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Archive for August, 2009

Vista Error after installing Service Pack 1: 0×800410003

Aug 31

Posted by Admin in Troubleshooting, Windows Vista | No Comments


Microsoft Windows Vista may throw an error right after installing Vista Service Pack 1. This is usually a blue screen error with error code 0×800410003. If you encounter this error after installing SP1 on Vista, follow the steps below:

  1. Restart the computer
  2. While the computer is booting, tap the “F8” key to get the startup options screen
  3. On this screen, select “Safe Mode with Command Prompt“. Please note that your mouse would not function on this option screen. To select this option, use the arrow keys on the keyboard to select the option and press “Enter” once the option is highlighted.
  4. You will have to provide an “Administrator” password to login now.
  5. This will take you to a command prompt window with a blinking cursor. On this screen, type “net stop winmgmt” and press the “Enter” key
  6. Now type “DEL c:\Windows\System32\wbem\Repository\*.*” and hit “Enter“
  7. Restart the computer again

This should resolve the Blue Screen issue on your computer.

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Tags: 0x800410003, Blue Screen, Error, Microsoft, Service Pack 1, SP1, Vista, windows

How to Perform Repair Installation of Windows XP

Aug 26

Posted by Admin in Troubleshooting | No Comments


Repair installation of Windows XP means replacing all the system files with original files on the Windows XP installation disc. Since all these files are restored, you will lose any Windows Updates or Service Packs that you have installed after the computer was set up. However, if you are using a disc that has the Service Pack files on it, you will have a service pack installed system after the repair installation.

To perform Repair Installation, follow the steps below:

  1. The computer must be set to boot from CD/DVD drive. For this, you need to enter BIOS and set the first boot device in Boot Priority / Sequence to CD/DVD drive.
  2. Once done, you need to insert the Windows XP installation disc in the CD/DVD drive and restart the computer.
  3. While rebooting, you will see a prompt on the screen to “Press any key to boot from CD”
  4. When you get this prompt, press any key on the keyboard.
  5. This will initiate a booting process from CD. The setup will load a lot of files before taking you to a screen with some options to select. You will not be able to use your mouse on this screen. The selection has to be made using the arrow keys on the keyboard.
  6. Press the “Enter” key when you get the message to “Press Enter to setup Windows XP now”. Do not press “R” since this will take you to Recovery Console.
  7. You will get a License Agreement prompt. On this screen, press the “F8” key on your keyboard to accept the license agreement.
  8. Now you will get an option to select the Operating System installation that you want to repair. Select the correct option (usually there is only one installation, unless you have a dual boot set up) and press “R” to initiate the Repair Installation.
  9. Follow the instructions to complete the process
  10. The computer will reboot once the process is complete.
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Tags: boot, installation, Microsoft, Repair, Windows XP

Epson releases new Artisan All-in-One Inkjet Printers

Aug 26

Posted by Admin in Printer(s) | No Comments


Epson has introduced its new line of Artisan All in Ones on August 19, 2009 – Artisan 710 and Artisan 810. These inkjet printers are designed to cater to all type of consumer needs, right from home work to creative projects. These printers boast of built in Wi-Fi and Ethernet networking and automatic 2 sided printing besides other new features. These printers can also print wirelessly from Apple iPhone and feature a front USB port that can be used to charge various devices. These devices also feature a built in color fax with Automatic Document Feeder and a 7.8 Inch touch screen to enhance convenience and productivity.

These printers offer unique features for day to day printing requirements. These inkjet printers allow users to preview, select and enhance photos without the need of a computer using its touch screen. These printers can turn your photographs and pictures into personalized coloring book paper or note pages, or print college ruled, wide ruled and graph school paper. These printers also feature automatic red eye removal. These can be used to create and print custom designs on to Ink Jet printable CDs and DVDs. Its 6 color Ultra High Definition Claria inkjet cartridge delivers life like pictures while building resistance to smudges, scratches and water while providing up to 4 times more resistance to color fading. These printers support all popular memory card types and USB flash drives. However if you intend to use these with Apple Mac, then some functions may not work like accessing memory cards when these printers are networked.

Environment Friendly

Both these inkjet printers are extremely environment friendly. They are designed to be recycled, ENERGY STAR qualified and RoHS Compliant. These printers also support printing on recycled paper. In addition to this, these printers the power consumption of these printers is extremely low. Their power consumption for an year is estimated around $2. Through enabling automatic double side printing, users can save 50% of paper consumption also.

 

These printers are currently available through major retail stores and Epson’s retail site. These are priced at $179.99 and $299.99 for Artisan 710 and Artisan 810 respectively.

Source: Epson

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Tags: Epson, ink jet, inkjet, new, photo, printer

NTLDR Missing or Corrupt: Solution

Aug 26

Posted by Admin in Troubleshooting | No Comments

 
NTLDR is an abbreviation for NT Loader. This is the boot loader for all Windows based Operating systems on NT technology, like Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. It is run from the primary hard drive, but can be executed from a removable media like a CD-ROM. This requires boot.ini file to be present to function properly.

 

This error usually appears in the following formats:

“NTLDR is Missing

Press any Key to Continue”

 

“NTLDR is Missing

Press Ctrl Alt Del to restart”

 

There are various causes for this error message:

  1. PC is booting off a CD-ROM or USB drive or any external drive/device
  2. Corrupt files and file configuration
  3. Corrupt sectors on Hard Drive
  4. BIOS problems

 

Solution

  1. Restart the computer to check if the problem still occurs. If this is intermittent, there is a high probability that the connection to the hard drive is loose.
  2. Check if you have a floppy drive or CD/DVD in the CD/DVD drive. If you have any, try booting the computer without these disks.
  3. Check the settings in BIOS. You should check for detection of Hard Drive on the BIOS Screen. A sample screen looks like below:

 BIOS1

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bios2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Make sure that you have something listed against IDE Primary Master / Hard Drive / First Boot Device, depending on the BIOS that you have.

 

4. If the above steps don’t help (in most cases they don’t), try to extract and restore the booting files from Windows installation Disc. If you don’t have the disc, you can borrow the disc from someone else. This does not violate the piracy norms set by Microsoft. To do this, follow the steps below:

  • Set the First Boot Device in BIOS to CD/DVD drive. Enter the Windows installation disc in the drive and restart the computer. You will see a prompt to “Press any key to boot from CD”. At this prompt, press any key on the keyboard to boot from CD.
  • On the selection screen that comes after the setup has loaded all the files, press “R” to go to recovery console. You may be prompted to enter your administrator password on the screen here.
  • The next screen will look like a command prompt, with a black screen and blinking cursor. On this screen type the following commands:

                                                                                       i.      Copy d:\i386\ntldr c:\

                                                                                     ii.      Copy d:\i386\ntdetect.com c:\

 

Here, d: refers to the CDROM drive and c: refers to the partition in which Windows is installed on your machine.

  • If you get a prompt to replace the existing file, press “Y” to confirm
  • Once this is done, take the Windows disc out of the drive and type “exit” to restart the computer.

 

This should replace the existing corrupt files with a set of new files. On restart, your computer should boot properly without any error message.

 

 5. If these steps also don’t resolve the issue and you still get the same NTLDR missing message, boot from the Windows installation disc and go to the recovery console prompt again (As explained in first few steps above). On the recovery console, follow the steps below:

  • Type “bootcfg” and press Enter
  • You will get a prompt to “Add installation to Boot List?” after you press Enter key. Type “Y” to say Yes and press Enter key again
  • You will get another prompt to enter the name of the installation. On this prompt, type “Windows XP Professional” or “Windows XP Home” depending on the version of OS that you are using and press Enter.
  • You will get another prompt to enter OS Load Options. On this screen type “/Fastdetect” and press Enter Key again.
  • Now take the Windows installation disc out of the drive and type “exit” to restart the computer.

These steps will reconfigure the Boot.ini file on your computer.

 

6. If you are still getting the NTLDR missing message, you will need to go to the Recovery Console again and attempt to fix the Boot Sector on the hard drive. This command will rewrite the boot sector information. To do this, follow the steps below:

  • Go to the Recovery console as described earlier
  • On the command prompt, type “FIXBOOT” and then press the Enter key
  • Once the process is over, take out the Windows installation disc and type “Exit” to restart the computer.

This should resolve the issue if the issue is with Boot Sector information on hard drive.

 

7. If you still face the NTLDR Missing message, the problem could be with the Master Boot Record (MBR) on the hard drive. To fix this, follow the steps below

  • Boot to the Recovery Console as described above
  • On the command prompt, type “FIXMBR” and press Enter key
  • This will rewrite the existing MBR on your hard drive. Please note that if you have installed any recovery software, it will not function in pre boot state if you perform this step.
  • Once the process is over, take out the Windows installation disc and type “Exit” to restart the computer.

 

8. If the problem still exists, you will have to perform Repair Installation of Windows.

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Tags: boot, bootcfg, console, corrupt, Error, fixboot, fixmbr, MBR, Microsoft, missing, NTLDR, Recovery, Repair, Windows XP

Microsoft OneApp: Smart Phone features for “Featured Phones”

Aug 25

Posted by Admin in New Technologies | No Comments


Microsoft has released an application for “Featured Phones” to allow them to use applications that were exclusively used by only Smart Phone users. Featured Phones are ones that allow users to install and use applications and are little advanced than normal cell phones, but not as advanced as Smart phones.

According to Amit Mital, Corporate VP of Microsoft’s Unlimited Potential Group & Startup Business Accelerator, “OneApp is a technology that is going to help people do things they could not do before- anything from paying their bills to helping diagnose their health issues or just staying connected with friends and family”.

This is a move to get into the mobile market through successfully exploiting capabilities of cell phones that do not offer smart phone like features. This application will allow access to social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, etc.

To ensure performance, OneApp is only 150KB in size and its applications are about 30KB in size. OneApp also provides a cloud architecture to these users, which means that the users can store and access their applications without the need to store them locally on their phones.

This application will provide a platform to application developers who currently face multiple challenges in developing applications for Featured Phones due to the complexity and wide range of available models. OneApp allows vendors to develop applications only once and distribute them to a wide range of handsets.

Source: Microsoft Press Release

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Tags: Microsoft, OneApp, phone, phones

Apple responds to FCC Questions: Apple vs Google

Aug 24

Posted by Admin in Apple, Google | No Comments


Apple has responded to the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau’s inquiry on information regarding Apple’s App Store and its application approval process. This was considered a response from Google after Apple rejected appgooatntapproval of Google Voice as an application for iPhone. There were contemplation that this is was an effort by AT&T to block Google’s entry into a domain that is controlled by them in North American region.

Following is the response to the questions that were asked by FCC to APPLE. The 3 primary questions and their responses which directly correspond to Apple’s & AT&T’s motive or involvement to block Google Voice are below (Source: Apple)

Question 1. Why did Apple reject the Google Voice application for iPhone and remove related third-party applications from its App Store? In addition to Google Voice, which related third-party applications were removed or have been rejected?

Contrary to published reports, Apple has not rejected the Google Voice application, and continues to study it. The application has not been approved because, as submitted for review, it appears to alter the iPhone’s distinctive user experience by replacing the iPhone’s core mobile telephone functionality and Apple user interface with its own user interface for telephone calls, text messaging and voicemail. Apple spent a lot of time and effort developing this distinct and innovative way to seamlessly deliver core functionality of the iPhone. For example, on an iPhone, the “Phone” icon that is always shown at the bottom of the Home Screen launches Apple’s mobile telephone application, providing access to Favorites, Recents, Contacts, a Keypad, and Visual Voicemail. The Google Voice application replaces Apple’s Visual Voicemail by routing calls through a separate Google Voice telephone number that stores any voicemail, preventing voicemail from being stored on the iPhone, i.e., disabling Apple’s Visual Voicemail. Similarly, SMS text messages are managed through the Google hub—replacing the iPhone’s text messaging feature. In addition, the iPhone user’s entire Contacts database is transferred to Google’s servers, and we have yet to obtain any assurances from Google that this data will only be used in appropriate ways. These factors present several new issues and questions to us that we are still pondering at this time.

Question 2. Did Apple act alone, or in consultation with AT&T, in deciding to reject the Google Voice application and related applications? If the latter, please describe the communications between Apple and AT&T in connection with the decision to reject Google Voice. Are there any contractual conditions or non-contractual understandings with AT&T that affected Apple’s decision in this matter?

Apple is acting alone and has not consulted with AT&T about whether or not to approve the Google Voice application. No contractual conditions or non-contractual understandings with AT&T have been a factor in Apple’s decision-making process in this matter.

Question 3. Does AT&T have any role in the approval of iPhone applications generally (or in certain cases)? If so, under what circumstances, and what role does it play? What roles are specified in the contractual provisions between Apple and AT&T (or any non-contractual understandings) regarding the consideration of particular iPhone applications?

Apple alone makes the final decisions to approve or not approve iPhone applications.

There is a provision in Apple’s agreement with AT&T that obligates Apple not to include functionality in any Apple phone that enables a customer to use AT&T’s cellular network service to originate or terminate a VoIP session without obtaining AT&T’s permission. Apple honors this obligation, in addition to respecting AT&T’s customer Terms of Service, which, for example, prohibit an AT&T customer from using AT&T’s cellular service to redirect a TV signal to an iPhone. From time to time, AT&T has expressed concerns regarding network efficiency and potential network congestion associated with certain applications, and Apple takes such concerns into consideration.

It seems that Apple has put all doubts to rest that they did this as a part of genuine evaluation process and this move was not intended to block Google and protect their long term partner AT&T.

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Tags: App Store, Apple, AT&T, FCC, Google, Google Voice, iPhone

Apple Mac OS X Snow Leopard: Available from August 28

Aug 24

Posted by Admin in Apple | No Comments

Apple will make its latest Operating System: Snow Leopard available a little earlier than expected. This will be available from Friday, August 28, 2009.

snowleopardApple had already confirmed that this Operating System will be more of update for their existing OS in terms of stability and performance, rather than addition of features and functionalities. Apple has stated that this Operating System is almost half the size of the previous OS and frees up about 7 GB space on the hard drive post installation. Almost 90% of the Operating System coding has been reworked to achieve this. However, This will only support Intel based Mac computers.

From a performance standpoint, it is said that its Mail application loads twice as fast, Time Machine does its first backup up to 80% faster and the new 64 Bit Safari is up to 50% faster.

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Tags: Apple, Mac, macintosh, OS X, Snow Leopard

Continue using Outlook and Outlook Express with Hotmail/Live/MSN email after September 1

Aug 24

Posted by Admin in Microsoft Outlook, Troubleshooting | No Comments

images
Microsoft will change the way it’s free web based email Hotmail used to work with email clients (Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express and Entourage). This change was slated to happen sometime last year, but in absence of alternate solution in place, Microsoft had decided to delay the change implementation. This will now be implemented on September 1, 2009. On and after this date, users who have configured the email clients mentioned above will not be able to get access to their emails using these clients. However, Microsoft has released a list of solutions for users to continue using these email clients with Hotmail (Hotmail / Live / MSN).

For users of Microsoft Office Outlook 2003/2007Outlook Logo

If you are using Office Outlook version 2003 or 2007, you will have to download and install free Office Outlook Connector.

For users of Microsoft Office Outlook 2002 and previous Versions

If you are using Office Outlook version 2002 or a previous version, you will have to set up a POP3 account to configure Hotmail. To set this up, follow the steps below: (How to check version?)

  1. Click on “Tools” and on the pop-up menu, click on “Email Accounts”
  2. On the following screen, Select the radio button next to “Add a new email account” and click on “Next” button.
  3. In the “Server Type” box, select “POP3” and click on Next.
  4. On the following screen, type your name and your Hotmail email address. After populating these boxes, click on the button “More Settings” on the bottom right of the screen.
  5. In the “Incoming Mail Server (POP3)” field, type pop3.live.com
  6. In the “Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP)” field, type smtp.live.com
  7. In the “User Name” field, type your email address
  8. In the “Password” field, type your email password
  9. On the Outgoing Server tab, select the “My outgoing Server (SMTP) requires authentication” check box.
  10. On the “Advanced” tab, make the following changes:

 

            Under “Incoming Server (POP3)”

             i.      Select the option for “This server requires an encrypted connection (SSL)” by ticking the check box

             ii.      On the “Incoming Server (POP3) field, type 995. If its already there, leave it the way it is.

             Under “Outgoing Server (POP3)”

              i.      Select the option for “This server requires and encrypted connection (SSL)” by ticking the check box

             ii.      In the “Outgoing Server (SMTP)” field, type the number 25 or 587 for the port number.

            iii.      There is an option on this screen to “leave a copy of the message on server”. This option allows you to see the email through your client and also through internet browser. If you intend to use both, check this option. If you only use Outlook, uncheck this option.

11. Now click on “Test Account Settings” button to ensure that the settings are working. If this test fails, recheck the settings mentioned above. If it passes, click on “Next” and then on “Finish” to complete the setup.

For users of Microsoft Outlook Express

Microsoft recommends users to download a free Windows Live Mail Client for people who are still using Outlook Express with Hotmail accounts. However, if you want to continue using Outlook Express, you will have to follow the following steps:

  1. On the Outlook Express window, click on “Tools” and then click on “Accounts”
  2. Click on “Add” and then click “Mail”
  3. Type your name in the blank text box and then click on “Next”
  4. Type your email address and then click on “Next”
  5. On the next window, enter the following information
    1. In the “My incoming mail server is a” box, select “POP3” from the drop down menu.
    2. In the “Incoming mail (POP3, IMAP or HTTP) server” box, type “pop3.live.com”
    3. In the “Outgoing mail (SMTP) server:” box, type “smtp.live.com”
  6. On the “Internet Mail Logon” window, Type your email address and password. Please check the box “Remember password” to avoid entering password every time you launch Outlook Express. Also ensure that the box “Log on using Secure Password Authentication(SPA)” is unchecked.
  7. Click on “Next” and then click on “Finish”
  8. In the “Internet Account” window, click on the “Email” tab, select the new account and then click on “Properties”
  9. Click on the “Servers” tab and under “Outgoing Mail Services”, check the option for “My server requires authentication”
  10. Click on the Settings button to the right of the “My server requires authentication” option.  You may need to turn on the “Use same settings as my incoming server” option unless you are using a special account setup requiring a different Account name and password.  Most people will need to use the default option of “Use same settings as my incoming server“.
  11. Click on the “Advanced” tab and under “Server Port Numbers”, enter the following information:a.       Incoming mail (POP3): 995b.      Outgoing mail (SMTP): 25 or 587

    c. Under both Incoming Mail and Outgoing Mail, select the option “This server requires a secure connection (SSL)”

             d. Under “Delivery”, There is an option on this screen to “leave a copy of the message on server”. This option allows you to see the email through your client and also through internet browser. If you intend to use both, check this option. If you only use Outlook, uncheck this option.

  12. Click on “OK” to finish account setup.

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Tags: Client, Entourage, Express, Hotmail, Live, mail, Microsoft, MSN, Office, Offline, Outlook, Outlook Connector, POP3, Premium, SMTP

Microsoft unveils HD Widescreen Webcam for Consumers

Aug 21

Posted by Admin in New Technologies | No Comments


MSWEBCAMMicrosoft has released a web camera capable of widescreen capture. This is the first consumer webcam to offer widescreen video with a 720pixel capture. With increasing internet bandwidth and image and video sharing platforms like YouTube, this is perfect timing for release of such hardware. This will bring life like quality to social networking sites and for chatting with friends and family.

This is the only webcam that offers these features and caters to home consumer segment. Such features were only available to corporate for conducting remote meetings. This webcam also features an advanced Auto Focus feature that delivers sharp images up to 4 inches from the webcam. Microsoft has also launched ClearFrame Technology with this webcam. This offers faster image processing to deliver smooth video at any resolution and enhanced noise reduction capabilities. This webcam has a widest angle of coverage, a whooping 74 Degrees. This new cam also features integration with following Microsoft Live features to support editing and sharing of pictures and videos:

  1. Windows Live Movie Maker: This is a new version which now supports HD. Users can edit their pictures and videos with this tool and upload them to YouTube with a single click functionality.
  2. Windows Live Photo Gallery: This tool is also integrated with the cam utility software. However, there are no notable changes made to this tool. This is currently available as a standalone download for your existing cams also.

This revolutionary webcam will be priced at approximately USD 79.95 and will be available in September this year. This also carries a limited 3 Year hardware warranty.

Source: Microsoft Press Release

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Tags: hardware, HD, Microsoft, webcam, widescreen

Microsoft Windows Home Server

Aug 21

Posted by Admin in New Technologies | No Comments


The term Server used to be associated with only corporate Information Technology setup. Microsoft has brought the capabilities of a server to home users now with their Windows Home Server (WHS). Though this was introduced over 2 years ago, not many people have adopted this wonderful technology. Microsoft has now increased its focus on marketing this product.

Some of the key features of WHS are as below:

1.       Backup & Restore

Windows Home Server makes it easy to backup your data and applications and then restore them with some simple steps. It takes image based backups that can be programmed to perform backup action every day. Since the backup is not stored locally, you can recover your computer even if the hard drive is physically damaged. The recovery feature allows users to restore specific files or complete system which provides enough flexibility and confidence to users to carry on their day to day tasks on their machines easily and without any fear of data loss.

 

2.       Networking

WHS ensures that your home network remains healthy by constantly monitoring the defined network. You can even ensure that the anti-virus software is updated on all computers on your home network. It also incorporates a firewall that you can utilize to secure information on your network. You can be rest assured that no one can access your medical files or your banking information from your computers/network.

 

3.       Ease of Storage

WHS provides a central location to users, which is accessible by all the computers on the network like a shared location. This feature allows you to create a central repository for all images, pictures, photographs, movies, etc. This will ensure that you never miss out on the location of any of your files ever again.

4.       Enhanced Storage Capacity

Instead of adding hard drive on every computer on your home network, you can simply add hard drive (internal or external) to your WHS and it can be shared by all the computers on your network. All you need to do is plug in a hard drive and Windows Home Server will take care of the rest.

5.       Supports Home Automation

Home automation relates to devices such as Digital Photo Frames, Security Systems, IP Based refrigerators, IP & Remotely Controllable Air Conditioners, etc. Windows Home Server supports all these platforms and manufacturers of these devices are now extensively working with Microsoft to provide the capability to control your home remotely from any location using WHS. Imagine restricting access to your bedroom from your office (Cool Stuff, Just hope that your kids don’t lock you out J)

6.       Anywhere, Anytime Access

WHS provides the functionality to access your files, data, etc securely, weather you are inside your home/office or outside. You can use a completely customizable website address to download and upload files to and from your computer/network. It will look like you are working on your own computer. You will have access to all applications that you have installed on your machine back home.

 

With these features, WHS is an apt device for users who have set up a small network of up to 5 PCs at their home. It will also be wise for small business owners to invest into this to ensure that their data stays secured while providing roaming access to all the data and applications. What’s more, you can download a trial version which works for 120 days (4 Months) from Microsoft.

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Tags: access, backup, Home, Microsoft, remote, restore, Security, server, WHS, windows