Search Results

Search found 9349 results on 374 pages for 'rpg maker xp'.

Page 361/374 | < Previous Page | 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368  | Next Page >

• What are incentives (if any) to use WinRT instead of .Net?

  - by Ark-kun

  Let's compare WinRT with .Net .Net .Net is the 13+ years evolution of COM. Three main parts of .Net are execution environment, standard libraries and supported languages. CLR is the native-code execution environment based on COM .Net Framework has a big set of standard libraries (implemented using managed and native code) that can be used from all .Net languages. There are .Net classes that allow using OS APIs. WPF or Silverlight provide a XAML-based UI framework .Net can be used with C++, C#, Javascript, Python, Ruby, VB, LISP, Scheme and many other languages. C++/.Net is a variation of the C++ language that allows interaction with .Net objects. .Net supports inheritance, generics, operator and method overloading and many other features. .Net allows creating apps that run on Windows (XP, 7, 8 Pro (Desktop and Metro), RT, CE, etc), Mac OS, Linux (+ other *nix); iOS, Android, Windows Phone (7, 8); Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox; XBox 360, Playstation Suite; raw microprocessors. There is support for creating games (2D/3D) using any managed language or C++. Created by Developer Division WinRT WinRT is based on COM. Three main parts of WinRT are execution environment, standard libraries and supported languages. WinRT has a native-code execution environment based on COM WinRT has a set of standard libraries that more or less can be used from WinRT languages. There are WinRT classes that allow using OS APIs. Unnamed Silverlight clone provides a XAML-based UI framework WinRT can be used with C++, C#, Javascript, VB. C++/CX is a variation of the C++ language that allows interaction with WinRT objects. Custom WinRT components don't support inheritance (classes must be sealed), generics, operator overloading and many other features. WinRT allows creating apps that run on Windows 8 Pro and RT (Metro only); Windows Phone 8 (limited). There is support for creating games (2D/3D) using C++ only. Ordered by Windows Team I think that all the aspects except the last ones are very important for developers. On the other hand it seems that the most important aspect for Microsoft is the last one. So, given the above comparison of conceptually identical technologies, what are incentives (if any) to use WinRT instead of .Net?

  Read the article

• Firefox can't establish a connection to the server at www.google.com

  - by Tom

  My home page in Firefox [v4.0] and Internet Explorer [v9.0.8112.16421, Update Versions RTM (KB982861)] is currently set to Google but when I depress the quick start icon to start up either browser, I am getting the following immediate results: Unable to connect (In Firefox) Firefox can't establish a connection to the server at www.google.com. The site could be temporarily unavailable or too busy. Try again in a few moments. If you are unable to load any pages, check your computer's network connection. If your computer or network is protected by a firewall or proxy, make sure that Firefox is permitted to access the Web. Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage What you can try: Diagnose Connection Problems More information This problem can be caused by a variety of issues, including: Internet connectivity has been lost. The website is temporarily unavailable. The Domain Name Server (DNS) is not reachable. The Domain Name Server (DNS) does not have a listing for the website's domain. There might be a typing error in the address. If this is an HTTPS (secure) address, click Tools, click Internet Options, click Advanced, and check to be sure the SSL and TLS protocols are enabled under the security section. For offline users You can still view subscribed feeds and some recently viewed webpages. To view subscribed feeds: Click the Favorites button , click Feeds, and then click the feed you want to view. To view recently visited webpages (might not work on all pages): Press Alt, click File, and then click Work Offline. Click the Favorites button, click History, and then click the page you want to view. Thankfully, I am able to use one browser that I have installed on my computer (Mathon v3.0.20.5000) to search online for technical assistance in this matter. I have seen several WinSock error issues mentioned; but, they are pointing to Windows XP and I am using Windows 7 Pro and remain uncertain whether anything identified as a fix for one OS will work in another. Things I've tried: HiJackThis Complete scan with Avira AntiVirus Premium. What am I overlooking? What should I do to address this problem?

  Read the article

• Moving default web site to another drive

  - by Chadworthington

  I set the default location from c:\inetpub\wwwroot to d:\inetpub\wwwroot but when I access my .NET 4.0 site get this error: Description: An error occurred during the processing of a configuration file required to service this request. Please review the specific error details below and modify your configuration file appropriately. Parser Error Message: Unrecognized attribute 'targetFramework'. Note that attribute names are case-sensitive. Source Error: Line 105: Set explicit="true" to force declaration of all variables. Line 106: --> Line 107: <compilation debug="true" strict="true" explicit="true" targetFramework="4.0"> Line 108: <assemblies> Line 109: <add assembly="System.Web.Extensions.Design, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31BF3856AD364E35"/> When I try to Manage the Basic Settings on the Site and click the "Test Settings" button, I see that I have a problem under "authorization:" The server is configured to use pass-through authentication with a built-in account to access the specified physical path. However, IIS Manager cannot verify whether the built-in account has access. Make sure that the application pool identity has Read access to the physical path. If this server is joined to a domain, and the application pool identity is NetworkService or LocalSystem, verify that <domain>\<computer_name>$ has Read access to the physical path. Then test these settings again. 1) Do I need to grant rights to IIS to the new folder? Which user? I thought it was something like IIS_USER or something similar but I cannot determine the correct name of the user. 2) Also, do I need to set the default version of the framework somewhere at the Default Site level or at the Virtual folder level? How is this done in IIS6, I am used to IIS5 or whatever came with XP Pro. 3) My original site had a subfolder under wwwroot called "aspnet_client." How was this cleated? I manually copied it to the corresponding new location. My app was using seperate ASP specific databases for storing session state and role info, if that is relevant. Thanks

  Read the article

• Thinkpad speaker turns mute - Linux Codec issue?

  - by Curlew

  At some point a few days ago the speakers on my Lenovo Thinkpad T410 (Model number: 2537A11) suddenly stopped working randomly. This error happens every time I watch a video or listen to a music file. The sound just abruptly stops. At the moment, I can't produce a single sound no matter what I do. I am using Debian GNU/Linux on this laptop and there doesn't appear to be anything else wrong (the fan is working, no abnormal heat (staying around ~40°C), no other obvious errors or problems). Here is the output of a nice program someone pointed me to: martin@martin:~/Downloads$ sudo python run.py --monitor Using temporary directory: /dev/shm/hda-analyzer You may remove this directory when finished or if you like to download the most recent copy of hda-analyzer tool. Downloading file hda_analyzer.py Downloading file hda_guilib.py Downloading file hda_codec.py Downloading file hda_proc.py Downloading file hda_graph.py Downloading file hda_mixer.py Downloaded all files, executing hda_analyzer.py Watching 1 cards ====================================== Sound is working normally and then it stops and the following lines appear: Diff for codec 0/0 (0x14f15069): --- +++ @@ -164,17 +164,17 @@ Power: setting=D0, actual=D0 Node 0x1f [Pin Complex] wcaps 0x400501: Stereo Pincap 0x00000010: OUT Pin Default 0x901701f0: [Fixed] Speaker at Int N/A Conn = Analog, Color = Unknown DefAssociation = 0xf, Sequence = 0x0 Misc = NO_PRESENCE Pin-ctls: 0x40: OUT - Power: setting=D0, actual=D0 + Power: setting=D3, actual=D3 Connection: 2 0x10* 0x11 Node 0x20 [Pin Complex] wcaps 0x400781: Stereo Digital Pincap 0x00000010: OUT Pin Default 0x40f001f0: [N/A] Other at Ext N/A Conn = Unknown, Color = Unknown DefAssociation = 0xf, Sequence = 0x0 Misc = NO_PRESENCE And now there is also an error in the dmesg output hda-intel: IRQ timing workaround is activated for card #0. Suggest a bigger bdl_pos_adj. I changed the bdl_pos_adj to various numbers (-1, 0, 64, 1024) and either there is no change at all or dmesg reports that the adjustment is too big. I wonder if this bdl_pos_adj is the real reason for the error. Here is my hardware information provided by alsa-info.sh website. Okay, i did some serious testing and even installed Windows and now i officially conclude that this is a hard-ware related issue with my Laptop speakers. Reason: The error occurs in my installed Debian Linux, an Ubuntu Live distribution and Windows XP No error-message appears in all of the OS. The sound just keeps running and i can't hear a thing. I tested different setups, including OSS, ALSA and the pulseaudio server on top If i use my new usb-headphones i can hear sound all the time without any sudden silences. So obviously, although hard to believe, my laptop speakers are not okay (never heard of similar cases). I'll award the bounty to anyone who can point me to good tutorials or the procedure how to exchange my T410 speakers (i still have warranty. The laptop was bought in Germany, but now i am in Denmark). Or to someone who can explain me the output from hda-analyzer (big log above).

  Read the article

• Creating a really public Windows network share

  - by Timur Aydin

  I want to create a shared folder under Windows (actually, Windows XP, Vista, and Win 7) which can be mounted from a linux system without prompting for a username/password. But before attempting this, I first wanted to establish that this works between two Windows 7 machines. So, on machine A (The server that will hold the public share), I created a folder and set its permissions such that Everyone has read/write access. Then I visited Control Panel - Network and Sharing Center - Advanced Sharing Settings and then selected "Turn off password protected sharing". Then, on machine B (The client that wants to access the public share with no username/password prompt), I tried to "map network driver" and I was immediately prompted by a password prompt. Some search on google suggested changing "Acconts: Limit local account use of blank passwords to console logon only" to "Disabled". Tried that, no luck, still getting username/password prompt. If I enter the username/password, I am not prompted for it again and can use the share as long as the session is active. But still, I really need to access the share without any username/password transaction whatsoever and this is not just a convenience related thing. Here is the actual reason: The device that will access this windows network share is an embedded system running uclinux. It will mount this share locally and then play media files. Its only user interface is a javascript based web page. So, if there is going to be any username/password transaction, I would have to ask the user to enter them over the web page, which will be ridiculously insecure and completely exposed to packet sniffing. After hours of doing experiments, I have found one way to make this happen, but I am not really very fond of it... I first create a new user (shareuser) and give it a password (sharepass). Then I open Group Policy Editor and set "Deny log on locally" to "A\shareuser". Then, I create a folder on A and share it so that shareuser has Read access to it. This way, shareuser cannot login to A, but can access the shared folder. And, if someone discovers the shareuser/sharepass through network sniffing, they can just access the shared folder, but can't logon to A. The same thing can be achieved by enabling the Guest user and then going to Group Policy Editor and deleting the "Guest" from the "Deny access to this computer from the network" setting. Again, Guest can mount the public share, but logging in to A as Guest won't be possible, because Guest is already not allowed to log in by default. So my question would be, how can I create a network share that is truly public, so that it can be mounted from a linux machine without requiring a password? Sorry for the long question, but I wanted to explain the reason for really needing this...

  Read the article

• Can you set up a gaming LAN using OpenVPN installed in a VMware guest OS and be playing the game on the host OS?

  - by Coder

  I would like to setup a gaming VPN. Ie. I have some games that work over LAN and would like to play them with people that are not on my LAN. I know I can do this with OpenVPN. My ultimate goal would be to run OpenVPN portably on my host OS and not even need any virtualization. As such i don't want to install it on my host, but i'm fine with running it portably. I'm even fine with temporarily adding registry keys, and then running a .reg file to remove these entries once i'm done. To this effect i have installed OpenVPN on a virtual machine and diffed the registry. I then manually (using a .reg file) added all the keys that seem important on my host OS and copied the installation folder of OpenVPN onto my host machine. Then i try to run openVPN GUI 1.0.3 as a test and it says "Error opening registy for reading (HKLM\SOFTWARE\OpenVPN). OpenVPN is probably not installed". I verified that that key is indeed in the registry with all subkeys and it looks correct. I have tried running the GUI as an administrator and in compatibility mode with no success. I am running Windows 7. If this fails then i would be happy with installing OpenVPN on a virtual machine in VMWare but they key is that i will be running the game installed on my host machine. The first question for this option is if this is even possible. The second is, that I can't get the VM to have internet access if I use bridging but i can if i use NAT. Is it possible to do this game VPN setup with VMWare guest OS running using NAT? Summary of questions: -Is it possible to run openVPN portably and if so what did i miss above? -If it's not possible to run it portably, then can setup a gaming LAN by installing OpenVPN in a guest OS with NAT and how can i do this? -If the above is not possible then can i install OpenVPN in a guest using bridging and if so how can i set this up with a Windows 7 host and Windows XP guest as currently i can't get the guest to be able to access the internet in bridging mode, but it working in NAT mode. -In general is there any good documentation on setting up a gaming LAN with OpenVPN (i am using 2.1.4) as i have never set up a VPN of any sort before so any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!

  Read the article

• Why won't my Windows 8 Command line update its path

  - by mawcsco

  I needed to add a new entry to my PATH variable. This is a common activity for me in my job, but I've recently started using Windows 8. I assumed the process would be similar to Windows 7, Vista, XP... Here's my sequence of events: Open System properties (Start- [type "Control Panel"] - Control Panel\System and Security\System - Advanced system settings - Environment Variables) Add the new path to beginning of my USER PATH variable (C:\dev\Java\apache-ant-1.8.4\bin;) Opened a command prompt (Start - [type "command prompt" enter] - [type "path" enter] My new path entry is not available (see attached image and vide). I Duplicated the exact same process on a Windows 7 machine and it worked. EDIT Windows 8 Environment Variables and Command Prompt video EDIT This is definitely not the behavior of Windows 7. Watch this video to see the behavior I expect working in Windows 7. http://youtu.be/95JXY5X0fII EDIT 5/31/2013 So, after much frustration, I wrote a small C# app to test the WM_SETTINGCHANGE event. This code receives the event in both Windows 7 and Windows 8. However, in Windows 8 on my system, I do not get the correct path; but, I do in Windows 7. This could not be reproduced in other Windows 8 systems. Here is the C# code. using System; using Microsoft.Win32; public sealed class App { static void Main() { SystemEvents.UserPreferenceChanging += new UserPreferenceChangingEventHandler(OnUserPreferenceChanging); Console.WriteLine("Waiting for system events."); Console.WriteLine("Press <Enter> to exit."); Console.ReadLine(); } static void OnUserPreferenceChanging(object sender, UserPreferenceChangingEventArgs e) { Console.WriteLine("The user preference is changing. Category={0}", e.Category); Console.WriteLine("path={0}", System.Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("PATH")); } } OnUserPreferenceChanging is equivalent to WM_SETTINGCHANGE C# program running in Windows 7 (you can see the event come through and it picks up the correct path). C# program running in Windows 8 (you can see the event come through, but the wrong path). There is something about my environment that is precipitating this problem. However, is this a Windows 8 bug?

  Read the article

• Google Chrome and Firefox Rendering

  - by user13503

  When attempting to visit sites running javascript, Google Chrome and Firefox often fail to render them properly. For example, when hitting google.com/codesearch results, I just get a blank page. http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/8527/200910071518.png This rendering problem happens in both browsers on a machine running Windows XP Professional x64. Internet explorer is able to render the page just fine. Also, controls on other pages sometimes fail to respond, for example in Google Docs. Has anyone encountered this issue before in Chrome/Firefox? Do they share a common installation of the V8 javascript engine? I'm baffled by this issue. Here's the source code for the image above that Chrome loads when attempting to retrieve the page: <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd"><html><head><script>function a(c){this.t={};this.tick=function(d,e,b){var f=b?b:(new Date).getTime();this.t[d]=[f,e]};this.tick("start",null,c)}var g=new a;window.jstiming={Timer:a,load:g};try{window.jstiming.pt=window.external.pageT}catch(h){}; </script><title></title><script language="javascript" src="/codesearch/js/CachedFile/F1A2CB189D0FCB1FF201C42BF6A5447C.cache.js"></script></head><body><iframe src="javascript:''" id="__gwt_historyFrame" style="width:0;height:0;border:0"></iframe><script>if(window.jstiming){window.jstiming.a={};window.jstiming.c=1;function k(a,d,f){var b=a.t[d];if(!b)return undefined;b=a.t[d][0];if(f!=undefined)var h=f;else h=a.t.start[0];return b-h}window.jstiming.report=function(a,d,f){var b="";if(window.jstiming.pt){b+="&srt="+window.jstiming.pt;delete window.jstiming.pt}try{if(window.external&&window.external.tran)b+="&tran="+window.external.tran}catch(h){}if(a.b)b+="&"+a.b;var e=a.t,p=e.start,l=[],i=[];for(var c in e)if(!(c=="start"))if(!(c.indexOf("_")==0)){var j= e[c][1];if(j)e[j]&&i.push(c+"."+k(a,c,e[j][0]));else p&&l.push(c+"."+k(a,c))}delete e.start;if(d)for(var m in d)b+="&"+m+"="+d[m];var n=[f?f:"http://csi.gstatic.com/csi","?v=3","&s="+(window.jstiming.sn?window.jstiming.sn:"codesearch")+"&action=",a.name,i.length?"&it="+i.join(",")+b:b,"&rt=",l.join(",")].join(""),g=new Image,o=window.jstiming.c++;window.jstiming.a[o]=g;g.onload=g.onerror=function(){delete window.jstiming.a[o]};g.src=n;g=null;return n}}; </script></body></html> Thanks, Steve

  Read the article

• A gigabit network interface is CPU-limited to 25MB/s. How can I maximize the throughput?

  - by netvope

  I have a Acer Aspire R1600-U910H with a nForce gigabit network adapter. The maximum TCP throughput of it is about 25MB/s, and apparently it is limited by the single core Intel Atom 230; when the maximum throughput is reached, the CPU usage is about 50%-60%, which corresponds to full utilization considering this is a Hyper-threading enabled CPU. The same problem occurs on both Windows XP and on Ubuntu 8.04. On Windows, I have installed the latest nForce chipset driver, disabled power saving features, and enabled checksum offload. On Linux, the default driver has checksum offload enabled. There is no Linux driver available on Nvidia's website. ethtool -k eth0 shows that checksum offload is enabled: Offload parameters for eth0: rx-checksumming: on tx-checksumming: on scatter-gather: on tcp segmentation offload: on udp fragmentation offload: off generic segmentation offload: off The following is the output of powertop when the network is idle: Wakeups-from-idle per second : 61.9 interval: 10.0s no ACPI power usage estimate available Top causes for wakeups: 90.9% (101.3) <interrupt> : eth0 4.5% ( 5.0) iftop : schedule_timeout (process_timeout) 1.8% ( 2.0) <kernel core> : clocksource_register (clocksource_watchdog) 0.9% ( 1.0) dhcdbd : schedule_timeout (process_timeout) 0.5% ( 0.6) <kernel core> : neigh_table_init_no_netlink (neigh_periodic_timer) And when the maximum throughput of about 25MB/s is reached: Wakeups-from-idle per second : 11175.5 interval: 10.0s no ACPI power usage estimate available Top causes for wakeups: 99.9% (22097.4) <interrupt> : eth0 0.0% ( 5.0) iftop : schedule_timeout (process_timeout) 0.0% ( 2.0) <kernel core> : clocksource_register (clocksource_watchdog) 0.0% ( 1.0) dhcdbd : schedule_timeout (process_timeout) 0.0% ( 0.6) <kernel core> : neigh_table_init_no_netlink (neigh_periodic_timer) Notice the 20000 interrupts per second. Could this be the cause for the high CPU usage and low throughput? If so, how can I improve the situation? As a reference, the other computers in the network can usually transfer at 50+MB/s without problems. A computer with a Core 2 CPU generates only 5000 interrupts per second when it's transferring at 110MB/s. The number of interrupts is about 20 times less than the Atom system (if interrupts scale linearly with throughput.) And a minor question: How can I find out what is the driver in use for eth0?

  Read the article

• iTunes and Hulu Playback Choppy and Slow?

  - by Bart Silverstrim

  Specs: Windows XP, latest updates 1.7 ghz Pentium 4 1 gig ram DirectX 9.0c NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 with 256 meg RAM OpenGL 2.1 The story: Okay, I had an older system laying around that I figured I would try turning into a mini-media system to connect to our TV. I put together a lot of older parts, got it into working order, etc. and hooked it up and voila'...slower, but usable system that displayed to the TV. It could run some things decently. I put in iTunes, it played video okay. Not great, but okay. Played Hulu and since we have a 1Mb download rate, the minimum for their site, there were some choppy moments when watching their shows, but I found that (sadly) changing resolution to 800x600 seemed to help with the issue when running full screen. I downloaded the application called Boxee and installed it. It wouldn't run; apparently the video card in the system supported OpenGL 1.2, and needed at least 1.4. I bought a cheap card, the 5200, with four times the memory in it and support for OpenGL 2.1. Installed, everything seemed fine. iTunes seemed to run fine, the video driver (PNY video card) came with OpenGL 2.1, and Boxee finally ran. I then upgraded to the latest drivers for the video card and ran the DirectX updater from MS. After that, the OpenGL Extension Viewer wouldn't run. It just stayed as an icon in the task bar. Also, any and all videos in iTunes stuttered and went out of sync horribly. Unwatchable. I tried watching Hulu video in Boxee, and it displayed video like it was a series of stills in a very bad powerpoint. Playing straightforward audio-only came through fine, no stutters no hiccups. I tried system restore to roll back updates to pre-directX updates (I thought that seemed to be the time that triggered the weird behavior), no joy. I tried uninstalling and reinstalling the video drivers. I installed updated audio drivers (ensoniq audiopci), nothing helped. I finally wiped the drive last night and tried reinstalling everything and restoring my iTunes content via an import from a backup. Fresh install, no updater on the video card or directx. the problem was still there although I haven't tested Hulu, the iTunes player is still stuttering like crazy if I play video, fine if I play audio. I know the processor isn't high in heft, but with one gig of RAM and the fact that it seemed to do okay before I thought that the problem must be software related. Has anyone else run into this sort of issue and have a solution other than "buy a new computer"? What specs seem to work with video at the low end for you? Right now the system is of little use other than keeping my music library and iTunes apps synced with my iPod.

  Read the article

• New harddrives failing within weeks.

  - by Jason Kealey

  I've experienced 8 hard disk failures in 3 months and have tried many things to solve the issue permanently but I have failed. I would like to know if you have any advice for me. System was running Win XP on an Asus P5W-DH Deluxe. I have setup a RAID-1 array. I started out with 2 x 500 GB 7200RPM Western Digital drives. One died. I took it out to RMA it. On the same day, the router was fried. Assumed a power surge occurred; connected an older UPS to protect the system. Once I got my hands on an identical disk, I installed it. The RAID array was rebuilt. A few days later, the other one died. Assumed the rebuild caused it to fail. Took it out for RMA. Before the other one arrived, the remaining one died. I then discovered I could re-enable them using the Intel Matrix Storage Manager. I re-enabled both and the system seemed fine for a week, until both died again. I got two new 1.5 TB 7200RPM Seagate drives and re-installed Windows 7. Also replaced the UPS and power supply. They both died again. The voltage on the plug is stable between 120 and 122V as per the UPS. None of the other devices have had any problems (monitors, etc.). At this point, I see two options: a) electrical issue in the house that was, for some reason, not blocked by the UPS. b) something else inside the system causing surges? motherboard? onboard raid controller? Failures happen fairly quickly, between 2 and 14 days after I fix the previous issue. I just gotten a new computer (Core i7) to replace it. If it is stable, I can determine that b) was the problem. If it fries its hard drive again, I can determine that it is an electrical issue in the house. Do you have any other thoughts? Any tools I can run on the drives that failed to get more information about the original SMART event history?

  Read the article

• Laptops on Windows Domain sometimes have problems accessing internet when off-site

  - by FSUScoot

  Hi all-- We've had this problem for a long time. When users travel, sometimes they can't get internet access from a wired or wireless connection. Here are a couple examples: 1) A user goes to a hotel and tries to access the wireless in their room. They can connect to the access point. They open a web browser and they can't get re-directed to the hotel's login page. Because they can't log in, there's no internet access. 2) A user goes to another laboratory/university and tries to access the wired network. They connect, link is fine, PC gets IP from DHCP but no internet access. There's no login page to be re-directed to. It should just "work". What I've found is that it's a DNS issue. Because the computer is on a Windows Domain, it seems it MUST use our DNS servers. Even if you connect to an outside network and do an ipconfig /all, it looks like everything is ok. It'll even show their DNS servers listed in the config. The computer just won't use the other network's DNS server. I found a reg key that keeps our DNS servers listed and it seems that they take priority every time: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\DNSClient All the values under that key are for our AD domain. NameServer and Searchlist never change. What I've found is if the user edits the NameServer string and puts the DNS server of the network they're on, everything works just fine. They get re-directed to the hotel's correct login page or their internet access starts working. It's only a problem if the network they're on blocks outside DNS or a hotel that uses an internal name in their front page redirection that only their DNS server knows about, i.e., not public. If the re-direct page starts with an IP, like 10.10.10.10, it'll work just fine. Obviously this isn't a fix for everyone. Most of my users are pretty knowledgeable so it’s easy for me to walk them through or send them a .reg file that they can edit and run. This problem isn't limited to Windows 7. It was like this with XP as well. It's not hardware related. The problem exists on both wired and wireless, Intel or Broadcom, laptops or desktops. Anyone else have this problem? Is there a GPO I can change that I missed? Got a good work-around for this? Thanks for any help!

  Read the article

• Triple monitor setup in linux

  - by Brendan Abel

  I'm hoping there are some xorg gurus out there. I'm trying to get a three monitor setup working in linux. I have 2 lcd monitors and a tv, all different resolutions. I'm using 2 video cards; a 9800 GTX and 7900Gt. I've seen a lot of different posts about people trying to make this work, and in every case, they either gave up, or Xinerama magically solved all their problems. Basically, my main problem is that I cannot get Xinerama to work. Every time I turn it on in the options, my machine gets stuck in a neverending boot cycle. If I disable Xinerama, I just have three Xorg screens, but I can't drag windows from one to the other. I can get the 2 lcds on Twinview, and the tv on a separate Xorg screen no problem. But I don't really like this solution. I'd rather have them all on separate screens and stitch them together with Xinerama. Has anyone done this? Here's my xorg.conf for reference. p.s. This took me all of 30 seconds to set up in Windows XP! p.s.s. I've seen somewhere that maybe randr can solve my problems? But I'm not quite sure how? Section "Monitor" Identifier "Main1" VendorName "Acer" ModelName "H233H" HorizSync 40-70 VertRefresh 60 Option "dpms" EndSection #Section "Monitor" # Identifier "Main2" # VendorName "Acer" # ModelName "AL2216W" # HorizSync 40-70 # VertRefresh 60 # Option "dpms" #EndSection Section "Monitor" Identifier "Projector" VendorName "BenQ" ModelName "W500" HorizSync 44.955-45 VertRefresh 59.94-60 Option "dpms" EndSection Section "Device" Identifier "Card1" Driver "nvidia" VendorName "nvidia" BusID "PCI:5:0:0" BoardName "nVidia Corporation G92 [GeForce 9800 GTX+]" Option "ConnectedMonitor" "DFP,DFP" Option "NvAGP" "0" Option "NoLogo" "True" #Option "TVStandard" "HD720p" EndSection Section "Device" Identifier "Card2" Driver "nvidia" VendorName "nvidia" BusID "PCI:4:0:0" BoardName "nVidia Corporation G71 [GeForce 7900 GT/GTO]" Option "NvAGP" "0" Option "NoLogo" "True" Option "TVStandard" "HD720p" EndSection Section "Module" Load "glx" EndSection Section "Screen" Identifier "ScreenMain-0" Device "Card1-0" Monitor "Main1" DefaultDepth 24 Option "Twinview" Option "TwinViewOrientation" "RightOf" Option "MetaModes" "DFP-0: 1920x1080; DFP-1: 1680x1050" Option "HorizSync" "DFP-0: 40-70; DFP-1: 40-70" Option "VertRefresh" "DFP-0: 60; DFP-1: 60" #SubSection "Display" # Depth 24 # Virtual 4880 1080 #EndSubSection EndSection Section "Screen" Identifier "ScreenProjector" Device "Card2" Monitor "Projector" DefaultDepth 24 Option "MetaModes" "TV-0: 1280x720" Option "HorizSync" "TV-0: 44.955-45" Option "VertRefresh" "TV-0: 59.94-60" EndSection Section "ServerLayout" Identifier "BothTwinView" Screen "ScreenMain-0" Screen "ScreenProjector" LeftOf "ScreenMain-0" #Option "Xinerama" "on" # most important option let you window expand to three monitors EndSection

  Read the article

• Troubleshooting Network Speeds -- The Age Old Inquiry

  - by John K

  I'm looking for help with what I'm sure is an age old question. I've found myself in a situation of yearning to understand network throughput more clearly, but I can't seem to find information that makes it "click" We have a few servers distributed geographically, running various versions of Windows. Assuming we always use one host (a desktop) as the source, when copying data from that host to other servers across the country, we see a high variance in speed. In some cases, we can copy data at 12MB/s consistently, in others, we're seeing 0.8 MB/s. It should be noted, after testing 8 destinations, we always seem to be at either 0.6-0.8MB/s or 11-12 MB/s. In the building we're primarily concerned with, we have an OC-3 connection to our ISP. I know there are a lot of variables at play, but I guess I was hoping the experts here could help answer a few basic questions to help bolster my understanding. 1.) For older machines, running Windows XP, server 2003, etc, with a 100Mbps Ethernet card and 72 ms typical latency, does 0.8 MB/s sound at all reasonable? Or do you think that slow enough to indicate a problem? 2.) The classic "mathematical fastest speed" of "throughput = TCP window / latency," is, in our case, calculated to 0.8 MB/s (64Kb / 72 ms). My understanding is that is an upper bounds; that you would never expect to reach (due to overhead) let alone surpass that speed. In some cases though, we're seeing speeds of 12.3 MB/s. There are Steelhead accelerators scattered around the network, could those account for such a higher transfer rate? 3.) It's been suggested that the use SMB vs. SMB2 could explain the differences in speed. Indeed, as expected, packet captures show both being used depending on the OS versions in play, as we would expect. I understand what determines SMB2 being used or not, but I'm curious to know what kind of performance gain you can expect with SMB2. My problem simply seems to be a lack of experience, and more importantly, perspective, in terms of what are and are not reasonable network speeds. Could anyone help impart come context/perspective?

  Read the article

• Network speeds being report as 4x higher than actual in Windows 7 SP1

  - by Synetech

  Ever since installing Windows 7 SP1, I have noticed that all programs that display my network transfer rate have been exactly 4x higher than they actually are. For example, when I download something from a high-bandwidth web site or through torrents with lots of sources, the download rate indicated is is ~5MBps (~40Mbps) even though my Internet connection has a maximum of only 1.5MBps (12Mbps). It is the same situation with the upstream bandwidth: the connection maximum is 64KBps, but I’m seeing up to 256KBps. I have tried several different programs for monitoring bandwidth throughput and they all give the same results. I also tried different times and different days, and they always show the rate as being four times too high. My initial thought was that my ISP had increased the speeds (without my noticing), which they have done before. However, I checked my ISP’s site and they have not increased the speeds. Moreover, when I look at the speeds in the program actually doing the transfer (eg Chrome, µTorrent, etc.), the numbers are in line with the expected values at the same time that bandwidth monitoring programs are showing the high numbers. The only significant change (and pretty much the only change at all) that has occurred to my system since the change was the installation of SP1 for Windows 7. As such, it is my belief that some sort of change exists in SP1 whereby software that accesses the bandwidth via a specific API receives (erroneously?) high numbers while others that have access to the raw data continue to receive the correct values. I booted into Windows XP and downloaded some things via HTTP and torrent and in both cases, the numbers were as expected (like they were in Windows 7 before installing SP1). I then booted back into 7SP1 and once again, the numbers were four times higher than possible. Therefore it is definitely something in SP1 that has changed how local bandwidth is calculated/returned. There is definitely something wonky with Windows 7 SP1’s network speed calculation. I tried Googling this, but (for multiple reasons), have had a difficult time finding anything relevant. Has anybody else noticed this behavior? Does anybody know of any bugs or changes in SP1 that could account for it?

  Read the article

• Wifi network stopped being visible (and usable) (Linksys wag320n)

  - by s427

  Basically, my wifi network simply stopped working for no apparent reason. It doesn't appear in the list of the available networks anymore. I can see all my neighbors' networks, but not mine. It's as if it doesn't exist anymore. The internet connection (non-wifi), which goes through the same modem/router, is fine though. I already had a similar problem about one year ago (see here: Wifi network SSID not visible ), just after buying this very modem. I finally got it to work after performing two factory resets and getting rid of the Cisco "Magic" software; but this time it's not working. I use a linksys router-modem (WAG320N) which is directly connected (via network cable) to my desktop computer (Windows 7). I have (mainly) two devices that use the wifi network: my phone (Samsung Galaxy Nexus) and an Asus tablet (TF201, aka Transformer Prime). I also resurrected an old laptop computer (Dell, running Windows XP) to test that, and it doesn't see anything either (apart from the 20 other wifi networks, of course ^^). This wifi network was working just fine and has been for about a year. I haven't touched the modem settings so I have no idea what's causing the problem. I tried: making my phone "forget" about my network, hoping it would see it again after that: no luck. re-entering the network informations (SSID/password) manually on my phone: still no luck (says it's not in range) exporting the modem configuration, resetting the modem (factory reset, via modem admin), restarting it, importing the configuration: nope. factory reset, turning it off for 15 minutes, restarting, re-factory reset, and entering the configuration manually: still nothing. Has anybody experienced something similar before? Have you any suggestion to fix that? Thanks in advance. PS: to clear things up, here are the settings of my modem regarding wifi: Basic wireless settings: Configuration: manual Radio Band: 2.4GHz Wireless Network Mode: B/G/N-Mixed SSID: s427 Channel Bandwidth: Wide - 40 MHz Channel Wide Channel: 9 - 2.452GHz Standard Channel: 11 - 2.462GHz SSID Broadcast: Enable Advanced Wireless Settings AP Isolation: Disable Authentication Type: Auto Basic Rate: Default Transmission Rate: Auto N Transmission Rate: Auto CTS Protection Mode: Disable Beacon Interval: 100 DTIM Interval: 1 Fragmentation Threshold: 2346 RTS Threshold: 2346

  Read the article

• ERROR: Linux route add command failed: external program exited with error status: 4

  - by JohnMerlino

  A remote machine running fedora uses openvpn, and multiple developers were successfully able to connect to it via their client openvpn. However, I am running Ubuntu 12.04 and I am having trouble connecting to the server via vpn. I copied ca.crt, home.key, and home.crt from the server to my local machine to /etc/openvpn folder. My client.conf file looks like this: ############################################## # Sample client-side OpenVPN 2.0 config file # # for connecting to multi-client server. # # # # This configuration can be used by multiple # # clients, however each client should have # # its own cert and key files. # # # # On Windows, you might want to rename this # # file so it has a .ovpn extension # ############################################## # Specify that we are a client and that we # will be pulling certain config file directives # from the server. client # Use the same setting as you are using on # the server. # On most systems, the VPN will not function # unless you partially or fully disable # the firewall for the TUN/TAP interface. ;dev tap dev tun # Windows needs the TAP-Win32 adapter name # from the Network Connections panel # if you have more than one. On XP SP2, # you may need to disable the firewall # for the TAP adapter. ;dev-node MyTap # Are we connecting to a TCP or # UDP server? Use the same setting as # on the server. ;proto tcp proto udp # The hostname/IP and port of the server. # You can have multiple remote entries # to load balance between the servers. remote xx.xxx.xx.130 1194 ;remote my-server-2 1194 # Choose a random host from the remote # list for load-balancing. Otherwise # try hosts in the order specified. ;remote-random # Keep trying indefinitely to resolve the # host name of the OpenVPN server. Very useful # on machines which are not permanently connected # to the internet such as laptops. resolv-retry infinite # Most clients don't need to bind to # a specific local port number. nobind # Downgrade privileges after initialization (non-Windows only) ;user nobody ;group nogroup # Try to preserve some state across restarts. persist-key persist-tun # If you are connecting through an # HTTP proxy to reach the actual OpenVPN # server, put the proxy server/IP and # port number here. See the man page # if your proxy server requires # authentication. ;http-proxy-retry # retry on connection failures ;http-proxy [proxy server] [proxy port #] # Wireless networks often produce a lot # of duplicate packets. Set this flag # to silence duplicate packet warnings. ;mute-replay-warnings # SSL/TLS parms. # See the server config file for more # description. It's best to use # a separate .crt/.key file pair # for each client. A single ca # file can be used for all clients. ca ca.crt cert home.crt key home.key # Verify server certificate by checking # that the certicate has the nsCertType # field set to "server". This is an # important precaution to protect against # a potential attack discussed here: # http://openvpn.net/howto.html#mitm # # To use this feature, you will need to generate # your server certificates with the nsCertType # field set to "server". The build-key-server # script in the easy-rsa folder will do this. ns-cert-type server # If a tls-auth key is used on the server # then every client must also have the key. ;tls-auth ta.key 1 # Select a cryptographic cipher. # If the cipher option is used on the server # then you must also specify it here. ;cipher x # Enable compression on the VPN link. # Don't enable this unless it is also # enabled in the server config file. comp-lzo # Set log file verbosity. verb 3 # Silence repeating messages ;mute 20 But when I start server and look in /var/log/syslog, I notice the following error: May 27 22:13:51 myuser ovpn-client[5626]: /sbin/route add -net 10.27.12.1 netmask 255.255.255.252 gw 10.27.12.37 May 27 22:13:51 myuser ovpn-client[5626]: ERROR: Linux route add command failed: external program exited with error status: 4 May 27 22:13:51 myuser ovpn-client[5626]: /sbin/route add -net 172.27.12.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 gw 10.27.12.37 May 27 22:13:51 myuser ovpn-client[5626]: /sbin/route add -net 10.27.12.1 netmask 255.255.255.255 gw 10.27.12.37 And I am unable to connect to the server via openvpn: $ ssh [email protected] ssh: connect to host xxx.xx.xx.130 port 22: No route to host What may I be doing wrong?

  Read the article

• Our Look at the Internet Explorer 9 Platform Preview

  - by Asian Angel

  Have you been hearing all about Microsoft’s work on Internet Explorer 9 and are curious about it? If you are wanting a taste of the upcoming release then join us as we take a look at the Internet Explorer 9 Platform Preview. Note: Windows Vista and Server 2008 users may need to install a Platform Update (see link at bottom for more information). Getting Started If you are curious about the systems that the platform preview will operate on here is an excerpt from the FAQ page (link provided below). There are two important points of interest here: The platform preview does not replace your regular Internet Explorer installation The platform preview (and the final version of Internet Explorer 9) will not work on Windows XP There really is not a lot to the install process…basically all that you will have to deal with is the “EULA Window” and the “Install Finished Window”. Note: The platform preview will install to a “Program Files Folder” named “Internet Explorer Platform Preview”. Internet Explorer 9 Platform Preview in Action When you start the platform preview up for the first time you will be presented with the Internet Explorer 9 Test Drive homepage. Do not be surprised that there is not a lot to the UI at this time…but you can get a good idea of how Internet Explorer will act. Note: You will not be able to alter the “Homepage” for the platform preview. Of the four menus available there are two that will be of interest to most people…the “Page & Debug Menus”. If you go to navigate to a new webpage you will need to go through the “Page Menu” unless you have installed the Address Bar Mini-Tool (shown below). Want to see what a webpage will look like in an older version of Internet Explorer? Then choose your version in the “Debug Menu”. We did find it humorous that IE6 was excluded from the choices offered. Here is what the URL entry window looks like if you are using the “Page Menu” to navigate between websites. Here is the main page of the site here displayed in “IE9 Mode”…looking good. Here is the main page viewed in “Forced IE5 Document Mode”. There were some minor differences (colors, sidebar, etc.) in how the main page displayed in comparison to “IE9 Mode”. Being able to switch between modes makes for an interesting experience… As you can see there is not much to the “Context Menu” at the moment. Notice the slightly altered icon for the platform preview… “Add” an Address Bar of Sorts If you would like to use a “make-shift” Address Bar with the platform preview you can set up the portable file (IE9browser.exe) for the Internet Explorer 9 Test Platform Addressbar Mini-Tool. Just place it in an appropriate folder, create a shortcut for it, and it will be ready to go. Here is a close look at the left side of the Address Bar Mini-Tool. You can try to access “IE Favorites” but may have sporadic results like those we experienced during our tests. Note: The Address Bar Mini-Tool will not line up perfectly with the platform preview but still makes a nice addition. And a close look at the right side of the Address Bar Mini-Tool. In order to completely shut down the Address Bar Mini-Tool you will need to click on “Close”. Each time that you enter an address into the Address Bar Mini-Tool it will open a new window/instance of the platform preview. Note: During our tests we noticed that clicking on “Home” in the “Page Menu” opened the previously viewed website but once we closed and restarted the platform preview the test drive website was the starting/home page again. Even if the platform preview is not running the Address Bar Mini-Tool can still run as shown here. Note: You will not be able to move the Address Bar Mini-Tool from its’ locked-in position at the top of the screen. Now for some fun. With just the Address Bar Mini-Tool open you can enter an address and cause the platform preview to open. Here is our example from above now open in the platform preview…good to go. Conclusion During our tests we did experience the occasional crash but overall we were pleased with the platform preview’s performance. The platform preview handled rather well and definitely seemed much quicker than Internet Explorer 8 on our test system (a definite bonus!). If you are an early adopter then this could certainly get you in the mood for the upcoming beta releases! Links Download the Internet Explorer 9 Preview Platform Download the Internet Explorer 9 Test Platform Addressbar Mini-Tool Information about Platform Update for Windows Vista & Server 2008 View the Internet Explorer 9 Platform Preview FAQ Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Mysticgeek Blog: A Look at Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 on Windows XPMake Ctrl+Tab in Internet Explorer 7 Use Most Recent OrderRemove ISP Text or Corporate Branding from Internet Explorer Title BarWhy Can’t I Turn the Details/Preview Panes On or Off in Windows Vista Explorer?Prevent Firefox or Internet Explorer from Printing the URL on Every Page TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips DVDFab 6 Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 Awesome Lyrics Finder for Winamp & Windows Media Player Download Videos from Hulu Pixels invade Manhattan Convert PDF files to ePub to read on your iPad Hide Your Confidential Files Inside Images Get Wildlife Photography Tips at BBC’s PhotoMasterClasses

  Read the article

• How to Use Windows’ Advanced Search Features: Everything You Need to Know

  - by Chris Hoffman

  You should never have to hunt down a lost file on modern versions of Windows — just perform a quick search. You don’t even have to wait for a cartoon dog to find your files, like on Windows XP. The Windows search indexer is constantly running in the background to make quick local searches possible. This enables the kind of powerful search features you’d use on Google or Bing — but for your local files. Controlling the Indexer By default, the Windows search indexer watches everything under your user folder — that’s C:\Users\NAME. It reads all these files, creating an index of their names, contents, and other metadata. Whenever they change, it notices and updates its index. The index allows you to quickly find a file based on the data in the index. For example, if you want to find files that contain the word “beluga,” you can perform a search for “beluga” and you’ll get a very quick response as Windows looks up the word in its search index. If Windows didn’t use an index, you’d have to sit and wait as Windows opened every file on your hard drive, looked to see if the file contained the word “beluga,” and moved on. Most people shouldn’t have to modify this indexing behavior. However, if you store your important files in other folders — maybe you store your important data a separate partition or drive, such as at D:\Data — you may want to add these folders to your index. You can also choose which types of files you want to index, force Windows to rebuild the index entirely, pause the indexing process so it won’t use any system resources, or move the index to another location to save space on your system drive. To open the Indexing Options window, tap the Windows key on your keyboard, type “index”, and click the Indexing Options shortcut that appears. Use the Modify button to control the folders that Windows indexes or the Advanced button to control other options. To prevent Windows from indexing entirely, click the Modify button and uncheck all the included locations. You could also disable the search indexer entirely from the Programs and Features window. Searching for Files You can search for files right from your Start menu on Windows 7 or Start screen on Windows 8. Just tap the Windows key and perform a search. If you wanted to find files related to Windows, you could perform a search for “Windows.” Windows would show you files that are named Windows or contain the word Windows. From here, you can just click a file to open it. On Windows 7, files are mixed with other types of search results. On Windows 8 or 8.1, you can choose to search only for files. If you want to perform a search without leaving the desktop in Windows 8.1, press Windows Key + S to open a search sidebar. You can also initiate searches directly from Windows Explorer — that’s File Explorer on Windows 8. Just use the search box at the top-right of the window. Windows will search the location you’ve browsed to. For example, if you’re looking for a file related to Windows and know it’s somewhere in your Documents library, open the Documents library and search for Windows. Using Advanced Search Operators On Windows 7, you’ll notice that you can add “search filters” form the search box, allowing you to search by size, date modified, file type, authors, and other metadata. On Windows 8, these options are available from the Search Tools tab on the ribbon. These filters allow you to narrow your search results. If you’re a geek, you can use Windows’ Advanced Query Syntax to perform advanced searches from anywhere, including the Start menu or Start screen. Want to search for “windows,” but only bring up documents that don’t mention Microsoft? Search for “windows -microsoft”. Want to search for all pictures of penguins on your computer, whether they’re PNGs, JPEGs, or any other type of picture file? Search for “penguin kind:picture”. We’ve looked at Windows’ advanced search operators before, so check out our in-depth guide for more information. The Advanced Query Syntax gives you access to options that aren’t available in the graphical interface. Creating Saved Searches Windows allows you to take searches you’ve made and save them as a file. You can then quickly perform the search later by double-clicking the file. The file functions almost like a virtual folder that contains the files you specify. For example, let’s say you wanted to create a saved search that shows you all the new files created in your indexed folders within the last week. You could perform a search for “datecreated:this week”, then click the Save search button on the toolbar or ribbon. You’d have a new virtual folder you could quickly check to see your recent files. One of the best things about Windows search is that it’s available entirely from the keyboard. Just press the Windows key, start typing the name of the file or program you want to open, and press Enter to quickly open it. Windows 8 made this much more obnoxious with its non-unified search, but unified search is finally returning with Windows 8.1.     

  Read the article

• Ask How-To Geek: Learning the Office Ribbon, Booting to USB with an Old BIOS, and Snapping Windows

  - by Jason Fitzpatrick

  You’ve got questions and we’ve got answers. Today we highlight how to master the new Office interface, USB boot a computer with outdated BIOS, and snap windows to preset locations. Learning the New Office Ribbon Dear How-To Geek, I feel silly asking this (in light of how long the new Office interface has been out) but my company finally got around to upgrading from Windows XP and Office 2000 so the new interface it totally new to me. Can you recommend any resources for quickly learning the Office ribbon and the new changes? I feel completely lost after two decades of the old Office interface. Help! Sincerely, Where the Hell is Everything? Dear Where the Hell, We think most people were with you at some point in the last few years. “Where the hell is…” could possibly be the slogan for the new ribbon interface. You could browse through some of the dry tutorials online or even get a weighty book on the topic but the best way to learn something new is to get hands on. Ribbon Hero turns learning the new Office features and ribbon layout into a game. It’s no vigorous round of Team Fortress mind you, but it’s significantly more fun than reading a training document. Check out how to install and configure Ribbon Hero here. You’ll be teaching your coworkers new tricks in no time. Boot via USB with an Old BIOS Dear How-To Geek, I’m trying to repurpose some old computers by updating them with lightweight Linux distros but the BIOS on most of the machines is ancient and creaky. How ancient? It doesn’t even support booting from a USB device! I have a large flash drive that I’ve turned into a master installation tool for jobs like this but I can’t use it. The computers in question have USB ports; they just aren’t recognized during the boot process. What can I do? USB Bootin’ in Boise Dear USB Bootin’, It’s great you’re working to breathe life into old hardware! You’ve run into one of the limitations of older BIOSes, USB was around but nobody was thinking about booting off of it. Fortunately if you have a computer old enough to have that kind of BIOS it’s likely to also has a floppy drive or a CDROM drive. While you could make a bootable CDROM for your application we understand that you want to keep using the master USB installer you’ve made. In light of that we recommend PLoP Boot Manager. Think of it like a boot manager for your boot manager. Using it you can create a bootable floppy or CDROM that will enable USB booting of your master USB drive. Make a CD and a floppy version and you’ll have everything in your toolkit you need for future computer refurbishing projects. Read up on creating bootable media with PLoP Boot Manager here. Snapping Windows to Preset Coordinates Dear How-To Geek, Once upon a time I had a company laptop that came with a little utility that snapped windows to preset areas of the screen. This was long before the snap-to-side features in Windows 7. You could essentially configure your screen into a grid pattern of your choosing and then windows would neatly snap into those grids. I have no idea what it was called or if was anymore than a gimmick from the computer manufacturer, but I’d really like to have it on my new computer! Bend and Snap in San Francisco, Dear Bend and Snap, If we had to guess, we’d guess your company must have had a set of laptops from Acer as the program you’re describing sounds exactly like Acer GridVista. Fortunately for you the application was extremely popular and Acer released it independently of their hardware. If, by chance, you’ve since upgraded to a multiple monitor setup the app even supports multiple monitors—many of the configurations are handy for arranging IM windows and other auxiliary communication tools. Check out our guide to installing and configuring Acer GridVista here for more information. Have a question you want to put before the How-To Geek staff? Shoot us an email at [email protected] and then keep an eye out for a solution in the Ask How-To Geek column. Latest Features How-To Geek ETC How to Upgrade Windows 7 Easily (And Understand Whether You Should) The How-To Geek Guide to Audio Editing: Basic Noise Removal Install a Wii Game Loader for Easy Backups and Fast Load Times The Best of CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in 2011 The Worst of CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in 2011 HTG Projects: How to Create Your Own Custom Papercraft Toy Download the New Year in Japan Windows 7 Theme from Microsoft Once More Unto the Breach – Facebook Apps Can Now Access Your Address and Phone Number Dial Zero Speeds You Through Annoying Customer Service Menus Complete Dropquest 2011 and Receive Free Dropbox Storage Desktop Computer versus Laptop Wallpaper The Kids Have No Idea What Old Tech Is [Video]

  Read the article

• Remove Office 2010 Beta and Reinstall Office 2007

  - by Matthew Guay

  Have you tried out the Office 2010 beta, but want to go back to Office 2007?  Here’s a step-by-step tutorial on how to remove your Office 2010 beta and reinstall your Office 2007. The Office 2010 beta will expire on October 31, 2010, at which time you may see a dialog like the one below.  At that time, you will need to either upgrade to the final release of Office 2010, or reinstall your previous version of Office. Our computer was running the Office 2010 Home and Business Click to Run beta, and after uninstalling it we reinstalled Office 2007 Home and Student.  This was a Windows Vista computer, but the process will be exactly the same on Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7.  Additionally, the process to reinstall Office 2007 will be exactly the same regardless of the edition of Office 2007 you’re using. However, please note that if you are running a different edition of Office 2010, especially the 64 bit version, the process may be slightly different.  We will cover this scenario in another article. Remove Office 2010 Click to Run Beta: To remove Office 2010 Click to Run Beta, open Control Panel and select Uninstall a Program. If your computer is running Windows 7, enter “Uninstall a program” in your Start menu search. Scroll down, select “Microsoft Office Click-to-Run 2010 (Beta)”, and click the Uninstall button on the toolbar.  Note that there will be two entries for Office, so make sure to select the “Click-to-Run” entry. This will automatically remove all of Office 2010 and its components.  Click Yes to confirm you want to remove it. Office 2010 beta uninstalled fairly quickly, and a reboot will be required.  Once your computer is rebooted, Office 2010 will be entirely removed. Reinstall Office 2007 Now, you’re to the easy part.  Simply insert your Office 2007 CD, and it should automatically startup the setup.  If not, open Computer and double-click on your CD drive.   Now, double-click on setup.exe to start the installation. Enter your product key, and click Continue…   Click Install Now, or click Customize if you want to change the default installation settings. Wait while Office 2007 installs…it takes around 15 to 20 minutes in our experience.  Once it’s finished  close the installer. Now, open one of the Office applications.  A popup will open asking you to activate Office.  Make sure you’re connected to the internet, and click next; otherwise, you can select to activate over the phone if you do not have internet access. This should only take a minute, and Office 2007 will be activated and ready to run. Everything should work just as it did before you installed Office 2010.  Enjoy! Office Updates Make sure to install the latest updates for Office 2007, as these are not included in your disk.  Check Windows Update (search for Windows Update in the Start menu search), and install all of the available updates for Office 2007, including Service Pack 2. Conclusion This is a great way to keep using Office even if you don’t decide to purchase Office 2010 after it is released.  Additionally, if you’re were using another version of Office, such as Office 2003, then reinstall it as normal after following the steps to remove Office 2010. Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Add or Remove Apps from the Microsoft Office 2007 or 2010 SuiteDetect and Repair Applications In Microsoft Office 2007Save and Restore Your Microsoft Office SettingsDisable Office 2010 Beta Send-a-Smile from StartupHow to See the About Dialog and Version Information in Office 2007 TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips DVDFab 6 Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 If Web Browsers Were Modes of Transportation Google Translate (for animals) Out of 100 Tweeters Roadkill’s Scan Port scans for open ports Out of band Security Update for Internet Explorer 7 Cool Looking Screensavers for Windows

  Read the article

• Secure wipe of a hard drive using WinPE.

  - by Derek Meier

  Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} The wiping of a hard drive is typically seen as fairly trivial.  There are tons of applications out there that will do it for you.  Point àClickàGlobal-Thermo Nuclear War. However, these applications are typically expensive or unreliable.  Plus, if you have a laptop or lack a secondary computer to put the hard drive into – how on earth do you wipe it quickly and easily while still conforming to a 7 pass rule (this means that every possible bit on the hard drive is set to 0 and then to 1 seven times in a row)?  Yes, one pass should be enough – as turning every bit from a 1 to a zero will wipe the data from existence.  But, we’re dealing with tinfoil hat wearing types here people.  DOD standards dictate at least 3 passes, and typically 7 is the preferred amount.  I’m not going to argue about data recovery.  I have been told to use 7 passes, and so I will.  So say we all! Quite some time ago I used to make a BartPE XP-based boot cd for the original purpose of securely wiping data.  I loved BartPE and integrated so many plugins into my builds that I could do pretty much anything directly from CD.  Reset passwords, uninstall security updates, wipe drives, chkdsk, remove spyware, install Windows, etc.  However, with the newer multi-core systems and new chipsets coming out from vendors, I found that BartPE was rather difficult to keep up to date.  I have since switched to WinPE 3.0 (Windows Preinstallation Environment). http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc748933(WS.10).aspx  It is fairly simple to create your own CD, and I have made a few helpful scripts to easily integrate drivers and rebuild the ISO file for you.  I’ll cover making your own boot CD utilizing WinPE 3.0 in a later post – I can talk about WinPE forever and need to collect my thoughts!!  My wife loves talking about WinPE almost as much as talking about Doctor Who.  Wait, did I say loves?  Hmmmm, I may have meant loathes. The topic at hand?  Right. Wiping a drive! I must have drunk too much coffee this morning.  I like to use a simple batch script that calls a combination of diskpart.exe from Microsoft® and Sdelete.exe created by our friend Mark Russinovich. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897443.aspx All of the following files are located within the same directory on my WinPE boot CD. Here are the contents of wipe_me.bat, script.txt and sdelete.reg. Wipe_me.bat:   @echo off echo. echo     I will completely wipe the local hard drives using echo     7 individual wipes. The data will NOT echo     be recoverable.  I will begin after you pause echo. echo Preparing to partition and format disk. Diskpart.exe /s "script.txt" REM I was annoyed by not having a completely automated script – and Sdelete wants you to accept the license agreement. So, I added a registry file to skip doing that. regedit /S sdelete.reg rem sdelete options selected are: -p (passes) -c (zero free space) -s (recurse through subdirectories, if any) -z (clean free space) [drive letter] sdelete.exe -p 7 -c -s -z c: echo. echo Pass seven complete. echo. echo Wiping complete. Pause exit script.txt: list disk select disk 0 clean create partition primary select partition 1 active format FS=NTFS LABEL="New Volume" QUICK assign letter=c exit *Notes: This script assumes one local hard drive – change the script as you see fit for your environment.  The clean command will overwrite the master boot record and any hidden sector information – so be careful!   sdelete.reg: Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Sysinternals\SDelete] "EulaAccepted"=dword:00000001   With a combination of WinPE, sdelete.exe and your friendly neighborhood text editor you can begin wiping drives as quickly and easily as possible!  I hope this helps, I get asked this a lot in my line of work. Best of luck, Derek

  Read the article

• Ask How-To Geek: Dropbox in the Start Menu, Understanding Symlinks, and Ripping TV Series DVDs

  - by Jason Fitzpatrick

  This week we take a look at how to incorporate Dropbox into your Windows Start Menu, understanding and using symbolic links, and how to rip your TV series DVDs right to unique and high-quality episode files. Once a week we dip into our reader mailbag and help readers solve their problems, sharing the useful solutions with you in the process. Read on to see our fixes for this week’s reader dilemmas. Add Drobox to Your Start Menu Dear How-To Geek, I use Dropbox all the time and would like to add it right onto my start menu along side the other major shortcuts like Documents, Pictures, etc. It seems like adding Dropbox into the menu should be part of the Dropbox installation package! Sincerely, Dropboxing in Des Moines Dear Dropboxing, We agree, it would be a nice installation option. As it stands you’re going to have to do a little simple hacking to get Dropbox nestled neatly into your start menu. The hack isn’t super elegant but when you’re done you’ll have the link you want and it’ll look like it was there all along. Check out this step-by-step guide here in order to take an existing Library shortcut and rework it to be a Dropbox link. Understanding and Using Symbolic Links Dear How-To Geek, I was talking to a coworker the other day about an issue I’d been having with a media center application I’m running. He suggested using symbolic links to better organize my media and make it easier for the application to access my collection. I had no idea what he was talking about and never got a chance to bug him about it later. Can you clear up this whole symbolic links business for me? I’ve been using computers for years and I’ve never even heard of it! Sincerely, Symbolic Who? Dear Symbolic, Symbolic links aren’t commonly used by many Windows users which is why you likely haven’t run into the concept. Symbolic links are essentially supercharged shortcuts—the newly introduced Windows library system is really just a type of symbolic link system. You can use symbolic links to do all sorts of neat stuff like link folders to your Dropbox folder, organize media, and more. The concept of symbolic links is pretty simple but the execution can be really tricky. We’d suggest reading over our guide to creating symbolic links in Windows 7, Windows XP, and Ubunutu to get a clearer idea what you’re getting into. Rip Your TV DVDs into Handy Episode Files Dear How-To Geek, My wife got me an iPod for Christmas and I still haven’t got around to filling it up. I have tons of entire TV show seasons on DVD and would like to get them on the iPod but I have absolutely no idea where to start. How do I get the shows off the discs? I thought it would be as easy to import the TV shows into iTunes as it is to import tracks off a CD but I was totally wrong. I tried downloading some applications to rip them but those didn’t work at all. Very frustrating! Surely there is an easy and/or automated way to do this, right? Sincerely, Free My DVDs Dear DVDs, Oh man is this a frustration we can relate to. It’s inordinately difficult to get movies and TV shows off physical media and into digital (and portable media player-friendly) formats. There are a multitude of ways to rip DVDs and quite a few applications out there (some good, some mediocre, and some outright malware). We’d recommend a two-part punch to solve your ripping woes. You’ll need a copy of DVDFab to strip away the protections on the discs and rip the disc and Handbrake to load the disc image and convert the files. It’s not quite as smooth as the CD-to-iTunes workflow but it’s still pretty easy. Check out all the steps and settings you’ll want to toggle here. Have a question you want to put before the How-To Geek staff? Shoot us an email at [email protected] and then keep an eye out for a solution in the Ask How-To Geek column. Latest Features How-To Geek ETC Internet Explorer 9 RC Now Available: Here’s the Most Interesting New Stuff Here’s a Super Simple Trick to Defeating Fake Anti-Virus Malware How to Change the Default Application for Android Tasks Stop Believing TV’s Lies: The Real Truth About "Enhancing" Images The How-To Geek Valentine’s Day Gift Guide Inspire Geek Love with These Hilarious Geek Valentines Google’s New Personal Blocklist Extension Kills Search Engine Spam KeyCounter Tracks Your Keystrokes and Mouse Clicks Add Custom LED Ambient Lighting to Your PC or Media Center The Trackor Monitors Amazon Prices; Integrates with Chrome, Firefox, and Safari Four Awesome TRON Legacy Themes for Chrome and Iron Anger is Illogical – Old School Style Instructional Video [Star Trek Mashup]

  Read the article

• “Being Agile” Means No Documentation, Right?

  - by jesschadwick

  Ask most software professionals what Agile is and they’ll probably start talking about flexibility and delivering what the customer wants.  Some may even mention the word “iterations”.  But inevitably, they’ll say at some point that it means less or even no documentation.  After all, doesn’t creating, updating, and circulating painstakingly comprehensive documentation that everyone and their mother have officially signed off on go against the very core of Agile?  Of course it does!  But really, they’re missing the point! Read The Agile Manifesto. (No, seriously - read it now. It’s short. I’ll wait.)  It’s essentially a list of values.  More specifically, it’s a right-side/left-side weighted list of values:  “Value this over that”. Many people seem to get the impression that this is really a “good vs. bad” list and that those values on the right side are evil and should essentially be tossed on the floor.  This leads to the conclusion that in order to be Agile we must throw away our fancy expensive tools, document as little as possible, and scoff at the idea of a project plan.  This conclusion is quite convenient because it essentially means “less work, more productivity!” (particularly in regards to the documentation and project planning).  I couldn’t disagree with this conclusion more. My interpretation of the Manifesto targets “over” as the operative word.  It’s not just a list of right vs. wrong or good vs. bad.  It’s a list of priorities.  In other words, none of the concepts on the list should be removed from your development lifecycle – they are all important… just not equally important.  This is not a unique interpretation, in fact it says so right at the end of the manifesto! So, the next time your team sits down to tackle that big new project, don’t make the first order of business to outlaw all meetings, documentation, and project plans.  Instead, collaborate with both your team and the business members involved (you do have business members sitting in the room, directly involved in the project planning, right?) and determine the bare minimum that will allow all of you to work and communicate in the best way possible.  This often means that you can pick and choose which parts of the Agile methodologies and process work for your particular project and end up with an amalgamation of Waterfall, Agile, XP, SCRUM and whatever other methodologies the members of your team have been exposed to (my favorite is “SCRUMerfall”). The biggest implication of this is that there is no one way to implement Agile.  There is no checklist with which you can tick off boxes and confidently conclude that, “Yep, we’re Agile™!”  In fact, depending on your business and the members of your team, moving to Agile full-bore may actually be ill-advised.  Such a drastic change just ends up taking everyone out of their comfort zone which they inevitably fall back into by the end of the project.  This often results in frustration to the point that Agile is abandoned altogether because “we just need to ship something!”  Needless to say, this is far more devastating to a project. Instead, I offer this approach: keep it simple and take it slow.  If your business members or customers are only involved at the beginning phases and nowhere to be seen until the project is delivered, invite them to your daily meetings; encourage them to keep up to speed on what’s going on on a daily basis and provide feedback.  If your current process is heavy on the documentation, try to reduce it as opposed to eliminating it outright.  If you need a “TPS Change Request” signed in triplicate with a 5-day “cooling off period” before a change is implemented, try a simple bug tracking system!  Tighten the feedback loop! Finally, at the end of every “iteration” (whatever that means to you, as long as it’s relatively frequent), take as much time as you can spare (even if it’s an hour or so) and perform some kind of retrospective.  Learn from your mistakes.  Figure out what’s working for you and what’s not, then fix it.  Before you know it you’ve got a handful of iterations and/or projects under your belt and you sit down with your team to realize that, “Hey, this is working - we’re pretty Agile!”  After all, Agile is a Zen journey.  It’s a destination that you aim for, not force, and even if you never reach true “enlightenment” that doesn’t mean your team can’t be exponentially better off from merely taking the journey.

  Read the article

• Convert Excel File 'xls' to CSV, CAUTION: Bumps Ahead

  - by faizanahmad

  The task was to provide users with an interface where they can upload the 'csv' files, these files were to be processed and loaded to Database by a Console application. The code in Console application could not handle the 'xls' files so we thought, OK, lets convert 'xls' to 'csv' in the code, Seemed like fun. The idea was to convert it right after uploading within 'csv' file. As Microsoft does not recommend using the  Excel objects in ASP.NET, we decided to use the Jet engine to open xls. (Ace driver is used for xlsx) The code was pretty straight, can be found on following links: http://www.c-sharpcorner.com/uploadfile/yuanwang200409/102242008174401pm/1.aspx http://www.devasp.net/net/articles/display/141.html FIRST BUMP 'OleDbException (0x80004005): Unspecified error' ( Impersonation ): The ablove code ran fine in my test web site and test console application, but it gave an 'OleDbException (0x80004005): Unspecified error' in main web site, turns out imperonation was set to True and as soon as I changed it to False, it did work. on My XP box, web site was running under user                   'ASPNET'  with imperosnation set to FALSE                   'IUSR_*' i.e IIS guest user with impersonation set to TRUE The weired part was that both users had same rights on the folders I was saving files to and on Excel app in DCOM Config.  We decided to give it a try on Windows Server 2003 with web site set to windows authentication ( impersonation = true ) and yes it did work. SECOND BUMP 'External table not in correct format': I got this error with some files and it appeared that the file from client has some metadata issues  ( when I opened the file in Excel and try to save it ,excel  would give me this error saying File can not be saved in current format ) and the error was caused by that. Some people were able to reslove the error by using "Extended Properties=HTML Import;" in connection string. But it did not work for me. We decided to detour from here and use Excel object :( as we had no control on client setting the meta deta of Excel files. Before third bump there were a ouple of small thingies like 'Retrieving the COM class factory for component with CLSID {00024500-0000-0000-C000-000000000046} failed due to the following error: 80070005' Fix can be found at http://blog.crowe.co.nz/archive/2006/03/02/589.aspx THIRD BUMP ( Could not get rid of the EXCEL process  ):  I has all the code in place to 'Quiet' the excel, but, it just did not work. work around was done to Kill the process as we knew no other application on server was using EXCEL.  The normal steps to quite the excel application worked just fine in console application though.   FOURTH BUMP: Code worked with one file 1 on my machine and with the other file 2 code will break. and the same code will work perfectly fine with file 2 on some other machine . We moved it to QA  ( Windows Server 2003 )and worked with every file just perfect. But , then there was another problem: one user can upload it and second cant, permissions on folder and DCOM Conifg checked. Another Detour: Uplooad the xls as it is and convert in Console application.   Lesson Learnt:  If its 'xlsx' use 'ACE Driver' or read xml within excel as recommneded by MS. If xls and you know its always going to be properly formatted  'jet Engine'  Code: Imports Microsoft.Office.Interop Private Function ConvertFile(ByVal SourceFolder As String, ByVal FileName As String, ByVal FileExtension As String)As Boolean     Dim appExcel As New Excel.Application     Dim workBooks As Excel.Workbooks = appExcel.Workbooks     Dim objWorkbook As Excel.Workbook      Try                   objWorkbook = workBooks.Open(CompleteFilePath )                            objWorkbook.SaveAs(Filename:=CObj(SourceFolder & FileName & ".csv"), FileFormat:=Excel.XlFileFormat.xlCSV)       Catch ex As Exception         GenerateAlert(ex.Message().Replace("'", "") & " Error Converting File to CSV.")         LogError(ex )         Return False      Finally                      If Not(objWorkbook is Nothing) then               objWorkbook.Close(SaveChanges:=CObj(False))           End If           ReleaseObj(objWorkbook)                                      ReleaseObj(workBooks)           appExcel.Quit()           ReleaseObj(appExcel)                                 Dim proc As System.Diagnostics.Process           For Each proc In System.Diagnostics.Process.GetProcessesByName("EXCEL")               proc.Kill()           Next         DeleteSourceFile(SourceFolder & FileName & FileExtension)     End Try  Return True  End Function   Private Sub ReleaseObj(ByVal o As Object)     Try      System.Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal.ReleaseComObject(o)   Catch ex As Exception           LogError(ex )   Finally      o = Nothing    End Try End Sub     Protected Sub DeleteSourceFile(Byval CompleteFilePath As string)         Try             Dim MyFile As FileInfo = New FileInfo(CompleteFilePath)             If  MyFile.Exists Then                 File.Delete(CompleteFilePath)             Else              Throw New FileNotFoundException()             End If         Catch ex As Exception             GenerateAlert( " Source File could not be deleted.")              LogError(ex)         End Try     End Sub  The code to kill the process ( Avoid it if you can ): Dim proc As System.Diagnostics.Process For Each proc In System.Diagnostics.Process.GetProcessesByName("EXCEL")     proc.Kill() Next

  Read the article

< Previous Page | 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368  | Next Page >