtual machine or (potentially unsafe and not always available) installing a NoCD patch, are there any other ways (legal or otherwise) to defeat DRM protection on Windows 10? (2) Which method of defeating DRM has the least negative impact on performance (preferably no impact at all)? (3) How can I actually go about doing it? 2601:646:8E01:7E0B:E90C:36C5:3CB3:11BF (talk) 02:32, 8 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Bypassing DRM is a legal grey area; technically it's not illegal (thought it might be a breach of contract), but one of the main purposes of DRM is to prevent illegal things being done (the other main purpose is to utterly ruin and render as useless as possible any software or data it's used on^{[citation needed]}). I actually strongly recommend you disable any DRM on any software you own for a variety of reasons, but I won't be posting links to "beat your DRM software" here because someone might object and, frankly, a simple google search should find plenty of ways. Trust Professor Google. He's very smart and he loves to answer your questions. ᛗᛁᛟᛚᚾᛁᚱPants Tell me all about it. 12:54, 8 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

So, can you at least describe the methods I can actually use to defeat the Windows 10 DRM protection features (besides the 3 methods I've listed above), and tell me which method has the least impact on performance? Keep in mind that I can't google much anymore, because my hard drive is slowly dying on me! 2601:646:8E01:7E0B:956:2437:3138:48B8 (talk) 06:41, 9 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

This is going to depend completely on the game and other factors. For example, a no CD patch from the developer of the game shouldn't be unsafe, and shouldn't cause performance issues. And of course, a tiny number of games let you add them to GOG or Steam (or other such platforms) if you have some sort of proof of purchase, and these versions may be updated so that you don't need to deal with that. Then there are those games with alternative engines that can be used on various OSes including Windows 10. And considering whatever option you choose, it can take a bit of effort depending on the game, some people may choose to purchase the game again if the price on GOG or Steam or Origin or Uplay wherever isn't silly (e.g. during sales) as frustrating as that is, if that version has better compatibility rather than spending 30 minutes of their possibility valuable time getting it to work.

In any case, since you're talking about ancient games, the performance difference between running with a no CD patch and running on a dual booted OS is irrelevant. (Actually the performance difference between these even with new games is likely to be irrelevant.) Even for running with a virtualised OS, the peformance will often be more than sufficient for anything. Really the bigger issue for all 3 is compatibility. Windows 10 has good compabitility, still with some really odd games running them on an older version of Windows may have less odd bugs. But sometimes it could be the opposite, particularly if your hardware is poorly supported on the old version of Windows. When it comes to games, virtualised OSes will often have worse compatibility especially since 3D virtualisation is still somewhat limited but again it's going to depend on the game.

In other words, this is too complicated a problem for there to be any clear cut answer. And finally, remember you are not defeating any Windows 10 DRM protecion features. You are simply trying to get games with ancient DRM protection systems which Windows 10 refuses to allow to run because they are trying to do potentially unsafe things, to work on Windows 10.

And you aren't trying to defeat the DRM of the games per se. For example, with an appropriate CD or DVD image and suitable image mounting software like Daemon Tools, you could run the games without the CD/DVD. This is a way to defeat the DRM, it should be no worse and in a few rare cases will be better than using the original CD/DVD. But it doesn't actually help you since your concern is to get the games running on Windows 10 where the DRM drivers aren't supported. (Heck if space is a concern for some reason, for games that old you probably don't even need a full image except for the install, unless you don't or the game doesn't do a full install and actually requires significant data on the CD/DVD, since the DRM has been sufficiently defeated.)

You need to focus on what you're actually trying to do, not other crap, which requires that you're clear about what you're trying to achieve. Actually on the earlier point, besides mini images, many copy protection systems that old have generic no CD/DVD patches that work on most games. This is something which would be relevant to you, although I make no comment on the safety of such methods (but a lot of these generic patching software is very old); and obviously can't offer links or further comment due to DMCA and contributionary infrigement reasons.

Until and unless you actually fix your computer, it's a bit pointless worrying so much about it. A computer which can't even do a simple internet search, isn't going to be playing games. And a person who can't read that stuff and work out what to do, and the risks etc, probably should just be buying the stuff again from GOG or whatever anyway.

Nil Einne (talk) 11:09, 9 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I am definitely not buying the games again -- even though the cost would be pretty low, I've decided not to go along with Microsoft's extortion racket (which is precisely what this is -- deliberately implementing features which make software unusable that would otherwise have probably worked just fine, in order to force people to either buy it a second time or go without), but to fight it by any means necessary. And the question regarding Windows 10 is not relevant to my current ailing computer (this one runs Windows 8.1) -- this is a question of whether I should buy a new computer with Windows 10 and use these or other workarounds to make this older software work, or whether I should just screw it and go with replacing the hard drive on my current computer (and then either reinstalling Windows 8.1, or even downgrading back to Windows 7). As for performance, this doesn't actually have to do with the old stuff -- the thing is, since I plan to run in Windows 7 mode all the time rather than switch back and forth, whether this will give me enough performance to play FSX (which is very performance-intensive, and which runs just fine on Windows 10, but which I will run in the Windows 7 mode anyway). Also, to be clear, the Google search function itself is working OK (for now) -- it's just that when I try to load webpages with lots of hyperlinks and banner ads and pictures and stuff, my computer hangs and I have to reboot -- which is a problem with many of the pages dealing with bypassing Windows 10 DRM features (including, without exception, all of the external links provided to me in this section). 2601:646:8E01:7E0B:BD53:FA5A:E33A:176C (talk) 11:53, 9 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Speaking of not going along with the extortion racket, I think I'll go one step farther and boycott Windows 10 entirely -- in other words, in the spirit of not giving in, I think I'll go with a hard drive replacement and keeping my current OS (or downgrading back to Windows 7), and then doing it again whenever the hard drive wears out in the future from now on. In other words, I am keeping my computer and OS until I die or until the thing becomes completely unusable and beyond repair! 2601:646:8E01:7E0B:BD53:FA5A:E33A:176C (talk) 12:05, 9 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I've run into some weird regex problems in JavaScript

And I could sure use your advice. See Wikipedia talk:WikiProject JavaScript#The whole regex. The Transhumanist 12:28, 6 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Like how to check if a list item has more asterisks (in the edit page) than the list item directly above it. So you can tell whether it is a child node or not. $1\* doesn't work for some reason. See a more detailed description of the problem, and please post your reply, at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject JavaScript#What the script is supposed to do. Thank you. The Transhumanist 01:43, 7 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I'd love to help but as soon as you said "regex" I knew you were hopelessly doomed. (Actually as an honest tip, pretend this is an XY-issue and ask about the question you're trying to solve using regex. I know from experience that a clever implementation of simple wildcard matches can be as or more powerful than a regex comparison). My only successful regex experiences come from finding verified answers on stack overflow to the exact question I would have asked if I posted there. And one time when the very first expression I tried worked perfectly, but that blew my mind so hard I'm still having trouble believing it, despite using the software it went into daily. ᛗᛁᛟᛚᚾᛁᚱPants Tell me all about it. 12:45, 8 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Battery Software

Is there any opensource software for phones (.apk) i.e. similar to “Battery info viewer” software? I require all the details displayed, if you know what I mean. 103.67.156.211 (talk) 17:51, 6 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I personally don't. Considering there are probably 50 million different battery monitoring apps, I wouldn't be surprised if no one on the RD knows what you mean. Especially since I can't see any evidence suggesting a "battery info viewer" for Android even exists. From a search engine, this page seems to be one of the only relevant links for software actually called "Battery info viewer" on Android. There is a "battery info" on Android [1] and a BatteryInfoView for Windows [2] and a BatteryEx for BlackBerry OS 4.6 which calls it self the "Ultimate Battery Info Viewer"; and as I mentioned probably 50 million battery monitoring apps for Android or 100 million when you consider other OSes (except iOS). As I said, maybe you'll get lucky and someone will know what software you're referring to and so what details you want. More likely it'll be far more productive if you actually tell people what details you want from your battery monitoring software. So far, we only know you want it to be open source but compiled into an APK already for you (which to be fair does cut it down a lot since there are a lot of free and freemium battery monitoring Android apps but far fewer open source ones), but that's all. Nil Einne (talk) 06:20, 7 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

May 7

Can a bot be used to add parameters to infoboxes?

Recently, WT:SONGS#RfC: Should Infobox single and Infobox song be merged? was closed as "Merge". Work has begun on implementing the merger and the use of a bot came up. Is it possible to add parameters to the infoboxes using a bot? The two infoboxes are {{Infobox song}} (used for 6,800+ articles) and {{infobox single}} (50,000+ articles). {{Infobox song/sandbox}} has the combined code from both, and with some adjustments, is largely compatible when tested with existing infoboxes. However, there are a couple of sticky areas, that maybe adding parameters to the two existing infoboxes may solve before merging them. Before going into too much detail, can this be easily done by a bot? If not, it would require a different approach. —Ojorojo (talk) 18:43, 7 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

How to install a .apk file type(s) in a Smart phone

I bought a smart phone, inserted 16GB memory SD.

I wish to download VLC Media player. My will is to download this particular .apk, cause I can see a locking system (button or pad lock) in the pictures displayed (therefore I'm assuming that you can do security protection...)

1) Wikipedians guided someone above the following. Could you be more specific please?

2) How do I install from the memory card and than re-save the extracted files and folders in the same memory card, rather than using internal 16GB ROM...?

43.245.123.219 (talk) 21:33, 7 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Your device should have the "Play Store" installed on it. Open that app, and search for "VLC".

Once you find it, click the "Install" button. Easy.

If your device does NOT have the play store, the procedure is more difficult, and most apps will be difficult to find legitimately. But VLC does offer an APK download, so go to this address [3] using your phone's browser. Download the correct APK for your device, and when you open the file, it should begin installing. ApLundell (talk) 15:01, 8 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Size of dynamic array on 64-bit Windows

How large (in bytes) can a dynamic array be in 64-bit Windows? I've experimented and they can be larger than 32GB. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 23:23, 7 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Wouldn't it only be limited by the RAM ? (Technically it could be larger, using paging space, but that rapidly becomes unusably slow.) 18.4 million TB is addressable by a 64 bit index, so that sure isn't the limitation. StuRat (talk) 01:49, 8 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

That is what I was hoping, but some things aren't fully 64-bit. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 02:20, 8 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Of course, whatever software you are using may impose it's own limits. StuRat (talk) 02:40, 8 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

The compiler and IDE matter. I know I've run into issues using SharpDevelop (when I was trying to avoid using a a db to hold large amounts of data) with buffer overflows on very large arrays, and when I switched the code over to Visual Studio, it compiled and ran just fine. We're talking ~18 million indexes in this case, with errors showing up about 90% of the way through writing it, so I'm guessing 2²⁴ was the upper limit in SharpDevelop. Each member of the array was a string with < 1024 characters. ᛗᛁᛟᛚᚾᛁᚱPants Tell me all about it. 12:38, 8 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

If you are truly programming to the operating system - and not to some runtime environment - then you'll want to review About Memory Management... and Virtual Address Space (64-bit version). "By default, 64-bit Microsoft Windows-based applications have a user-mode address space of several terabytes. For precise values, see Memory Limits for Windows and Windows Server Releases..."

As the programmer, you can assume "a lot of memory" is available. You can use some of the more esoteric parts of the Windows API to check whether that memory will be fast - i.e., in the cache, in the RAM, or paged to the hard-drive.

The short answer is, a regular user-land application that is compiled with Microsoft's toolchain can do stuff like malloc to create memory allocations in the neighborhood of eight terabytes on most Windows platforms, and quite a lot larger on many of the more specialized technical versions of Windows. You, the programmer, must be extremely careful with your pointers and array-index data types when you use such exceptionally-large allocations. You also need to be very careful to distinguish between virtual memory and physical memory, and recognize the very big difference between "allocating" and "using" memory.

Nimur (talk) 15:09, 8 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

May 8

Keyboard Kindle

Can anyone please tell what was the resolution (i.e. ppi) of this appliance ? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 27.255.220.49 (talk) 02:32, 8 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

According to Amazon_Kindle#Third_generation:_.22Kindle_Keyboard.22, 600×800, or 167 PPI. StuRat (talk) 02:37, 8 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

ZFS compression setting

The ZFS article says it supports transparent compression. Can you selectively choose which folders to compress or does the compression setting have to apply to the whole drive?

I have a lot of movies on my harddrive so it wouldn't make sense to compress the whole drive and slow it down when only non-video files will benefit from the compression. ECS LIVA Z (talk) 05:56, 8 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

It seems ZFS is smart enough to figure out that kind of issue transparently itself - this says "The biggest advantage to LZ4 is the early abort feature. If LZ4 does not achieve atleast 12.5% compression in the first part of the data, the block is written uncompressed to avoid wasting CPU cycles trying to compress data that is either already compressed or uncompressible." -- Finlay McWalter··–·Talk 12:14, 8 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Double touch phone screen display ‘on’

I require the ‘’.apk’’ file that allows you to display the screen (locked or unlocked) without having to press the ‘specifically made’ hard side button. Thanks in advance!
Note: Apparantly, the display appears after double clicking or tapping the screen... 116.58.202.194 (talk) 06:20, 8 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

There are a bunch of apps that claim to do this. [4][5] But I'm not aware of any that legitimately offer APKs outside the app store.

I'd also be a bit dubious about these app's effect on battery life. ApLundell (talk) 14:53, 8 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

LG smartphones (at least the G3) have this natively. I've not noticed any significant impact on battery life. Also your second link only appears to turn the screen off, not on. MChesterMC (talk) 09:48, 9 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Of course, when I said I was dubious about the effect on battery life, I did not mean phones originally designed to have this feature. ApLundell (talk) 13:45, 9 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Ubuntu package uninstallation

Hi. What's the correct way to uninstall packages in Ubuntu 16.04? I keep reading different ways to do it, but i'm also hearing that the synaptic package manager is the safest and correct way to do it. Then how do i find the name of what i need to remove with the synaptic package manager? Sometimes the names aren't clear. Thanks ツ Jenova 20 ^(email) 14:39, 8 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Task.apk

I require the latest version available for Sony brand smart phones, my one does not consist. If unavail, provide an opensource software that fit the need, e.g., without internet connection usage... 116.58.201.218 (talk) 18:24, 8 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Notes.apk

I require the latest version available for Sony brand smart phones, my one does not consist. If unavail, provide an opensource software that fit the need, e.g., without internet connection usage... 116.58.201.218 (talk) 18:24, 8 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Calender.apk

I require the latest version available for Sony brand smart phones, my one does not consist. If unavail, provide an opensource software that fit the need, e.g., without internet connection usage... 116.58.201.218 (talk) 18:24, 8 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

These apps aren't legitimately available as loose APKs that you can just download off the web. You need to upgrade your phone through the normal upgrade process for that phone.

ApLundell (talk) 21:15, 8 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

May 9

Instructing laptop to not use top of screen

Hi. I cracked the corner of my laptop screen, and an inch is now blacked out all the way across the top, making it hard to use the menus. Until I have the chance to replace the screen, is there a workaround? I was thinking of somehow instructing the computer to not use the top of the screen, the way a drive will avoid bad sectors. Is there an app for that, or something in the computer prefs? (I'm running Windows on an Acer E5.)

Thanks — kwami (talk) 22:43, 9 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Try this. I've never used it myself, so let me know if it works for you. ᛗᛁᛟᛚᚾᛁᚱPants Tell me all about it. 22:53, 9 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

A browse of results through Google pulled up a number of solutions to prevent windowed applications from using certain areas of the screen, but I doubt that would solve the problems with using menus/toolbars at the top of the screen. Some fiddling with custom resolutions may work - see [6] Alcherin (talk) 22:59, 9 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you so much! Out of the three (DesktopCoral, GridMove and Sizer -- for when people are searching or reading this in the archives), hopefully at least one will work on my system. — kwami (talk) 00:03, 10 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Cache website/user manual

While looking for a user manual online I cam across a promising website, however the site is currently down for maintenance. How can I tell if the website has been down for a long time? If it only went down recently I would like to check it everyday until the URL is working properly again. the website is here. I am looking for the manual to a "Herman Miller cubicle panel AN6748G-ELTD panel system type 1" 64.170.21.194 (talk) 00:44, 10 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]