Router Boot-up Process

There are four major phases to the bootup process:
1. Performing the POST
2. Loading the bootstrap program
3. Locating and loading the Cisco IOS software
4. Locating and loading the startup configuration file or entering setup mode

1. Performing the POST
The Power-On Self Test (POST) is a common process that occurs on almost every computer during bootup. The POST process is used to test the router hardware. When the router is powered on, software on the ROM chip conducts the POST. During this self-test, the router executes diagnostics from ROM on several hardware components including the CPU, RAM, and NVRAM. After the POST has been completed, the router executes the bootstrap program.

2. Loading the Bootstrap Program
After the POST, the bootstrap program is copied from ROM into RAM. Once in RAM, the CPU executes the instructions in the bootstrap program. The main task of the bootstrap program is to locate the Cisco IOS and load it into RAM.
Note: At this point, if you have a console connection to the router, you will begin to see output on the screen.

3. Locating and Loading Cisco IOS
Locating the Cisco IOS software. The IOS is typically stored in flash memory, but can also be stored in other places such as a TFTP (Trivial File Transfer Protocol) server.
If a full IOS image can not be located, a scaled-down version of the IOS is copied from ROM into RAM. This version of IOS is used to help diagnose any problems and can be used to load a complete version of the IOS into RAM.
Note: A TFTP server is usually used as a backup server for IOS but it can also be used as a central point for storing and loading the IOS. IOS management and using the TFTP server is discussed in a later course.

4. Locating and Loading the Configuration File
Locating the Startup Configuration File. After the IOS is loaded, the bootstrap program searches for the startup configuration file, known as startup-config, in NVRAM. This file has the previously saved configuration commands and parameters including:

* interface addresses
* routing information
* passwords
* any other configurations saved by the network administrator

If the startup configuration file, startup-config, is located in NVRAM, it is copied into RAM as the running configuration file, running-config. Executing the Configuration File. If a startup configuration file is found in NVRAM, the IOS loads it into RAM as the running-config and executes the commands in the file, one line at a time. The running-config file contains interface addresses, starts routing processes, configures router passwords and defines other characteristics of the router.

Enter Setup Mode (Optional). If the startup configuration file can not be located, the router prompts the user to enter setup mode. Setup mode is a series of questions prompting the user for basic configuration information. Setup mode is not intended to be used to enter complex router configurations, and it is not commonly used by network administrators.
When booting a router that does not contain a startup configuration file, you will see the following question after the IOS has been loaded:

Command Line Interface
Depending on the platform and IOS, the router may ask the following question before displaying the prompt:
Would you like to terminate autoinstall? [yes]:
Press the Enter key to accept the default answer.
Router>
Note: If a startup configuration file was found, the running-config may contain a hostname and the prompt will display the hostname of the router.
Once the prompt displays, the router is now running the IOS with the current running configuration file. The network administrator can now begin using IOS commands on this router

Remove autorun.inf Worms from your system

Hi friends, We have been seeing this Autorun.inf file in our system for a long long time. Here is a simple method to delete the file.

Let us take you want to delete autorun.inf file from D:\ drive
For this use the following steps:

1. Goto Start -> Run
2. Type cmd and pres Enter button.
3. Type D: and press enter button.
4. Type "attrib -s -h -r autorun.inf" without quotes and press Enter button.
5. Type "del autorun.inf" without quotes and press Enter button.

Now you will find your autorun.inf folder is a normal folder and you can delete it normally by using the del button to throw it in recycle bin or using Shift+Del buttons to delete it permanently.

I think it must work well in your computers.

8 New FIREFOX V3 Hacks to make Firefox go extreme fast

The Mozilla FireFox V3 is undoubtable a great browser , but with some little Hacking tweaks ,u can doublize its performance..


1. Enable pipelining

Browsers are normally very polite, sending a request to a server then waiting for a response before continuing. Pipelining is a more aggressive technique that lets them send multiple requests before any responses are received, often reducing page download times. To enable it, type about:config in the address bar, double-click network.http.pipelining and network.http.proxy.pipelining so their values are set to true, then double-click network.http.pipelining.maxrequests and set this to 8.

Keep in mind that some servers don’t support pipelining, though, and if you regularly visit a lot of these then the tweak can actually reduce performance. Set network.http.pipelining and network.http.proxy.pipelining to false again if you have any problems.


2. Render quickly

Large, complex web pages can take a while to download. Firefox doesn’t want to keep you waiting, so by default will display what it’s received so far every 0.12 seconds (the “content notify interval”). While this helps the browser feel snappy, frequent redraws increase the total page load time, so a longer content notify interval will improve performance.

Type about:config and press [Enter], then right-click (Apple users ctrl-click) somewhere in the window and select New > Integer. Type content.notify.interval as your preference name, click OK, enter 500000 (that’s five hundred thousand, not fifty thousand) and click OK again.

Right-click again in the window and select New > Boolean. This time create a value called content.notify.ontimer and set it to True to finish the job.


3. Faster loading

If you haven’t moved your mouse or touched the keyboard for 0.75 seconds (the content switch threshold) then Firefox enters a low frequency interrupt mode, which means its interface becomes less responsive but your page loads more quickly. Reducing the content switch threshold can improve performance, then, and it only takes a moment.

Type about:config and press [Enter], right-click in the window and select New > Integer. Type content.switch.threshold, click OK, enter 250000 (a quarter of a second) and click OK to finish.


4. No interruptions

You can take the last step even further by telling Firefox to ignore user interface events altogether until the current page has been downloaded. This is a little drastic as Firefox could remain unresponsive for quite some time, but try this and see how it works for you.

Type about:config, press [Enter], right-click in the window and select New > Boolean. Type content.interrupt.parsing, click OK, set the value to False and click OK.


5. Block Flash

Intrusive Flash Animations are everywhere, popping up over the content you actually want to read and slowing down your browsing. Fortunately there’s a very easy solution. Install the Flashblock extension (flashblock.mozdev.org) and it’ll block all Flash applets from loading, so web pages will display much more quickly. And if you discover some Flash content that isn’t entirely useless, just click its placeholder to download and view the applet as normal.


6. Increase the cache size

As you browse the web so Firefox stores site images and scripts in a local memory cache, where they can be speedily retrieved if you revisit the same page. If you have plenty of RAM (2 GB of more), leave Firefox running all the time and regularly return to pages then you can improve performance by increasing this cache size. Type about:config and press [Enter], then right-click anywhere in the window and select New > Integer. Type browser.cache.memory.capacity, click OK, enter 65536 and click OK, then restart your browser to get the new, larger cache.


7. Enable TraceMonkey

TraceMonkey is a new Firefox feature that converts slow Javascript into super-speedy x86 code, and so lets it run some functions anything up to 20 times faster than the current version. It’s still buggy so isn’t available in the regular Firefox download yet, but if you’re willing to risk the odd crash or two then there’s an easy way to try it out.

Install the latest nightly build (ftp://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/nightly/latest-trunk/), launch it, type about:config in the address bar and press Enter. Type JIT in the filter box, then double-click javascript.options.jit.chrome and javascript.options.jit.content to change their values to true, and that’s it - you’re running the fastest Firefox Javascript engine ever.


8. Compress data

If you’ve a slow internet connection then it may feel like you’ll never get Firefox to perform properly, but that’s not necessarily true. Install toonel.net (toonel.net) and this clever Java applet will re-route your web traffic through its own server, compressing it at the same time, so there’s much less to download. And it can even compress JPEGs by allowing you to reduce their quality. This all helps to cut your data transfer, useful if you’re on a limited 1 GB-per-month account, and can at best double your browsing performance.

Ultimate 5-in-1 Pen

Sometimes a gadget passes our desks that makes even the most cynical simian here giggle with delight. The Ultimate 5-in-1 Pen is such a gadget. Why? Because there is a simple formula that says gadget enjoyment increases in direct proportion with the number of things said gadget has crammed in it. In simple terms: the more it do, the more we like it. And this Pen does it all.

This high tech gadget has enough bells and whistles to make most geeks drool. Twist the shaft one way and you get a ballpoint pen, twist it the other way and you get a stylus tip for stylusing stuff. Press the top button to turn on the laser pointer, press the bottom button to cycle through the flashlight and UV light. The flashlight even comes on a flexible shaft for precision aiming.

Please Note: Your pen will ship with a small separator between two batteries that needs to be removed prior to use.

R/C Spy Video ATV-360

Something is going on in the breakroom. You walked by and thought you heard your name whispered as well as the word "cake." It's imperative that you discover what's going on. So you do the only thing you can do: you sit comfortably at your desk and deploy your R/C Spy Video ATV-360.

From the comfort of your office, you see and hear everything the ATV-360 does (through the LCD heads up display and earbud). You easily maneuver it down the hall - the ATV's tank treads climbing over any junk in its way. Reaching the breakroom, you hit the 360 button, spinning the ATV in a full circle and giving you an instant scan of the entire room. Everyone is hiding; it's a surprise party for you. You pilot your ATV-360 back and pick up your Nerf gun. Time to surprise the surprisers - and then eat some cake!

LighTalk

Picture this: you are in a meeting, bored out of your mind. So you doodle on your note pad, pretending to take notes. Suddenly, you realize you might have created the world's greatest doodle and you need to share it with your equally bored coworker on the other side of the table. Pull out your LighTalk II; problem solved.

With a push of a button, the LighTalk II has scanned the image into its memory. Flip the switch to the display mode, and wave the pen-shaped LighTalk II back and forth like an upside down pendulum. Your image will be created in the air by a strip of orangey LEDs, and all will be amazed. Persistence of vision at it's best. But this is version 2.0, which has some incredible new features. Apart from holding four more scans than version 1, you now have the ability to display one message after another in Continuous Display Mode. Also, with the new IR feature, you can "beam" your drawings and messages straight into a friend's LighTalk II. Now, not only can you flash your doodle, you can share it too!

Nightmare Before Xmas Mobile Light

Ghouls and ghosts and things that go bump in the night - sometimes even they get tired of all the darkness. That's why the most fashionable witches, vampires, and other distinguished citizens of Halloweentown use the mesmerizing Nightmare Before Xmas Mobile Light to illuminate their abodes. Hey, it doesn't cast much light and works best in pitch dark... but that's just the way those Halloweentowners like it.

This nifty light casts a slowly rotating image of Jack Skellington and friends on your ceiling. You get a random choice of two slightly different designs.

Anti-gravity Globe

Ok, before you start sending us emails - we fully understand that this isn't a real anti-gravity device. Of course it's a prototype, duh. We are busy working on a true anti-gravity globe and plan to release one in 2011, right after we release a flying pig. Marketing-based-gimmicky product names aside, this globe does hover above its base in a seeming defiance of gravity. How does it accomplish this astonishing feat?

There is a thin, but extraordinarily strong, column of precisely engineered nano-simians between the base unit and the globe that keeps the appearance of the globe hovering above the base unit. Woohoo!

How does it really work?

As always, we are as tickled as dogs trapped inside a squirrel park to give you the inside scoop. It's simple really. The globe itself is very light in weight. There is a precisely placed magnet located at the inside top of the globe. Once you plug in the heavily weighted base, and carefully place the globe over top the center of the base, a combination of sensors and micro-processors help to calibrate the embedded electromagnet in the base to properly suspend the globe.

EyeClops Night Vision Goggles

Here's the situation: you wake up in the middle of the night and you want water. But you don't want to turn on all the lights, for they will burn your eyes with their incandescence. So, you either injure yourself, stumbling in the darkness, or you wet your bed. Neither is fun. If you have some of these awesome Night Vision Goggles next to your bed, you'll be able to see in the dark and pee in safety and ease.

Ok, so you might think these things are just toys, the type that say "night vision" but really just have a pop out flashlight. Nope. These are the real deal; true infrared night vision, for the price of a toy. You can't imagine the happy dance we did when we realized these worked really well. Now we can sneak around like the ninjas we know we are, in the dark, watching all - and you won't be able to see us. Unless you're a ninja too, and have some EyeClops Night Vision Goggles of your own.

* This was, actually, the first test we put these through: peeing in the dark. It was a complete success. True story.

Laser Stars Projector

When you turn off your lights and turn this unit on - trust us - you will be bamboozled with star rapture. That's the only way we can describe it.

What IS the Laser Stars Projector really?
It's a unit about 10inches tall that projects a combination of green laser stars and blue (slightly ultraviolet-ish blue) clouds onto your ceiling, walls, pets, etc. Both the clouds and the stars are constantly moving and morphing, just like a proper Universe should. And there are literally thousands of green laser stars to look at. There are two ways you can adjust your Laser Stars Projector, first you can pivot the projector itself 180 degrees horizontally around the base so that you can control *where* it is projecting in your room. It can literally fill up an entire ceiling and portions of several walls at once. And the other thing you can adjust is the intensity of the blue gaseous clouds, from zero to full intensity.

How does it really work?
The Laser Stars Projector utilizes a state of the art Diode Pumped, Solid State (DPSS) green laser combined with custom developed multiphase diffractive holographic optics, super luminous diodes and precision motors to produce the laser stars effect. The coherent light produced by the DPSS laser passes through a passive diffractive holographic optical element, which in turn passes through a circular periodicity electromechanical wheel, which is driven by a precision motor to create the soothing motion of the star field. So there.

Hurry, get one before your friends do. Then plug it in, turn it on, and tune out...


Please note: It's difficult to portray what the Laser Stars Projector projects here in images because it works best in the dark. The images tend to mute the green stars and exaggerate the blue clouds a bit.