How to add an Internet Explorer icon to the Desktop

1. Right click in a blank space on the desktop. From the menu that appears, point to New, then click on Shortcut.

2. In the new window that appears, type in "%programfiles%\internet explorer\iexplore.exe" (including the quotes) then click on Next.

3. On the next screen, delete the text in the Type a name for this shortcut box and replace it with Internet Explorer, then click on Finish.

4. The Internet Explorer icon should now be back on the desktop. It can be moved by clicking and dragging with the left mouse button.

How to use System Restore (Windows Vista)

1. Click on the Start circle in the bottom left corner of the screen. From the menu that appears, click on All Programs. Click on Accessories, then click on System Tools. Finally, click on System Restore. If a warning message appears, click on Continue.

2. Click on the Next button to begin the process.

3. Click on a date and time to restore the computer back to, then click Next. I would recommend clicking on a date at least a day before the problem started. If no such date is listed, look for a Show more restore points tick box in the lower left corner of the window.

4. Click on Finish to complete the wizard and begin the restoration process. The computer will shut down, restore the computer to its condition on the date chosen, then restart.

How to Check and Repair a Hard Drive (Windows Vista)

1. Click on the Start circle in the bottom left corner of the screen. From the menu that appears, click on Computer.

2. Right click on the icon for the C: drive (often called Local Disk C:). From the menu that appears, left click on Properties.

3. Click on the Tools tab at the top of the window that appears, then click on Check Now. Click on Continue if a warning message appears.

4. Tick the boxes marked Automatically fix file system errors and Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors, then click on Start.

5. In the message window that appears, click on Schedule disk check.

6. Restart the computer by clicking on the Start circle in the bottom left corner of the screen, pointing to the arrow on the bottom right corner of the menu that appears, then clicking Restart.
The computer will turn off and on again. As part of the startup process, the hard drive will be checked.

NOTES

• This process can take several hours to complete, and the computer cannot be used during the check.
• The check should complete five stages. If it only completes three, or finishes very quickly, it has not run properly. Repeat the steps above, as sometimes it can take a few attempts before it starts a full scan.
• If the process appears to hang for more than three hours, there could be a major fault with the hard drive or other system component. In this case it is recommended that the computer be turned off manually by pressing and holding the power button for ten seconds and then be checked by a technician.

How to fix Product Information Not Valid error on HP G62-A19SA

I recently replaced the motherboard on an HP G62-A19SA laptop (part number 597674-001). Whilst the new motherboard worked correctly, every time the machine was started an error would appear during POST, and it could not be removed by clearing the CMOS or updating the BIOS. The error stated:

System Board OOA Product Information Not Valid
Product Name
Configuration
Serial number
Product Number
For help go to HP.com/go/techcenter/startup

There is a very useful thread about the problem here:

http://h30499.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-PCs-Pavilions-Presario/System-Board-OOA-Product-Information-Not-Valid/td-p/1122449

After a lot of trial and error, I was able to resolve the problem and get rid of the message with the following process:

PART 1: Create a bootable USB memory stick.

1. Download rufus_v1.2.0.exe from http://rufus.akeo.ie/.
2. Insert a USB memory stick (make sure it does not contain required data as it will be cleared) and run the rufus_v1.2.0.exe program.
3. Make sure the correct memory stick is selected under the Device heading
4. Make sure Quick Format and Create a bootable disk using: are ticked and select MS-DOS from the drop down menu to the right.
5. Click on Start, acknowledge the warning and click on OK.
6. Close Rufus by clicking the cross in the top right corner of the window.

Rufus was very useful for creating a bootable memory stick

PART 2: Download and extract the utility for reprogramming the system information in HP laptops.

1. Download the file HPDU.rar. There are probably various sources for this online but one that I found worked is: Updated link: https://sites.google.com/site/wintegrity01/HPDU.rar
2. Extract the file using WinRar. If this software is not yet installed it can be downloaded from www.rarlabs.com. To extract the file, right click on HPDU.rar and then click on Extract to HPDU\.
3. Double click on the HPDU folder and if necessary double click on it again. A list of files and folders should appear.

Files extracted from the RAR file

PART 3: Edit a batch file (this was necessary for the G62-A19SA laptop I was working with)

It seems that HP laptops (or at least the motherboards that are installed in) are made by different companies such as Quanta, Compal and Foxconn. These core manufacturers each require a different tool to update the system information that is necessary to get rid of the error. The file NbDmiFit.bat that is supposed to be run to start the process contains a typing error that prevents it running on a Foxconn based machine. As the G62-A19SA is Foxconn based, I had to manually edit this file to make it work:

1. Right click on NbDmiFit.bat and from the menu that appears, click on Edit.
2. Alter the line: Set     Foxconn_Uti_Name=HPBFO230.exe so that it reads Set     Foxconn_Uti_Name=HPBFO300.exe
3. Save and exit the file.

Editing the batch file

PART 4: Copy the files to the memory stick

1. Use the CTRL + A key combination to highlight all the files in the HPDU folder.
2. Right click on any of the files, point to Send To and click on the icon for the memory stick (in my case this was drive G).
3. Remove the memory stick and shut down the HP laptop if it is currently running.

PART 5: Update the information on the laptop and clear the error.

1. Remove the battery from the laptop and record all the information to be found. This includes all product names, numbers and other codes. These will be required when updating the information using the utility on the memory stick.
2. Reinsert the battery and insert the memory stick into the laptop before switching it on.
3. A black DOS screen should appear. If Windows starts the load as normal, the boot order needs to be changed to allow the laptop to start from the memory stick. There is information on how to do this here: http://bizsupport1.austin.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=c00364979&lang=en&cc=us&taskId=101&prodSeriesId=4346237&prodTypeId=321957
4. Once at the DOS prompt, type in nbdmifit.bat and press enter.
5. Fill in all the information as prompted. If you are missing anything, check the very helpful post by kicker22004 on the HP forum link above (message 11).

After saving and rebooting, the error should now be cleared.

How to play Around the World in 40 Screens on Windows XP

I was recently asked by a friend how he could play the game Around the World in 40 screens on his five year old Windows XP laptop. My initial reaction was that this was not possible, since the game was originally only released for the BBC Micro and never ported to the PC.

After some googling, the situation changed. It seemed that with the right software and a copy of the code transcribed from the original BBC 5.25" floppy disk, there was a chance that the game could be played on a much newer machine.

The first thing needed was an 'emulator'. This is a special program that makes a modern PC look and feel like a completely different system. In this case I needed to find a program that could emulate the Acorn BBC Micro, a machine still common in schools until the mid '90s.

After a quick search, I found a program that did exactly this. It is called 'BeebEm' and is freely downloadable from www.mkw.me.uk/beebem.

BeebEm is easy to install and has an intuitive interface. On starting the main screen is transformed into a very convincing impression of a BBC Model B, complete with initializing 'beep'!

The virtual command line works just like the real one, so it really is like sitting in front of a BBC computer. In fact, the emulator even incorporates recordings of a working floppy drive that are played whenever a disk access command is used. The program initially launches within a window but can be made to fill the screen with the ALT + ENTER key combination.

BeebEm in its default state

With BeebEm installed and functioning, it was time to find a game to use it with. I found there are many websites offering game downloads in the form of 'ROMs'. a ROM is file containing a complete replica of an original disk or tape that can be used in conjunction with the emulator. I am not sure what the legal position of ROMs are, but it would make sense that you should only download what you have a license to use.

It wasn't long before I found the website Emuparise - www.emuparadise.me which offered a ROM of Around the World in 40 Screens available to be downloaded. This arrived as an .ssd file and could be loaded into BeebEm by using the 'Load Disk 0' option on the 'File' menu. Once the disk was loaded, the game could be played by issuing the command: *RUN REPTONF

Whilst this made the game function, the following problems remained:

• The character in the game could be made to move left and right by pressing the Z and X keys but the correct combination to move up and down was not known.
• Loading the game was cumbersome requiring many clicks.
• The game did not fill the screen.

The first point was the most serious as it made the game unplayable. Fortunately, BeemEm includes the ability to map keys found on a BBC keyboard to the equivalent on a PC keyboard. The default setting is Logical Keyboard Mapping which does a good job of organising most of the keys correctly, but in this case I had to select Default Keyboard Mapping from the Options menu. Once this was set the character could be moved up and down by using the ' and / keys. It probably would have been better if the arrow keys had controlled the character instead, and I found this was possible with the following steps:

1. Click Options, then click Define User Key Mapping.
2. Click on the :* key, then press the up arrow key twice.
3. Click on the /? key, then press the down arrow key twice.
4. Click on the Z key, then press the left arrow key twice.
5. Click on the X key, then press the right arrow twice.
6. Click on OK.
7. Click on Options, then click User Defined Mapping.
8. Click on Options, then click Save User Key Mapping. This will bring up a familiar Save As box where the custom key mapping file can be saved. I chose to save it into the same folder as the .ssd game ROM.

Defining the keys in BeebEm

With the arrow keys now working, it was time to tackle the second problem and make the game easier to load, ideally from a double click of an icon on the desktop.

I found a really useful function in BeebEm called Save State. This allows an .uef file to be created that will reload the memory of the emulated BBC computer and allow it to carry on from an exact point. Combined with the command line options explained in the help file, I was able to able to create a desktop shortcut that loaded BeebEm and the game with the saved keyboard mapping with the following steps:

1. Load the game ROM file by using the Load Disc 0 command on the File menu.
2. Click Options, then click Logical Keyboard Mapping.
3. Type *RUN REPTONF to start the game.
4. Once game loading screen appears, reinstate the keyboard mappings saved earlier by clicking Options, then clicking Load User Key Mappings, then pointing to the mappings file saved earlier and clicking Open.
5. Click on Options, then click User Defined Mapping to activate the saved keyboard mappings.
6. Click on File, then click Save State. Locate the folder where the game ROM is stored, type in a suitable name in the File name box, then click on Save.
7. Click the cross in the top right corner to close BeebEm.
8. Right click on the BeebEm icon on the desktop and from the menu that appears, click on Properties.
9. Click on the Shortcut tab, click just after the closing quotation mark, add a space and type in -FullScreen path to saved state. In my case the correct string was: -FullScreen C:\BBC\State.uef
10. Click on OK, then rename the shortcut by right clicking on it and clicking Rename, typing in a suitable name for the game then clicking OK.

My Around the World in 40 Screens shortcut

When double clicked, the icon should now launch straight into a full screen version of the game, complete with the correct keyboard mappings. To exit, press the ALT + ENTER key combination to exit from full screen mode and then click the cross in the top right corner.

The game from a double click of an icon

HOW TO CONNECT TO A WIRELESS NETWORK (Windows Vista)

HOW TO CONNECT TO A WIRELESS NETWORK (WINDOWS VISTA)

1.    Click on the cross in the bottom right corner of the screen. From the menu that appears, click on ‘Connect to a network’.

1.    In the new window that appears, click on the name of the network to connect to, and then click on ‘Connect’.

3.    Unless the network is unsecured, a prompt for a ‘security key or passphrase’ will appear. The password should be supplied by the operator of the wireless network. Type in the password, then click on ‘Connect’.

4.    After a few seconds, the connection should be established. Click the ‘Close’ button to complete the process.

Change Desktop To Plain Background (Windows Vista)

How To: Change Desktop To Plain Background (Windows Vista)

1. Right click on a blank space on the desktop. From the menu that appears, left click on 'Personalize'.

2. In the new window that appears, click on 'Desktop Background'.

3. Click on the drop down arrow to the right of 'Location'. From the menu that appears, click on 'Solid Colors'.

4. Click on an appropriate colour, then click on 'OK'.

5. Click on the 'X' in the top right corner of the window to return to the desktop.

Setup Gmail in Windows Live Mail

How to: Setup Gmail in Windows Live Mail

1. Within Windows Live Mail, click on the blue square in the top left corner of the screen. From the menu that appears, point to 'Options'. From the menu that extends to the right, click on 'Email accounts...'.

2. Click on the 'Add' button on the right of the new window that appears.

3. Click on 'Email Account', then click 'Next'.

4. Fill out the form that appears as follows:

• Click in the 'Email address' box and type in your full Gmail address (e.g. someone@gmail.com)
• Click in the 'Password' box and type in your Gmail password (this is case sensitive)
• Click in the box below 'Display name for your sent messages' and type in your name as you want it to appear on the recipients computer.
• Tick the box marked 'Manually configure server settings'.
• Click on 'Next'

5. Fill out the next form that appears as follows:

• Click in the 'Server address' box under the 'Incoming server information' heading and type in 'pop.gmail.com'.
• Tick the box marked 'Requires a secure connection (SSL)'.
• Click in the 'Server address' box under the 'Outgoing server information' heading and type in 'smtp.gmail.com'
• Click in the 'Port' box to the right of the outgoing server address and type in '465'.
• Tick the boxes under the outgoing server address marked 'Requires a secure connection (SSL)' and 'Requires authentication'.
• Click on 'Next'.

6. Click on 'Finish', then click 'Close' to complete the process.

General Virus Removal Process

General Virus Removal Process

Many viruses can be removed by restoring the computer to an earlier time using the following procedures. This guide was written for Windows XP but the steps for Windows Vista and 7 and very similar

1. If the computer is currently on, turn it off by pressing and holding the power button for ten seconds. Wait a further ten seconds and turn the computer back on again.

2. After the initial boot-up screen disappears but just before the Windows logo appears, repeatedly tap the 'F8' key on the keyboard. A menu should appear titled 'Windows Startup Menu'. If the Windows logo appears instead, repeat steps one and two until the menu is displayed.

3. Use the arrow keys on the keyboard to highlight 'Safe Mode', then press the enter key. You might have to press enter again to select your version of Windows. Some unusual messages will appear on the screen.

4. When the computer starts, click on your user account name to log into Windows.

5. Click on the 'Start' button in the bottom left corner of the screen. From the menu that appears, point to 'All Programs'.

6. From the menu that extends to the right, click on 'Accessories'.

7. From the 'Accessories' menu that is now shown, click on 'System Tools', then right click on 'System Restore'. From the menu that appears, left click on 'Run as Administrator'. If this option does not appear, left click on 'System Restore' instead. A new window will then appear (it can take a couple of minutes to appear).

8. Click on the 'Next' button

9. Click on the dot marked 'Choose a different restore point', then click 'Next'.

10. Choose a time to restore the computer back to. This should be a time when the computer was working normally.

11. Click on 'Next', then click 'Finish' to complete the process. The computer will shut down, restore the settings to the time chosen in step six, then restart.


If this does not work, try the following:


1. If the computer is currently on, turn it off by pressing and holding the power button for ten seconds. Wait a further ten seconds and turn the computer back on again.

2. After the initial boot-up screen disappears but just before the Windows logo appears, repeatedly tap the 'F8' key on the keyboard. A menu should appear titled 'Windows Startup Menu'. If the Windows logo appears instead, repeat steps one and two until the menu is displayed.

3. Use the arrow keys on the keyboard to highlight 'Safe Mode with Command Prompt', then press the enter key. You might have to press enter again to select your version of Windows. Some unusual messages will appear on the screen.

4. If a list of user accounts appears, click on your user account name to log into Windows.

5. A black box with white writing should appear. Type in %systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe and press enter.

6. System Restore should now appear on the screen. Click on the 'Next' button to begin the restore process.

7. Click on the dot marked 'Choose a different restore point', then click 'Next'.

8. Choose a time to restore the computer back to. This should be a time when the computer was working normally.

9. Click on 'Next', then click 'Finish' to complete the process. The computer will shut down, restore the settings to the time chosen in step six, then restart.

Cannot start MP Navigator Ex

Cannot start MP Navigator Ex

I was recently called to a customer's house to setup a new Canon PIXMA MG5150 multi-function printer. The installation went well and soon enough, the machine produced a high quality test print. I was even able to share the printer with a Windows 7 netbook with no real trouble (there is no WiFi on this model), although it seemed to take a while to download and install the correct driver.

What didn't go so well was testing the scanning function. Whilst the machine would copy with no problems, and would scan through the Windows 'Fax and Scan' program, the 'MP Navigator Ex' software that came on the installation CD simply wouldn't load. No error messages appeared but nothing would come up on the screen when the icon was clicked. In addition, the 'scan' button on the device had no effect at all.

I tried the usual steps of uninstalling and reinstalling the software and also downloading and installing the latest version of both the driver and the 'MP Navigator Ex' software from the Canon website but this made no difference.

After a long time, I eventually discovered the fault: There was a conflict between the software for the customer's previous scanner software (a Dell multifunction) and the new Canon software.

Although I thought I had removed all the software for the device the Canon was replacing, there was a remnant left over that was stopping 'MP Navigator Ex' from starting correctly.

The problem was located in the folder 'C:\Windows\System32\twain32' Viewing of hidden / system files needs to be activated for this folder to show in 'My Computer' or 'Windows Explorer'.

It appears that this folder contains a sub-folder for every scanner device installed on the system. In this case, there were two folders: One for the Canon PIXMA device I had just installed and one for the old Dell. I tried to delete the Dell folder but got an error message as a file within the folder was in use.

I discovered through 'Task Manager' that each time I had double clicked on the 'MP Navigator Ex' icon, a new instance of the program executable had been loaded. After I had used 'End Task' to close each instance of 'mpnex40.exe', I was finally able to delete the 'Dell' folder.

As soon as I did this, the program opened with no trouble at all and the scanner functions worked normally, including the 'scan' button on the machine itself.

  

FREE VPN Solution

If you ever have an odd but specific problem with the Internet, it can be worth trying to same activity with a different Internet connection.

For example, if downloading from one particular site is very slow, or E-Mail suddenly becomes unreliable, the cause may not be with your machine. It could be caused by bad routing between your Internet provider and the service you are trying to access.

Unfortunately, the approach of trying a different Internet connection is not always possible. This is where a VPN comes in.

VPN stands for 'Virtual Private Network' and allows you to route your Internet traffic through a different provider. If the same fault disappears when your machine is connected to a VPN, then the source of the problem is very likely down to a fault with your Internet Service Provider (ISP).

VPN services are run by companies that normally charge a fee for access. In general, an Internet connection will work more slowly when running through a VPN because the traffic has to be routed through more systems.

The quality and speed of VPN services varies and many have restrictions on what the connection can be used for. Many do not allow P2P downloads, for example.

One service I have found very useful whilst diagnosing problems for clients is called 'Best UK VPN'. Its completely free, does not require registration and is easy to set-up. I haven't measured the speed whilst connected but it certainly works adequately for testing purposes. Indeed, websites appear to load as quickly as when connected without the VPN. 

http://www.bestukvpn.com/

The installer encountered errors before iTunes could be configured

Are you familiar with the following message?

'The installer encountered errors before iTunes could be configured.

Errors occurred during installation. Your system has not been modified.

Please run the installer again, or click Finish to exit'.

Quite clearly, a technical problem occurred during the installation of iTunes and the process could not be completed. Without more information, it is impossible to say exactly what caused the problem.

In most cases of this type of error, a complete un-installation of all Apple software before downloading the latest installation package and trying again does the trick. This process includes:

• Un-installing all Apple related components through the 'Add or Remove Programs' utility in the Windows control panel.
• Removing remnants from the 'Program Files' folder and registry.
• Clearing out the temporary folders.
• Restarting the computer and reinstalling.

On this particular occasion, this procedure didn't work. The installation of iTunes rolled back time and time again and resulted in the error above.

Using the logging facilities built into the Windows installer, I was able to identify the problem was with the installation of one of the iTunes components, Apple Mobile Device. Essentially, a device driver for USB connectivity to Apple hardware was failing to install.

I then tried installing the 'Apple Mobile Device' module on its own. Using Winrar, it is possible to extract the iTunesSetup.exe file and install each part separately. The following YouTube video was very useful for this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6hUHiDvES4

Unfortunately this did not work either and the 'Apple Mobile Device' module could not be installed separately either. 

Eventually I was able to trace the problem to a single registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\DIFx\DriverStore

On the particular machine I was working on, accessing this key simply resulted in an error. It seems the permission settings for this key had become corrupt.

I was able to resolve the problem by performing these steps:

1. Right clicking on the 'DriverStore' key, then clicking 'Permissions'.
2. Clicking on 'Add', then typing in 'SYSTEM' in the new panel that appeared before clicking 'OK'.
3. Clicking on the 'SYSTEM' object I had just added, then ticking the 'Full Control' box and clicking 'OK'.

After rebooting the system I was able to reinstall iTunes successfully.

I would be interested to hear if anyone else has had the same problem and if they were able to resolve it.