Another Way to Uninstall Intellipoint

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).

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Ugly Noise from Laptop Headphone Jack with AC Power

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.

Parallel Port Driver Service Failed to Start

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

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.

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

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

[SOLVED] Unwanted Wake from Sleep on Vista

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!

Possible Fix for DWM.EXE error?

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:

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

Beware If Taking the AHCI Plunge

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

Fixing the High Pitched Noise

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:

1. 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"
     
2. 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.
3. 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.

Problems Transferring Files to MP3 Player Solved

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.

Working Around a Slow Laptop Hard Drive

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.]

1. Max out your RAM-- this makes the biggest difference, and if you do so it is safer to...
2. Disable the paging file-- this is a big disk operation that may not even be necessary for you
3. 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...
   
4. Smart Defragging by Layout.ini
   
5. 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.)
   
6. Disable the Indexing Service (this could probably go first!) [in services.msc]
   
7. Disable Last Access timestamping of files
   
8. 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

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.

Adobe Reader 8.1 and Scroll Wheels

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

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).

Disable Tablet Functionality

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

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.

Windows Vista on Compaq R3000 Laptop

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

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.