Format FAT32 on big partition

Ever wanted to format a huge FDD like 500GB in FAT32.. for whatever reason. It is not that it is not supported, but the support gets complicated. Windows introduced FAT32ex, but some device like Playstation 3 for example will not recgonize this.

So, I have found this file from a Japanese site that does the trick. Format any partition as the vanilla favor FAT32. Grab it via:
http://www.fileserve.com/file/uqEVsEx

Yet another Thunderbird and Firefox Update

Within days of the previous updates, the 2 Mozilla applications are now at:

• Thunderbird v3.1.6
• Firefox v3.6.12

I guess we can say this is an excellent example of instant patching or simply a case of bad QA test for patches and need to re-patch. I feel it is likely the second case. But look at the case WHY Firefox is patch...

It is a CRITICAL security issue that allows remote code execution. 

Now, I think many people will understand the reason why I banned Firefox for home use.

Ubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) Released

The next Ubuntu had been silently released with no big party. Now it is available for download via:

http://se.releases.ubuntu.com//10.10/

There are many favors available as usual, but do not forget to download the Alternative version if you need to upgrade from an older version of Ubuntu.

Firefox and Thunderbird Update

There is yet another update from Firefox and Thunderbird silently being released. I did not get a update prompt on both the applications. That bring their versions up to :

• Thunderbird 3.1.5
• Firefox 3.6.11

Honestly, I had lost faith in these applications. I had already made decision to ban them from my home network because of security issues. It is just not sustainable to keep manually updating them and the windows between release and actual updating can be quite large because now I do not even get a proper prompt to update. The only worries will be having Firefox on the server... That is a real issue because I do not think people will wake up middle of the night to upgrade your server... So that gives at least 12 hours or so. 

Why can't Firefox just do a force upgrade like Chrome?

PS3 JAilbreak won't last unless 3.50 is broken

We all know that PS3 had been jailbroken, giving it access to run 3rd party applications and, of course, bootleg games. However, Sony had now mandated that all games release after 1 Oct 2010 to only use firmware above 3.50. What this means is that if you stick to the 3.41 JB firmware, you simply can't play all the new games.

The way I see it, 3.50 may patch the bug, but hackers can probably work towards restoring the bug back into a custom 3.50 firmware. Something along the Wii Trucha Bug restorer. We all know that the 3.50 firmware can be download and there is already a firmware uploader, although there is no custom firmware. What is required to break the PS3 is a custom firmware. I can only wish there are people like DA working on the PS3.

And lastly, even though if JB is to work, I seriously do not see piracy as a big issue. Imagine downloading 50GB for 1 game. I wont mind spending the $80 to buy it, finish it within a week, then sell if off at $60. The size for a Bluray game simply does not meet the quota for PS3 games to be pirated widely. Moreover, just imagine the face on the downloader if the 50GB actually did not work. I am sure Sony will LTFOL.

But I do support the JB. Simply because it opens up the full potential of the PS3. Imagine applications like Instant Messagers, BT Clients, EBooks Readers or even sims like Hobo. All these CAN be possible only if PS3 is jailbroken because nobody will buy and I don't think Sony will license such applications.

All I can see, go for it. Break 3.50 and make my day.

匿名遊戲 / Short Film "INTOXICANT" (ENG sub)

This is a short film about hacking, BBS etc... Probably meaningless to other people who do not know what is going on...

Saving Private Hard Disk

Today I am going to talk about something which gives us nightmares. Yes, even with the most sophisticated preparation, it is still bound to happen sooner or later - Hard Disk Failure. Let start this a few weeks back. While slipstreaming a XP Disc, I found that my hard disk was particularly slow. In fact, it even stalled at some point. I know I had a WD Green HDD which is not really state of the art in terms of speed, but I should not be expecting the HDD to stall anyway.

So, I check my SMART statistic via my Hard Disk Sentinel. While this program doesn't fix anything, it does tell you what happened on your HDD on the hardware level. In this case, I see a huge number of bad clusters detected and there had been a lot of relocation as a results. This is a good tell tale sign the HDD is going to fail or at least you will lose data if you do nothing about it.

If you are interested in getting Hard Disk Sentinel, it can be purchased here:
http://www.hdsentinel.com/

Now, I am going to talk about 2 tools which I have in mind. They are :

1. Spinrite 6 ( http://www.grc.com/spinrite.htm )
2. HDD Regenerator 1.7.1 ( http://www.dposoft.net/ )

Spinrit 6 is the latest version, but for HDD Regenerator, there is a 2011 version which actually works in Windows. Since I did not have that, I have to fall back to the good old DOS version 1.7.1. The main differences for these programs are as follows:

1. Spinrite can process ONLY your data area and leave those empty spaces alone. This is good enough if you want to recover the data and go RMA / Exchange the HDD.
2. HDD Regenerator processes ALL of the HDD area including empty spaces. This is good if you plan to KEEP the HDD since checking the empty space will preempt any possible failure in the future in those area.

I prepared for the worst and go for option 2 anyway although it took much much more time. Also considering that HDD Regenerator saved my ass once in:

http://nemesisv.blogspot.com/2006/12/hd-regenerator-vs-spinrite.html

HDD Regenrator will take a considerable time, but here is where paying for a Raptor pays out. The RAW speed of your HDD is what counts here. It is also rare that HDD Regenrator cannot read out and relocated the data unless the HDD is really gone BAD in a very bad way. In which case, you should savage whatever you have and RMA the HDD. 

Needless to say, the HDD was saved, and the bad cluster counted also return to normal as checked in SMART. It could be just magnetic retention problem. But I guess I was lucky. But in this case, maybe using Spinrite would had saved me some time. 

I would know many readers will think that it is really expensive considering they cost about USD$80-100 raw. And I also know that there are many so called "cracked" editions of these software floating around. You know that I do not encourage piracy and I won't here. Think about this. It is your data which matters. Will you trust a "cracked" version of the program which may have a chance that it is damaged or even worsed trojanized. Instead of saving your data, it can corrupts it or send it out somewhere. I think I will not take the risk even if it is slim. When it comes to data, I will deem it as priceless, so USD$100 is nothing compared to it. Well, if you really want to be cheap about it, you can share it with a friend or even better, buy a different one each so that you can compare. 

These tools are life saver when shit happens. And all we can hope is that day does come (too often).

Custom Firmware 5.50 Prometheus-2 for PSP-2000 and PSP-1000

If you had been following my PSP update, it is finally time to put in a new firmware to support those games that requires 6.30+  firmware. In any case, you will need to have 5.50 Gen-D3 in order to upgrade to this firmware.

You scan grab 5.50 Gen-D3 from here:
http://nemesisv.blogspot.com/2010/01/psp-firmware-550-gen-d3-final.html

Grab 5.50 Prometheus 2 upgrade here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?f4oy2dn4vq4vc