Hard reset of Asus P750!

As you all probably know that I am now working as a Product Manager for Windows Mobile and Asus P750 uses one of the Ericsson Platforms as a modem. I have been using P750 for quite some time now. Yesterday I was browing MSDN on the Pocket IE and after some time the UI didn’t respond. By the way, I was connecting using HSDPA. So when the UE didn’t respond, I tried to close down the window and stop the operations, I also turned on WiFi in the process and bingo the whole phone hanged :)

Anyways, I did a soft reset but this messed up my file system. I first thought that it might be because the modem was writing data to Windows Mobile FS but that was not the case as the modem uses its own flash for data purposes. So it ultimately happens that Windows Mobile was swapping processes to create more runtime space and that is when the reset happened which left the file system corrupt and the whole FS was not unmounted properly. WiFi module in this configuration is also connected to Windows Mobile hence we rightly arrive at the conclusion that Windows Mobile FS is problematic especially when swapping processes.

Anyways, the next thing is the phone didn’t boot up. I tried a lot of different things but was not able to do a hard reset of the device. Finally after searching a whole lot, I got the answer. To hard reset Asus P750 without using the "Default Settings" options in the Windows Mobile OS and when the phone has not booted, keep the joystick up pressed, simultaneously press 2 and the reset button. Then you will have a screen asking if you need to do a hard reset and press the Green key and you are done.

That was the way I was able to make it working again, ofcourse I lost the pictures, music, downloaded softwares, etc. but other data was safely synced with my PC. And I am glad that this was not an implementation where the modem uses the host OS FS to store data. I need to contact my engineering team to investigate on the stability scenarios cause in that case, even the modem caliberation data would be stored on host OS so if somehow someone is able to corrupt the host OS ROM, the whole unit might go for a toss.

Thats it for the time being. Adios…

Microsoft Update Fails – Problem Solution

I recently had to reinstall Windows XP as I let a stupid software (Advanced Registry Doctor and XP Smoker) do some unattended registry modifications. ARD fucked up my XP registry and removed some very vital keys for important services and XPS did something wierd as a result of which my whole system became slow and clumsy. And being the very nerd I am, I had turned off restore services as well as denied those softwares to create either restoration points or take registry backups. Anyways, I suggest you guys not to use those softwares and do all the modifications manually if you want to do some optimizations or anything. And if you are lazy, forget it, let everything run as it should and it won’t be a problem. Don’t mess around with softwares from other unknown developers.

Then I tried to repair the installation which ofcourse didn’t work. So I reinstalled XP over the existing installation and it totally fucked up the OS. Well, it didn’t work, I expected it but I didn’t want to loose all my data. So all I did was connect an external hard drive and back up my important data (movies, music, tools, etc.). It was very good of me to not put these stuff under any of the folders in Documents And Settings. Another advice to you all, don’t put data under that directory or under your profile, it easily gets messed up. By the way, when I reinstalled over the same installation, Windows XP deleted all my former rights and made those profiles and data under it inaccessible. So in reality I lost some files which I had downloaded just a day before. Not to say all the bookmarks that I had accumulated over the year.

Anyways, then I did a complete format, partitioned my drivers properly (20 GBs as XP main drive which will have only XP and Office, and 40 GBs for other regular stuff, downloads, etc.). And everything was working and suddenly, none of the udpates were getting installed. I searched Microsoft site without any good solution, googled a lot and still had issues. Got a couple of solutions but none worked.

One of them was to reinstall Windows Installer v2 which I tried to do, but it didn’t work and I always got the message that my system was updated and that I didn’t need to reinstall it (WTF…). The other solution was to stop Auto update service, rename/delete Software Distribution folder in C:\Windows and C:\Windows\System32 which didn’t work either. Last and not the least was to clean cookies, IE data, etc. and try again. None worked.

Finally, I jumped upon the solution by some very brilliant guy. Unfortunately I am not able to get the address again and thats why I decided to write it down myself here on this blog. He had correctly figured out the problem which was with the DLL registrations in the registry. I hope someday Microsoft stops using the stupid registry or makes it more secure and reliable.

Anyways, here is the fix. Hope this helps you all who has the problem and you just don’t have to reinstall XP to fix some registry errors. The solution works 100%.

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To fix the .dll issue, you will need to re-register a couple of .dll files. To do this, follow these easy steps:

Run the command prompt by clicking on the Start Menu and selecting Run. Type "cmd" and hit Enter.

In the new window that came up, type each of the following commands, hitting enter after each one:

REGSVR32 WUAPI.DLL
REGSVR32 WUAUENG1.DLL
REGSVR32 ATL.DLL
REGSVR32 WUPS2.DLL
REGSVR32 WUCLTUI.DLL
REGSVR32 WUPS.DLL
REGSVR32 WUWEB.DLL
REGSVR32 WUAUENG.DLL

Windows update should now behave normally.

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How to save your job as a programmer?

Write the code like this and most probably you will be the only expert to maintain it, which will guarantee your job and provide you with the much needed job security!

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main(t,_,a)
char *a;
{return!0<t?t<3?main(-79,-13,a+main(-87,1-_,main(-86, 0, a+1 )+a)):1,t<_?main(t+1, _, a ):3,main ( -94, -27+t, a)&&t == 2 ?_<13 ?main ( 2, _+1, "%s %d %d\n" ):9:16:t<0?t<-72?main(_,t,"@n’+,#’/*{}w+/w#cdnr/+,{}r/*de}+,/*{*+,/w{%+,/w#q#n+,/#{l,+,/n{n+\,/+#n+,/#;#q#n+,/+k#;*+,/’r :’d*’3,}{w+K w’K:’+}e#’;dq#’l q#’+d’K#!/\
+k#;q#’r}eKK#}w’r}eKK{nl]’/#;#q#n’){)#}w’){){nl]’/+#n’;d}rw’ i;# ){n\
l]!/n{n#’; r{#w’r nc{nl]’/#{l,+’K {rw’ iK{;[{nl]’/w#q#\
n’wk nw’ iwk{KK{nl]!/w{%’l##w#’ i; :{nl]’/*{q#’ld;r’}{nlwb!/*de}’c \
;;{nl’-{}rw]’/+,}##’*}#nc,’,#nw]’/+kd’+e}+;\
#’rdq#w! nr’/ ‘) }+}{rl#’{n’ ‘)# }’+}##(!!/")
:t<-50?_==*a ?putchar(a[31]):main(-65,_,a+1):main((*a == ‘/’)+t,_,a\
+1 ):0<t?main ( 2, 2 , "%s"):*a==’/'||main(0,main(-61,*a, "!ek;dc \
i@bK’(q)-[w]*%n+r3#l,{}:\nuwloca-O;m .vpbks,fxntdCeghiry"),a+1);}

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In my further articles, I will try to review and write guidelines on how to write user friendly code. Ofcourse the above statement of being more secure if you write obsure code is false and would not help you eventually to establish yourself. Gone are the days of 1970. Now are the days for advanced frameworks, design patterns, architectures, etc.

Get ready and embrace yourself for a much needed talk/brainstorming on good coding styles, architecture and design adherence.

Hacker Manifesto – By The Mentor

The Conscience of a Hacker (also known as The Hacker Manifesto) is a small essay written January 8, 1986 by a hacker who went by the handle (or pseudonym) of The Mentor (born Loyd Blankenship). It was written after the author’s arrest, and first published in the underground hacker ezine Phrack in Volume One, Issue 7, Phile 3 of 10. Today it can be found on countless websites.

It is considered a cornerstone of hacker culture, and it gives some insight into the psychology of early hackers. It is said to have shaped the hacker community’s view of itself and its motivations. The Manifesto states that hackers choose to hack because it is a way for them to learn, and because they are often frustrated and bored in school. It also expresses the satori of a hacker realizing his potential in the realm of computers.

The article is quoted in the 1995 movie Hackers, although in the movie it is being read from an issue of the hacker magazine 2600, not a historically accurate printout of Phrack. It is also reproduced inside the CD case of the computer game Uplink.

This article also inspired Wraith (also known as Digital Overdrive ) to write “Why I’m A Hacker”. “A Hacker Manifesto” is also the name of a book written by media studies professor McKenzie Wark.

The Mentor gave a reading of The Hacker Manifesto and offered additional insight at H2K2.[1]

To this day, the Manifesto acts as a guideline to hackers across the globe, especially those new to the field. It serves as an ethical foundation for hacking, and asserts that there is a point to hacking that supersedes selfish desires to exploit or harm other people (like black hat crackers/hackers), and that technology should be used to expand our horizons and try to keep the world free.

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==Phrack Inc.==Volume One, Issue 7, Phile 3 of 10=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The following was written shortly after my arrest…\/\The Conscience of a Hacker/\/by+++The Mentor+++Written on January 8, 1986=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Another one got caught today, it’s all over the papers. “TeenagerArrested in Computer Crime Scandal”, “Hacker Arrested after Bank Tampering”…Damn kids. They’re all alike.

But did you, in your three-piece psychology and 1950’s technobrain,ever take a look behind the eyes of the hacker? Did you ever wonder whatmade him tick, what forces shaped him, what may have molded him?I am a hacker, enter my world…Mine is a world that begins with school…

I’m smarter than most ofthe other kids, this crap they teach us bores me…Damn underachiever. They’re all alike.I’m in junior high or high school. I’ve listened to teachers explainfor the fifteenth time how to reduce a fraction.

I understand it. “No, Ms.Smith, I didn’t show my work. I did it in my head…”Damn kid. Probably copied it. They’re all alike.I made a discovery today. I found a computer. Wait a second, this iscool. It does what I want it to. If it makes a mistake, it’s because Iscrewed it up. Not because it doesn’t like me…Or feels threatened by me…Or thinks I’m a smart ass…Or doesn’t like teaching and shouldn’t be here…Damn kid. All he does is play games. They’re all alike.

And then it happened… a door opened to a world… rushing throughthe phone line like heroin through an addict’s veins, an electronic pulse issent out, a refuge from the day-to-day incompetencies is sought… a board isfound.”This is it… this is where I belong…”I know everyone here… even if I’ve never met them, never talked tothem, may never hear from them again… I know you all…Damn kid.

Tying up the phone line again. They’re all alike…You bet your ass we’re all alike… we’ve been spoon-fed baby food atschool when we hungered for steak… the bits of meat that you did let slipthrough were pre-chewed and tasteless. We’ve been dominated by sadists, orignored by the apathetic. The few that had something to teach found us will-ing pupils, but those few are like drops of water in the desert.

This is our world now… the world of the electron and the switch, thebeauty of the baud. We make use of a service already existing without payingfor what could be dirt-cheap if it wasn’t run by profiteering gluttons, andyou call us criminals.

We explore… and you call us criminals. We seekafter knowledge… and you call us criminals. We exist without skin color,without nationality, without religious bias… and you call us criminals.You build atomic bombs, you wage wars, you murder, cheat, and lie to usand try to make us believe it’s for our own good, yet we’re the criminals.

Yes, I am a criminal. My crime is that of curiosity. My crime isthat of judging people by what they say and think, not what they look like.My crime is that of outsmarting you, something that you will never forgive mefor.I am a hacker, and this is my manifesto. You may stop this individual,but you can’t stop us all… after all, we’re all alike.

+++The Mentor+++

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What is RTFM?

RTFM stands for "Read The Fucking Manual". This is the story for you…

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One day a Novice came to the Master.
"Master," he said, "How is it that I may become a Writer of Programs?".
The Master looked solemnly at the Novice.
"Have you in your possession a Compiler of Source Code?" the Master asked.
"No," replied the Novice. The Master sent the Novice on a quest to the Store of Software.

Many hours later the Novice returned.
"Master," he said, "How is it that I may become a Writer of Programs?".
The Master looked solemnly at the Novice.
"Have you in your possession a Compiler of Source Code?" the Master asked.
"Yes," replied the Novice.
The Master frowned at the Novice.
"You have a Compiler of Source. What now can prevent you from becoming a Writer of Programs?".
The Novice fidgeted nervously and presented his Compiler of Source to the Master.
"How is this used?" asked the Novice.
"Have you in your possession a Manual of Operation?" the Master asked.
"No," replied the Novice.
The Master instructed the Novice as to where he could find the Manual of Operation.

Many days later the Novice returned.
"Master," he said, "How is it that I may become a Writer of Programs?".
The Master looked solemnly at the Novice.
"Have you in your possession a Compiler of Source Code?" the Master asked.
"Yes," replied the Novice.
"Have you in your possession a Manual of Operation?" the Master asked.
"Yes," replied the Novice.
The Master frowned at the Novice.
"You have a Compiler of Source, and a Manual of Operation. What now can prevent you from becoming a Writer of Programs?".

At this the Novice fidgeted nervously and presented his Manual of Operations to the Master.
"How is this used?" asked the Novice.
The Master closed his eyes, and heaved a great sigh.
The Master sent the Novice on a quest to the School of Elementary.

Many years later the Novice returned.
"Master," he said, "How is it that I may become a Writer of Programs?".
The Master looked solemnly at the Novice.
"Have you in your possession a Compiler of Source Code, a Manual of Operation and an Education of Elementary?" the Master asked.
"Yes," replied the Novice.
The Master frowned at the Novice.
"What then can prevent you from becoming a Writer of Programs?".

The Novice fidgeted nervously. He looked around but could find nothing to present to the Master.
The Master smiled at the Novice.
"I see what problem plagues you." said the Master.
"Oh great master, please tell me." asked the Novice.

The Master turned the Novice toward the door, and with a supportive hand on his shoulder said, "Go young Novice, and Read The Fucking Manual." And so the Novice became enlightened.

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Well people, this is not my creation. I read it on some site and thought it was nice enough to share with you all.