Wikipedia:Reference desk/Computing

Welcome to the computing section
of the Wikipedia reference desk.
Select a section:
Want a faster answer?

Main page: Help searching Wikipedia

   

How can I get my question answered?

  • Select the section of the desk that best fits the general topic of your question (see the navigation column to the right).
  • Post your question to only one section, providing a short header that gives the topic of your question.
  • Type '~~~~' (that is, four tilde characters) at the end – this signs and dates your contribution so we know who wrote what and when.
  • Don't post personal contact information – it will be removed. Any answers will be provided here.
  • Please be as specific as possible, and include all relevant context – the usefulness of answers may depend on the context.
  • Note:
    • We don't answer (and may remove) questions that require medical diagnosis or legal advice.
    • We don't answer requests for opinions, predictions or debate.
    • We don't do your homework for you, though we'll help you past the stuck point.
    • We don't conduct original research or provide a free source of ideas, but we'll help you find information you need.



How do I answer a question?

Main page: Wikipedia:Reference desk/Guidelines

  • The best answers address the question directly, and back up facts with wikilinks and links to sources. Do not edit others' comments and do not give any medical or legal advice.
See also:


October 5

edit

^[[A^[[B^[[C^[[D

On Windows command prompt instead of up, down, right, left cursor functionality (arrow keys). Any ideas? All the best: Rich Farmbrough 17:26, 5 October 2024 (UTC).Reply

Your keypresses are being incorrectly converted into control characters. I see the same thing regularly on Linux, though, and not Windows. See here for more info: Stackoverflow question
If you launch the command line from the Start menu, then it shouldn't be doing this at the first prompt.
Are you sure you have launched cmd.exe from your desktop, and it's doing this? Or maybe you have launched Powershell instead, or something in WSL. Komonzia (talk) 23:42, 5 October 2024 (UTC)Reply
Absolutely command prompt, and, yes I found the stack overflow and other items. I'm pretty sure some weird keystroke caused it, because I was using up-arrow almost immediately before it happened. It's likely to happen again, and I like to know how to get out of these funny states (there are more of them than most people are aware). All the best: Rich Farmbrough 00:20, 6 October 2024 (UTC).Reply
I've played around with the keyboard to try to reproduce, no luck with that. However I did find the caps lock temporarily stops the mains hum on my soundbar... All the best: Rich Farmbrough 00:26, 6 October 2024 (UTC).Reply
Did you try numlock? Or insert Andre🚐 00:28, 6 October 2024 (UTC)Reply
Numlock doesn't affect the actual cursor keys which I was referring to. The numpad keys work as cursor keys or numbers as expected. Cheers. Rich Farmbrough 00:38, 6 October 2024 (UTC).Reply
Usually on Linux and Powershell it happens after pressing another key combination, or after having started a command / program which runs for a long time or returns another prompt.
Ctrl+C or Ctrl+Break to force quit it and return a new prompt usually works. I think in cmd.exe it would return a new prompt which isn't stuck in that mode. Komonzia (talk) 00:59, 6 October 2024 (UTC)Reply
Interesting, thanks. I think I did something that closed the command prompt in the end, which was unplanned. I wonder if it's worth writing a little keystroke logging program to help analyze these sorts of things. All the best: Rich Farmbrough 15:26, 6 October 2024 (UTC).Reply
You can avoid this problem by reconfiguring the shell to a Linux-based virtual drive with parametric feedback. It’s a pretty simple and basic fix. Dikelan (talk) 00:23, 7 October 2024 (UTC)Reply
Damn, I was hoping to use hyper-parametric feedback with a conch shell. But your idea is clearly better. All the best: Rich Farmbrough 10:12, 7 October 2024 (UTC).Reply

October 7

edit

Ripping Google Street View

edit

I'd like to rip entire streets' worth of photos from Google Street View of my old hometown, for nostalgical sake. I've found [1] and its update [2]. However, going by their README descriptions, they only seem to be able to manually select single photos and download them, all manually.

As said, I wanna be able to just enter a street name (together with town name) and rip frontal views of the houses left and right from the 360° views as single JPGs, BMPs, or TIFs for the entire street, and on each position, I additionally want shots when rotating the view at 45° degrees horizontally (as when the viewer is rotating around his own axis), so I'm getting 8 shots (360° / 45° = 8 shots) per position.

Additional requirement is that on full zoom out (which is the default with Google Street view, and it's where it jumps back everything you move from one position to the next), the place looks kinda alien (see perspective distortion). I've found that when zooming in by means of mouse scrolling, the first and second zoom-in level below full zoom-out look perfect. So, that would make 16 screenshots per position (8 shots, each at two different zoom levels).

Is there any way to do that in an automated fashion: Ripping an entire street worth of photos by street name and town name, rotating at 45% on each position, zooming in on level 1 and 2 below fully zoomed out, and taking a screenshot? Whether by means of the linked GitHubs or another way? Or could it be easier ripping the entire 360° views for each position and then use a different tool or script on those downloaded 360° views to get those 45° screenshots? --2003:DA:CF2E:4532:8439:C5C9:2522:57ED (talk) 15:05, 7 October 2024 (UTC)Reply

I think the first program you linked can work for what you want to do. You could get the coordinates for where each street starts and ends (Google Maps), interpolate between them to get a list of positions on the street (scripting language of your choice), then grab the closest panorama for each. GIMP has a perspective tool, but there's still the issue of automation. FifthFive (talk) 17:48, 7 October 2024 (UTC)Reply



October 12

edit

OneDrive

edit

I uploaded a ton of files off my Windows 10 PC to transfer to my Windows 11 PC, but I can only see them on the former. Wazzup? Clarityfiend (talk) 07:09, 12 October 2024 (UTC)Reply

You should check if you use the same Microsoft account. Ruslik_Zero 12:11, 12 October 2024 (UTC)Reply
I checked in Settings. It says both of my PCs are registered, plus it shows most of my free 5 GB is used up. However, when I log into OneDrive, it says almost all of that space is free. Clarityfiend (talk) 22:28, 12 October 2024 (UTC)Reply

Can high memory usage make the Internet not work?

edit

My phone company had a lot of problems on October 6 and 7. A man came to my house and got them fixed, or so I thought. For the third time in two days, someone from tech support was able to fix the problems remotely. There are still occasional brief outages, lasting a few seconds. But one of them stopped when I heard my computer "turn on". What I believe it is doing is storing information to clear more memory. Maybe that was a coincidence, but McAfee keeps telling me they can solve the memory problem if I pay them even more.

Windows 11, Microsoft Edge. What other details do you need and how do I provide them?— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 18:59, 12 October 2024 (UTC)Reply

  • What do the phone company's problems have to do with anything you can fix?
  • What was fixed at your house?
  • What was fixed remotely?
  • What do you mean by "turn on", in quotes, and why did you say heard, not saw?
  • What changed at that point?
  • Do you think McAfee might possibly be ripping you off like a bunch of scammers?
 Card Zero  (talk) 02:20, 13 October 2024 (UTC)Reply
Is it all right if I number the questions even if they weren't numbered?
1. I was just saying it may be their problem since I had some more serious problems earlier.
2. He didn't tell me. He didn't even have to come inside. He just told me it was fixed and asked me to go to the Internet on my computer and it was fine.
3. Don't know. Do you actually think tech support gives us details? He did have to put me on hold and my Internet went out while he was doing it.
4. There's no message on the screen. All I know is the computer occasionally makes a noise that sounds like something turning on.
5. The Internet outage resolved itself, but that could be a coincidence.
6. Could be. I should have asked for help with the specific problem when I called them to tell me the scan wasn't working. He told me he was uninstalling and reinstalling their software because there were problems on their end.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 16:31, 13 October 2024 (UTC)Reply
  • In general, especially for later versions of Windows like 11, high memory usage (RAM) is not necessarily a problem: and this is very probably not connected to any internet problems you may be having.
  • Were you aware of high 'memory' usage before the problem with the internet?
  • How much RAM is installed (often 4 or 8 GB)? How big is your hard drive/SSD?
  • Was there a time when everything (ie PC/laptop and internet) was working properly? What changed?
  • To repeat, was anything changed just before you started having problems?
  • How do you know that your internet connection is dropping out for only a few seconds? Are your router's lights flashing or often changing colour? Are you streaming or playing games online?
  • You said: "I believe it [what] is doing is storing information to clear more memory." I'm afraid this is nonsense. Are you confusing disk space (hard drive) used for data storage, with RAM for temporarily executing programs? Lots of people call them both "memory", but they are very different.
  • Did you install McAffee to try to fix the problem, or did it come installed with the PC? Has McAffee been telling you, unprompted, that you have problems?
  • McAffee is simply horrendous bloatware and always has been. I'd rather stick red-hot needles in my eyes rather than use it.
  • Try using Windows Task Manager to see whether the CPU or RAM are affected - generally, the lower the levels in the graphs, the better.
  • Are you using Wi-Fi, or a wired (network cable) connection?
  • For low disk space, try Disk cleanup in Windows from M$.
  • Can you take the PC to someone else's house (or a free wi-fi spot) and use their internet connection, and see if you still get the same problems?
  • If this all sounds too technical, I would find a local PC shop or roving Windows techie who does home visits, it shouldn't take more than an hour for someone who knows what they're doing to fix your PC problems, and they should also be able to at least have a look at your internet connection and tell at a glance what's wrong. Trying to sort you out here on the help desk is unlikely to lead to positive results. MinorProphet (talk) 11:25, 13 October 2024 (UTC)Reply
Again, I'm going to number the questions.
1. Yes, because I get "High memory usage" messages in the upper right corner of the screen. I think this answers my question but I wanted to make sure.
2. I did ask how to get this information so I could tell you.
3. It usually does. Several weeks ago there were a lot of brief outages, and it happened again a week ago. There have been brief outages at times for weeks, though they stopped for about a week after the first big fix (which to my knowledge was nothing more than unplugging the modem). Someone was supposed to come to my house but to my knowledge they didn't. Unplugging the modem and plugging it back in was all that I did. I don't recall anything being fixed. I do know when there was a problem months ago they checked and said my Fiber box needed to be turned off and turned on, or something like that. I asked them to correct their information because I was told they couldn't give me fiber service.
4. McAfee had a problem with scans as I said above and their software was reinstalled. I don't recall if that was before the first Internet problem.
5. Listening to music, and it stops, or if it hasn't stopped whatever else I am doing is going really slow and finally I get a message about not being able to find the DNS. If the problem lasts long enough I get "You're not connected" on the screen.
6. It may be nonsense but I'm explaining it as best I know how. I think my computer goes faster after this sound is heard.
7 and 8. I needed virus protection and I got it. It was probably installed with the PC but it has been reinstalled as I said.
9. I'll see what that tells me.
10. Cable.
11. Done. It said I gained 61.2 MB. I did it with a few more categories after I made sure I wanted to and it gave me more space but I didn't see how much. It wasn't much.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 16:31, 13 October 2024 (UTC)Reply
12. I get messages about risky connections (I think these are ads but blocking ads causes its own problems) and there's someone who can fix problems.
13. Don't think any of this is necessary. The brief outages don't usually happen that often.
14. Trying to avoid this. The man from the phone compny should have finished all that.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 16:31, 13 October 2024 (UTC)Reply
Overhead light dimmed briefly and the music stopped. Something on my screen got blurry and it took a while to get a clear imnage. But that didn't last long enough to really cause a problem.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 19:50, 13 October 2024 (UTC)Reply
1. It would seem that the memory problem is separate from the internet difficulties. To find the amount of RAM etc., click Start/press Windows key, type System Information and select it. In the r.h. pane it should tell you the Windows version, System Model, Processor, and towards the end, Installed Physical Memory. Click and copy each of these in turn using Ctrl-C.
2. Where are the "low memory" messages coming from? What happens if you click on one? Write down as much info as you can.
3. It appears that you have a standard cable modem (typically useless article), with a physical wired connection from the modem to the computer. If you are getting messages about not being to find the DNS (Domain Name Service, which turns IP addresses into URLs), this means that the modem is losing the connection to your internet supplier. This is almost certainly their problem. On the other hand, this is a relatively technical message which a user shouldn't be getting: normally a browser will just say something like "We're having a problem finding that site, please try again." What process or app is giving this message?
4. What sort of broadband speeds are you getting? Try fast.com for example. MinorProphet (talk) 01:10, 14 October 2024 (UTC)Reply
So brief power outages are causing the modem to restart, cutting your streaming connection, maybe?  Card Zero  (talk) 06:13, 14 October 2024 (UTC)Reply
1. It won't let me copy. 10.0.22631 8.0 GB installed physical memory, 1.99 GB available, 13.1 GB virtual memory, 5.2 GB available.
2. Upper right corner of screen, don't think it lets me click on it. Happened only twice yesterday.
3. Don't get Internet from cable company. Messages get cutesy like "It's not the same without you." Light dimming doesn't usually happen.
4. fast.com gives me 6.4 Mbps. Phone company says 10.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 16:27, 14 October 2024 (UTC)Reply
This (old, 2016) superuser question/answer says it's all about something called commit charge, which is to do with applications claiming they might need a large amount of memory. Also, memory paging, a form of "storing information to clear more memory", is not nonsense, although it's surprising that there's any call for it when you've got 8 GB. I remain suspicious about McAfee: possibly it's taking (or claiming a potential future use for) most of your memory. To be fair, we don't know what other possible culprits you have installed and running.  Card Zero  (talk) 18:54, 14 October 2024 (UTC)Reply
The high memory usage message appeared and you can click on it. It had a list of things I could do but the problem is I need all the activities that are going on, so I can't say "sleep". There is a power efficiency mode but I am reluctant to try it. I can click and get a list of other performance options but my guess is clicking on that would just add to the problem, temporarily.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 20:21, 14 October 2024 (UTC)Reply
Thanks for the tech details. I still have no idea how you are getting messages about DNS, it's several layers of complexity further down than any normal user should ever concern themselves with. I used to get paid to do this, and you would have been an ideal customer. I suggest you just need someone to stand over you in real time, to explain what's going on in layman's terms, and make constructive suggestions/tell you what to do/fix it for you. Unfortunately, we are unlikely to be able do this on the Ref Desk. I reckon your PC hardware is fine, but your dodgy internet connection is stone age (no fault of yours), and your operating system appears to be in a bit of a mess, for whatever reason. I suggest you seek professional help. Personally, to save time and frustration for all concerned, I would recommend that you back up all your data in at least three places, plus write down all your browser usernames and passwords on paper, format your hard disk (or buy a new one), make a new install of Windows 10 <M$ fanboys wail and recoil in horror> and start all over again. MinorProphet (talk) 12:07, 15 October 2024 (UTC)Reply
I have 11, but not by choice. Windows 10 remains in substantially greater use. I hope you aren't seriously suggesting triple backups, making one is effort enough.  Card Zero  (talk) 14:36, 15 October 2024 (UTC)Reply
I still get messages from Comics Kingdom saying connectivity issues were detected when I tried to load comments but things are working much better now. I asked for advice on another site and they said download Malwarebytes so I have a free trial, and they recommended some other steps. No problem files were found with scans but another fix they recommended did find corrupt files and fix them. One site is still having problems but overall things are working better now and I've had no actual Internet outages except when I turned the computer on. Something about walking across the area where my modem is makes it stop working, especially if I pause nearby.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 22:31, 16 October 2024 (UTC)Reply
Gocomics is having serious problems but I fixed the major problem I had with the Internet by unplugging the modem. It took several tries for it to come back, and by that I mean I watched the lights to see if the one light finally turned green and stopped blinking.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 23:41, 17 October 2024 (UTC)Reply

October 15

edit

PowerShell: Is it possible to "unformat" the disk, i.e. to undo the last action that has just formatted the disk, in PowerShell?

edit

HOTmag (talk) 07:28, 15 October 2024 (UTC)Reply

For what any normal user clearly wants, the answer is simply no. There isn't. But, depending on the method of formatting (there are many possibilities available when using Powershell), it is possible that all of the data is still on the disk and can be extracted. It won't be unformatted though. It will be a dump of locatable files left on the disk. 12.116.29.106 (talk) 12:32, 15 October 2024 (UTC)Reply

Business economic

edit

i require mathematics and associated document for financial pour process address Lance that regular necessary media literacy 41.113.138.138 (talk) 10:37, 15 October 2024 (UTC)Reply

I'm sorry, but your post makes no sense in English. Perhaps you could get a person (not an online computer translator program) who is bilingual in English and your language (French??) to translate it for you. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 94.6.86.81 (talk) 04:05, 16 October 2024 (UTC)Reply
More likely isiZulu.  --Lambiam 08:44, 16 October 2024 (UTC)Reply

Article does not appear in Google search.

edit

Natasha Hausdorff

Even though it is on Wikipedia 184.153.21.19 (talk) 21:54, 15 October 2024 (UTC)Reply

The page was not patrolled, and per Controlling search engine indexing new pages that are not patrolled don't get indexed for the first 90 days. I've patrolled it now, so it will be indexed whenever Google crawls next (it may take a day or so). Pinguinn 🐧 23:33, 15 October 2024 (UTC)Reply
Thanks. Perhaps soon:) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 184.153.21.19 (talk) 22:05, 17 October 2024 (UTC)Reply

October 16

edit

Lost Icon for Google Chrome

edit

On my Samsung Galaxy A15, the icon for Google Chrome has disappeared from my screen. I may have accidentally deleted the icon. It is still installed. If I have launched it, I can switch to it, and on starting up my phone, I can open it by going through the Apps listing in the Settings, but I would like to have an icon for it. How do I put an icon back on the desktop of an Android phone when the app is installed but doesn't have an icon? Robert McClenon (talk) 02:59, 16 October 2024 (UTC)Reply

There are multiple choices for the home screen on Samsung Galaxy phones. Every home screen setup is different. In some, you long-hold the icon in the apps list until the home screen appears and then drag/drop it where you want it. In others, you long-hold the background of the home screen, then select a location, and select an app to drop on that location. There are other methods for other home screens. If you can state what you are using, it is easier to give specific instructions. 68.187.174.155 (talk) 13:23, 16 October 2024 (UTC)Reply

Bitcoin friendlies needed

edit

Disclaimer: I have $41,000 CAD in 20:1 leverage forex trading accounts and 0.3 bitcoin in a wallets.

This issue was brought up in an online bitcoin group: Talk:CNBC#2024_AFF_Bitcoin_Coverup. Somebody moved 29,000 government bitcoin two days after Trump's July 27/2024 speech to Hodl all coins.

The 230,000 bitcoin should be on the books of the Assets Forfeiture Fund. The last fiscal year for the fund was Sept 30/24. The 2023 audit seems to have been published January/2024. https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/reports/24-018_0.pdf From page 1: "KPMG reported one significant deficiency in the FY 2023 Independent Auditors’ Report, noting that improvements are needed in controls over seized property and forfeiture revenue."

Sovereign_immunity_in_the_United_States#Actions_taken_in_bad_faith "Typically if a party can demonstrate that the government intentionally acted wrongly with the sole purpose of causing damages, that party can recover for injury or economic losses."

Many in the bitcoin world are wondering who and why those with access crashed the bitcoin price, and more so, why there is no mainstream media coverage. CNBC has been pressured to at least state they will investigate. It has been reported to the FBI as either misuse for financial gain, or election tampering. A report was also filed with the Office of Inspector General (United States) which is "...charged with identifying, auditing, and investigating fraud, waste, abuse, embezzlement and mismanagement of any kind within the executive department.

The main question is: If mainstream media doesn't expose it, the FBI and the Office of Inspector General don't act, then what would be a good recourse?

[1]

References

Music Air BB (talk) 06:57, 16 October 2024 (UTC)Reply

I must confess I understand nothing or very little of the above, but am nevertheless fairly sure that your main question is not about computing, information technology, electronics, software, or hardware. Also note that we cannot offer legal advice. If you believe you have been wronged, perhaps you should talk to a lawyer. If a whole class of people has been wronged, there is such a thing as class action. A competent lawyer should be able to determine whether this is appropriate in this case.  --Lambiam 15:58, 16 October 2024 (UTC)Reply
Cryptocurrency is a speculative investment, and is designed to be non-transparent, and to make it difficult to trace. This also makes it difficult to trace the actions of other investors that might have influenced the price. One reason why mainstream media do not report on the fluctuations in the value of cryptocurrency is that they know that it is a speculative non-transparent investment that is difficult to understand and more difficult to report on. Robert McClenon (talk) 18:26, 16 October 2024 (UTC)Reply
The US government wallets are transparent. https://www.arkhamintelligence.com/ reported it on x, with the transactions records from the blockchain. They did the same with the German state of Saxony when they crashed the price with a very retarded move. Anyone with access to the Assets Forfeiture Fund should have known that their hoard is large enough to crash the price with any hint of movement. I can picture some fool on that fateful Monday setting up a transfer, checking their plan with the small test bit, then WHAM! lets see if A: I have the power, B: My power over the hoard can move the price, C: Will I be held to task on it, D: Will I have 15 minutes of fame hit main stream media and make me infamous. E: etc. One person could have done it, or a group decision, and both would benefit in many ways. My main query is why are only crypto groups concerned about blinded Americans that allow this blatant wrong to happen without asking why and what should the consequences be. I will contact large groups of lawyers like the Republican National Lawyers Association and its Dem equal; BlackRock legals, Microstrategy legals, etc. I could go on to list many more notable groups that would champion this. The reason I posted on this desk is for intelligent and politically neutral input.Music Air BB (talk) 00:34, 18 October 2024 (UTC)Reply

Microsoft Access Database Sharing and Lockout

edit

I have four Microsoft Access databases on my Windows 11 desktop computer, and have sharing set up with my Windows 11 laptop computer. After I had been using one of the databases on my laptop computer, I went to my desktop computer and tried to open it. I got the message: Microsoft Access The database has been placed in a state by user 'Admin' on machine 'GANESHA' that prevents it from being opened or locked.

That obviously means that the laptop computer (and my computers have mythological names) has locked the database for exclusive use. I walked over to the laptop computer and closed the database. I have had the databases open by Access on both the desktop computer and the laptop computer at the same time in the past without a locking conflict. So my questions are, first, what actions that I do on one computer will cause it to lock the database exclusively so that the other computer cannot open it? Second, once this happens, is there anything that I can to unlock it other than closing the database? (I know that isn't difficult when the computers are in adjoining rooms. I know. I know.) Robert McClenon (talk) 18:28, 16 October 2024 (UTC)Reply


October 17

edit

Search field is tiny and auto suggestions not working

edit

This morning my browser (Chrome) crashed for some unknown reason. I reinstalled it and everything in every application is behaving normally, except here on Wikipedia, the "Search Wikipedia" field in the upper right corner on the Legacy Vector skin is very small now. The field for entering categories on WP:HotCat are also small now. The edit window however and the subject field above this edit window I'm typing in now, are all normal.

Also when adding edit summaries the "auto-suggestion" (not sure the correct term?) does not work at all now. When I start typing, there is no suggestion filling in from previously typed edit summaries. It's not just the old one were lost, new ones are not being regenerated.

As far as I can tell, these problems seem to be only happening on Wikipedia. Search fields on other websites I checked seem to function and look normal. For example, on YouTube, my previous searches start popping up as soon as I start typing, just like it always has.

My laptop (MacBook) I don't even remember how old it is now; well, I've already bought a new one. So if this is not an easy fix, I'm ditching this ancient machine. --DB1729talk 00:04, 17 October 2024 (UTC)Reply

October 18

edit
edit

I have used Firefox on Linux for years, and I hate tabs and never deliberately use them. Previously I set up a userChrome.css file with

  #tabbrowser-tabs { visibility: collapse !important; }

to eliminate the toolbar that displays open tabs even if I only have one of them. But now that I have Firefox 131, I find a new tab-related toolbar taking up space. Specifically, at the top of my Firefox window I see a title bar (good); then a menu bar with File, Edit, etc. (good); then this new toolbar; and then the location bar (good). The new toolbar contains nothing but a single icon, and hovering over this produces the explanation "List all tabs".

How can I get rid of this new toolbar? I tried using "Customize Toolbar" and dragging the one icon out of it, but this had no effect at all.

Thanks for your attention. --142.112.141.16 (talk) 05:42, 18 October 2024 (UTC)Reply