Windows Tips and Fixes

New Beta of Brightness Display

2010-08-19T14:03:00.000-04:00

Download Beta

Hopefully this will improve reliability. Let me know in comments.

Easily Open the Containing Folder of Any File in a New Window

2010-08-18T08:36:00.002-04:00

Another SendTo enhancement. Download and extract the .exe file your SendTo folder. The source .ahk file and icon are included, in case you want to edit the script and recompile it.

Download

Create a Sendto Item to Securely Delete Files

2010-08-15T15:35:00.001-04:00

This handy little application is a complied AutoHotkey script that uses SDelete from SysInternals. The cute icon is by RainDropMemory.

Select file(s) and/or folder(s), right-click, and select Send To → Secure Delete

To install: Simply decompress the zip archive's contents to any folder and drop a shortcut to Secure Delete.exe in your SendTo folder (go to Start Menu → Run... → shell:sendto). Right-click the shortcut, click Advanced, and check Run as Administrator. Source ahk file is included.

Download

Display Brightness Level in Taskbar

2010-04-15T15:49:00.000-04:00

I wanted a little notification for the current display brightness level. I couldn't find one, but the creator of the Display Brightness Vista Gadget made a console version of his app. I'm not much of a programmer, but I was able to use AutoHotkey to make the current display brightness level appear in the notification area of the taskbar. I'm providing it for download here free. You can't change the brightness level with this utility as you can the gadget... maybe that will be in a revision someday; it only displays the current level in the icon and as a tooltip. Just unzip to any location and run Brightness.exe. The icon in the notification area will change with the current display brightness. It should work on Windows Vista or Windows 7, 32/64-bit. If you have any issue, let me know in the comments. Thanks.

Download

Toolbars for Powerpoint 2007 Macros Are Unnecessary

2010-02-01T18:07:00.001-05:00

Microsoft Office Powerpoint does not have persistent macros like in Word, so creating an add-in is required. However, you can create all macros in a PPTM (Macro-Enabled Powerpoint Presentation), and have an add-in (PPAM) where the AutoOpen () section merely opens the macro-containing file without a visible window. The macros can then be added to the Quick Access Toolbar in Powerpoint 2007.

Example:
Create a new Powerpoint Presentation and in VBA editor, add a module with the code below. Sign it with your personal digital signature and save it to a PPTM file and then save as a PPAM file.

Sub Auto_Open()

Application.Presentations.Open _
FileName:="pathtopowerpointfilewithdesiredmacros.pptm", ReadOnly:=msoFalse, Untitled:=msoFalse, WithWindow:=msoFalse

End Sub

in reference to: http://www.pptfaq.com/FAQ00031.htm (view on Google Sidewiki)

Missing Thumbnails for Microsoft Office Files?

2010-01-06T22:34:00.000-05:00

Missing thumbnails for certain files in Windows Explorer (Vista, Win7) can be puzzling. If you have this difficulty with some Microsoft Office files, it just may be that the thumbnail was not saved with the file. In Microsoft Word 2007, this should be easy: the Save Thumbnail option should appear in the Save As dialog. In Microsoft Powerpoint 2007, things are more cumbersome: go to the Office Orb - Prepare - Properties, and then click on Document Properties in the main window to select Advanced Properties from the drop-down menu. In the Summary tab of Advanced Properties, check the box for Save Preview Picture. Not exactly straightforward, is it? To make it easier the next time, you can add Advanced Document Properties to the Quick Access Toolbar.

Another Way to Uninstall Intellipoint

2009-11-28T00:56:00.000-05:00

I got some kind of error that Intellipoint needed to be reinstalled. Prior to that, I noticed that point64k.sys was coming up as "unsigned" when checking with sigverif. I'm not sure, but it might have to do with a November 2009 update to "Microsoft Hardware wireless mouse driver" or the mysterious "HID Non-User Input Data Filter (KB 911895)", which I can't find any info about. One last (but not least) culprit is the Thinkpad Ultranav pointing device that can have conflicts with Intellipoint & Microsoft mice. At any rate, it looked like the proper thing to do was reinstall Intellipoint and then do an overwrite install of the Ultranav driver and its "Utility".

Intellipoint has to be uninstalled before it can be reinstalled; the installer will refuse to continue if it detects that Intellipoint is already installed. I hope Microsoft changes this someday, because it makes fixing issues of corrupted installed much more difficult... especially when, as in my case, it did not show up in the Program and Features dialog box (previously known as Add/Remove Programs).

At first, I tried using autoruns (from SysInternals) to disable everything Intellipoint, then use Windows Installer Cleanup Utility (where it was listed), and some manual Registry editing to "uninstall" it. It was a disaster, but a System Restore made everything ok again.

Well, Intellipoint and Ultranav were both still messed up, and Intellipoint wasn't listed in the Control Panel as before. It didn't show up in Nirsoft MyUninstaller, either. At this point, though, I got a pretty good idea....

I forwent the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility. It might have worked, but what I did instead was extract the setup app, IPx64_1033_7.00.260.0.exe, using 7-Zip into a folder. Inside the extracted setup executable, I looked for the MSI file. I found ip.msi in the subdirectory ipoint\setup64. I right-clicked it and selected Uninstall. There was a UAC prompt, but there were no errors! I never got a dialog box that uninstallation was complete, but I compared with RegScanner, and Inteillipoint was indeed uninstalled! I rebooted, and I was able to reinstall Intellipoint (as well as the Ultranav stuff, subsequently) without difficulty. Windows Update automatically reapplied the "Microsoft Hardware wireless mouse driver", which is a little worrisome. However, everything seems to be working ok now.

Open Registry Locations from the Clipboard

2009-11-16T16:04:00.001-05:00

On several Windows tips sites (like this modest blog), there are Registry keys listed. A fast way to navigate to them is by using RegJump from Sysinternals or Nirsoft RegScanner (the latter is available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions). Combined with a little AutoHotkey scripting, it's an easy way to open registry locations from web pages:

; AutoHotkey script fragment follows

+^g:: ; press Shift-Ctrl g to activate
clipback := ClipboardAll
clipboard =
Send ^c
ClipWait
StringReplace, clipboard, clipboard, `r, , All ; removes carriage returns from copied text
StringReplace, clipboard, clipboard, `n, , All ; removes line breaks from copied text
StringReplace, clipboard, clipboard, %A_Space%, , All ; removes spaces from copied text
Run, "path_to_regscanner\RegScanner.exe" /clipregedit
clipboard := clipback
clipback =
Return

Use iTunes to Sync to a Non-Default Data File in Outlook

2009-11-16T15:31:00.002-05:00

Although you can use iTunes to sync an iPhone or iPod Touch to Microsoft Office Outlook on Windows, there are no settings in iTunes itself to allow syncing to a data file (PST) other than the default. This is annoying to those who have, say, a Microsoft Exchange account for work that must remain "default" in Outlook, but would like to sync contacts and/or notes that are personal.

There is a workaround, however, which takes advantage of seldom used Outlook Profiles. You can create a new Outlook profile (without an email account if you so choose) just for iPhone syncing. For that new profile, make your personal PST file the default. The content will be the same as when you use that PST normally as a secondary data file. Then, before syncing with iTunes, close Outlook and use the Mail control panel to switch the default Outlook profile to the one you created for iTunes syncing. You can just hit Apply to change the "default" profile, open Outlook again (this step has more reliable sync because it activates the iTunes add-in for Outlook), sync with iTunes, and then change it back and it OK.

Keep Outlook from Stealing Focus

2009-10-18T20:59:00.006-04:00

Outlook steals focus and brings itself to the front multiple times when starting up. It's highly annoying, but it can be stopped. The villain is the /recycle switch that is added to the default shortcut for Microsoft Office Outlook in the Quick Launch toolbar. Removing the switch will make Outlook more behaved when it's starting.

However, you can get multiple Outlook windows if you use the shortcut to activate Outlook when it is already running. Replacing that shortcut to Outlook with the following AutoHotkey script will prevent a multiple window side-effect:

#NoEnv ; Recommended for performance and compatibility with future AutoHotkey releases.
SendMode Input ; Recommended for new scripts due to its superior speed and reliability.
SetWorkingDir %A_ScriptDir% ; Ensures a consistent starting directory.
IfWinExist, ahk_class rctrl_renwnd32
WinActivate
Else Run, C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\OUTLOOK.EXE

Internet Time Sync - Reset to Fix Error on Vista

2009-10-18T20:31:00.009-04:00

Internet Time sync using NTP servers causes frustration for a lot of Windows users. The following instructions will reset the NTP run-time and adjust the NTP server setting. Make sure you haven't set conflicting settings in Group Policy.

1. The default server, time.windows.com, is just not as reliable as some other NTP servers publicly available. However, the best practice now is to sync to a NTP pool and/or your local university's or ISP's NTP servers. Get the list of servers for your location at the NTP Pool Directory. Example: 0.us.pool.ntp.org 1.us.pool.ntp.org 2.us.pool.ntp.org 3.us.pool.ntp.org

2. Run the following commands from an Administrator command prompt:

net stop w32time
w32tm /unregister
w32tm /unregister (yes, again)
w32tm /register
net start w32time
w32tm /config "/manualpeerlist:0.us.pool.ntp.org,0x9 1.us.pool.ntp.org,0x9 2.us.pool.ntp.org,0x9 3.us.pool.ntp.org,0x9 time.windows.com,0x9" /syncfromflags:MANUAL
w32tm /config /update

3. Now you can check to see which server you are currenly connected to:

w32tm /query /source
w32tm /query /peers

4. To sync your PC's clock to the time server's manually at this point (it will update according to the default schedule):

w32tm /resync

That should do it!

Make Yahoo! Day Planner Widget Work with Google Calendar

2009-08-02T12:12:00.005-04:00

[Updated Aug 3]

The Day Planner widget that comes with the Yahoo! Widget Engine (a.k.a. Konfabulator) can work with iCalendar (ICAL) files, but this feature has been hidden in the Windows platform since Mozilla Sunbird stopped using iCalendar files (.ics) for storing calendar data.

Google Calendar makes a private link to your calendars, in various formats, including ICAL. To use it with Yahoo! Day Planner widget (which looks a lot better than Google Desktop Gadgets, IMO), you have to do 2 things:

Find a way to periodically download the GCal .ics file from the Internet to a file on your computer.
Hack the widget to use the .ics file for calender info.

There are several ways (I presume) of handling step 1, but for step 2: quit Yahoo! Widget Engine and then go to the following key in the Registry and change the value with the name source to the string icalendar

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Yahoo\WidgetEngine\Widgets\Day Planner

Now, to periodically download the .ics file... You can get your private URL for the .ics file under Settings in Google Calendar (more info). I made an AutoHotkey script to download it periodically, but I imagine there are a lot of little utilities that can periodically download a file from the Internet. Whatever you set up, when you start Yahoo Widgets again, you'll be prompted for the directory where the .ics file you want to use is located.

Update: I modified the Day Planner widget to make it more friendly to iCalendar files. I used the Widget Converter widget to convert the Day Planner.widget to a folder. I then edited PIMp.kon in Wordpad.

An Easy Way to Improve Security in IE

2009-07-27T14:25:00.002-04:00

The Hazards of MIME Sniffing

Bottom line:

As a user you can go into security settings for the Internet Zone and switch off the “Open files based on content, not extension” option.

Outlook Junk Email Filtering with Non-Cached Exchange Account

2009-07-19T12:42:00.003-04:00

Junk Email filtering in Outlook only works when there is a default PST or OST data file, and then it works only on email delivered to the Inbox. Therefore, if you have a server rule that moves mail to other folders, spam will not be filtered. Instead, have rules that move messages be client-based by including the condition, "On this machine only". That way, Outlook's Junk Email filtering will be active before rules to move messages from the default Inbox take effect.

In addition (or alternatively), you can enable server-based Junk Email filtering within Options of Outlook Web Access.

Replacement New Email Icon Notification for Outlook

2009-06-27T14:10:00.005-04:00

The little icon that you can have show up in the notification area of the taskbar (a.k.a. the tray) when you receive new email in Outlook is not always so convenient. If you receive mail into a folder that's different than the default Inbox, it doesn't work so well.

Using AutoHotkey, I made a little EXE application that pops a pretty envelope icon and plays the New Email sound specified in the Sounds control panel (provided it is in the default %SYSTEMROOT%\Media folder). It even has a neat-o tooltip with the time mail was received.

To use: Put OutlookNoti.exe anywhere and make or revise a rule in Outlook that involves starting the application when mail arrives. That's it!

It's freeware. Enjoy!

Download
Source

System Requirements:
It should work with most versions of Microsoft Outlook and Windows, but post a comment below if there's an issue.

Removing "Near Me" Group from AIM Buddy List

2009-06-27T14:02:00.003-04:00

"Near Me" is a so-called smart group, and it cannot be removed like other groups (apparently). You can delete the group from this page: http://buddyinfo.aim.com/sg/

Thanks to openaimsupport

Tabless Web Browsing

2009-05-23T23:07:00.010-04:00

Having tabs in web browsers can be very convenient, but they can be annoying also. That point totally mystifies some people.

There are 2 reasons why I wanted to get a tabless web browser. First is that I have a widescreen notebook computer. The vertical space is more precious to me than the horizontal space. Unless you're using an extension like Tab Kit in Firefox, you are stuck with tabs between the top of your screen and the start of web page content.

Second, I sometimes use the web while referring to windows of other programs (incredible, yes?). I can have a lot of windows, browser or otherwise, open at once. Accordingly, I have a vertically oriented taskbar on the left side of the screen. I can stretch out the taskbar quite wide, and all buttons for open windows stack nicely on top of each other. If I open many windows, I get a second column of buttons that is still quite readable. Also, I have Aero previews so I can see what's what very easily. With Taskbar Shuffle, I can rearrange and middle-click to close taskbar buttons.

For tabless web browsing, I could find only 2 3 options: Internet Explorer (not IE-based browsers like Maxthon, Avant, or TheWorld), Safari, and Firefox. (Actually, you can't disable tabs in Safari, but you can Ctrl-click to open in a new background window.) With Safari, I couldn't get downloads to save correctly, so I wanted to see if I could work with IE. With Internet Explorer, you can disable tabs, but it does not look like you can open new windows in the background by default; they insist on stealing focus. In Firefox, set appropriate options for opening in windows instead of tabs and set browser.tabs.opentabsfor.middleclick to false, but new windows insist on stealing focus. The following in my main AutoHotkey script helped with that [UPDATED 6/4/2009]:


GroupAdd, browser, ahk_class IEFrame
GroupAdd, browser, ahk_class MozillaUIWindowClass



#IfWinActive, ahk_group browser

#MaxThreadsPerHotkey 8
; ^LButton:: SetWinDelay, 333 ; Uncomment if there are windowing problems in IE.

WinGet, parent, ID, A 
Send {Click M} 
WinWaitNotActive, ahk_id %parent%, , 10
If Errorlevel Return 
WinGet, child, ID, A 
WinActivate, ahk_id %parent% 
WinWaitActive, ahk_id %parent% 
WinGet, mx, MinMax, ahk_id %child% 
If mx = 0 WinMaximize, ahk_id %child% 
Return
#MaxThreadsPerHotkey 1
#IfWinActive

I think this way of using web browsers is pretty efficient, but having to use AHK to make it possible is sad. I mentioned some IE-based browsers, and they do have many features, but disabling tabs appears to just not be an option. Please, if you make a web browser, make it possible to easily open links in new background windows.

Reset Networking to (Possibly) Speed Up WiFi + Ethernet!

2009-04-15T17:14:00.006-04:00

I noticed reconnecting to a wireless network after waking my Vista laptop from sleep was delayed. Also, running Internet speed tests showed slower rates, both over WiFi and even connected via Ethernet cable. I had been adjusting cabling and my router, so I had thought the problem was in that.

In the end, resetting networking components in Windows fixed all the problems. I gained 3000 Kbps in speed to match the cable Internet service I pay for. If you are having similar problems, try running the following Netsh commands from an elevated command prompt and then restart your PC:

netsh winsock reset
netsh int ipv4 reset
netsh int reset all

How to Determine Channels of Nearby Wireless Networks

2009-04-03T23:21:00.003-04:00

Run the following from a command prompt:
netsh wlan show networks mode=bssid

Editor for AHK Scripts

2009-04-02T16:34:00.004-04:00

Because I love AutoHotkey, I want to tell everybody about this great, free editor: SciTE4AutoHotkey

Quick tip: to reload what you're working on upon save, add this to your script:

#IfWinActive, D:\Documents\AutoHotkey.ahk
~^s::
Sleep 500
reload
return
#IfWinActive

Determining Song Volume Pain in iTunes 8.1

2009-03-14T03:31:00.004-04:00

My music is on a network drive, so when iTunes started "Determining Song Volume" for thousands of tracks across a network connection, it pretty much froze up. Syncing was also pain.

iTunes wants to figure out the song volume stuff for its Sound Check feature, which you can disable in the Playback tab of Preferences. However, the Determining Song Volume madness persists if that is part of the Burn settings, only available when you are burning a playlist to CD (or pretending to):

1) click on any playlist.
2) click on "burn disc" (bottom right) - a pop-up window with burn settings will appear.
3) untick the "sound check" box.
4) click "burn" (just leave the disc drive empty, you dont actually need to burn a cd).
5) up the top, itunes will ask you to "please insert a blank disc" - just click the x and close this message.
6) click "burn disc" again to view the pop-up window - you will notice that the sound check box is now unticked. (click burn or cancel to close it)
7) close itunes, give it a minute, then open it again and you'll notice the problem is fixed!
Source (and thanks!)

UPnP Wireless Routers + Vista + IGDDC (???)

2009-02-21T03:05:00.005-05:00

To get the most out of your wireless router, get one that is certified for Windows Vista. Officially, there aren't many. You can test your router for Vista-friendly features with Microsoft's online check (IE6+ only). Luckily, my new Netgear router had updated firmware to take advantage of UPnP etc., but my old LevelOne router did not have proper UPnP functionality even though it was in the release notes for the latest firmware. UPnP is handy for opening ports when necessary for multimedia streaming. There have been security concerns about UPnP in the past, but Vista does well to separate Public vs Private networks.

Following the results of the above-linked Internet Connectivity Evaluation Tool can be tricky. You can find online documentation for disabling RWIN auto-scaling if necessary or enabling Compound TCP if your router can accept it (either using Netsh), if those defaults should be changed. However, it can be a real mystery to make your UPnP router work. It could be the Microsoft has another confusing and hard to-remember name for the technology: Internet Gateway Device Discovery and Control (IGDDC). To take advantage of IGDDC, you must have:

A UPnP-compatible router with UPnP enabled
Network Discovery turned On (be on a "Private" network)
Internet Connection Sharing turned On for the Wireless Network Connection
UPnP Device Host service set to Automatic (Delayed) (this is the default)

You might need to restart your PC or disconnect/reconnect for the changes to be active.

Ugly Noise from Laptop Headphone Jack with AC Power

2009-01-31T19:54:00.002-05:00

I plugged a 3.5mm stereo cable from my laptop to some speakers, and there was a horrible noise over the music I was trying to play. I thought at first that the audio cable was bad, but I noticed the problem went away if the AC adapter was unplugged from the computer. Interference from the surge protector's other plugs & transformers resulted in interference. Plugging the AC adapter into an power outlet on another wall solved the issue.

Make iTunes on Windows Seem a Bit Faster

2009-01-28T15:57:00.003-05:00

Browsing the iTunes Store within iTunes 8 on Windows is frustrating, because Apple forced slow and clunky software components only to make it look kind of like Safari and Mac OS X. In my opinion, a Mac program is confusing on Windows and it clashes aesthetically. Also, the performance stinks.

At any rate, you can improve the slow scrolling using a scroll wheel mouse and the following AutoHotkey code:

#IfWinActive ahk_class iTunes
WheelDown::Send {pgdn}
WheelUp::Send {pgup}
#IfWinActive

Also, there is an alternative and unofficial web interface for the iTunes Store: http://app-store.appspot.com/

Some New "Top Tools"

2009-01-14T15:20:00.002-05:00

Check out revisions in the sidebar for additions. (Sorry, I didn't really pay attention to what I removed from the list.. usually things that I haven't really used myself as I thought I would.)

Ctrl-RightClick to Delete Messages in Outlook

2009-01-14T15:02:00.003-05:00

An amendment to previous posts:

#IfWinActive ahk_class rctrl_renwnd32
^RButton::
  MouseGetPos, , , , pane
  If pane = SUPERGRID1
  Send {Click}^d
  else
  Click right
  return
RButton::
  MouseGetPos, , , , pane
  If pane = SUPERGRID1
  Send {Click}!q
  else
  Click right
  return
#IfWinActive

Fix Wireless Network Reconnection

2009-01-06T06:47:00.006-05:00

If you're having problems with reconnecting to your wireless network after wake/resume from sleep/standby, or if you are getting errors upon connecting due to cancellation or timeout, or if you are having other problems with your wireless in Windows XP SP2 or Vista, try these solutions:

Update wireless adapter drivers if necessary (Vista SP2 Beta might also fix)
Disable unused network adapter(s) in Device Manager (except hidden devices)
Disable power management of wireless adapter: mark Maximum Performance in adapter properties (if available in driver itself) and in advanced settings for power profiles in Windows [More on the latter in Vista]
Also: in Properties for wireless adapter in Device Manager, on Power Management tab, uncheck 'Allow computer to turn off this device to save power'
Set DhcpConnForceBroadcastFlag registry key to 0 [More]
Reset networking with the following from the command line and reboot:

netsh int ip reset
netsh winsock reset

Norton AntiVirus 2009 is Surprisingly Good

2009-01-06T06:42:00.003-05:00

I've been down on Norton/Symantec products in the past, but Norton AntiVirus is the best antimalware application I've ever used. It's fast, efficient, and protects Firefox. I got my copy for $20 after rebate at Staples, and there might be other good deals elsewhere.

Update: I now more fond of Microsoft Security Essentials, which is free.

Right-Click to QuickArchive in Outlook

2009-01-06T06:12:00.006-05:00

The following AutoHotkey code makes right-clicking a shortcut for QuickArchiving in Outlook, but (helpfully) only if a message is being right-clicked. Otherwise, there is normal right-clicking behavior.

#IfWinActive ahk_class rctrl_renwnd32
RButton::
MouseGetPos, , , , pane
If pane = SUPERGRID1
Send {Click}!q
else
Click right
return
#IfWinActive

White Too Harsh? Soften the Background Color

2009-01-02T05:34:00.010-05:00

Using Microsoft Office Outlook, I noticed the background was such a bright white that it hurt to look at it. The background color is sort of customizable by adjusting the system color for windows as follows:

For RGB values, use the same number between 245 and 255

You can also make a similar adjustment for Mozilla Firefox by going to about:config and changing various color options to #f8f8f8

Improving Wireless Networking on Vista (and XP?)

2008-12-30T03:36:00.005-05:00

Some commands for the Command Prompt:

netsh int ipv4 reset
netsh winsock reset
netsh int tcp set global rss=enabled chimney=disabled autotuninglevel=normal congestionprovider=ctcp ecncapability=enabled timestamps=disabled
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew

Registry change from Microsoft KB928233:

DhcpConnForceBroadcastFlag 0

QuickArchive: More About Gmail-like Archive in Outlook

2008-12-29T12:04:00.007-05:00

Expanding upon this earlier post, I started using AutoHotkey so that Shift Right-Clicking a message in Outlook archives it and Ctrl Right-Clicking deletes it. To do so, I changed the toolbar name for the ArchiveSelected macro to "&QuickArchive" (without quotes). An ampersand in a toolbar item name underlines the following character so that the button may be "clicked" via a keyboard shortcut: in this case Alt-Q. Why "Q"? Well, every other letter I tried was already taken by a menu or another toolbar item.

Then, I added the following to my main AHK script:

#IfWinActive ahk_class rctrl_renwnd32
+RButton::
Send {Click}
Send !q
return
^RButton::
Send {Click}
Send ^d
return
#IfWinActive

Apps I'm Thankful For

2008-11-27T15:13:00.002-05:00

Everything (Search)
Firefox
AutoHotkey
MWSnap
Taskbar Shuffle
Norton Antivirus 2009
Digsby
Audacity
MP3Tag
SpywareBlaster
TrueCrypt
Windows Vista
Nirsoft
Console Calculator
GOM Player
MP3 to Ipod Audiobook Converter

Parallel Port Driver Service Failed to Start

2008-11-26T21:38:00.003-05:00

If you don't have a parallel port on your computer, this is easily fixed from the command line:

sc config parport start= disabled

Disable Wireless LED with Gigabyte GN-WI06

2008-11-21T21:20:00.004-05:00

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E972-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}\0008

In the registry key above, changing the value for LinkLedFunc to 00 from 03 effectively disabled the WLAN indicator LED. Simply deleting the LED keys did not do the trick.

Error 1310 Can't Write to Config.msi Directory During Repair or Uninstall

2008-10-23T18:36:00.004-04:00

Error 1310. Error writing to file: C:\Config.Msi\59cb9b6.rbf. System error 5. Verify that you have access to that directory.

This problem seems to especially crop up under Windows Vista with UAC turned off. There is a lot of advice online about adjusting the permissions of the Config.msi folder, but I don't think they work.

The following workaround seems to do the trick, however:

1. First, try resetting Windows Installer by running the following (this might be all you need to do):
msiexec /unreg
msiexec /regserver

2. When installing a program, like from Adobe or Microsoft Office 2007, that demonstrates this problem, run the installer EXE in XP Compatibility mode.

3. Make sure the setup programs that are copied to your Program Files directory are set to run in XP Compatibility mode. Here are a couple examples:
Adobe Acrobat Pro 9: "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 9.0\Setup Files\{AC76BA86-1033-0000-7760-000000000004}\Setup.exe"

Microsoft Office 2007: "C:\Program Files\Common Files\microsoft shared\OFFICE12\Office Setup Controller\SETUP.EXE"

4. Make sure that no files are in use when doing a change/repair operation. For example, Copernic Desktop Search keeps Outlook files in use unless it is shut down, and changing the Office installation will fail. Other search programs or backup software might make for the same problem.

Command Line: Enable/Disable Require Password on Wake from Sleep or Hibernate

2008-09-05T15:11:00.004-04:00

I couldn't find this anywhere online:

powercfg -setdcvalueindex SCHEME_CURRENT SUB_NONE CONSOLELOCK 1
powercfg -setacvalueindex SCHEME_CURRENT SUB_NONE CONSOLELOCK 1

The last digit enables or disables the setting: 0 = password not required; 1= password required

New Antivirus Recommendations

2008-08-31T14:34:00.004-04:00

Avast! Home: Web Shield, Network Shield, Email/Outlook (Attachments Only), Standard Shield (Check only on copying/modifying files and not on application launch) -- Very fast and Web Shield does not slow down browsing.
SpywareBlaster

Please see previous security/malware posts for more information, especially why I prefer a "light" antivirus strategy.

Some Favorite Time Savers with AutoHotkey

2008-08-19T11:53:00.008-04:00

AutoHotkey is awesome.

NB: I use KeyTweak to remap the [Right Alt key to Right Ctrl] and [Right Ctrl to another Left Ctrl]. Although AHK can use RAlt as a command key (when written ">!"), Windows has a hard time with it.

AutoExecute Section:

#NoEnv
#SingleInstance force
#UseHook On
#WinActivateForce
SetBatchLines -1
SendMode Input
SetKeyDelay, 1, 1
Process, priority, , High
GroupAdd, AllWindows, , , , ahk_class Shell_TrayWnd

Right Alt + Right Ctrl for Back/Fwd buttons

>^LCtrl::Send {Browser_Forward}
<^RCtrl::Send {Browser_Back}

Tilde ` key to close active window

>^`::Send {asc 096} ; ` since ` is remapped to WinClose
`::
PostMessage, 0x112, 0xF060,,, A
Sleep 50
IfWinActive, ahk_class Shell_TrayWnd
GroupActivate, AllWindows
return

Capslock key minimizes active window

Capslock::
WinMinimize, A
Sleep 50
IfWinActive, ahk_class Shell_TrayWnd
GroupActivate, AllWindows
return

Left Shift + Right Shift for Capslock

<+RShift:: SetStoreCapslockMode, Off Sendevent {capslock} return

Shift-Capslock toggle restore/maximize active window

+Capslock::
WinGet MX, MinMax, A
If MX
WinRestore A
Else WinMaximize A
return

Ctrl-Click becomes a Middle Click for the taskbar and Firefox tab bar (recommend Taskbar Shuffle for closing windows from Taskbar with middle click)

^LButton:: ; Make ctrl-click a middle click in certain circumstances
MouseGetPos, , , , currentcontrol
If currentcontrol in ToolbarWindow324,MozillaWindowClass6
Click M
else
Send ^{click}
return

Various Clipboard extensions

>^end::Send {Shift Down}{End}{Shift Up}{Backspace} ; Delete to end of line

>^v:: ; paste without extra spaces, line breaks
gosub getplain
gosub pasteplain
return

+>^v:: ; additionally remove formatting
gosub getplain
clipboard := %clipboard%
gosub pasteplain
return
getplain:
ClipSaved := ClipboardAll
StringReplace, clipboard, clipboard, `r`n, %A_Space%, All
clipboard := RegExReplace(clipboard, "` {2,}", "` ")
StringLeft, 1st, clipboard, 1
IfInString, 1st, %A_Space%
StringTrimLeft, clipboard, clipboard, 1
StringRIght, last, clipboard, 1
IfInString, last, %A_Space%
StringTrimRight, clipboard, clipboard, 1
return

pasteplain: ; pastes and then clears clipboard and restores clipboard from clipsaved
Send ^v
gosub restoreclip
return

backupclip: ; backups clipboardall to ClipSaved and then copies (follow with restoreclip)
ClipSaved := ClipboardAll ; Save the entire clipboard to a variable of your choice.
clipboard := ; empty clipboard
Send ^c
ClipWait, 2, 1
IfEqual, ErrorLevel, 0
return
else
{
gosub restoreclip
exit
}

restoreclip: ; restores clipboard to clipsaved
Clipboard := ClipSaved ; Restore the original clipboard. Note the use of Clipboard (not ClipboardAll).
ClipSaved = ; Free the memory in case the clipboard was very large.
return

Edit AHK script

>^h::Edit

Reload AHK script upon save (I use HiEditor)

#IfWinActive, HiEditor - D:\Documents\AutoHotkey.ahk
~^s::
Sleep 500
reload
return
#IfWinActive

To prevent accidental firing using Capslock or tilde, see this solution.

Add Gmail-like "Archive" and "Move to Inbox" Buttons to Outlook

2008-08-18T21:00:00.004-04:00

The blog Techdem has instructions for adding a "Done" button to Microsoft Outlook. I've modified the macro code from those instructions and made similar buttons for the toolbars of message windows:

Sub ArchiveSelected()
Set ArchiveFolder = Application.GetNamespace("MAPI"). _
   GetDefaultFolder(olFolderInbox).Parent.Folders("Archive")
For Each Msg In ActiveExplorer.Selection
   Msg.UnRead = False
   Msg.ClearTaskFlag
   Msg.Move ArchiveFolder
   Next Msg
End Sub

Sub ArchiveActive()
Set ArchiveFolder = Application.GetNamespace("MAPI"). _
   GetDefaultFolder(olFolderInbox).Parent.Folders("Archive")
  Dim myItem As Object
  Set myItem = Application.ActiveInspector.CurrentItem
  myItem.UnRead = False
  myItem.ClearTaskFlag
  myItem.Move ArchiveFolder
End Sub

Sub MoveActiveToInbox()
  Dim myItem As Object
  Set myInbox = Application.GetNamespace("MAPI"). _
   GetDefaultFolder(olFolderInbox)
  Set myItem = Application.ActiveInspector.CurrentItem
  myItem.Move myInbox
End Sub

Sub MoveSelectedToInbox()
Set myInbox = Application.GetNamespace("MAPI"). _
   GetDefaultFolder(olFolderInbox)
   For Each Msg In ActiveExplorer.Selection
   Msg.Move myInbox
   Next Msg
End Sub

Updates: Please see QuickArchive in Outlook for more.

Antivirus Strategy Update: Recommended Download Manager

2008-08-06T18:18:00.006-04:00

As I've written earlier, I believe real-time antivirus carries too high a performance cost for the protection it provides. Windows has a deserved reputation for security holes, but antivirus is not the most relevant part of a wise security setup for a PC. In fact, traditional antivirus has some troubling disadvantages:

Slow read/write disk access up to 15-fold
Definitions may not be available until after a virus has reached your computer
Deleting or quarantining false positives can be hazardous
Background scanning can interfere with software installation and updating, leading to malfunction that is difficult to correct
Popular free software like AVG updates only daily, so even if proper definitions are available, your software might not have them
Marketing preys on fears of the Internet that aren't proportional to the actual risk involved
The same files may be scanned many times even though they hadn't changed at all since the last scan
Hazardous files may still go undetected by scanner incompetence or bad virus definitions

I still use antivirus, but only for downloads and for periodic on-demand scans. To assist with this, I use a download manager that scans downloaded files. I've recently tried many options: Free Download Manager 2.5/2.6, Fresh Download 8.06, Download Accelerator Manager, Download Statusbar, BitComet, LeechGet 2007, Orbit Downloader, and FlashGet. Of these, my current favorite choice is Orbit Downloader, which needs the FlashGot extension for Firefox 3 to work properly with that browser. For scanning, I use ClamWin but with a compiled AutoHotkey script so that it scans downloaded files in a minimized window unobtrusively. You're welcome to download the small .EXE I use for this purpose for yourself (specify that .EXE as your virus scanner in the options of the download manager).

Beyond this, it's wise to use an active firewall such as the one the comes with Windows XP SP2 or Vista, preventative steps such as subscriptions against malware sites as is provided with SpywareBlaster and AdBlock Plus, and to keep unnecessary networking functions disabled.

UPDATE: Avast is free, has frequent updates, and can be set to only scan when files are being copied/modified. I now prefer this approach over Orbit Downloader + ClamWin.

How to Disable the Annoying Blinking LED for an Atheros Wireless Adapter

2008-08-04T15:58:00.003-04:00

In Regedit, go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E972-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} and look the key for your wireless adapter.
Back it up then delete the following keys:

gpioPinFunc1
gpioLedCustom
gpioFunc1ActHi

After, restart.

If you want to have a visual cue of network activity, you can right-click the network icon in the notification area of the taskbar and select Turn On Activity Animation, and this is more subtle and less distracting than the amber LED. By the way, the button to turn the wireless adapter on and off still works after deleting the above keys.

Crossposted here

Recommended Firefox Extensions

2008-08-04T15:55:00.001-04:00

Sorry, I'm too lazy to make links to all of them:

Distrust
Forecastfox
Add to Search Bar
IE View Lite
Link Alert
New Tab Button on Tab Bar
Options Menu
Personal Menu
Tab Control
Adblock Plus
Adblock Plus Element Hiding Helper
CustomizeGoogle
Stylish: Combine Stop/Reload Buttons, Yellow https bar

[SOLVED] Unwanted Wake from Sleep on Vista

2008-07-30T21:18:00.003-04:00

By Fungi008:

Vista's dumb multimedia sharing option: More complex (and I don't think anyone else has posted it). Do this:
Control Panel -> Power Options -> If "High Performance" is selected, choose something else, like "Balanced" (I don't know why this works) -> Change plan settings (for the chosen power plan) -> Change advanced power settings -> Scroll down to Multimedia settings -> Choose "Allow the computer to sleep"

Thanks, Fungi008!

[SOLVED] Dialog Boxes Stuck Behind Their Parent Windows

2008-07-30T15:20:00.004-04:00

I thought this was a common Windows bug, but since the search terms were so common, it was very difficult to find a discussion on the matter online. I had a frequent problem where an application would bring up a modal dialog that would get very easily trapped behind the parent window. That is, a dialog box would have focus that could not be shifted to the window that spawned it, but the dialog box itself would not come to the forefront so it would be obscured. Trying to switch using the taskbar or alt-tab didn't usually help. Regrettably, I thought the problem was due to bad programming of the applications that demonstrated the behavior, like Iolo System Mechanic 8. It turns out the problem was instead due to a software conflict...

Quitting Acer GridVista and stopping it from running at startup fixed the problem. Similar stay-on-top shell enhancements might interfere also.

Possible Fix for DWM.EXE error?

2008-07-24T12:48:00.008-04:00

During shutdown on Vista, I would occasionally get the following error:

GDI+ Window: dwm.exe - Application Error : The instruction at 0x748573f6 referenced memory at 0x748573f6. The memory could not be written.

I was also having problems with a blank taskbar and notification area upon resume from sleep mode.

I believe that this could be related to changing the driver for nVidia graphics or changing disk access to AHCI causing the Desktop Window Manager to no longer be seen as genuine.

Here are the commands that (I hope) has fixed the issue:

cd %windir%\system32
wscript slmgr.vbs -rearm

Then, reboot when prompted.

UPDATE (29 July 2008): That wasn't enough. Try the following if you're still having trouble:

Reinstall the license files with wscript slmgr.vbs -rilc (wait for confirmation)
Reboot
Go to Genuine Microsoft Software and click Validate Windows

Awesome Free Apps; Most or All You've Haven't Heard Of

2008-06-11T10:41:00.007-04:00

My new favorite web browser: TheWorld Browser (super fast and based on IE) [PS I'm now back to Firefox 3]
My favorite Instant Messaging client and way to manage Gmail: Digsby
My favorite screenshot taker: MWSnap
My favorite calculator: PowerToy Calc (you can run it in Vista under compatibility mode)
My favorite media player: GOM Player (keyboard shortcuts for everything including tempo)
My favorite PDF viewer & editor: PDF-XChange Viewer
My favorite vector graphics creator or logo/stamp maker: Vector Studio
My favorite zip utility: PeaZip [I actually like 7-Zip a bit better]

Fixing Outlook's Data Store

2008-06-03T12:48:00.003-04:00

In Microsoft Office, there is an OST Integrity Check Tool (Outlook 2003 & Outlook 2007), but there is no easy shortcut. I recommend making a new shortcut for your Start Menu group like this: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\SCANOST.EXE"

UPDATE: If you're having frequent problems, a couple files in %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Outlook may be corrupted: outcmd.dat & Outlook.nk2. While Outlook isn't running, rename those files.

Also, disable unused add-ons easily with OfficeIns.

New Software Picks

2008-05-25T01:39:00.002-04:00

Since moving to Vista, I have switched around my favorite programs. More are forthcoming, but I'm no longer featuring the following since they're better for XP:

FolderICO
FastStone Image Viewer
ToolTipFixer
Tweak UI

Beware If Taking the AHCI Plunge

2008-05-25T01:30:00.003-04:00

With a recent BIOS update, I noticed a new option for AHCI vs. IDE mode. Even though Vista has support for this new supposedly feature-rich disk technology, those drivers are disabled after installation. Vista won't even boot after making the change in BIOS to AHCI unless you first do the following:

To resolve this issue, enable the AHCI driver in the registry before you change the SATA mode of the boot drive. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Exit all Windows-based programs.
2. Click Start, type regedit in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER.
3. If you receive the User Account Control dialog box, click Continue.
4. Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Msahci
5. In the right pane, right-click Start in the Name column, and then click Modify.
6. In the Value data box, type 0, and then click OK.
7. On the File menu, click Exit to close Registry Editor.

From KB 922976

Restore Default NTFS, Etc. Permissions for Vista (and XP)

2008-05-24T10:58:00.002-04:00

This was difficult to find online, so I thought I'd write a post about it. Here's the bottom line:

secedit /configure /cfg %windir%\inf\defltbase.inf /db defltbase.sdb /verbose

More info and instructions for XP: KB 313222

Quickly Insert Unicode (Greek, Symbols, etc.) into Any Application

2008-05-10T11:16:00.004-04:00

Perhaps someday I'll write one killer article all about AutoHotkey and how it can accelerate your productivity, but for now I'll just discuss one problem it can (help) solve: inputting special characters such as α or → with ease. I put "help" in quotation marks, because AHK does not have an easy, built-in way of inputting Unicode characters (yet), but it can do effective text auto-replace (a.k.a. hotstrings). There are several clever solutions on the AHK forums for the Unicode deficit (SendU, etc.), and here's mine:

Add the following string entry to the Registry for the Alt-Plus method of entering characters:

Key: HKCU\Control Panel\Input Method
String name: EnableHexNumpad
Value: 1

After a restart, you can enter Unicode characters by their hexadecimal value. [That's the alphanumeric number U+03c3 in the left part of the status bar in Character Map.] Hold down Alt and press the + key on the numeric pad and then the hex code for the character you want, without the leading zeroes if you like and then release the Alt key. Convoluted, huh? Here's a script that show's how to make light work of it with AHK: specialchar.ahk

With this kind of script running, "/alpha" immediately becomes "α"

Bonus tip: you can use a "raw" hotstring for faster entries:

#IfWinActive HiEditor ; or whatever editor you use for editing AHK scripts
#Hotstring R
::<<::{alt down}{numpadadd}
::>>::{alt up}
#Hotstring R0
#IfWinActive

BTW, I should mention that AHK has a {ASC nnnnn} function for the alt-numpad method of entering special characters, but it has 2 main problems: it can enter only the decimal and not the hexadecimal code for a character (which is fine for ASCII and ANSI but less convenient for Unicode), and only certain applications using the RichText framework can interpret Unicode characters entered this way (decimal).

Uninstall a Service

2008-05-08T10:21:00.002-04:00

If you want to delete/uninstall/remove a Windows service, perhaps left from an incomplete installer, you can use the sc command from an Administrator control prompt: sc delete [servicename]

Folder2Junction now on Softpedia

2008-05-04T15:05:00.002-04:00

Well, this is cool:

[SOLVED] Adobe Reader 8.1.2 Freezes Entire Computer

2008-04-30T12:35:00.006-04:00

Under Vista, opening some PDF's can crash Adobe Reader 8.1 so badly that the entire computer can freeze up and only a hard reboot is possible. The conflict is threefold: Reader's GPU acceleration, Vista's UAC, and temp folder security.

I fixed it by adjusting the following in Reader's preferences (not all steps may be necessary):

Automatic Default Page Layout
Automatic Default Zoom
Hardware rendering for legacy video cards
PDF browser plugin, fast web view (irrelevant to this, though)
Acrobat JavaScript
Preferred Media Player (.i.e., set to Windows Media Player)
Multimedia operations
Verify signatures when opened
Check spelling when typing
External content (off by default, I think)

Most importantly, adjust the properties for AcroRd32.exe to run in compatibility mode for Windows XP SP2.

Cross-posted from http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=3302386#post3302386

Traditional Antivirus is Wasteful

2008-04-27T17:43:00.003-04:00

A response to this LifeHacker post:

Traditional real-time antivirus scanning is wasteful, IMO. Viruses can come through in what you download, or if your networking settings are weirdly insecure-- but it's not like you can just "catch" a virus. To warn people that their computers might be unknowingly infected is unnecessarily alarmist; a virus or trojan would have to come from a downloaded or copied file. I scan every file I download by having Free Download Manager call ClamWin (and A-Squared Command Line), which I update hourly (I even made an AutoHotkey script so that the scan happens in the background). This precaution makes more sense than scanning every file whenever it is read or written, and it is hugely better for your I/O performance.

All in all, though, blacklist-paradigm antivirus does not make a lot of sense nowadays for on-access scanning, because viruses (and more relevantly, other kinds of malware) spread before virus definitions are created. Furthermore, on-access scanning of files involves a huge performance cost. If you scan all incoming files, extra file scanning doesn't make any sense unless the virus definitions have been updated in the interim. I'm perplexed, for instance, by Avast!, which can scan all files + emails + IMs... if all files are being scanned, why the extra scanning repetition due to its route of entry?

However, blacklist-oriented antivirus seems wise for periodic on-demand scanning. For this, Norton Security Scan available free through Google Pack is a nice choice.

A better choice for so-called real-time antivirus, though, is behavior-based scanning such as Threatfire, but I prefer Mamutu ($30 for 1 year). Threatfire would interfere with several programs (especially the kind that export files to other formats: PDF Creator, AutoHotkey EXE compiler) even when "suspended," so I can't recommend it unless you're allergic to spending money on security software (as I tend to be). Comodo Firewall is another free alternative in this vein, but it is quite confusing.

Additionally, you can take some preventive measures by using SpywareBlaster. I paid for the privilege of auto-updating and to support its development, but you don't have to.

The one thing that irritates me most about many anti-malware products: the false positives. Since trying out Comodo BOClean and having it shut down a program I wrote myself as a trojan, I've been very suspicious of claims that BOClean has caught malware other antivirus missed. When I see claims like that, I wonder about the likelihood that it is a false positive. (To be clear, I do NOT recommend Comodo BOClean.)

A final note is that I think infrequently-updated real-time antivirus like AVG, which allows only daily updates in its free version, is the worst (if used by itself), because you're exposed to the newest threats while suffering an I/O performance hit.

Easily Select a Web Page without the Menus, Etc at the Top & Bottom

2008-04-26T12:02:00.002-04:00

I was trying to make an AHK script for making it easier to select the text I wanted on a web page without the material at the top and bottom (menus, links, and so forth).

Apparently, it's already easy, even though it wasn't obvious to me:

Click once where you want the selection to begin
Press Ctrl-End to move to the end of the window
Shift-Click at the end of your desired selection

That's it!

Extending the Usefulness of TrueCrypt on Vista with Folder2Junction

2008-04-05T23:01:00.004-04:00

As you may know, TrueCrypt is a great, free utility for encryption. It's especially welcome to me, because on Windows Vista Home Premium, there is no EFS. TrueCrypt mounts a virtual disk that is encrypted for the storage of sensitive files and folders, and the encryption/decryption happens on-the-fly (like EFS). Unlike EFS, however, the files have to be in the encrypted area to be encrypted. You can't have, for example, the Mozilla folder in AppData encrypted and keep it in its default location on C:\. Unless, that is...

NTFS offers a neat but difficult-to-utilize feature known as directory junction points. These are like wormholes in the file system that look like folders but point to other directories, even on other disks/volumes. Junctions are a way to store sensitive data on an encrypted disk while maintaining application compatibility and ease-of-access.

To make that easier, I developed a utility (I'm really proud; my first programming triumph!) called Folder2Junction. Folder2Junction adds a command to the contextual menu of folders: Move Folder Then Create Junction Here. Selecting it will prompt you to select where you want the folder and its contents to be stored. It will then move the folder to that location (say, the encrypted disk) and then make a NTFS junction point in the original location pointing to its new location. To the OS and apps, the folder will appear to be in the same place, but it is really a wormhole to the real folder now somewhere else.

Luckily, Windows Vista has some built-in support for junctions, and they will appear in Explorer in Vista with an arrow icon overlay. Also, deleting junctions in Vista's Explorer will delete just the junction and not the original (unlike Explorer in XP). Partially for this reason (but more for the mklink command Folder2Junction uses that is new to Vista), Folder2Junction is compatible with Windows Vista or higher only and is totally freeware. Please see this thread for the download link and more information.

Services You Should Disable If You Aren't on a Microsoft Network

2008-03-17T02:35:00.006-04:00

These being disabled won't affect Internet usage, but you won't be able to do Microsoft networking stuff. For me, those features are more of a liability than a help. Some are disabled by default, because even Microsoft has determined that they are risky.

Alerter
ClipBook
Computer Browser
Distributed File System
Distributed Link Tracking Client
Messenger
Net Logon
Net.Tcp Port Sharing Service
Netmeeting Remote Desktop Sharing
Network DDE
Network DDE DSDM
Remote Registry
Server (and uncheck Client for Microsoft Networks and File and Printer Sharing in your network connection properties)
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper (and disable NetBIOS over TCP/IP in your network connection TCP/IP properties)
Telnet
Terminal Services Session Directory

Others that you might want to disable but might not apply to you:

Distributed Link Tracking Server
Error Reporting Service
IMAPI CD-Burning COM Service (unnecessary if you have burning software, I believe)
Indexing Service
Intersite Messaging
Kerberos Key Distribution Center
License Logging
Network Provisioning Service
Performance Logs and Alerts
Remote Desktop Help Session Manager
Routing and Remote Access
Smart Card
WebClient

Be smart and do research before you muck too much with this stuff. I recommend Turbo Services Manager so that you can see what depends on what. If you disable one service, you should disable all the services that depend on it, but if doing so would disable something you should keep, don't disable that first service in the first place!

Some Services Are Just Supposed to Run "Manual"

2008-03-17T02:26:00.006-04:00

I tweak with Services settings for better security and performance, but it's a silly endeavor, because the services themselves are quirky: they might not start correctly if they are set to Manual when they should be Automatic (3rd party services especially, it seems) and vice versa!

Here are some services that should have their startup types be Manual even though they are running most of the time:

COM+ Event System
Network Connections
Network Location Awareness (NLA)
Remote Access Connection Manager
Telephony
Terminal Services

2 Nice & Free Security Utilities: Seconfig and SpywareBlaster

2008-03-16T17:06:00.002-04:00

What's nice about these is that they help secure your machine without having anything run in the background to slow you down at all: Seconfig and SpywareBlaster

Scan Downloaded Files with ClamWin and Firefox

2008-03-16T16:42:00.003-04:00

I do this instead of running antivirus in the background constantly, but that point of view is apparently controversial. Use the Download Scan Firefox extension and configure as follows:

Exclude these types: jpg, jpeg, gif, png, htm, css, asx
Path to clamwin.exe
Parameters: --mode=scanner --path=%1 --close

My opinion is that downloaded files are the main source of virus trouble, so scanning upon download is good for safety; where constant background scanning is overkill and a drain on system performance.

Fixing the High Pitched Noise

2008-03-16T16:27:00.003-04:00

If you're Intel-powered laptop has a high-pitched noise problem, this might be the solution (copied from Yubastard's post at TabletPCReview)

I knew RMClock was the tool but didn't know how to use it until tonight. The above "Run HLT..." option works because it takes the CPU out of the Hard C4 state(battery), you can see Task Manager @ 100% (because RMClock idles instead of Windows), thus reducing battery life noticiably.

Instead, use these settings:
Management page:
uncheck: "Use OS load-based management"
uncheck: "Run HLT command when OS is idle(requires restart)"
check: "Restore CPU defaults..." - both options
select: from the "CPU defaults selection" drop-down menu: "CPU-defined default FID/VID"
Profiles page(if you know what ur doin'):
for AC power choose Maximal Performance profile and, under AC tab, check "Use P-States..." and "Use Throttling(ODCM)", use index #6 for both.
for battery power choose Power Saving profile and, under battery tab, check "Use P-States..." and use index #1, unckeck "Use Throttling(ODCM)", or, alternatively, use "Performance on Demand" profile and check nothing.
Advanced CPU Settings page:
Processor Tab:
uncheck: "Enable Thermal Monitor 1" (makes CPU jumpy when it gets hot, that's why there's TM2)
check: "Enable Thermal Monior 2" (replaces TM1)
check these Enhanced Low Power States: C1E, C2E, Hard C4E.
Platform Tab:
check: "Enable Popdown Mode"
THE MOST IMPORTANT!! uncheck: "Enable Popup Mode"

That last one is the most important as it's the one that silences the noise! All of the other ones where just to preserve battery life and keep everything safe if you exit RMClock. You can also check: "Run application automatically when Windows session starts" for hassle-free power management (tho' it seems to keep working after you exit!).

Press "Apply" and ur done... but wait, these settings, if improperly set, may heat up any computer, so, please, do it at your own risk. I'm a computer engineering student and know my way around, more or less, but it works and preserves battery, on my Core Duo T2500 2.0Ghz with BIOS version 78.03, haven't tested it with newer 78.04.

Also, it pumps it up on AC power, without too much heating or jumpyness after long standby.

Hope it works for other Core Duo users and even Pentium M, and I hope I was clear enough. I wish I could keep experimenting and try to get more life out of battery but it's 5:30am and I'm tired. @ least, I don't have the whinning anymore and have more than 4 hours of battery life

I forgot!!!

In "Adavcend CPU Setings" page, check the "Apply these settings at startup", beside the Refresh button, at bottom.

This is so when you restart, these power management settings will kick in.

ToolTipFixer failing to launch in Windows 2003

2008-03-16T16:20:00.003-04:00

I am a big fan of TooltipFixer which fixes a Windows shell bug where tooltips in the notification area would be eclipsed by the taskbar itself.

In Windows 2003, the service would have problems at startup and trigger the annoying and unhelpful: "At least one service or driver has failed to start" error dialog. This can be fixed by adjusting the properties of the NST ToolTipFixer service to log on as "Local Service" rather than "Local System".

The Annoying Icon that says "Acquring Network Address" When You're Already Connected

2008-03-16T16:01:00.005-04:00

This complaint is all over the web, but I first saw a solution at DSL Reports

Using Intel Proset/Wireless software to manage wireless network connections, there was a weird and annoying issue where connection to a wireless network would work fine, but the little notification area wireless icon would animate endlessly with the tooltip "acquiring network address." Using the Hide Inactive Icons feature of the Start Menu control panel didn't work; the icon would reappear. This KB article is no help either.

The problem is that the Network Location Awareness Service wasn't running. Launch services.msc and change its startup type to Manual.

More Outlook 2003 Adjustments for Speed

2007-11-07T22:23:00.001-05:00

Disable Person Names Smart Tag
Remove the many sites in Restricted Sites (IE settings) put there by SpywareBlaster or a similar utility, and adjust that zone to disable the new-in-IE7 phishing and pop-up filters. Outlook 2003 and IE7 don't have security controls that work well together. If everything else in Restricted Sites is disabled, the pop-up and phishing filters are irrelevant, and while browsing with IE7, the Internet Zone will be applied always because no sites are specified in Restricted Sites. Make sure Firefox is your default browser, anyway.
Disable add-ins and extensions you don't use
Quit Outlook and rename frmcache.dat in C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\FORMS to frmcache.old

Problems Transferring Files to MP3 Player Solved

2007-11-03T12:10:00.001-04:00

Yahoo! Music Jukebox would freeze when synchronizing a playlist to my Sansa Connect (Amazon) player. I reinstalled YMJ and even tried other programs, such as MediaMonkey, Windows Media Player, and Winamp. However, I think that the special features and tie-ins with Yahoo! Music make YMJ the most reliable option (sad as that may be). I found, however, that the problems were with the MTP protocol that was part of the installation of WMP 11. Reinstalling WMP 11 fixed the problems transferring music with YMJ to the Sansa.

Some Free Utilities I Have Found Useful Lately

2007-11-03T11:16:00.000-04:00

Instead of overloading the list in the sidebar of this page, I'd like to highlight some free utilities that I have found to be very useful lately:

BitDefender Free Edition v10 - Antivirus
ClamWin - Antivirus (for the Outlook module)
AutoHotKey - Automation and Hot Keys

Using this, I have remapped CapsLock to minimize the current window, and I've dedicated keys to close windows and open a new email message (mailto:)

Taskbar Shuffle - Rearrange and Quickly Close Buttons on the Taskbar
Copernic Desktop Search - Excellent Search Replacement for Outlook 2003, Good for IM logs (PS, I recommend Pidgin with the Aero theme)
Glary Registry Repair - repairs registry errors without causing new problems, unlike outdated versions of RegSeeker and EasyCleaner
General Tweaks from Kellys Korner

Some other free software that I've come to greatly appreciate lately are Audacity 1.3 Beta (the chains are really helpful for cleaning up podcasts), and AbiWord for simpler word processing without the UI weirdness of Word (but still including grammar checking!). Even though I have Microsoft Word 2003 installed, I use AbiWord as the default program for .doc files, and I find it faster and easier.

In an upcoming post, I'll highlight my favorite Firefox extensions.

Getting Rid of iTunesHelper.exe and ipodservice.exe

2007-10-14T01:57:00.000-04:00

It seems a little difficult to disable these, because iTunes just brings them right back. If you have an iPod, you probably should keep them, but if not, they're just (slightly) slowing you down.

How to get rid of them:

Make sure iTunes isn't running
In services, disable and stop the ipodservice
Delete the following: %programfiles%\ipod, %programfiles%\itunes\ituneshelper.exe, %programfiles\itunes\ituneshelper.resources
Make sure your shortcuts point directly to itunes.exe; shortcuts that launch iTunes through its install ID may try to restore these missing parts.

Thanks SeeMoreDigital.

Also, I recommend Quicktime Alternative for quicktime ability without the bloat. It works great with iTunes too.

Working Around a Slow Laptop Hard Drive

2007-10-12T02:37:00.000-04:00

As the owner of a Lenovo x41 tablet with a frustratingly slow 4200 rpm hard drive, the computing experience can be disappointing. Here are some tips, including maybe one or two that aren't obvious, to effectively workaround a slow laptop hard drive like mine. [Note: the links below are to how-to's for each step.]

Max out your RAM-- this makes the biggest difference, and if you do so it is safer to...
Disable the paging file-- this is a big disk operation that may not even be necessary for you
Store frequently created files on a separate partition of your hard drive: Temp files [Control Panel-System-Advanced-Environment Variables], Mozilla Cache, Temporary Internet Files, Java Cache [Java Control Panel], Downloads folder, print spool folder-- this helps to keep your main partition defragmented, which is even better for...
Smart Defragging by Layout.ini
Remove software that does background I/O activity or monitoring (resident antivirus, antispyware, network scanning), if you can get away with it. (See this post for a security solution.)
Disable the Indexing Service (this could probably go first!) [in services.msc]
Disable Last Access timestamping of files
Take advantage of your PC Card slot by getting the Delkin Cardbus UDMA CompactFlash adapter (Manufacturer Page / Amazon Product Page) and a UDMA CF card. My laptop's hard drive has a transfer rate of about 14 MB/sec, but a CF card in UDMA mode can sustain 40-45 MB/sec and far shorter access times.

More on using a UDMA CF card:

The 40 MB/sec transfer rate is impressive, but some aspects of the technology make it seem slow for frequent read/write operations. Storing a paging file or cache on it, for two examples, might not work very well. However, I have found the following do work well when put on a UDMA CF card:

Microsoft Outlook .OST file
Desktop Search Index (e.g. Copernic)
Firefox (not the profile(s), though)
Adobe Reader
[You need a direct download so that you can specify the installation directory.]
Pidgin with GTK runtime (again, profile should probably be kept on your hard drive)
Other frequently used applications would probably also work well

This is just my casual observation, but indexes seem to perform well from a fast flash drive, but caches do not necessarily. Applications will start quickly from flash, since the reading is fast.

How I Fixed My Wireless

2007-10-07T18:33:00.000-04:00

I have a Lenovo laptop with a Intel 2915abg wireless adapter, and I started getting several dropped connections. Troubleshooting a situation like this is difficult, because there are many places things can go awry. I tried several things before it started working well, but here's a full checklist if you want to go whole-hog to fix your wireless:

First of all, if you use a wireless utility like Intel PRO/Set or ThinkVantage Access Connections, make sure Wireless Zero Configuration is disabled in Run-services.msc -- it conflicts.

1) If multiple devices on your network drop their connections, there might be interference. Change the wireless channel and enable interference robustness (an Apple Airport feature, but it might be on other routers).

Ok, here's the intense regimen in case you suspect it's your PC that's whack:

2) Reset Winsock (Instructions) including restarts
3) Fully uninstall your wireless software (utility & driver) as well as antivirus, 3rd party firewall, other programs that may monitor your network and do the necessary restarts
4) Reinstall your stuff from step 3 (updated versions, if available)
5) Turn off power management (more info for Intel wireless) for your wireless adapter and instead decrease the transmit power (in advanced settings in Access Connections or hit the Configure button in Wireless properties if you use Windows XP to manage your networks) for power savings. I find a 25% (5 mW) transmission power to work very well (this is set in individual wireless network profiles in my setup, but you may have to just specify instead a global setting in the device properties. Your wireless utility might override device properties, so check out that area first).
6) If you have problems and you are using a particular encryption method, look for an update; e.g.: WPA2

Unless you have a special need for it, I recommend avoiding Microsoft TCP/IP Version 6. I can't prove it, but I don't think networking drivers for XP are quite ready for it. Maybe if you use Windows XP to handle all networking, it'll be ok, but stay away if you're still using XP-only 3rd party networking software or drivers.

PNRP 2.0 Upgrade for XP is Bad News

2007-09-27T02:56:00.001-04:00

After installing KB 920342, wireless networking completely stopped working for me. Between Bonjour, ThinkVantage Access Connections, Intel PRO/Set Wireless, and all the other networking items, I have no idea what completely choked after installing this upgrade to a feature that I don't even understand. I recommend avoiding it.

In fact, perhaps the optional updates in Microsoft Update aren't really worth it:

A Root Certificates Update led to redundant friendly names
A new driver for Lenovo locked my keyboard and trackpoint, even in safe mode
And now, PNRP 2.0

XP Run Commands, Also Great for Configuration Shortcuts

2007-09-26T11:35:00.000-04:00

Some examples:

services.msc = Services
devmgmt.msc = Device Management
ipconfig /flushdns = Clear DNS Cache

See it at Erik's Wiki

Adobe Reader 8.1 and Scroll Wheels

2007-09-25T20:17:00.000-04:00

Items like this make me all the more amused that the abbreviation for this site is WTF. If you have a mouse with a scroll wheel which is set to scroll by a certain number of lines, Adobe Reader interprets that weirdly. The only workaround I have found is to set the global preference for scrolling to go page-by-page rather than N lines. In Firefox, you can override the settings by going into about:config from the address bar and setting sysnumlines to false and other settings as appropriate (more)-- if, you know, you use Firefox primarily.

I haven't found a mouse utility that successfully overrides for Adobe Reader only. Post something if you have.

Take Advantage of the Cheap Dual Scroll Mouse at Target

2007-09-15T15:55:00.000-04:00

Target sells a very nice $12.99 GE mouse with two scroll wheels, one for horizontal scrolling. You might find, however, that the horizontal scroll wheel does not work in Firefox. The mouse is manufactured by Jasco under GE licensing, but it is actually a ripoff of this A4Tech mouse: WOP-35. Even though Jasco has not released updated drivers for the GE-branded mouse (their drivers are also ripoffs of A4Tech), the much newer A4Tech drivers work great (see link above).

Safe to Remove Hardware Dialog Missing

2007-09-15T15:36:00.000-04:00

Frustratingly, I could not find a solution to the problem outlined in KB 883517, even after installing the hotfix (for me, it was available from the computer manufacturer in a file called "Windows XP Update Modules").

The problem was that Balloon Tips were disabled. To enable Balloon Tips, go to the Taskbar and Start Menu section of Tweak UI. The option took effect right away, and the "It is now safe to remove your hardware" dialog reappeared.

General Fix for Outlook Involves Toolbars

2007-09-10T12:51:00.000-04:00

Apparently, the file %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Outlook\outcmd.dat, where customized toolbar settings are stored, can become corrupted. I think a source of such problems are add-ins such as Google Desktop, MSN Toolbar, Spambayes, antivirus with Outlook support (Avast!, AVG, among others), and so on that may have been installed and uninstalled. If you are experiencing general slow-down or weirdness with Outlook, rename outcmd.dat when Outlook isn't running and restart Outlook. Outcmd.dat will rebuild. My corrupted outcmd.dat was 12K, and my new file after reapplying my customizations was 6K.

PS I don't recommend Spambayes (anymore). Even though Outlook's built-in Junk Email protection could use some interface improvements, Spambayes really slows Outlook down.

"Restore" the Windows Media Player (or iTunes) Toolbar in the Taskbar

2007-09-09T22:28:00.000-04:00

I was searching online for a solution to a problem where the Windows Media Player toolbar (a.k.a. mini mode) would not show up in the Taskbar, even though I selected the toolbar by right-clicking the taskbar and selecting it from the Toolbars submenu. I found out that I just didn't understand how the toolbar works. When the Windows Medial Player toolbar is active, Windows Media Player will minimize to mini mode. I didn't realize, although it sounds obvious, that Windows Media Player has to be open first and then minimized before the toolbar will appear.

UPDATE: For iTunes, Minimize to Tray has to be unchecked in Preferences-Advanced-General for iTunes to minimize to a Taskbar toolbar.

Disable Tablet Functionality

2007-09-09T22:21:00.001-04:00

To disable the tablet functionality on Windows XP Tablet Edition 2005, do the following:

1) Go to Regional and Language Options in the Control Panel
2) Click the Languages tab
3) Click the Details button
4) Click the Advanced tab
5) Check Turn off advanced text services in the System Configuration section
6) Click OK as necessary

Furthermore, to disable the tablet input panel button in the taskbar, run regsvr32 /u "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Ink\tipband.dll" and reboot. To regain the taskbar button, run regsvr32 "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Ink\tipband.dll"

Update: To remove the login keyboard

Fine-Tune Windows Defender Scanning for Power Management

2007-09-08T10:31:00.000-04:00

Within the Windows Defender options page, there are no choices to prevent scheduled scans while running on battery power or to restrict scans to running while the computer is at idle. However, Windows Defender uses simply the built-in Windows XP (or Vista, I assume) Task Scheduler. The Windows Defender scheduled task is hidden, so you might not realize at first that it is adjustable.

Go to Scheduled Tasks in Control Panel, and select Show Hidden Tasks from the Advanced menu. The Windows Defender item is "MP Scheduled Scan" with the run command:
"C:\Program Files\Windows Defender\MpCmdRun.exe" Scan -RestrictPrivileges

You can adjust settings for the scan to run only during idle or AC power as you like. Using the command above, you could also make a shortcut to run a quick scan whenever you like.

Access Google Calendar from within Microsoft Outlook

2007-09-04T22:49:00.000-04:00

I found a solution that effectively replaces Outlook's Calendar module with GCal:

1) Right-click on your calendar in Outlook and select Properties
2) On the home page tab, enter http://www.google.com/calendar
3) Check "Show Home Page by Default"
4) In Offline Web Page Settings, de-select the downloading web page option.

You can add a Calendar button to the toolbar within Outlook or press ctrl-2, and Google Calendar will pop up! This works for me in Outlook 2003.

Alternatively, you can assign a hyperlink to any toolbar button in Outlook so a URL will open in a new browser window.

Smart Defragging by Layout.ini for Free

2007-09-04T18:00:00.000-04:00

By default, Windows XP tracks what files load during boot and application launches, and it uses that information to prefetch files into RAM. Additionally, the prefetch data are parsed into a file, %WINDIR%\Prefetch\layout.ini, which is used by XP's built-in Disk Defragmenter to optimize the layout of those files on the hard drive for faster access. Also, by default, a limited defrag operation takes place in the background during idle every three days just for the files specified in layout.ini. You might get a bigger performance benefit, however, but running by defragging by layout.ini more often. The command to do this layout.ini defrag is defrag c: -b. The "-b" switch is almost undocumented, and might have originally meant "boot", but it relocates boot and application launch files contiguously and nearer to the beginning of the hard drive for faster access. Since it moves only hundreds of files instead of tens of thousands, it's much faster than a normal disk defragmentation. If you want, you can make a Scheduled Task to run defrag c: -b however often you like (I have Scheduled Task to run this quick defrag every day during idle). If you want to additionally disable the 3-day operation, uncheck "Optimize hard drive when idle" in Tweak UI (or set EnableAutoLayout to 0 in the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\OptimalLayout ).

You will still need to defragment the hard drive from time to time. It is most effective to do so before the desktop loads. The utility ScanDefrag is very useful in that regard. A normal defragmentation with Disk Defragmenter includes optimizations guided by layout.ini.

Some otherwise really excellent defrag utilities will actually undo the defrag by layout.ini. (Windows XP Disk Defragmenter respects layout.ini.) For normal desktop/workstation use, the Windows defragmenter is best IMHO.

NB: For this tip to work, you need the default registry entries below:

Key Name: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Dfrg\BootOptimizeFunction
Name: Enable
Type: REG_SZ
Value: Y
I believe this enables Disk Defragmenter to respect layout.ini.

Key Name: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters
Name: EnablePrefetcher
Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 3
0 = Prefetching Disabled; 1 = Application Prefetching Only; 2 = Boot Prefetching Only; 3 = Both Boot & Application Prefetching Enabled

PS Running Rundll32.exe advapi32.dll,ProcessIdleTasks will rebuild Layout.ini from the prefetch data and then (if EnableAutoLayout is set to 1) optimize layout on the disk from the refreshed layout.ini. The command also launches other tasks that happen during idle, such as System Restore.

Certificate Issuers Might Have Weird 'Friendly Names'

2007-09-02T13:19:00.000-04:00

I had to specify a wireless network logon using certificate validation by Equifax Secure Certificate Authority. The certificate issuer, however, was not in the drop-down list in my wireless network utility (ThinkVantage Access Connections). I found out that the so-called Friendly Name for the certificate became "GeoTrust", who acquired certificates from Equifax, when Windows Update updated the root certificates on the computer. To make matters more confusing, there was another certificate with the friendly name "GeoTrust": GeoTrust Primary Certification Authority, yet this proper name distinction did not appear in the list, because only the Friendly Names were listed in my wireless utility. (Not so friendly, if you ask me!) Compounding the confusion are other certificates with similar names to the one I needed: Equifax Secure eBusiness CA-1 and Equifax Secure eBusiness CA-2.

To be sure that I wasn't selecting the wrong "GeoTrust" certificate in the drop-down list, I edited the Friendly Name back to its proper name, "Equifax Secure Certificate Authority." You can view and manage the root certificates on your computer by going to Internet Options in Internet Explorer or the Control Panel. Click the Content tab and then Certificates. Find your desired certificate under the Trusted Root Certification Authorities tab and click View and then the Details tab. Select the Friendly Name field and click Edit Properties. There you can change the Friendly Name.

Windows Vista on Compaq R3000 Laptop

2007-09-02T12:21:00.000-04:00

Please see this page for how I figured out how to run Windows Vista on a Compaq R3000 laptop, including support for its graphics card, Ati Mobility Radeon 9000 IGP. HP/Compaq no longer supports this system and ATI/AMD does not support the Mobility Radeon 9000 IGP graphics chipset, but I was able to scrap enough info together to get it to work well.

A Warmer Display: Adjusting the White Point in Windows

2007-09-02T12:05:00.000-04:00

Mac OS X has a very good display configuration utility that allows you to set the white point or gamma for a warmer, yellow-y white on your screen. The effect is a screen that is easier on the eyes (although graphics specialists might have special requirements).

Setting the white point or gamma on a Windows PC seems nearly impossible. The ICM color management is really no help whatsoever. There is no good utility to simply make ICM profiles. Even if there were, they're awkward to apply.

However, your graphics card or chipset might have a utility included for adjusting certain display settings. The Intel GMA Driver for Mobile, for example, has a color correction feature. For a warmer screen, downward adjust the contrast for blue only. Blue is the enemy of yellow. By decreasing the contrast for blue (as opposed to saturation, etc.), there will still be plenty of blue on your screen, but at higher intensities blue will be less emphasized. Check your Control Panel for a special graphics card adjustment utility that you might not have even realized you had. Color settings might also/instead be available within the Display control panel.

Fixing Standby on Newer Computers

2007-09-01T20:02:00.000-04:00

If you have problems or delays entering or resuming from Standby mode, it may be because your computer doesn't have a parallel port. The parallel port was the printer port commonly used before USB became popular. Many newer computers, especially laptops and tablet PCs, don't have them. Windows XP has a hard time with this when it comes to power management.

To resolve this issue, use Device Manager to disable the Direct Parallel device. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Manage.
2. In the console pane, click Device Manager.
3. On the View menu, click Show hidden devices.
4. In the details pane, expand Network adapters.
5. Right-click Direct Parallel, and then click Disable.
From http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308467/en-us

Autoload the Desktop After Startup While Still Requiring a Password to Use

2007-09-01T19:22:00.000-04:00

I really like this tip. It makes it so that you have instant access to everything after sign-in, rather than waiting for the computer to boot-up, signing-in, and then waiting again until the desktop loads. It's nice if you'd like to just turn on the computer, do a thing perhaps somewhere else, and then be able to start using it when you get back by entering your password as usual, only with your desktop already loaded. I thought I totally ripped off the idea from somewhere else, but I think I might have just combined a couple ideas i saw elsewhere:
1.Click Start, and then click Run.
2.In the Open box, type control userpasswords2, and then click OK.
3.Clear the "Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer" check box, and then click Apply.
4.In the Automatically Log On window, type the password in the Password box, and then retype the password in the Confirm Password box.
5.Click OK to close the Automatically Log On window, and then click OK to close the User Accounts window.
6. Go to Run again
7. In the Open box type or copy and paste the following: schtasks /create /tn LockPC /tr "rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation" /sc onlogon
8. Click OK and enter your password in the upcoming window as prompted

What's going on here: You're setting up Windows to automatically log you into your user account, so your desktop will start to load automatically after startup. However, as soon as you're automatically logged in, your computer is locked so your computer cannot be used until your password is entered. Your desktop continues to load in the background after the PC is locked. The LockPC task you made in step 7 is available for you to modify it if you like in Scheduled Tasks in the Control Panel.
Resources for this last tip:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315231
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/schtasks.mspx?mfr=true
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/security/learnmore/tips/schnoll1.mspx

Restore the Startup Folder

2007-09-01T19:00:00.000-04:00

I had a problem with a program shortcut in my Startup folder that would launch with an error that the program was already loaded. I figured out that not only was the shortcut in the Startup folder for "All Users" but that my user account Startup folder was also considered to be that same "All Users" folder (%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Start Menu\Programs\Startup) [I'm using the universal direction here. You can type %ALLUSERSPROFILE% and %USERPROFILE% into the Run box in the Start Menu to find the specific absolute paths for your system]. In effect, everything in the Startup folder would launch twice: once for "All Users" and again just for my account, even though it was the same folder.

To fix this, I created new folders: %USERPROFILE%\Start Menu\Programs and %USERPROFILE%\Start Menu\Programs\Startup which were missing. I then used RegEdit to go to the registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders and made sure the values Start Menu, Programs, and Startup pointed to the folders in my user account folder and not the All Users folder. Now, my Common Startup and user Startup folders were different.

Related: in Regedit, use String values [REG_SZ] for absolute paths (e.g.: C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator) and Expandable String values [REG_EXPAND_SZ] for the %-style paths (e.g. %USERPROFILE%).

Reference: http://windowsxp.mvps.org/usershellfolders.htm

UPDATE: You can also use Tweak UI to adjust user shell folders. This is useful in the case above, or if you want to make an adjustment such as keeping "My Documents" and the Desktop folder on the same drive. Within Tweak UI, the user shell folders setting is in My Computer-Special Folders.

Disappearing Quick Launch Toolbar

2007-08-29T02:03:00.000-04:00

The Quick Launch toolbar on the Windows XP taskbar stopped appearing after restart. Icons for the toolbar were still available in the normal location: %USERPROFILE%\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch. However, the toolbar would be gone and the icon order was reset.

Apparently, this can come up with certain malware. However, in my case, the "Group Policy" profile became corrupted. I followed the fix here (even though I don't understand the symptoms described in the page): ESENT event IDs 1000, 1202, 412, and 454 are logged repeatedly in the Application log to rebuild the profile. You may not have this problem if you can successfully open the Group Policy Editor in Administrative Tools.

I also adjusted the registry value NoSaveSettings, as explained here: Microsoft TechNet: NoSaveSettings
Restarting after adjusting this value makes it so that your desktop settings are saved. You then have to restart again after re-introducing the Quick Launch toolbar to see if it was fixed. It is possible that this latter adjustment is all that is required.

1.	Exit all Windows-based programs.
2.	Click Start, type regedit in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER.
3.	If you receive the User Account Control dialog box, click Continue.
4.	Locate and then click the following registry subkey: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Msahci
5.	In the right pane, right-click Start in the Name column, and then click Modify.
6.	In the Value data box, type 0, and then click OK.
7.	On the File menu, click Exit to close Registry Editor.