Items filtered by date: December 2014

If you need to open a windows registry hive from an old/external/slave hard drive that has a windows installation on it.

I recently had a machine go down at work, wanted to get the user’s email up and running asap so i attached their hard dirve to my laptop using a usb to SATA adapter and exported their outlook account settings, which are stored in the registry and imported them into a new pc.
See my article: how to backup outlook 2007 account settings.

1. Open REGEDIT
2. single click to hightlight the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE branch.
3. in the menu click FILE and choose LOAD HIVE
4. browse to the location of the old registry hive.

where “x:\” is the drive of the slave/external hard drive…

“user” is located in x:\docs and Settings\user\NTUSER.DAT
make sure you open upper case “NTUSER.DAT” and not “ntuser.dat” if it exists.

other registry hives are located at x:\windows\system32\config

if you’re not sure or unclear on any of this, please comment and ask.

Published in Windows Family

On the pc, logged in as the user you want to backup settings for…

1. Start > Run > type ‘regedit’
2. Locate the following path in your ‘Registry Editor’
3. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows Messaging Subsystem\Profiles\Outlook

Now right click on the key “outlook” and select option: “Export” and save the .reg file to your desired location. You can run (double click) the same file on the new pc /installation at the same time as restoring your outlook pst. This will restore your old outlook profile with all your email accounts settings and rules. You will need to enter your password as Password is not stored in the .reg file for security reasons.

if you are unable to log in, for example cant boot windows or other failure you can access the registry by removing the system hard drive and connecting it to another computer.
Here’s how: how to access registry on another hard drive. If you use this method, before importing you will need to manually edit the .reg file using find/replace to change all lines with “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/hivename” to “HKEY_CURRENT_USER/”

Published in Outlook
after hours of fiddling i discovered that vodafone will not allow unencyrpted emails to be sent over their mobile network. This is certainly true for their dongles, port 25 might still work for contract phones. Receiving might still be working normally.

this message might appear:

Task 'abc@xyz.com - Sending' reported error (0x800CCC67) : ' The server responded: 421 cannot connect to server'


The only problem I can find that would match these symptoms, is that you're trying to connect un-authenticated - as I believe our network will intercept connections made over Port 25 and re-direct you to the now defunct send.vodafone.net server. It's possible this is still happening.

Double-check that Authentication is enabled, SSL is enabled, and that it's using Port number 465.

NB: should be secure and possibly authenticated in both directions
add other smtp servers here
Published in DSL / Broadband
Wednesday, 11 May 2011 12:32

ToolbarStudio Features List

ToolbarStudio IDE  
Exhaustive List of Available Features
The options for your custom toolbars are unlimited

Besttoolbars offers the features and functionality your business needs to create a custom toolbar your customers will use over and over again. You can select from a multitude of already-developed features or ask Besttoolbars to create a feature for you.

Besttoolbars features include:
Advanced Search Features

Last search
Combined search
Multiple search switching
Clear search history
Highlight and search
Word find feature
Search word highlighting
Drag-and-drop search
Context search
Context menu
Open search results in :
-a new window/tab/modal window
Post data to your server
Auto-suggest search
Custom Style Auto-suggest *
Rival search
Tabbed search*
Default Search Engine for IE7/Firefox*

Live Events and Content Management
RSS news reader
News ticker with a banner
Weather
Completely Dynamic Toolbar
Webpage modification
Dynamic menu /Dynamic XML

Ajax/ XMLHttpRequest
Integration with .php,.asp,etc.
Dynamic update
External application launch
URL Macro Substitutions


Make Money with Your Toolbar
Monetization through Search Engines Yahoo, MIVA*
Monetization through affiliate links or using 3rd party paid programs *

Layered Technology/Software Integration new!
Content clipping/tagging
Layered technology
Gadgets/Widgets *

Visual and Branding Elements
Branding/Your logo
Buttons, images and banners
Animated .gif , jpg, png support
Easy customization
XP look and feel
Custom toolbar skin
Chevron
URL redirection
Multiple configurations
Zoom in / Zoom out
Enable Image/Flash
Hot icons / rollover effect
RTL support (Arabic) new!
Favicon / Toolbar Icon on the IE
Calendar/ Date Picker*
Additional visual elements

Security and Privacy
Clear Cookies
Clear IE history
Clear Recycle Bin
Clear Clipboard
Clear Cache Pop-up blocker
Encrypt toolbar's XML
Prohibit sites to access toolbar
Eset Online Virus Scanner



Surfing and Navigation Aids Current URL
Site ranking new!
Set user homepage
Site activation
Catcher DNS error
Web filter Panic button
Anti-ads plug in
Screenshot / web save
URL shortcuts
Auto-fill
Up one level
Login Manager/Auto-Login


Users Customization
Options page in HTML
Options page in a modal window
Change Toolbar Skin Create Bookmarks
Run Any Program from your PC
Interaction between toolbar /program *

Music
Radio new! MP3 player


Communication (E-mail, SMS, Alerts)
E-mail checker
Tell-a-Friend
Toolbar Alerting new! SMS sending*
Click to SMS new!
Chat*

Browser and Bars Support
Internet Explorer 6.0/7.0/8.0
Mozilla/Firefox 1.5+/ 2.0 +
Firefox 3.0
Netscape 8.0 Safari*
Side Bar*
Status Bar*
Https:// support


Multilingual Support
Right-To-Left direction
Unicode
Multilingual Toolbar Support


Webmaster Tools
W3C CSS/Markup Validation
Whois Ping
Trace Route


Toolbar Controls
Text Label
Button
Menu/Menu Items
Space / Separator (Fixed/Moving)
Search Box/ Drop-Down List Checkbox/Radio Button
Edit / Password Box
Mini Webpages - Banner/Bubble
Dynamic XML/Custom XML
Custom Javascript


Simple Client-side Installation
Automatic toolbar upgrade
Automatic installation
Uninstall feature Distribute additional files
Unique toolbar id for each toolbar


Toolbar Installers and Statistics
ToolbarStudio visual interface
EXE installer
Web/ActiveX installer
Toolbar Signing (.cab/.exe/.xpi) Toolbar Automatic/Manual Updates
Toolbar Statistics new!



Unlimited Extensibility and Features
Software Development Kit (SDK)
Javascript API
Other plug-ins available
Custom Toolbar Building



* Available by request.
Published in General
when you cannot connect to a device (not windows based) and you have entered the wrong password you will need to delete it using the following method. This is also useful when the password at the remote end is changed.

Also known as stored passwords, saved passwords

Method 1:
  • Click Start, Run and type Control keymgr.dll
  • Remove the entries from the list
Method 2:
  • Type Control Userpasswords2 in RUN box
  • click Advanced
  • Manage Passwords
Method 3:
  • From Control Panel, select your User Account
  • click Manage your network passwords
Remove Passwords as needed.
This is the microsoft knowledge base article
Published in Windows Family

I'm having trouble installing the lastest version of Windows Live Essentials on Windows Vista.

Previously I had an older version of the pack, installed on 2009: Windows Live Mail, Messenger, Photo Gallery and Live Movie editor were installed. I attempted to upgrade and got the 0x80190194 WaitforCatalog Error.

Unistalled the previous version as instructed on this forum: Removed all programs from Control Panel, deleted the Live folder, restarted, updated, etc etc etc.. Still having the same error.


Clear the fields of the Proxy settings on IE. I wasn't using it, but despite being deactivated I still had some values there, which I deleted.
Published in Microsoft Other
Tuesday, 10 May 2011 18:00

Windows SFC usage and fixes

System File Checker is a utility in Microsoft Windows that allows users to scan for and restore corruptions in Windows system files. This utility is available on Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, although in the Windows NT family of operating systems, it scans files using Windows File Protection.

In Windows Vista, System File Checker is integrated with Windows Resource Protection which protects registry keys and folders too besides critical system files. Under Windows Vista, using Sfc.exe, specific folder paths can be checked, including the Windows folder and the boot folder.

Windows File Protection worked by registering for notification of file changes in Winlogon. If any changes were detected to a protected system file, the modified file was restored from a cached copy located in a compressed folder at %WinDir%\System32\dllcache. In Windows Vista, Windows Resource Protection works by setting discretionary access control lists (DACLs) and access control lists (ACLs) defined for protected resources. Permission for full access to modify WRP-protected resources is restricted to the processes using the Windows Modules Installer service (TrustedInstaller.exe). Administrators no longer have full rights to system files.

 

If it finds a problem, it will attempt to replace the problematic files from the DLL Cache (%WinDir%\System32\Dllcache\). If the file is not in the DLL Cache or the DLL Cache is corrupted, the user will be prompted to insert the Windows installation media or provide the network installation path. In Windows Vista and onwards, files are protected using Access control lists (ACLs), however the above command has not changed.

System File Checker in Windows Vista and later Windows operating systems can scan specific individual files. Also, scans can be performed against an offline Windows installation folder to replace corrupt files, in case the Windows installation is not bootable. For performing offline scans, System File Checker must be run from another working installation of Windows Vista or a later operating system or from the Windows setup DVD which gives access to the Windows Recovery Environment.

 

Here's the list of the different SFC scanning options:

 

sfc /scannow : Scans all protected system files immediately.

sfc /scanonce : Scans all protected system files once.

sfc /scanboot : Scans all protected system files every time the computer is restarted.

sfc /revert : Returns the scan to its default operation.

sfc /purgecache : Purges the Windows File Protection file cache and scans all protected system files immediately.

sfc /cachesize=x : Sets the size, in MB, of the Windows File Protection file cache.

sfc /? : Displays help at the command prompt.

 

 

How to use scannow sfc:
The main reason for using this utility is when you suspect there may be a problem with a Windows XP system file.

 

Perhaps you get a dialog box appear informing you of a problem with a .dll file, or your program will just not load! It is therefore worth checking to see if there are any corrupt system files using sfc scannow.

 

To do this go to the Run box on the Start Menu and type in:

sfc /scannow

 

This command will immediately initiate the Windows File Protection service to scan all protected files and verify their integrity, replacing any files with which it finds a problem.

The following should appear to give an indication of how long the process is taking.

 

In an ideal world that would be the end of the story... Any corrupt, missing or incorrect files would be replaced by this process.

However, things can go wrong and the following guide should help!

The #1 complaint with sfc scannow is the following dialog box appearing:


Why does this happen?
Well, in your computer's registry, are several settings that are checked when you run scannow sfc.

As mentioned earlier in this article, the Windows File Protection service constantly monitors for any changes to the main system files. Well Windows XP keeps a cache (copy) of these essential files at the following location:

C:WINDOWS\System32\Dllcache (assuming C: is your system root which it probably is.)

NB - The dll cache folder is extremely important so Windows XP hides it from you! To view it go to: My Computer > Tools > Folder Options > View > "uncheck" Hide protected operating system files.

If that's the case on your computer then there is normally no need for the original XP CD to be inserted as your computer has a "copy" it can get hold of in this cache...

But, if the Dll cache folder, or part of it, has become corrupted for some reason then you will be prompted for the XP CD - so your computer can get a clean copy!

Having said that not ALL installations of Windows XP have ALL the system files cached into this folder! You may only have around 50MB of files in this folder under Windows XP depending on the quota settings in the registry. (Under Windows 2003 Server the default is 300MB of system files!)

Annoying, YES!

Is there a workaround YES!

As well as having a cache of all the system files on your PC, I like to have the I386 folder from the XP CD installed on the computer as well. After doing this I then modify the registry to tell it the source path for these files... Why? Well not only does this prevent 99% of request for the the XP CD with Windows File Protection. But the I386 folder also contains many other files that are sometimes needed by the operating system and this stops those requests for the XP CD too!

NB - With today's large hard drives you are not going to notice this 475 MB folder on your computer, but older systems may not have the space for this...

Step 1
You will need to get your XP CD and locate the folder called:

I386

This is a major folder and should be one of the first you see, now copy this onto your hard drive into the system root. For most of you that is going to be C:\ so you should end up with a folder that looks like: C:\I386

Step 2
Now you will need to tell your computer you now have the files on your PC. We do this is the registry (type regedit in the Run box on the start menu) by navigating to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup

You will see various entries here on the right hand side. The one we want is called:

SourcePath

It probably has an entry pointing to your CD-ROM drive, and that is why it is asking for the XP CD. All we need to do is change it to:

C:\

Simply double click the SourcePatch setting and a new box will pop up allowing you to make the change.

Now restart your computer and try sfc scannow again!

------------------------------

Other Problems with sfc scannow...


#1
Has the CD Drive's drive letter changed (perhaps by the addition of another hard drive, partition, or removable drive) since Windows XP was first installed?

If so, simply edit the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup\SourcePath

to reflect the changed drive letter.

After you restart the computer, WFP and sfc /scannow uses the new source path instead of prompting for the Windows XP installation CD-ROM

#2
Has the registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup\SourcePath got an incorrect entry? The SourcePath entry does NOT include the path location till the I386 folder. It completes one folder ahead to reach the I386 folder.

Example:

If the I386 directory is at C:\I386, the SourcePath value would be C:\

#3
If the problem persists and you have the correct path for your I386 folder then the I386 folder is corrupted. To solve this problem copy I386 folder from the CD-ROM to your system restart the system and then perform sfc /scannow again.

#4
You do not have an XP retail CD with an I386 folder on it. If you have a restore CD from your PC manufacturer then you may have to explore the CD to find the folder.

#5
You still keep being prompted for the XP CD yet you have done all in this article! There is another setting in the registry that may be causing the problem. Navigate to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SourcePath

Make sure the entry here is the same path to the I386 folder as used above.

#6
Systems administrators can enforce security policies that may include changes to the Windows File Protection settings. You will need to speak with your network administrator about this, but it is important to bear in mind when Windows starts up, the Windows File Protection service synchronizes (copies) the WFP settings from the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Windows File Protection

to the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon

Therefore, if any of the following values are present in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Windows File Protection key, they will take precedence over the same values under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon key.

This will not effect sfc scannow so much, but WILL make an impact if any of the other sfc.exe "switches" have been used! (More about these at the end of this article.)

#7
When you run scannow at logon you do not get a progress bar... This can easily be remedied by adding a new DWORD: SFCShowProgress to the registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon

the values available are: 0 = disabled, 1 = enabled

------------------------------------

What about Windows Updates.....
You may be asking yourself how does sfc.exe know how to check for updated Windows system files? Well during OS upgrades, service pack installations etc.. the dllcache folder should be updated with these new files.

As an example the recent Windows XP Hotfix - KB828035 updated the system file wkssvc.dll A new version of the file was placed in C:\WINDOWS\system32 and a copy in the cache: C:\WINDOWS\system32\dllcache A copy of the old system file is archived in: C:\WINDOWS\$NtUninstallKB828035$

There is another location the Windows File protection service uses and that is the I386 folder in C:\WINDOWS\ServicePackFiles When you install a service pack, like SP1. Any new system drivers are cached in this location too.

If you have odd problems with running sfc scannow and nothing else in the article has resolved it, then take a look at the entry in:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup\ServicePackSourcePath

This should be pointing to the location C:\WINDOWS\ServicePackFiles (assuming C:\ is the boot drive.)

-------------------------------------------------------

For those of you who are familiar with sfc.exe under Windows 2000 professional. It is worth noting that the following two options are NOT available under Windows XP.

These are:

sfc /cancel - In Windows 2000, this command immediately cancels all pending scans of protected system files. This option has no effect in Windows XP.

sfc /quiet - In Windows 2000 this sets Windows File Protection to replace any incorrect system files detected with the appropriate version from the dll cache without any user notification. This option has no effect in Windows XP.

Published in Windows XP

Unlike Access, Excel does not have an autonumbering feature that increments a number each time you add a new row. With Excel 2003 and 2007, you can use the Row function to add your own autonumbering to a data list.

For example, say you are creating a list of all of your company’s products and their prices. Follow these steps to add your own autonumbering for the list:

  1. In A1, enter this formula:
    =TEXT(Row(A1),"000-000")
  2. Enter the name of the first product in B1.
  3. Enter the price of the first product in C1.
  4. Copy cell A1 to A2.
  5. Enter the name of the second product in B2.
  6. Enter the price of the second product in C2.
  7. Select A1:C2.
  8. Go to Data | List and select Create List. (In Excel 2007, press [Ctrl]T, then click OK.)

Now when you type the name of the next product in B3 and press [Tab], Excel will automatically fill in the next number for you.

Published in Microsoft Office

Below is a list of valuable threads for Microsoft Security Essentials installation errors and other resources:

  • For a check list for installing Microsoft Security Essentials, refer to this thread
  • For a List of anti-malware program cleanup/uninstall tools refer to this thread
  • For information related to error 0x8004FF07 - Failed Upgrade - Can't uninstall/Reinstall Microsoft Security Essentials refer to this thread
  • For information related to Error message 0x8004FF0B and 0x80070715 when you attempt to uninstall or reinstall Microsoft Security Essentials, refer to this thread
  • For information regarding Error 0x80070643 when installing Microsoft Security Essentials, refer to this thread
Published in Microsoft Other
Solution 1:
I found just changed the setting to allow the use of 40 or 56 Bit encryption devices in Windows 7.

NB:
  • Make sure that an incorrect password is not cached in windows (check article in wiki).
  • If the account in windows has the same username and password this can help.

Solution 2:
I was not able to access [sharename] on ReadyNAS with Windows 7. I found this thread on the ReadyNAS forum which said:

In the Advanced sharing settings page of Network and sharing center, you need to have it set as Work/Home profile. Try

-Enable network discovery
-Turn on file and print sharing
-Turn off password protected sharing
-Use user accounts and passwords to connect to other computers

The other settings such as encryption I have set as use 128 bit encryption.


So I changed from 40- or 56-bit encryption to 128-bit. Also "Use user accounts" I changed. After a logoff/logon I am able to see [sharename] after giving the [sharename] password.
Published in Hardware
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