Items filtered by date: December 2015

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DMA reverts to PIO - The stuttering DVD drive or the lame hard disk

Troubleshooting: Enabling/Checking DMA in Windows Vista, XP, 2000, Me, 9x

CD-ROM, DVD-ROM and Hard drives can revert to using PIO mode, despite being set to use “DMA if Available.” Here’s how to make Windows XP redetect the DMA capabilities of the drives.

This behaviour occurs with the following conditions:

• Windows XP is the operating system
• A CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive, which is known to support DMA mode now works only in PIO mode.
• The drive controller is set to use “DMA if available” but reports to be only in PIO mode.
• 6 or more CRC errors occur in one session

Other symptoms might be:

• the PC takes a lot longer to load
• Crackling sound epecially when trying to watch a video.
• High CPU might be present because PIO does not use a CPU offload technique like DMA

Then try these solutions below. (This assumes you had the right drivers on in the first place.)

• Go into device manager
• Select the primary / secondary channel, select properties
• make sure 'DMA if available' option is selected
• delete the primary and secondary channel
• delete the controller
• reboot

An additonal reboot might be required to iniate the DMA mode

• change the controller type to standard IDE controller

1. Open RegEdit
2. Find the following KEY:
   
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ Class\{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}\000x
    
3. The last four digits will be 0000, 0001, 0002, 0003, and so on.
4. Under each key, delete all occurences of the following values:
   
   MasterIdDataChecksum
   SlaveIdDataChecksum
    
5. Reboot the computer. Windows will now redetect DMA settings.

1. Edit the key
   
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}\0000
    
2. Then add a new DWORD value called
   
   EnableUDMA66
   with a value of 1.
    

Or Save the text  below as a .reg file and execute it

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}\0000]
“EnableUDMA66”=dword:00000001

As you may know, Office 2007 makes use of the Updates folder in the installation media to install any new updates that it finds in the folder however the updates need to be in the .msp file format for them to be recognized. Since the Office 2007 SP1 update file is delivered in the .exe format, an extra step is required before being able to proceed:

First, you should copy the contents of the Office 2007 RTM image to a temporary folder. For our example we're using C:\O2007Temp\. We have also copied the Office 2007 SP1 Update file (office2007sp1-kb936982-fullfile-en-us.exe) to the D:\ drive.

Then, using the Run command in Windows XP/Vista (WinKey+R), run the following command:

D:\office2007sp1-kb936982-fullfile-en-us.exe /extract:C:\O2007Temp\Updates\

replacing D:\ with wherever you stored the Office 2007 SP1 update file and C:\O2007Temp\ with wherever you stored the Office 2007 RTM files. After agreeing to the Microsoft Software License Terms, SP1 will be extracted to C:\O2007Temp\Updates\.

That's it! Just start the setup for Office 2007 and the updates for SP1 will then be picked up and installed during the setup. The same method applies to any other Office 2007 SP1 update.
 

How to get  the Security or Permissions Tab restored to XP Home, just like XP Pro.

Download the x86 (Intel) version of the Windows NT SP4 Security Configuration Manager from Microsoft.

Windows NT SP4 Security Configuration Manager from Microsoft.
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/bussys/winnt/winnt-public/tools/SCM

1. Double click the SCESP4I.EXE file and extract the contents to a temporary location on your hard disk
2. Open the folder
3. Find the file named "setup" or "setup.inf"
4. Right click Setup.inf and select Install
5. The installation will occur.
6. Reboot the system when prompted.

Now when you right-click on a file/or folder and select "Properties" you will see the "Security" tab. so you will now be able to Add users and permissions, remove users and permissions, change permissions for users.

Windows 7 and Vista has a lot of features removed that i use in XP. These changes make using the operating system hard and frustrating. In this project i want to achieve the following goals:

1. Classic Menu
2. Run Box instead of a Search Box
3. Up button
4. Right Click Search Option
5. Non Indexed search functionality
6. Ability to search by criteria
7. Remove unwanted Icons on Taskbar
8. Quicklaunch
9. Taskbar Work More Like Windows XP or Vista
10. Remove MSN Messenger Icon from Taskbar
11. Show and Reveal Windows Explorer Classic Menu Bar
12. Create Original My Documents Format
13. Add Missing Icons to the Desktop
14. Replace Breadcrumbs with a proper UNC Path
15. Disable Automatic Docking and Maximizing of Windows

Classic Menu

This is easy to achieve. download Classic Shell. This program adds the classic menu to windows 7 and vista. If when you click on the windows menu button while holding the shift key the poriginal windows 7 / vista menu will appear. This program is easy to setup and use while being free.

Run Box instead of a Search Box

This is acheived by installing classic shell

Up Button

This can be achieved by 2 different ways

1. Classic Shell
   
   In internet explorer enable the Classic Shell toolbars. They will now be available in your My Computer Explorer etc.. NB Turn them on in IE to use them in Explorer. Tjhis adds a customisable toolbar with the up button as 1 option. A few browse windows do not have the up button present.
    
2. Mavis Up Button
   
   This is a paid solution. Mavis Up button actuall adds a button next to the address bar throughout windows 7 or vista. This program is ok but can crap out sometimes.

Add right click search contect menu in windows 7

There is no abiliity to right click on a folder and search that folder, so here is a solution. This still uses windows inbuilt search function.

Delete the LegacyDisable registry value in this location:

Let me add that, to restore the Search… option for drives, you also need to delete the LegacyDisable value in this branch:

Registry fix

This might very well become one of the most frequently asked questions in Windows 7/Vista. So, here is a .reg file (based on the above registry edit) which automates the work for you. Download shellfind.reg and save it to Desktop. Right-click shellfind.reg and choose Merge.

The Search… context menu option should now be visible when you right-click a file system folder or a drive.

Non Indexed search functionality

The search function in vista and windows 7 has been replaced by this thing that indexs files and then just searches the index. This has too many problems to list but can include text search in PHP files in webprojects, massive search and delete operations. Just look how it sorts the results when you get them.

The following programs both add right click context search options and search non indexed locations. Like windows XP. They also can do criteria and text searches.

1. Effective Search - Prefered
2. Super Finder XT

Their search menu items eg 'Effective Search' can be editted in the registry to 'Search' to be more in keeping with XP.

Remove unwanted Icons on Taskbar

Quicklaunch

Would you believe this is disable by default even though programs still use it. I use this on a hourly basis. here is how to restore Quicklaunch

You know that Quick Launch Bar is no longer available in Microsoft’s new operating system, Windows 7.You should note that the new Windows 7 taskbar allows you to dock items to the taskbar, combining the features of both the normal taskbar as well as the Quick Launch.But some users may find that they really need the Quick Launch bar back like it was in Windows Vista and XP. Windows 7 doesn’t give you any instant way to bring it back, but it is still possible.Because Microsoft has not yet completely removed the Quick Launch Bar yet, instead the Quick Launch Toolbar has been disabled and hidden by default.

Getting the Quick Launch Toolbar back on Windows 7 is very easy.

• First, right-click on the taskbar and turn off “Lock the Taskbar.”
• Right-click the taskbar, hover over Toolbars, and select New Toolbar.
• When it asks you to select a folder, enter this string: %userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch
• Find Quick Launch (it may be on the right side of the taskbar), right-click the divider and disable “Show Text” and “Show Title.” Make sure “Small Icons” is enabled.
• Drag the divider to rearrange Quick Launch on your taskbar (using left-click).
• Open up a program. If the program bar appears at the right of the taskbar you should drag tthe containg slider to the left just next to your quicklaunch like in Windows XP.
• Right-click and lock your toolbar again.

The advantage to having the Quick Launch bar back is that you can put the programs there that you use less often (but still want them one click away) and use small icons, giving you much more space than if you pinned all of them to the main taskbar.

Taskbar Work More Like Windows XP or Vista

1. Right-Click on the taskbar and select properties
2. Check the "Use small icons" box
3. In the "Taskbar Buttons" drop-down menu, select "Never Combine" and hit "OK"
4. Remove all of your pinned programs
5. Drag and drop the hidden system tray icons to the taskbar

The following article, it has pictures.

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-7/make-the-windows-7-taskbar-work-more-like-windows-xp-or-vista/

Remove MSN Messenger icon from Taskbar

This is one of the dumbmest 'improvements'. when you install messenger it is forced to be pinned on your taskbar and not in the systray. I want my messenger in the systray taking up very little room. For this follow the instructions below.

All you have to do is go to

32bit: C:\Program Files \Windows Live\Messenger
64bit: C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Messenger

There, look for msnmsgr.exe, right click, go to properties. In the compatibility tab, select Windows Vista as the operating system for compatibility and when you next open messenger, it should minimize to the tray.

Show and Reveal Windows Explorer Classic Menu Bar

In Internet Explorer and Windows Explorer the menus are hidden until you press ALT and soon as you have made a selection they disappear. This corrects that

Create Original My Documents Format

On Windows Vista and Windows 7, My Documents has been replaced with library folders. This is a bad move as there are now 6 or so folders to back up. This can be repaired. I created a 'Documents' folder on my D: drive and used this. In the following example it is best just to use the Documents library folder.

• Log in with the account you want to alter
• Create the following folders in the Document Library folder
  
  My Music
  My Pictures
  My Videos
   
• Go back to the Libraries folder
• Right click on My Music, location tab and then click on move. select the My Music folder inside the Documents library for the destination.
• Right click on My Pictures, location tab and then click on move. select the My Pictures folder inside the Documents library for the destination.
• Right click on My Videos, location tab and then click on move. select the My Videos folder inside the Documents library for the destination.
• If you choose a different location for the Documents library folder, the same method applies but should be done first.

I a lso moved my Favourites and Desktop using  this method. It makes backing up a lot easier as there is now only one folder to backup and the windows shortcuts still work in all the browser windows.

Add Missing Icons to the Desktop

Some of the icons are missing of the desktop (assuming XP classic View). The following corrects that.

• Right click desktop
• Select Personalise
• Select Desktop Icon Settings
• Tick the following boxes
  
  Computer
  Network
  Recycle Bin
   
• Remove User's Library (if you want)
• Create a Internet Explorer Shortcut using
  
  "%programfiles%\internet explorer\iexplore.exe

Replace Breadcrumbs with a proper UNC Path

pending

Disable Automatic Docking and Maximizing of Windows

A new window-management feature in Windows 7 automatically maximizes or docks windows when you move them to the top or sides of the Desktop.

1. Click the "Start" menu, choosing "All Programs", "Accessories", "Ease of Access", "Ease of Access Center".
2. When the "Ease of Access Center" window appears, scroll down and click on "Make it easier to focus on tasks".
3. On the following screen, scroll down and check "Prevent windows from being automatically arranged when moved to the edge of the screen".
4. Click "OK" to save your settings, then close Windows 7's "Ease of Access Center" window.

Not enough server storage is available to process this command is a message that you can receive when you try to access a shared resource on a network.

The Event ID: 2011 may also be written referring to the configuration parameter IRPStackSize.

If the IRPStackSize is not present in the Registry, the default value which may not be large enough for the server service to administer shared folders on some of the physical drives.

Increasing this value requires some memory from the non-allocated memory pool, but the impact should not be noticeable.

To solve this problem

• open the Registry
• Navigate to the key
  
  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters
   
• Check if the string IRPStackSize exists. If it does not exist create a new Dword with the name IRPStackSize.

The default value for this Dword is 18 and you should raise the value by adding 3 to it. The first value for IRPStackSize would be 21. Reboot your computer and see if that solved the problem. If you still get the error message add 3 again and reboot your computer again.

The maximum size for IRPStackSize is 50.

When Windows XP boots up, after the Welcome Screen a message comes that shows the above message, and it does not allow you to login.

This can also be caused by failed WPA and windows cracks.

Error code 0x80004005

This problem may occur if a file that the Windows Product Activation (WPA) requires is damaged or missing. This behavior occurs if one or both of the following conditions are true:

• A third-party backup utility or an antivirus program interferes with the installation of Windows XP.
• A file that WPA requires is manually modified.

Option 1

Repair install. This will replace all missing files.

Option 2

 Boot into Safemode

Press F8 While booting just after the BIOS screen or during the OS Selection menu.

Then do the following in the command promt.

cd %system root% \ system32
regsvr32 licwmi.dll
regsvr32 regwizc.dll
regsvr32 licdll.dll
regsvr32 jscript.dll
regsvr32 vbscript.dll
regsvr32 msxml.dll
regsvr32 shdocvw.dll
regsvr32 softpub.dll
regsvr32 wintrust.dll
regsvr32 initpki.dll
regsvr32 dssenh.dll
regsvr32 rsaenh.dll
regsvr32 gpkcsp.dll
regsvr32 sccbase.dll
regsvr32 slbcsp.dll
regsvr32 cryptdlg.dll

Reboot and check if the problem persists.

Option 3

If not check if the following files are present in the System32 Folder

%SystemRoot%\System32\secupd.dat
%SystemRoot%\System32\oembios.dat
%SystemRoot%\System32\oembios.bin

There might be two more files missing:

%SystemRoot%\System32\secupd.sig
%SystemRoot%\System32\oembios.sig

so I suggest copy all files masked like these:

%SystemRoot%\System32\secupd.*
%SystemRoot%\System32\oembios.*

If any of these files are missing, restore these files, from the setup disk, I386 folder or from another system.

To restore from a setup disk, put the CD in, and browse to the I386 folder copy the file with extension XXXXX.XX_ where XXXX.XX is the file name with first 2 letters of the extension. Rename it to a .cab file and extract the file to system32.

Reboot the system and now try again.
 

Option 4

If still your problem persists try the following from Microsoft knowledge base.

Reset the default security provider in Windows XP
To reset the default security provider in Windows XP, delete the relevant registry keys in the Windows registry. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Start the computer. Press the F8 key during startup to start the computer in Safe mode.
2. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).
3. Delete the following registry keys in the Windows registry:
HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Cryptography\Providers
HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-20\Software\Microsoft\Cryptography\Providers
4. Quit Registry Editor.
5. Restart the computer.

Reset the drive letter of the system drive
Use Registry Editor to change the drive letter of the system drive back to its original value. Edit the following registry key to change the value of the system drive:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices

Option 5

To resolve the problem, repair the installation of Microsoft Windows XP by using the Windows XP CD, and then replace the files. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Insert the Windows XP CD in the CD drive or DVD drive, and then restart your computer. When you receive the following message, press a key to start your computer from the Windows XP CD:
   Press any key to boot from CD
   
   Note Your computer must be configured to start from the CD drive or DVD drive. For more information about how to configure your computer to start from the CD drive or DVD drive, see the documentation that came with your personal computer or contact the manufacturer.
2. When you receive the following message, press R to start the Recovery Console:
   This portion of the Setup program prepares Microsoft Windows XP to run on your computer:
   
   To set up Windows XP now, press ENTER.
   
   To repair a Windows XP installation by using Recovery Console, press R.
   
   To quit Setup without installing Windows XP, press F3.
3. Press 1 to access your primary drive installation with Recovery Console.
4. When you are prompted to do so, type the administrator password. If you have not set an administrator password, press ENTER to continue.
5. Type cd %SystemRoot%\System32, and then press ENTER.
6. Rename the following files by using the REN command. To do so, follow this syntax:
   REN file_name.extension file_name.old
   • Wpa.dbl
   • Pidgen.dll
   • Actshell.html
   • Licdll.dll
   • Regwizc.dll
   • Licwmi.dll
   • Wpabaln.exe
7. Type the drive letter of your CD-ROM drive followed by a colon (for example, "D:"), and then press ENTER.
8. Type cd i386, and press ENTER.
9. Type the following commands one at a time. Press ENTER after each command:
   • expand licwmi.dl_ %systemroot%\system32
   • expand regwizc.dl_ %systemroot%\system32
   • expand licdll.dl_ %systemroot%\system32
   • expand wpabaln.ex_ %systemroot%\system32
   • expand wpa.db_ %systemroot%\system32
   • expand actshell.ht_ %systemroot%\system32
   • copy pidgen.dll %systemroot%\system32
10. Type Exit and press ENTER to restart the computer.

There are various types of page redirection. they are listed below with a small description. You can also redirect with other programming languages not shown here such as javascript (other methods here)

meta http-equiv="refresh"...

This is highly frowned on by search engines and is commonly used by spammers. As such, THIS SHOULD BE AVOIDED.

{geshibot language="html"}

301 Redirect without mod_rewrite - These are done in the .htaccess file.

301 means permanent redirect and  302 means temporary redirect. 301 is the prefered option.

301 Redirect Old File

Redirect 301 /old/file.html http://www.askapache.com/new/file.html

301 Redirect Entire Directory

RedirectMatch 301 /blog(.*) http://www.askapache.com/$1

301 Redirect Entire Site to a New Domain

Redirect 301 / http://www.askapache.com

301 Redirects using mod_rewrite - These are done in the .htaccess file.

For these to work the mod_rewrite engine must be on. It can be turned on by add the follwing line before your rewrite rules. Rewrite base is only really required if your site is in a sub folder.

RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /

This a basic rewrite rule below, however mod_rewrite is more poverful that Redirect or RedirectMatch because it can handle variables, for insatance you can redirect search queries.

RewriteRule .* http://www.askapache.com/$1 [R=301,L]
RewriteRule ^(.*)\.html([^c]+)comment-(.+)$ http://www.askapache.com/$1.html#comment-$3 [R=301,L,NE]

How to 301 Redirect a non WWW to a WWW Domain

RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^yourhost.com$ [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.yourhost.com/$1 [L,R=301]

PHP Redirect

If you want a PHP redirect script that redirects visitors from a page to a specific URL then this is it. It sends the user from one web page to a different web page address. It is a good alternative to using the meta tag http-equiv option.

Put the following code in to a php file

Example 1

Example 2

NB: Be sure that you do not have any text sent to the browser before this code, or it will not work. Your safest bet is to simply remove all content from the page but the redirect code.