Categories: Tutorials

How to create an ext4 partition on Windows

Posted by Raffael on Posted in Tutorials, Windows 7, Windows 8 Tagged , , , ,

Today I’ve got a quick software tip for you. The tool that I like to show you is MiniTool’s Partition Wizard Home Edition. It is a freeware for partitioning and formatting hard disks and flash memory (memory cards, USB thumbdrives, etc.).
Why do I mention this tool here? Because it gives you the possibility to partitionate and format your drives into various Linux formats (ext2, ext3, ext4) directly on Windows. This can be very useful when, for example, a USB flash drive in ext4 format is needed, but you don’t have access to a Linux PC. (Certainly, you could load, burn and boot from a Linux live DVD, but I think to use Partion Wizard for Windows is smaller, faster and therefore easier in this case.
Create an ext4 USB flash drive on Windows
After you’ve downloaded and installed Mini Tools’ Partition Wizard, we can begin with our short tutorial. If you have […]

How to build a 20$ low-cost OpenWrt router – Flash OpenWrt to TP-Link WR703N

Posted by Raffael on Posted in Hardware Hacks, Linux, OpenWrt, Tutorials Tagged , , , ,

TP-Link WR703NFor one of my projects I was looking for a router that runs OpenWrt. But the all time classic of these type of routers, the Lynksys WRT54GL, is definitely too expensive in my opinion and so I searched a for a cheaper alternative. And I found it.
The TP-Link WR703N is a really small router, which can be powered by USB and also can be flashed with OpenWrt.
An unbeatable argument for the TP-Link is in my opinion the price. So I think you will rarely find a new OpenWRT compatible router for less than $20. I bought mine on eBay for ~22$ including shipping, but at the moment the US prices are a little bit lower. I also added some pictures from the unboxing at the end of this blog post.
Where can I buy the TP-Link WR703N?

21,00$ […]

3 things you should know to speed up HttpWebRequest

Posted by Raffael on Posted in C#.Net, Tutorials Tagged , , ,

HttpWebRequest LogoThose who work with the. NET framework and occasionally used the HttpWebRequest class, may have stumbled about the phenomenon that it seems to be quite slow in some cases. Especially if you use HttpWebRequest in combination with threading to get responses as quick as possible, the HttpWebRequest class quickly becomes a party pooper.
Initially you might assume that the problems rely on the Internet connection, but at least after a speed comparison with wget or curl, you should recognize that the “problem” must be at the. NET implementation.
No products found.In the following article I will focus on three points that can help you, to speed up the HttpWebRequests class.

1. Increase DefaultConnectionLimit
All instances of the HttpWebRequest class are using some properties of the ServicePointManager. One of these porperties of the ServicePointManager is the “DefaultConnectionLimit”. By default, this […]

How to fix Windows XP Bluescreen Error 0x0000007B

Posted by Raffael on Posted in Tutorials Tagged , , , ,

BluescreenMeanwhile I’m going three tracks on my laptop. This means concretely – Windows 7, Windows XP and Linux Mint 12 are bid me welcome every time I boot my laptop.
After installing Windows XP, however, I was faced with a blue screen and the following error message at the first boot:
Stop: 0x0000007B
I was on the point of doing to install XP again, when I found a solution which is much more convenient. In the BIOS of my laptop the SATA AHCI mode was set. Switching to the IDE mode brought the desired success. XP simply isn’t delivered with an AHCI compliant driver.
Greetings,
Raffi 

How to build a low-cost GSM door opener

Posted by Raffael on Posted in Tutorials Tagged , , , , , , , ,

In the last days I once again tinkered a bit. Certainly more bad than good, but where are no professional tools, there won’t be high quality. But the ultimately goal was not a professional product, but rather a simple and cheap solution. But what is it all about?
The product of my tinkering is a low-cost GSM door opener. That is simplified a small device, that opens your door when you call it and may bring the costs next to nothing. And now a little about the implementation …
Anyone who wants to get an overview about the project, can view the following video, which I made from the final product.

To build a similiar application you need the following components:

Nokia 6230i
12V relay (a 5V relay would be better, but I had none)
Connector strips
A few wires

First I disassembled the phone and removed the vibration motor. To the now vacant contacts on the phone board […]