Recently had this problem at work after I had modified the log on script to add a new printer. You may have noticed in Windows Vista & 7 when you add a network printer a message box pops up asking you to confirm to install the printer driver.
Well our log on script is set to run and complete before the desktop loads, so because the desktop hasn’t loaded yet you never see the pop up message asking you to confirm to install the printer driver. So the PC just sits there with a blank screen waiting for you to click yes or no on a pop up box that you can’t see!
The solution? Log onto the PC using a local account or a network account that doesn’t have a log on script (maybe the network administrator), add all the network printers you need. Log back off and log on as normal. Solved!
Want to change the Windows Update settings on your Windows Server 2003 but the options are greyed out? You can change them in the registry.
Go to Start> Run> regedit
Go to HKLM> Software> Policies> Microsoft> Windows> WindowsUpdate> AU
To turn off Windows Updates completely, change NoAutoUpdate to 1.
To select one of the other 3 options change AUOptions to either 2, 3 or 4 (Notify=2, Download=3, Automatic=4).
Close and you’re done!
Just had your number transfered to O2 and can’t send text messages? Don’t worry, this is normal for the first 24 hours (although it should start working much sooner than this).
Check your using the right message centre number to send messages. You can find these numbers on the O2 support site.
Another thing you could try is getting someone to send you a text message, this might start them working for you.
I thought I would give Microsoft Expression Web a go recently and was using it to edit some PHP files. Big mistake! I suddenly started getting PHP error messages that the headers had already been sent out, such as:
Cannot send session cache limiter – headers already sent
and
Cannot modify header information – headers already sent by
Very annoying! I couldn’t spot anything wrong with the files in Notepad or Dreamweaver. I was very confused. So I decided to open the files in my web hosts online text editor. Lo and behold, Expression Web had put some odd characters before the opening PHP tags on a couple of files! I removed the characters in the text editor and now everything is working fine again.
Moral of the story? Microsoft is rubbish!
After a free XP Media Player DVD Codec? Check out XPcodecpack. It’s free!
Trying to install Goldmine and getting the error message “another Goldmine installation is already running”? This is a very frustrating but easy to fix problem. All you need to do is make a small change to the registry.
Run regedit (Start> Run> regedit).
Go to HKLM> Software> Frontrange solutions. Delete the folder GMinProgress. Exit regedit.
Retry the installation.
Trying to unlock your Nokia N82? Let me save you loads of time scanning forums and money from scams on the internet, the cheapest and most reliable (and possibly only) way to get it done is to ask your network provider. Just hope they don’t charge you too much.
If you’re really lucky, they might do it for free.
Trying to change your password with OWA and getting error: object required? You need to register a dll on the server, follow the instructions found in this Microsoft support article.
If after you’ve done this you’re now getting error number 5, you need to check Integrated Windows authentication in the IIS virtual directory. To do this go to IIS manager> right click on the IISADPWD virtual directory and select properties> select the Directory Security tab> under Authentication and access control click Edit> check the box Integrated Windows authentication.
Done!
AutoRun/AutoPlay is a well known security risk. Pop an infected USB stick into your PC and up pops the autorun/autoplay menu. Viruses can replicate items on that list, so you think you’re just opening it up in Explorer but actually you’re infecting your PC as well.
It makes sense then to disable it. It can be done easily in Group Policy, but if you’re a home user then that won’t be any use to you. Here’s how to do it XP by modifying the registry.
- Start> Run
- Type regedit
- Click OK
- Go to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Policies\ Explorer\ NoDriveTypeAutorun
- Right-click NoDriveTypeAutoRun, and then click Modify.
- In the Value data box, type 0xFF to disable all types of drives.
- Click OK. Exit Registry Editor
- Restart your PC
- Done!
Deleted some accounts or cleared a load of emails from your Exchange server and wondering why the database size hasn’t reduced?
Well, after you’ve deleted Exchange accounts, you need to run the Cleanup Agent for them to actually be removed (and then only after the waiting period, typically 30 days, has passed).
To change the deleted mailboxes waiting period: In Exchange System Manager go to the First Storage Group, right click on your Mailbox Store and click Properties. On the Limits tab, at the bottom, change the number of ‘Keep deleted mailboxes for (days)’.
To run the Cleanup Agent: In Exchange System Manager, go to your Mailbox Store, right click on the Mailboxes folder and click Run Cleanup Agent.
The space you’ve cleared will only be available after the next online defrag has completed (typically overnight). However, the Exchange database files won’t actually be any smaller. Exchange keeps the space in it’s databases ready to use for new emails. You can see how much free space your Exchange server is holding by viewing your Exchange servers Application Event Log (in Event Viewer). Look for the Event ID 1221 that has your Mailbox Store name in it (not the Public Store). The Event description will tell you the megabytes of free space.
To actually make the Exchange database files smaller you need to run an offline defrag. This can only be done during downtime and really isn’t recommened unless you have a lot of free space in your database to release. To run you need to detach your Mailbox Store and run the Eseutil utitlity. More info can be found here.