Saturday, February 02, 2008

Data Recovery - The Known And Unknown Facts

Data Recovery is the process of rescuing the data from the spoiled or inaccessible storage media when the media reaches a situation where it cannot be accessed in the normal manner. The data often can be rescued from the storage media formats such as Floppy Disks, Hard Disks, Tape Drives, CDs, DVDs and RAID Drives. The data is lost either due to the Physical damage to the storage disk or the logical damage to the file system in the disk that prevents it from being accessible by the operating system.

Physical Damage

Physical damage is the corruption of the physical parts of the storage media. There are a variety of possibilities like the improper working of a Hard disk due to the mechanical failures such as head crashes, failed motors or insufficient power supply. CD Rom drives can have their layers scratched off, the tape drives can simply break when kept inside a bag while traveling are a few to name and there can be many more reasons. Physical hard drive damage always leads to some kind of Logical damage as well as there are some clusters destroyed which are inaccessible. The logical damage must be recovered before any files are salvaged from the media.

The physical damages cannot be repaired by the user himself as it can cause further damage to the media and moreover the users generally are not trained to handle such extreme processes like opening a hard disk in a normal room can further damage the disk as it leads to dust settlement on the surface of the disk. To overcome these difficulties the Data Recovery Companies are consulted where clean room facilities at 100 percent are maintained to protect the media when the repairs are being carried out. This helps in rebuilding the logical damage before the data is being rescued. However the data recovery success rate is below 100 percent in case of a physical damage but most of the files are recovered. This kind of recovery can also be carried out for other media such as Tape drives, memory cards etc.

Logical Damage

The Logical damages occur more commonly when compared to that of the Physical damage. This is primarily caused due improper maintenance where the file system structures are prevented from being completely written to the storage medium. This results in the inconsistency in the state of file system and can cause variety of problems such as system crashes, operating system checking for the boot file for more than one time or there can also be an actual data loss. These inconsistencies up to a limited stage can be repaired and there are various programs that are accompanied with the operating software and can be used to overcome the problem. For instance there is chkdsk with Microsoft Windows and fsck with Linux and also some software available to overcome these errors when the operating system is unable to correct these errors.

While most of the logical damage can be recovered by the operating system or a good data recovery software. This usually happen when during a recovery process two files claims to share the same allocation unit and in such case, data loss for one of the files is essentially guaranteed. This can be lowered by use of journaling file systems, such as NTFS 5.0. These file systems can always be rolled back to a consistent state, which means the data that will be lost will be likely the one in the drives cache during the system failure. However, regular system maintenance should still be followed to avoid any kind of data loss. This not only protects from the data being lost but also from the file system being infected by the virus. However, one incompatibility still remains where the disk controller reports that the file system reports of structures being saved to the disk when it has not actually occurred. This can often happen during a power loss where the data is stored in cache. This problem can be solved by using a system that is equipped with a battery backup or an Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) so that the waiting data can be written when the power is restored or at least to give enough time to the system to shut down properly.

Swamp Cooling - Not Just for Swamps! FAQ

1. What is evaporative cooling?

Nature's most efficient means of cooling is through the evaporation of water. Evaporative cooling works on the principle of heat absorption by moisture evaporation. The evaporative cooler draws exterior air into special pads soaked with water, where the air is cooled by evaporation, and then circulated.

2. What choices of evaporative cooling do I have?

The range of commercial and industrial evaporative coolers available today is extensive, varying from commercial mobile coolers to large and fully ducted systems designed for commercial use.

3. Are evaporative coolers more suitable for specific climates?

Evaporative cooling is especially suited for areas where the air is hot and the humidity is low. However, in areas of higher humidity, there are many proven cost effective uses for evaporative cooling that make this the best choice. For example, industrial plants, commercial kitchens, laundry facilities, dry cleaners, greenhouses, places which utilize spot cooling (loading docks, warehouses, factories, construction sites, athletic events, workshops, garages, kennels), and areas using confinement farming (poultry ranches and hog/dairy farms).

4. What advantages does evaporative cooling have compared to a refrigerated cooling system?

Evaporative cooling will provide a substantial energy savings over refrigerated air units. The simplicity of the design allows low maintenance requirements. The evaporative cooler will provide fresh, filtered air. The outside air that has been cooled will blow the stale, inside air, out. With the substantial savings of energy and the constant changes in the air, the industrial/commercial evaporative cooler is ideally suited for area cooling or spot cooling of factories, laundries, churches, schools, agricultural/business areas, restaurants, and more.

5. What size evaporative cooler do I need?

Evaporative coolers are size-based on cubic feet per minute (CFM) of airflow. For sizing information on industrial/commercial coolers, the formulas are located in the specification charts of the cooler considered. When sizing an industrial or commercial cooler it is important to be job specific to include unusual heat loads and static pressures of the system design.

Even More Detailed Answers! Read on...

6. How do swamp/evaporative coolers work?

Swamp coolers are efficient and effective machines of cooling. As a direct replacement for air conditioning in dry climates, these coolers are an example of how we can work with nature. Being considerably less expensive than air conditioning, it almost seems that one is getting something for nothing when using a swamp cooler.

The way a swamp cooler operates is very simple. There is a low horsepower motor which pumps the water from the floor of the cooler to the top of the cooler, where it proceeds to fall down the sides and along porous filter pads. A second motor drives a fan which pulls air from the outside, through the cooler, and then pushes this out into the hot room. The significant cooling action results from the water evaporating as the air passes through it. Incidentally, the water level is kept constant with the help of a floating sphere, functioning similarly to the one in a toilet bowl. The hot air enters the cooler, where two small motors power nothing more than a fan and a pump in order to send cool air into the hot room.

The way the air is cooled in a swamp cooler is similar to the way evaporating sweat cools the human body. When a substance is perceived at a certain energy heat level, measured in temperature, there is really a distribution of varying levels of temperature throughout the molecules of the substance. This assortment of temperatures average out to the measured value. Most of the molecules can be around the average, and the farther from the average, the less of them there are. For example, water at room temperature has most of its molecules at approximately that temperature, but it also contains molecules that are near the boiling point of water and also near its freezing point. However small in quantity they are, these are an important presence. Because at the boiling point of water, there are molecules that are gases and those that are liquids. The liquid molecules will absorb energy in the form of heat to become gases and escape the confines of their old forms. As the molecules from the higher temperatures evaporate, the remaining liquids average less heat, but there will still be water at the higher temperatures because the remaining molecules redistribute themselves along the bell curve, enabling the next molecules to evaporate. Heat is siphoned off this way from the water, and more importantly, heat is extracted from the air as the liquid water at the boiling point grabs the needed energy for its freedom into gas.

Air conditioning on the other hand, became popular because of the ability to cool the air, not depending on the surrounding humidity. Even on humid days, room and central air conditioners can lower the temperature to a thermostatically-controlled temperature. Air conditioners also use as much as four times the electricity than a swamp cooler and are more expensive to install and maintain. Air conditioners can require ozone-damaging refrigerants, not to mention, circulating the same air over and over again. Fairly popular in desert areas, swamp coolers will work well in California's more humid climates for a majority of the time. Sacramento, for example, averages about 30% humidity on a typical, hot summer afternoon, while this is still dry enough for evaporative cooling to work effectively.

7. Why does evaporation lower temperature?

The process of evaporation happens all the time. Our bodies, for example, perspire in hot weather. Through evaporation, sweat dries and causes our body temperature to drop. Whenever dry air passes over water, some of the water will be absorbed by the air. That is why evaporative cooling naturally occurs near waterfalls, rivers, lakes and oceans. The hotter and drier the air, the more water that can be absorbed. This happens because the temperature and the vapor pressure of the water and the air attempt to equalize. Liquid water molecules become gas in the dry air, a process that uses energy to change its physical state. Heat moves from the higher temperature of the air to the lower temperature of the water, resulting in cooler air. Eventually the air becomes saturated, unable to hold anymore water, and evaporation ceases.

Friday, February 01, 2008

Data Recovery From (RAID) Servers

In other words, you have sent a request for the web page through the web browser. This request is answered by the web server, by sending the required page to the web browser, which in turn displays it.

The web server works thus; there are many other types of servers that are used commonly.

Types of Servers

Probably, the simplest of servers are the file servers. You can send your request for a file or a file record, over the network to the file server. (File servers require a large bandwidth.) Another equally simple server is the disk server.

A comparatively more advanced version is a database server. In a database server, the user passes on a message to the server (in SQL - 'structure query language') and the results are returned over the network. The data resides on the server, and enables the code that processes the request to find the requested data. The client is not passed on all the files to scan for the required information.

The other server is the transaction server, which contains a SQL data base engine. The procedural statements on the servers either execute the entire SQL transactions or they fail it as a group. As the applications on the transaction servers are mission critical they necessitate an enhanced level of security and integrity of the database. The exchange usually consists of a single request and reply.

A server that is much commonly used unlike the transaction server is the e-mail server. This receives mail from clients and other email servers. The mail server consists of a storage area, a list of users, a series of communication modules and a set of rules defined by the user. The storage area, which is a database of information, consists of the received mail and those in transit. The user defined rules determine the reaction of the mail server to specific messages, for example, only certain e-mails can be sent to a company while the rest get blocked. The communication modules (their number is determined by the mail server) handle the transfer of messages to and fro the email clients.

Servers usually function without manual intervention and they are expected to work almost constantly, therefore, RAID is used.

RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Drives)

This is also known as 'redundant array of inexpensive disks.' This term defines a computer data storage scheme that divides and also replicates data among varied hard disks. In a RAID, the different physical hard disks are combined into a single logical unit by using a special hardware or software.

The three key RAID concepts are:

· Mirroring - that of copying data on to different disks in the array

· Striping - the splitting of data in more than one disk, and finally

· Error correction - redundant data is stored for error detection if the need arises

RAID systems are designed to work reliably; therefore, they are ideally suited for servers. However, at times, RAID array also fail and data recovery from a (RAID) server is a complicated process.

Data Recovery from a (RAID) Server

In event of data loss, an initial diagnosis is performed which determines whether each device is accessible. If the media is accessible, a raw image is created of all the data onto a new device so that the nature of information loss can be ascertained. At times, some devices may be inaccessible; these are closely tested to assess the extent of physical damage. Data recovery from a crashed RAID usually involves the replacement of the damaged components like the read/ write head, the drive motors, etc. Specialised tools are used to recover the lost data.

Servers with multiple drives are de-striped on to a device to enable performance of file system repairs and to extract the data files.

Data loss usually induces panic. Losing data from a RAID server necessitates an important precaution. The disk array order should not be changed. Even if they are removed from the server, they should be placed back in the same order and the data recovery experts must be contacted.

License Plate Search - How And Where To Search

If you need to perform a License Plate Search to discover who owns a particular vehicle, there are now a number of options available to you. You may notice that online there are a number of sites which try to attract visitors by seeming to offer free license plate searches, but in fact there are no such free services. Similar to the services which offer free cell phone lookups, this information is simply not available for free.

If for whatever reason you really need details of a vehicle owner based on their license plate, you do have a few options. Firstly you could try a simple google search, in the hope that some information about a particular vehicle exists somewhere in the billions of pages of information indexed by the search engines. However, it is unlikely you will succeed.

A better method, one which should be successful, is to contact a professional investigator. They will have access to data and records which ordinary citizens do not, either through law enforcement contacts or paid access to official databases. The drawback with this approach however will always be the price - private investigators are costly.

Using the internet however there are newer and faster options. You can use one of the online investigations websites which attempt to provide the same services as a traditional offline professional investigator. They will charge a certain rate to run a single license plate search, likely using the same databases and contacts as an offline service, and although cheaper than offline investigators they can be quite expensive.

Finally there are new membership websites which have only recently started to appear. These services offer unlimited access to a myriad of public, government and legal databases and records, all for a small one-off fee. The reason they can offer this service so much cheaper than the professional investigation companies is that the whole process is automated online, so their overheads are much lower and they are able to pass this saving to the customers. Conversely this also means there are no guarantees the many databases and resources they provide will contain the information you seek, however they also offer 90 day money back guarantees, so your investment is safe.

Thursday, January 31, 2008

Cleaning RC Motors

Owning an electric RC car is just like raising a child or can be compared to having a pet. All that is needed to keep a child (or a pet) safe from all sorts of diseases or sickness is to make sure that the child eats a lot of vitamin-rich food. Also, regular check up and exercises is a secondary requirement.

As for RC cars, they need proper and regular check ups too. This means that the RC motor has to be cleaned regularly as well so the machine works on its top most speed and performance.

In terms of cleaning the motor of your RC car, you need to use a motor spray so the dirt and excess carbon deposits in the motor are removed. A high quality type of motor spray should do the trick. Do not forget to use oil for lubricating each of your car and motor's bearings.

With brushes, it is also adamant that you are keen in checking it if it already needs replacement. A worn out brush which remains in used for your RC motor could possibly cause you the top performance you've been trying to achieve and maintain. So by the time the tip of the brush which is in contact with the commutator of the motor becomes the shade of violet, better replace it with a new one. Be sure though that before replacing an old brush with a new one, the commutator's overall condition should be round and smooth.

The same thing goes with the motor's brush as well as with the springs. With springs, the tension should always be there, the same way it was when it was still brand new. You can either opt for a spring tension checker so you can use it regularly or replace the springs the same time when you replace the brushes.

For a better maintenance approach, you can clean out the dirt and other unnecessary deposits in your motor after each run. This does not make you an obsessive-compulsive person but maintaining your RC motor this way is a lot better.

What matters in maintaining a RC motor for your RC car is you understand that all motors will lose their brand new and impressive performance over time. What you can do is just make sure that you clean and spend money for it to keep it running as if you just bought it yesterday.

Blower Motors

Single-phase motors are built differently from three phase motors that start and run in a direction based on the phase rotation of the incoming power. An auxiliary starting means is required to run single-phase motors, which, once started in a direction, will continue to run in that particular direction.

Single-phase motors are categorized by the method used to start the motor and the method used to establish the direction of rotation.

Split Phase Motors

Split phase motors are categorized under single phase and are generally available from 1/25 to 1/2 HP. They have low starting torque (turning force) and high starting current but are less expensive. Split phase motors are generally restricted to applications where the load needs low starting torque and starts are infrequent.

Capacitor Motors

Capacitor motors are available in sizes from sub-fractional to 15 HP and prove to be the most popular single-phase motors on the market.

Single Value Capacitor Motors

They are also called permanent split capacitor (PSC) motors. The motor operates with a capacitor connected in series with one of the two windings. This type of motor is generally used on small sized fans, blowers, and pumps typically less than 1 HP.

Two Value Capacitor Motors

The two value capacitor motor is generally used on large blowers with 5-15 HP single phase motors. It starts as a capacitor start motor but runs as a form of a two phase or PSC motor. Therefore, large single-phase motors having high starting torques and moderate starting currents can be constructed using this combination, and at reasonable rates.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Yellow Lamborghini Gallardo for Rent

What’s in a Lambo that can arouse emotional reactions and invoke a cosmos of images? Is it the Lamborghini’s razor-sharp headlights, long edgy lines of body work, deep side air intakes or maybe the fact that it is a luxury car that makes it a wonderful sight to behold?

A rental company in Washington, DC is giving everybody (but basically those who can afford only) the chance to drive a Lamborghini Gallardo. Capital Dream Cars will soon have the Lamborghini as part of their rental fleet. Oh yes, believe it or not the Capital Dream Cars, Washington, DC’s premier exotic car rental service is happy to announce that the Lamborghini Gallardo is the latest addition to its fleet of world-class rental automobiles.

Jumi Kim, Founding Partner of Capital Dream Cars, "The hard-top, E-Gear transmission Lamborghini is a nice complement to our manual Ferrari convertible and tiptronic Bentley coupe. Whether you want a coupe or convertible, a manual, semi-automatic or automatic transmission, we have a dream vehicle for every preference, season and occasion."

The Yellow Lamborghini Gallardo has a design inspired by modern jet fighters. The Lamborghini Gallardo is a muscular car that possesses dynamic styling and performance. The Lamborghini Gallardo is called SantAgata’ raging bull and it’s because of its 5.0 liter, V10 engine that produces 500 horsepower and sprints from zero to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds. Despite its power some people who have already tested to drive a Gallardo claimed that it is smooth.

As expected from a Gallardo its interior is sleek black which Motor Trend magazine describes as “the best cabin ever bolted and stitched into a Lamborghini...an exotic-car cockpit that you'll actually want to ride in." it is equipped with power seats, on-board computer, heated seats/floor mats/exterior mirrors, coming home function, silver brake calipers, and 19” alloy wheels.

According to a Lamborghini of Washington spokesman, “Five thousand Lamborghini Gallardos can't be wrong. Style, performance and fun are why the Lamborghini Gallardo is the most successful Lamborghini ever built and one of the most popular sports cars today." In short great cars like the Lamborghini Gallardo calls for great responsibilities and attention.

About the Capital Dream Cars

Capital Dream Cars in Washington, DC is the premier exotic car rental company that provides only the finest and the most elegant marques for rent such as the red Ferrari 360 Spider, metallic gray Bentley Continental GT and the new addition to the fleet, the yellow Lamborghini Gallardo—self-drive basis; the white or silver Rolls-Royce Phantom, blue or black Maybach---on a chauffeured basis. Capital Dream cars also provides corporate incentives and programs such as the Prince Michael package or the thrilling Power Tour package which includes a visit to the rural back-roads in the Ferrari, Bentley, and Lamborghini.

Taking Care of Your VW Car

Buying your new VW car cost you thousands of dollars – an investment that would certainly make you want to cut future repair and maintenance expenses for your new car as much as possible. Having the know-how in cutting repair and maintenance expenses will help you a lot in dealing with future severe car problems.

After buying the car, reading the manual is a must. Learning the details about its parts, how it runs and when to take it in for maintenance makes you an informed and aware owner and helps to reduce costly breakdowns. This knowledge will serve you well throughout your ownership.

You must also keep in mind that oil is the lifeblood of you car. So change it according to the Volkswagens recommended schedule. Some cars have an oil-life monitor. This notifies the driver when the oil needs to be changed. In addition, use the type of oil that the automaker suggests. This alone will increase your VW vehicle's life.

Always check the tires. It is very important to check and maintain proper air pressure in your VW cars tires. Under inflated tires are the main causes of tire malfunction or flats. This is because when a tire is under inflated; heat is built up internally. This eventually causes a blowout. Studies show that under inflated tires also decrease fuel economy by as much as 10 percent.

Take not that it is best to check tire pressure when the tires are cool. Quality tire-pressure gauge is highly recommended. Furthermore, always use the right tires for the season to avoid tire damages.

Modern vehicles, like those recently produced by VW, can have any number of warning lights for various onboard components like the antilock braking system. Sometimes, the behavior of a given warning light may indicate two entirely different issues. So it is important to understand each warning light's purpose, its various modes, and what to do if they illuminate.

Your vehicles vital fluid include the radiator coolant, engine oil, brake fluid, power steering fluid, and automatic transmission fluid. It is important to regularly check them; either by you or through a mechanic.

Never remove the radiator cap when the engine is hot or the car is running. Check your oil when the car is off but the engine should still be warm. Check the transmission fluid with the engine running but the car in halt.

Inspect engine components. Belt and hose failures are one of the main causes of roadside breakdowns. Rubber components under the hood are exposed to extreme heat, so they tend to wear out faster than any other parts on your car. Inspect belts and hoses every six months and before long trips. However, replacing them before breakdown occurs is more cost saving.

Also, always check the transmission mount. The VW trans mount holds the transmission assembly to the body of the vehicle. It also works with the engine mount to control torque and reduce the vibration that is being transferred to the vehicles chassis. This is also the component that is responsible for maintaining the linkages in their correct positions.

Cleanliness is necessary for your car. Make sure windows are well polished, headlights and headlights are clean, the interior is not messy, and the exterior is still neat.

Dirty headlamps can reduce the amount of illumination provided. If you cannot see something on or alongside the road, then you cannot avoid it. In addition to this, an improperly aimed headlight greatly reduces its effectiveness and affects visibility for oncoming drivers. Keeping your car clean does not only give you and the passenger comfort, but also, and is most importantly, safety.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Consideration When Buying a Treadmill - The Motor

If you are serious about purchasing a quality treadmill, and not some toy that will break down in a short period of time, then there are a number of considerations to think about. One of the most important is the quality of the motor.

A treadmill motor is one of the most significant components to consider when buying a treadmill. It is what drives the treadbelt that you walk or run on. Depending on the quality and power, it can make the difference between a smooth running machine and a loud noise-maker that struggle to run. In most cases the larger and heavier the motor the better. But that is not always the case. The quality of the motor can make a big difference, even if it is smaller. In other words not all treadmill motors are equal.

When comparing treadmill motors you want to go by the horsepower of the continuous duty, not peak horsepower. Peak horsepower is the maximum horsepower a treadmill can reach. Continuous-duty horsepower is a measure of sustained power during regular use. The continuous motor power is what is consistently delivered during heavy usage over an extended period of time.

Since peak horsepower is usually significantly higher than a motor's continuous capability, continuous horsepower better helps you determine which treadmill will accommodate your intended exercise use. Generally speaking, the larger the motor the more powerful it can operate at a continuous rate

Continuous duty is the standard in comparing horsepower. Unfortunately there is no official standard rating and often treadmill manufacturers will exaggerate the actual continuous duty horsepower. Regardless, the continuous duty horsepower rating will give you some guideline, but it is not an absolute.

An indication of the quality of the motor will often be reflected by the extent of the warranty. A 90 day warranty will suggest lack of quality. A warranty of 5 years or more tells you that the motor is built to last, or otherwise the company would go broke having to replace them. In fact, there are a number of treadmill manufacturers that offer lifetime warranties on the motor.

We suggest the following continuous duty horsepower when selecting a treadmill. If you are over 200 lbs you may want to add a .5 hp to the motor level:

Walking - 2.0+ Continuous Duty HP

Jogging - 2.5+ Continuous Duty HP

Running - 3.0+ Continuous Duty HP

Be especially careful when you purchase a treadmill under $1,000. Below that price you will have manufacturers skimp on the quality of components in order to keep the price down. When you purchase from a reputable manufacturer the chances of the motor breaking down are slim. When you buy an inferior treadmill the chances of the motor burning out increases substantially.

Resurrecting an Old Technology - VSR Motors

A 170 year old electrical technology, called variable switched reluctance (VSR) motors was resurrected in the 1980s with the advent of electronic controllers. The Texas based Le Tiurneau.inc has developed a wheeled front end loader for mining work which use large horsepower VSR motors for its wheel drives. Basically, a VSR motor comprises a rotor and a stator with a coil winding in the stator. The rotor, which consists of a laminated permeable material with teeth, is a passive device with no coil winding or permanent magnets.

The stator typically consists of slots containing a series of coil winding, the energization of which is electronically switched to generate a moving field. When one stator coil is set on, a magnetic flux path is generated around the coil and the rotor. The rotor experiences a torque and is moved in the line with the energized coils, minimizing the flux path. with the approximate switching and energization of the stator coils, the rotor can be encouraged to rotate at any desired torque and speed.

VSR Motors offers the following advantages: Since there are no brushes ringing, there is no requirement of commutator maintenance. the motor is more robust since there are no coils or moving parts. A VSR motor can maintain higher torque and efficiency over broader speed ranges than is possible with other advanced variable speed systems. In addition, as the commutation can be accurately controlled with respect to the rotor angle, the motor will operate at its predicted high efficiency. With VSR technology it is possible to design a low cost motor with over 90% system efficiency and variable speed.

VSR motors can be programmed to precisely match the loads the serve, and their simple rugged construction has no expensive magnets or squirrel cages like the induction motor. VSR motors are smaller than DC motors. VSR motor is inherently resistant to overload and immune to single point failure. They have a high level of fault tolerance and are immune to switching faults. According t a spokesman of Le Tourneau, While the initial cost of SR motor and control is a little more expensive than standard DC system, in the failure, there may be little or no difference in the manufacturing costs due to decreasing prices of electronic components. VSR motors are not without their drawbacks, however. The most significant downside is the acoustic noise and the large vibration caused by the motor's high pulsating magnetic flux. Another limitation is torque ripple. But while these drawbacks have an effect in small horsepower VSR motors, they are of no significance in large horsepower traction motors.

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