Saturday, August 18, 2012

XP Local Area Connection stuck at Acquiring Network Address

After removing a virus, an XP SP3 system could not access the Internet. The Local Area Connection was stuck at Acquiring Network Address.

In DEVICE MANAGER under VIEW and then DISPLAY HIDDEN DEVICES, AFD showed a yellow exclamation point.

Going to START > RUN, I typed in regedit and then enter. In the registry, the entry for AFD showed the wrong file.

I changed the entry to read:
\SystemRoot\System32\drivers\afd.sys
and then restarted the computer. This solved the afd.sys no Internet problem.

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www.COMPUTERCRAFT.com

Monday, April 12, 2010

Voice Control problem on Apple iPhone

The issue:
When listening to music or other audio on an Apple iPhone Voice Control suddenly comes on and interrupts the audio. Related problemd are skipping to the next track or audio sounding as if it's playing fast-forward.

It's natural to think that the trouble can be fixed by disabling Voice Control. Actually, Voice Control has nothing to do with the problem.

The cause and the fix:
A faulty headset is the cause of this problem. Simply replacing the headset is all that needs to be done to resolve the issue.

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www.COMPUTERCRAFT.com

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Blackberries on a BES server can't load Web Sites

Problem:
Blackberries on a BES server can't load Web Sites.

The Blackberries can make and receive calls. The phones can send and receive email, too.

At first, just a few Blackberry phones will be affected, but the number will grow. The advance of the problem -- the number of Web-challenged phones -- will accelerate if the situation is not addressed.

Solution:
On the BES server, run Services (services.msc) and make sure that the BlackBerry MDS Connection Service is started.



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www.COMPUTERCRAFT.com

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Outlook opens very slowly

This is often caused by a corrupt OST file (cache). The quickest fix is to create a new profile:
Control Panel > Mail > Show Profiles > Add
If this solves the problem, then set the new profile as default.

Archive folders will have to be added to the new profile in Outlook:
File > Data File Management > Add

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www.COMPUTERCRAFT.com

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

XP Immediately Logs Off

After cleaning out a virus-infected computer, the system would immediately log off after logging into any profile. It did this in Safe Mode, too. The same thing happened with the Administrator login.

The cause of the problem was that systemroot/system32/userinit.exe (for most systems: windows/system32/userinit.exe) had been deleted. The fix was to temporarily install the hard drive as the second drive in a computer with the same version of Windows XP. Then, I copied userinit.exe to windows/system32/ in the afflicted PC.

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www.COMPUTERCRAFT.com

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Removing unwanted email accounts from a Blackberry

If a Blackberry still receives unwanted email after a wipe:
Options > Advanced Options > Service Books

Delete any service books associated with the unwanted email addresses

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www.COMPUTERCRAFT.com

Friday, January 16, 2009

Blackberry Trackball does not work

Here's something to try if the trackball on a Blackberry stops working:
  1. Place flat piece of corrugated cardboard from a packing box on a table or desk.
  2. Put a sheet of white paper on top of the cardboard.
  3. To not scuff the screen, hold a piece of soft cloth over the Blackberry display. Do make sure that the trackball is not covered.
  4. Place the Blackberry face down on the paper.
  5. With light pressure, roll the Blackberry around on the paper in figure eights using the trackball as the "wheel."
This procedure often will free up the trackball and fix the Blackberry.

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www.COMPUTERCRAFT.com

Saturday, December 13, 2008

The security log on this system is full. Only administrators can log on to fix the problem.

In XP or in Windows Server 2003 when a user who is not a member of the Administrator Group tries to login, they receive this error message: The security log on this system is full. Only administrators can log on to fix the problem.

To solve this problem:
  1. Login to the local machine as the Administrator or as a user who is a member of the Administrator Group.

  2. START > CONTROL PANEL > ADMINISTRATIVE TOOLS > EVENT MANAGER
    (To see ADMINISTRATIVE TOOLS, you might need to click on SWITCH TO CLASSIC VIEW in the upper left of CONTROL PANEL.)

  3. In the left pane, right click on SECURITY and then select CLEAR ALL EVENTS.
    (SAVE only if you want a copy of the logs.)


To prevent the problem from happening :
  1. In the left paneof EVENT VIEWER, right click on SECURITY and then select PROPERTIES.

  2. Change WHEN MAXIMUM LOG SIZE IS REACHED to OVERWRITE EVENTS AS NEEDED.






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    www.COMPUTERCRAFT.com

    Thursday, November 6, 2008

    Access to the path is denied error for ASP Page on Windows 2003 Server

    An ASP Page on a 2003 server got an Access to the path is denied when it tried to write to a file. I gave user ASPNET write permission, but that didn't solve the problem.

    I posted this code as a Page named identity.aspx in the troubled directory. It seemed that the identity of the ASP user was
    NT AUTHORITY\NETWORK SERVICE

    In IIs, I navigated to the particular Web Site, and then to the directory. I right clicked on the folder and then selected PERMISSIONS > ADVANCED > ADD > ADVANCED > FIND NOW. I added NETWORK SERVICE as a user and then provided write access. That solved the problem.

    - - -

    identity.aspx

    <%@ Page Language="VB" %>
    <%@ Import NameSpace = System.Security.Principal %>
    <script runat="server">
    Sub Page_Load()
    Dim tmp As String = WindowsIdentity.GetCurrent.Name()
    Label1.Text = tmp
    End Sub
    </script>
    <html>
    <head>
    <title>WindowsIdentity.GetCurrent.Name()</title>
    </head>
    <body>
    <form id="form1" runat="server">
    <div>
    <asp:Label ID="Label1" Runat="server" Text="Label"></asp:Label>
    </div>
    </form>
    </body>
    </html>

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    www.COMPUTERCRAFT.com

    Monday, November 3, 2008

    Installing XP on a computer with a smart card reader

    I installed XP on an Hewlett Packard Pavilion a450n. This HP has a built-in smart card reader for 4 different sizes of cards. On the first try, XP installed the boot drive as the I: drive.

    Disk Manager can't change the letter of the boot drive. When I tried changing the boot drive to C: by editing the Registry, I wound up with an OS that wouldn't start.

    I removed the power cord and discharged the motherboard by pressing the on/off button. Then, I disconnected the smart card reader cable from the motherboard. The XP install then configured the boot hard drive as the C: drive. After the XP install completed, I again removed the power cord and re-attached the smart card cable. When XP restarted, the boot drive was still the C: drive.

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    www.COMPUTERCRAFT.com

    Friday, October 31, 2008

    Blackberry Cheat Sheet

    E-Mail
    From the main e-mail messages screen:
    - Typing “c” will put you into the address book to compose an e-mail.
    - Typing “p” will jump to the top of the previous day’s e-mail messages (newest message for that day).
    - Typing “n” will jump to the top of the next day’s e-mail messages (newest message for that day).
    - Typing “t” will put you at the top of the e-mail screen (newest day and message) or a message.
    - Typing “b” will put you at the bottom of the e-mail screen (oldest day and message) or a message.
    - Hitting the spacebar will go down the message screen one page at a time and holding the “cap” key and hitting spacebar will go up the message screen one page at a time.
    - Within an e-mail message, typing “r” will bring you to the reply screen.
    - Within an e-mail message, typing “f” will bring you to the forward screen.
    - Within a received an e-mail message, typing “p” will bring you to the previous message.
    - Within a received an e-mail message, typing “n” will bring you to the next message.
    - Within a received an e-mail message, typing “j” or “k” will let you jump to the next or previous message in that message thread.
    - To capitalize a letter, hold down the letter for about 2 seconds.
    - To use letters with accent marks or special characters, roll the wheel while holding down the letter.
    - To copy text, hold down the “cap” key and roll the wheel until the text is highlighted, then push the wheel in and choose “Copy”. If you let go of the “cap” key, you can copy the whole line instead of letter-by-letter.
    - If you want to delete all messages older than a certain date, scroll to the most recent date (where you want to start deleting) and push the scroll button in and select “Delete Prior”.

    Phone
    - From the home screen, hitting the green telephone key brings you to the phone screen. You can also start dialing a phone # from the home screen and you’ll go right into the phone screen.
    - If you have a phone # with letters in it (i.e.: 1-800-GO-FEDEX), Just hold down the “alt” key while in the phone screen and dial the letters and the phone will translate for you. It also works while you’re already connected.
    - To End a call, hit the red phone key.
    - To mute the phone, press the mute key on top of the phone (next to the power switch).
    - You can store an extension with a phone # by putting an “x” next to the phone number. After you dial the number, the phone will wait for you to choose to dial the extension. Just hit enter or push the wheel in to dial.

    Calendar Tips
    - To type in an appointment quickly, scroll to the time of the appointment and start typing the subject. You can change the time (if not on the hour) by hitting enter and edit the appointment details.
    - You can change the month, day, year or time of an appointment by rolling to the area you want to change, holding down the “alt” key and moving the wheel or trackball up or down to make the change.
    - To type in a reminder, just add the subject and inside the appointment, scroll to the “All Day Event” check box and hit the space bar. It will show up at the top of your calendar.

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    www.COMPUTERCRAFT.com

    Wednesday, October 29, 2008

    Computer noise

    Cheap power supplies often make noise when the computer is turned on in a cool room. The noise will go away as the machine warms up. This kind of computer noise, though a nuisance, is not serious.

    Other computer noises are a sign of a serious problem.

    Click HERE to learn more about computer noise.

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    www.COMPUTERCRAFT.com

    Monday, October 27, 2008

    Laptop screens

    Laptop screens are easy to replace, but the part is very expensive. It's just not worth buying a new one from the manufacturer. You might as well buy a new computer.

    As laptop screens wear out, don't bother looking for a used one. A used screen might very well be about to fail.

    There are dealers that offer good buys on new equipment. Each model of laptop uses a different screen. Sometimes the part changes even within production runs. It's not unusual to find that a new screen has some small difference that makes it unusable.

    If a laptop screen does not light, first check that the computer is not set to display only on external screen.

    If the display on the notebook computer has indeed gone dark, the entire screen needs to be replaced. There's no way to change just the bulbs.

    To recover data -- or just get by -- a laptop with a non-working screen can be used with an external monitor.

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    www.COMPUTERCRAFT.com

    Sunday, October 26, 2008

    Notebook computer keyboards

    When a key falls off of a notebook computer there's no practical way to replace just that key. The entire keyboard needs to be replaced. If you've got the key, you can try snapping it back in place. It'll probably fall off again.

    Basically, every model of laptop uses a different keyboard. You can't just stroll on down to the office super store to pick up a replacement. The easiest way to get a new laptop keyboard is from the computer manufacturer -- Dell, Gateway, Lenovo, Hewlett Packard (Compaq), Apple, Sony, Toshiba, etc. You can also search at eBay for a replacement keyboard for a notebook computer. DO NOT buy a used one! Keyboards wear out. If you get a used keyboard, you're very likely going to have to replace it very soon.

    Sometimes, all the keys are in place, but nothing appears when a key is depressed or the wrong character shows. This sort of damage often is due to a spill on the laptop keyboard. You probably need a new keyboard here, too. Unfortunately, the other possibility is that the motherboard is damaged. In this case, the most practical course of action is to replace the computer. Manufacturer warranties usually don't cover damage caused by liquids. If you tell the company rep that you spilled something on a computer, the repair won't be under warranty.

    A stuck key can make both portable computers and desktops / towers seem crazy or possesed, exhibiting all sorts of bizarre behaviour. Gently tapping each key will often remedy the situation. If this doesn't work -- or if the problem returns -- then the keyboard must be replaced.

    The price of a new keyboard is around $50. A shop might charge $50 to do the install, for a total of $100. You can do the job yourself, but you need to the correct tools and to be careful. Have the correct size Phillips screwdriver before you start. If you strip the screw, a small job becomes a big headache. Don't lose the tiny screws! It's not easy to get screws for a notebook computer. Also, do note how to remove the keyboard cable. If you break the connector at the motherboard, then for all practical purposes the laptop computer is ruined.

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    www.COMPUTERCRAFT.com

    Saturday, October 25, 2008

    Backups

    Peering into the glowing, information-laden screen, it's easy to think of a computer as a crystal ball. That's not so. Everything saved on your computer -- documents, pictures, email archives, etc. -- is on the local hard drive. Accidents, viruses, theft, and power surges are just a few of the things that can result in a total loss. Hard drives are essentially mechanical devices. The miniature motors and moving parts can fail at any time.

    In the workplace, back up your information to the network for safekeeping.

    To do backups, copy the files to a CD or a DVD. Use the backup feature in Outlook to create a backup file. Copy that file to a CD or a DVD.

    Don't rely on external hard drives or flash drives. These are prone to failure.

    Even if you make your own backup disks, it's still a good idea to backup your files to the network.

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    www.COMPUTERCRAFT.com

    Friday, October 24, 2008

    Recovering data from a computer that won't start

    1) Remove the electric cord (and the battery from a laptop).

    2) Hold the on-off button for 5 seconds or so. This drains power from the system. On a tower / desktop, you'll see a light on the motherboard go off.

    3) Touch a water pipe to discharge static electricity from your body.

    4) Remove the hard drive from the crippled computer.

    5) Install the hard drive as the 2nd (or 3rd) hard drive in a healthy system. Notebook SATA drives can be directly installed in a desktop / tower. Notebook EIDE drives need an adapter to install on a standard EIDE cable. As the installation is temporary, don't worry about mounting the notebook hard drive. DO use paper and / or a book to insulate the drive and to make sure that it's secure (won't fall out or onto the motherboard).

    6) Start the host computer.

    7) Once the "hospital" machine boots, copy all data from the piggy-backed hard drive. Go into Documents and Settings and copy the user profile(s). If the permissions won't give you accesss, right click on the folder and add yourself as a user. Each profile's Desktop and Internet Explorer Favorites is immediately available in the user's folder in Documents and Settings. The Outlook PST and other files normally are in
    Local Settings > Application Data > Microsoft > Outlook
    Outlook Express files will be in the Outlook Express Folder.

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    www.COMPUTERCRAFT.com

    Wednesday, October 22, 2008

    Application hanging on shutdown or logoff, Explorer.exe error at shutdown, no icons on desktop

    These problems are related. The solution is in two parts:

    1) To automatically end hung applications:
    a) Start > Run > regedit.exe
    Change the value of AutoEndTasks to 1 to automatically end tasks. (0 prompts for action.)

    b) Change the default time-out before ending the task by changing the value of 'WaitToKillAppTimeout' to 1000. The default value is 20000 (= 20 seconds).

    C) Windows needs to restart before changes take effect.

    - - -

    2)User Profile Hive Cleanup Service

    Download UPHClean-setup.msi

    Microsoft describes UPHClean.exe:
    Brief Description
    A service to help with slow log off and unreconciled profile problems.

    The User Profile Hive Cleanup service helps to ensure user sessions are completely terminated when a user logs off. System processes and applications occasionally maintain connections to registry keys in the user profile after a user logs off. In those cases the user session is prevented from completely ending. This can result in problems when using Roaming User Profiles in a server environment or when using locked profiles as implemented through the Shared Computer Toolkit for Windows XP.

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    www.COMPUTERCRAFT.com

    Tuesday, October 21, 2008

    Can't delete email account on Blackberry

    The issue: you want to remove an email account from a Blackberry, but it's not showing in Email Setup. The solution: Options > Advanced Options > Service Book and then from there delete the references to the unwanted account.

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    www.COMPUTERCRAFT.com

    How to remove spyware and viruses

    Like lots of things, the best way to stop is NOT TO START! Make sure that your computer has an anti-virus program installed. Do use a major brand.

    New spyware and viruses show up in "the wild" all the time, So, in addition to the anti-virus program, you need updates installed automatically. Don't let this subscription expire!

    Even with a up-to-date anti-virus product, DO NOT CLICK on suspicious e-mail attachments! Do not click on pop-ups warning that your computer is infected. Close these messages by hitting CTRL-ALT-DEL and then using the Task Manager.

    Even when successful, removing spyware and viruses is very time consuming. Most often, copying off the data (or data recover) and then Ghosting, using the manufacturer's Restore disk, or just formatting and reinstalling is a lot faster.

    Here's how a professional computer technician removes spyware and viruses:
    Removing Viruses, Spyware, Trojans, and Worms

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    www.COMPUTERCRAFT.com