Friday, December 2, 2011

Auto Run not working properly

OS: Windows 7

Issue: System does not auto run removable cards (IE: SD or XD cards)

Fix: Navigate to the registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer


Change the value of the key "NoDriveTypeAutoRun" from whatever it is to decimal value of 145


Pulled this information from here.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Rename XP When Dual Booting With Windows 7

You will need to run this command from within Windows 7:

bcdedit /set {ntldr} description "Windows XP"

Thats really it, there is nothing more complicated than that.

Pulled from here.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

How to Show/Hide the Administrator account on Windows Vista Welcome Screen



In Windows Vista, be default the Administrator account is disabled. However, if you use a password reset tool, there is a chance that you can enable this account and cause it to appear on the Welcome Screen. There is an easy way to fix this. From an elevated command prompt (right-click cmd and select "Run as Administrator"), type:

net user Administrator /active:no

If the forward-slash causes you problems, simply enter the same command without it. If you're successful some text should output indicating the command was issued successfully and the Administrator account should disappear form the Welcome Screen and return to its disabled state.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Narrator automatically starts up

OS: Vista

Go to control panel, then open ease of access, select use the computer without display, then uncheck turn on narrator.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Documents and desktop disappeared

Problem: Everything from the desktop and documents folders disappeared

Solution:
    In XP: Click start, click run, type in "CMD" then press enter. In the command window, type in cd \, then type in the command "attrib -h /s /d" Wait for this to complete. You should see all directories and files. If some are still hidden, such as the desktop contents. Restart the computer. Scan with your antivirus solution.
 
   In Vista: Open the windows globe, type in cmd, once it shows cmd (or command) right click on it and click run on administrator. In the command window, type in cd \, then type in the command "attrib -h /s /d" Wait for this to complete. You should see all directories and files. If some are still hidden, such as the desktop contents.  Restart the computer. Scan with your antivirus solution.

Some infections will hide the desktop. Make sure you scan with several good scanning utilities but not multiple antivirus products that scan the computer at the same time. This will cause you to not only slow down but to also potentially crash the computer.

Please comment if this post helped you.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Siverlight will not uninstall.

Original Problem: Silverlight updates would not install

Secondary Problem: Silverlight will not uninstall from Add/Remove programs in XP giving the error ""the installation source for this product is not available"

Fix: Run regedit. Use the search function to find anything containing silverlight and delete it. Restart the computer. Install the newest release of silverlight from here.

Please comment if this post helped you

Monday, May 23, 2011

.Net packages or .net service packs will not install

First step, restart the computer and try again. If that does not work the machine might need a .Net cleanup tool. This tool can be found on Microsoft's website. If you do not want to go there for the download you can get it from here or here. After the tool is done, restart. Re-run the tool. Restart again. Start all of your windows updates. This should fix the problem.

Windows Security Center will not recognize automatic updates are enabled

This applies to Windows XP at least, I do not know if it works on any other operating systems. This has fixed at least two systems that say windows update is not enabled but in the system properties -> automatic updates tab the system is enabled and has a time set to install automatic updates. This system can either be ran through batching or through manual command prompt entries. I use a single batch file for all 5 commands and it works flawlessly on systems that can be fixed with this tool. This is what my batch file looks like:


RegSvr32 C:\WINDOWS\system32\wuapi.dll

RegSvr32 c:\WINDOWS\system32\Wuaueng.dll

RegSvr32 C:\WINDOWS\system32\atl.dll

RegSvr32 C:\WINDOWS\system32\wucltui.dll

RegSvr32 C:\WINDOWS\system32\wups.dll

pause


The pause at the end is not necessary but it is useful to know when the system is complete. If you are running the commands manually do not enter the pause line. If you don't know how to make a batch file click here to learn how.

If this solution helped you or fixed your issue please comment

Friday, April 15, 2011

Windows firewall service will not start

Problem: Windows firewall service will not start giving error code 6801
Note: This was originally found and fixed on a Vista x64 computer.

Solution:

Found at answers.microsoft.com


Open a "run as administrator" command prompt.
Go to "c:\windows\system32\config\TxR" (or the equivalent location on your PC)
- run "attrib –H –S *" to make all hidden files in the directory visible.
- run "del *.blf"
- run "del *.regtrans-ms"
- reboot the machine

If this solution helped you or fixed your issue please comment

Thursday, April 7, 2011

CD or DVD drive is missing

Problem:
The CD or DVD drive does not show up in My Computer

Solution:
Launch Regedit. Go to: HKLM>System>CurrentControlSet>Control>Class>{4d36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318
Delete the values in the Upper and Lower Filters.

If this solution helped you or fixed your issue please comment

Internet Explorer 8 Fails to install on XP

Problem:
Internet Explorer 8 automatically installs with the first series of updates to Windows XP after a clean install then fails to install properly.

Solution:
Download the IE8 installer and run it manually or do not install IE8 until batch 2 or 3 of the update process (microsoft recently fixed this issue with needing to wait until the 2nd or 3rd batch of updates. You should be able to install on the first batch without problems). The shortcut in the start menu will also have to be replaced with a manual shortcut from the all programs list.

As of 6/6/11 this problem seems to have been fixed by Microsoft.

If this solution helped you or fixed your issue please comment

Windows XP Activation Issues

Problem:

  • XP Activation does not give a product code to activate with
  • After repair install XP will not allow you to activate
  • 3 day counter runs out after changing out hardware
  • After a successful activation system will give an activation window again after reboot.
  • Instantly requires activation
Solution: 
(This solution was pulled from briteccomputers.co.uk)

1. Turn On your PC

2. Press F8 repeatedly and go to Safe Mode - Command Prompt Only
    (If you need to get into actual safe mode just simply type exit, launch task manager, launch explorer.exe)

3. Log in as per normal

4. Allow the Desktop to fully load

5. Click on Start - Run

6. Type in exactly: rundll32.exe syssetup,SetupOobeBnk (and click OK)
(note: one space, after "rundll32.exe " also the Oo are two letter o's in "oobe"; capitals and comma are important)

7. Wait a couple of seconds (although you will Not see any change)

8. Restart your PC normally (Start - Shutdown - Restart - Ok)

9. You are now able to go to Normal Mode again 



If this solution helped you or fixed your issue please comment

Windows 7 Service Pack 1 won't install

Problem: When attempting to install service pack 1 the computer fails and returns to windows with an error code that it failed to install the update.

Solution: Attempt to run the Windows 7 system update readiness tool for the correct bit version of windows 7 installed.

(This has worked in the past but may not be the only solution)

If this solution helped you or fixed your issue please comment

Monday, March 21, 2011

Asus i7 motherboard does not recognize all memory

Problem: On Asus Motherboards when memory is added in all at once not all memory is organized at once.

Solution: Put memory modules in one at a time making sure the computer at leasts gives a post beep. For even more accurate results boot all the way into the BIOS.

If this solution helped you or fixed your issue please comment

Friday, March 18, 2011

Internet Explorer Keeps Showing a Security Warning

Problem: Every time a page is accessed that has secure and insecure content IE shows a window that this content may not be secure.

It is not uncommon for this to happen on sites that require secure logins, such as Facebook or University of Phoenix's Website.

Solution:
In IE go to Tools->Internet Options->Security
Select the ‘Security’ tab
Click the ‘Custom Level’ button
In the ‘Miscellaneous’ section change “Display mixed content” to Enable

Pulled from:
http://answers.microsoft.com/

If this solution helped you or fixed your issue please comment

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Windows XP Computer Can See But Will Not Connect to Wireless

Problem: Wireless device is working properly but it will not connect to a WPA2 Wireless network.

Solution: Upgrade the computer with Service Pack 3, WPA2 was not supported until SP2.

If this solution helped you or fixed your issue please comment

Microsoft Security Essentials Won' Upgrade

Problem: When attempting to upgrade MSE gives error 0x80070643.

Solution: Install all windows updates, including service packs, first then reattempt install. If another error is given uninstall MSE from programs list. Then reattempt install with the latest file from here.

If this solution helped you or fixed your issue please comment

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Windows XP Won't Activate

Problem: Windows XP Activation window says it cannot access the activation servers or no active internet connection exists.

Possible Solution: System's Date and/or time are off. Set to correct date and time then retry.

If this solution helped you or fixed your issue please comment

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

HP's with Network Problems

Brand: HP
Model: (any with nVidia networking controllers)

Issue: HP's with nVidia networking controllers have issues showing disconnected network connections.


Resolution: Bypass any immediate switches, likely problem is caused by an incompatible switch

If this solution helped you or fixed your issue please comment