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By goretsky · Posted
Hello, I have been keeping an archive of all of the device drivers for all of the hardware I use over the years for a number of reasons: It is an easy and convenient way to roll back to an earlier version of something if the latest driver isn't working, especially if you don't have network access or limited network access. I keep an archive of all of the device drivers for all of the hardware I use for a number of reasons: It is an easy and convenient way to roll back to an earlier version of something if the latest driver isn't working, especially if you don't have network access or limited network access. It lets you install drivers for older hardware that the manufacturer may not offer for download any more, without having to rely on third-party websites (some of dubious quality). That's even more important when the manufacturer is no longer in business. It can even be handy for security research, like trying to find out when a vulnerability was introduced (or fixed), validating a BYOVD attack, or as a clean set for fixing false positive detections. This includes Nvidia's device drivers, which a while ago passed the size of an entire CD-ROM disc (650 MB), and currently sit at around 820-830 MB as downloaded from them. And, I should note, that Nvidia releases separate installers for its desktop and notebook graphics chipsets, with filenames containing either desktop or notebook to denote what they were for. Some drivers. like those released as a security patch or a hotfixe, contained the string desktop-notebook in the filename, indicating the package was for both types of hardware. Despite having separate downloads for desktops and notebooks, the installers for the desktop and notebook versions of Nvidia's drivers have been the same size for a while. This is something I did not pay too much attention to this, because I know from working at hardware and software companies that such things can be attributed to very small changes between product SKUs, like strings for product name or operating system names, detection logic for what to install and where to install it, and so forth. Having just gone through process of buying yet another HDD to upgrade my backup system's capacity, I decided to take a look at those Nvidia driver downloads, since over time they have been taking up more and more space. As much as I like having a library of drivers, I don't need duplicates in it. And, since a large number of Nvidia's desktop and notebook device driver installation files seemed to be the same size, I figured it could be they were identical. So, I decided to put this to the test and see if any of them were, in fact, duplicate files. Using a tool to check for duplicate files, I was unsurprised to find that the installers for desktop and notebook versions of the installation packages generated identical CRC-32's and 32-bit checksums, indicating that the contents of the files were the same (I skipped MD5's, SHA-1's or stronger hashing methods as confirmation from two fast algorithms was sufficient). Knowing that, it seems I could save myself quite a bit of disk space by deleting the duplicate files. Between the Windows 10 and Windows 11 drivers, there were 288 GB of duplicate files. I haven't looked to see if the driver installation packages perform any logic checks against their filename to determine whether to display that they are for desktop or graphics chipsets and go through the install process accordingly, but those are easy enough to check should I need to reinstall a particular package in the future. Oh, the screen shot is from Funduc Software's Duplicate File Finder, just in case you're wondering. There are plenty of similar utilities you can find in Neowin's Software section (of script yourself), but I have used a few of their utilities in the past so it was already installed on this PC when I decided to look at this. Regards, Aryeh Goretsky -
By seeprime · Posted
Big Bang from a singularity. Bounce is also from a singularity. The Big Bang is a subset of the Big Bounce theory. Interestingly, the Gita says the universe collapses and then is recreated. Hmmm. -
By goretsky · Posted
Hello, I am not familiar with W3Technic, but a quick search revealed a company with that name that makes offline games and extensions for Google's Chrome web browser: https://w3technic.com/ Maybe contact them and ask for assistance in uninstalling their software? Regards, Aryeh Goretsky -
By goretsky · Posted
Hello, I'm not sure if it wise to invest in any TP-Link gear given the "off-again/on-again" debate over them being banned from the U.S. market. That said, I do not have a lot of experience in this area. The last time I played around with home automation was with X10 gear in the 1990s, and I didn't find it a very compelling addition to my home. Regards, Aryeh Goretsky -
By Copernic · Posted
Music Collection 3.9.2.2 by Razvan Serea Music Collection is a free tool to archive and manage your music library. Add CDs, LPs, tapes, or digital files manually or via the Internet. Retrieve album data by artist, title, barcode, catalog number, or CD scan. Auto-import metadata from audio files. Browse, sort, filter, export, import, and generate reports effortlessly. Music Collection features: The program creates the collection's database in a Microsoft Access format, so if you want later, you can use it, without the help of the program. The user can create as many as different collections wants. Accepts all kinds of musical media (cd, lp, dvd-a, audio files etc.). Specially customized to add and edit classical music albums. Retrieves data from the Internet, such as cd info, album cover, artist information, tracks, and the lyrics of each track etc. For every album the program saves all media contained, every medium tracks and the lyrics for every track. Displays albums using filters or the advanced search feature. Lists selected albums in a grid or using images (default setting). Presents all items contained in the album, in one page for an easy album overview. The details that are shown there are: album cover, album artists, notes, the tracks of each medium, the lyrics of each track and the duration of each one, as well as the total duration of the album. Exports album information to html file. Exports collection albums to html,txt,csv,excel files. Imports album information from text files exported by another program. Manages all program data, such as a list of singers, composers, etc. Manages artist information (biography, best albums). Prints all the data shown in each table.. Creates reports, which you can configure by your preference.. Manages album loans. Shows collection statistics. Searches for tracks and opens the album medium that contains them. Skinable. The user can select from 30 different skins. Multi-language support. Music Collection 3.9.2.2 changelog: Added: Turkish language translation. Added: Times-played track field. Added: Option to show only checked tracks. Fixed: Album list Print preview problem. Fixed: Some minor bugs. Download: Music Collection 3.9.2.2 | 8.0 MB (Freeware) Download: Portable Music Collection 3.9.2.2 View: Music Collection Home page | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
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