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Archive for August 13th, 2009

How to enter BIOS? Common keys

Aug 13

Posted by Admin in Troubleshooting | No Comments


In my experience of troubleshooting booting issues on various operating systems such as Windows XP, Windows Vista, even older ones like 98, Me, there are a lot of times when users have to get into the BIOS of the computer. However, there is no standard key stroke that will allow access to BIOS. I have made a list of some comptuers and BIOS manufacturers along with ways to enter BIOS on such computers. I hope the table below will help you.

Computer Type BIOS Setup Key(s) for Entry
Acer F1, F2, CTRL+ALT+ESC
AST CTRL+ALT+ESC, CTRL+ALT+DEL
Compaq 8700 F10
CompUSA DEL
Cybermax ESC
Dell 400 F3, F1
Dell Dimension F2 or DEL
Dell Inspiron F2
Dell Latitude Fn+F1 (While Booted)
Dell Latitude F2 (On Boot)
Dell Optiplex DEL, F2
Dell Precision F2
eMachine DEL
Gateway 2000 1440 F1
Gateway 2000 Solo F2
HP (Hewlett-Packard) F1, F2
IBM F1
IBM E-pro Laptop F2
IBM PS/2 CTRL+ALT+INS after CTRL+ALT+DEL
IBM Thinkpad (newer) Start|Programs|Thinkpad CFG
Intel Tangent DEL
Micron F1, F2, or DEL
NEC F2
Packard Bell F1, F2, or DEL
Sony VIAO F2
Tiger DEL
Toshiba 335 CDS ESC
Toshiba Protg ESC
Toshiba Satellite 205 CDS F1
Toshiba Tecra F1 or ESC
Toshiba Notebook [Newer models] 1. Turn on computer by Holding down power button while pressing the ESC key.
  The machine will beep, then display:
  Check System, then press [F1] key.
  2. Release ESC key
  3. Press F1 key
   
   
 Bios Suppliers

 

  Keyboard Commands
ALR Advanced Logic Research, Inc. PC / PCI F2 
ALR PC non / PCI CTRL+ALT+ESC
AMD (Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.) BIOS F1
AMI (American Megatrends, Inc.) BIOS DEL
Award BIOS CTRL+ALT+ESC
Award BIOS DEL
DTK (Datatech Enterprises Co.) BIOS ESC
Phoenix BIOS CTRL+ALT+ESC
Phoenix BIOS CTRL+ALT+S
Phoenix BIOS CTRL+ALT+INS
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Tags: BIOS, enter, how to, keys

Windows Update Error 0×80073712

Aug 13

Posted by Admin in Windows Vista, Windows XP | No Comments


Microsoft has released 2 major security loophole fixes in past 2 months. This leads us to believe that the security risk in our daily computing life is increasing every day. To ensure that our computer remains safe from these unwanted threats, all of us want to keep our computer updated with latest updates from Microsoft. Unfortunately, windows updates are not 100% successful everytime on all the machines in the world. This is one of the most common error that is thrown to users who attempt to run Windows update manually or get this message after they restart the computer post automatic updates has finished installing the updates. To resolve this issue, follow the steps below:

  1. Browse to Windows Folder. This is usually c:\Windows
  2. Double click on the winsxs folder
  3. Locate the file pending.xml and rename it to pending.old
  4. Restart the computer and try installing the updates again

In most cases, during the rename process, you may get “Access Denied” message. If this happens, follow the steps below:

  1. Right Click on pending.xml
  2. On the pop up menu, click on Properties
  3. On the Properties window, click on Security tab
  4. On the Security tab, click on Advanced and then click on Owner tab
  5. In the Name list, click on “Administrator” or click on the “Administrators Group” and then click on OK.
  6. Click on “Add”
  7. On the “Enter the object names to select (examples) list”, type Everyone
  8. Click on OK
  9. In the “Group or Username list”, click on “Full Control”
  10. Click on OK

After the above steps, you will be able to rename the file “pending.xml”

I hope this will allow you to resolve this issue, if it ever occurs on your computer. Keep your computer updated & safe.

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Tags: Error, install, Microsoft, update, windows

Microsoft Office 2008 update for Apple Mac

Aug 13

Posted by Admin in Apple | No Comments


Microsoft released Service Pack 2 for Office 2008 for Mac on July 20, 2009. This is focussed to improve speed, stability and compatibility. With this update, Microsoft has equipped Apple Mac users with a tool to browse and share documents on SharePoint technologies and Office Live Workspaces. This is critical for business users and end consumers from an experience perspective. This goes on to say that Microsoft is investing heaviliy into providing cross platform user experience to Apple customers also.

Microsoft says that lot of customer feedback was incorporated to create SP2. Following are the key features of this free update to Mac users:

  1. Custom path Animations (PowerPoint 2008): This feature adds the functionality to author motion path animations. Prior to SP2, users could only playback motion path animations.
  2. Default Theme (PowerPoint 2008): This feature provides the functionality to define a default theme to a presentation deck, which was not possible for Apple users earlier.
  3. Increased Speed (Word and Excel 2008): This update primarily impacts launch and scroll speed for both Microsoft Word and Excel 
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Tags: 2008, Apple, Mac, macintosh, Microsoft, Office, update

Share Desktop using Google GTALK

Aug 13

Posted by Admin in Google | No Comments


Till a few hours ago, if someone told me that I could access my computer remotely if I have Google Talk installed on my windows based PC, I would have laughed it off.  But as I have said, technology makes impossible-possible.

Yes GBRIDGE allows you to remotely access your computer with a free utility, provided you have a gmail account. This utility currently supports Windows XP, 2000 and Vista. This will also work on Microsoft’s new Operating System Windows 7.

There is much more that you can do with this utility over and above the remote access. It allows users to share files & folders and sync them as well, all this through a secured VPN channel. It also allows users to schedule backup of files and folders.

Please note that this is not an offering from Google, but an indipendent organization that has created this tool, using GTALK.

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Tags: desktop, Google, Gtalk, share

Remove Content Advisor password from Internet Explorer

Aug 13

Posted by Admin in Troubleshooting, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP | No Comments


Content Advisor option in Internet Explorer can be a boon and a big problem at the same time. In my last post, I mentioned how to set this up. This post is about getting rid of it. Though it can be misused, but this is purely for the purpose of administrators.

If you remember the password and want to remove the content advisor password, follow the steps below:

  1. Open the internet explorer window
  2. Click on “Tools” and from the drop down menu, click on “Internet Options“
  3. On the Internet Options window, click on “Content” tab
  4. Click on “Disable” button. It will prompt you for the password. Please enter the existing password and click on “OK“

If you intend to change the password, on the “Content Advisor” window, click on “General” tab and then click on “Change password“. You will be prompted to enter existing password and new password.

 

If you have forgotten the password, you can either use the “Hint” that Content Advisor would have prompted you to enter. If this doesn’t work or if you did not set up a hint, the process is a little more complex. You will have to play with Windows Registry to fix this. Follow the steps below to get rid of the Content Advisor password if you don’t remember the password:

  1. Click on “Start” button and on the start menu, click on “Run”. If you are using Windows Vista, type “Run” in the Search box and click on the RUN option after the search is complete.
  2. On the run box, please type “Regedit” and click on “ok”
  3. This will launch the registry editor window of Windows
  4. On the left pane of this window, you will see some entries with a “+” sign before them
  5. On this left pane, locate & click on the + sign next to “HKEY_LOCAL_Machine”
  6. On the expanded list, locate & click on the + sign next to “Software”
  7. On the next expanded list, locate & click on the + sign next to “Microsoft”
  8. On the next expanded list, locate & click on the + sign next to “Windows”
  9. On the next expanded list, locate & click on the + sign next to “Current Version”
  10. On the next expanded list, locate & click on the + sign next to “Policies”
  11. Under Policies tree, you will see a folder “Ratings”. Click on it.
  12. On the right pane of this window, you will see a key. Right click on the key and on the pop up menu, click on “Delete”
  13. Exit the registry editor window.

You have successfully deleted the password for Content Advisor. Now restart the comptuer and launch Internet Explorer again. Go back to “Tools”–>”Internet Options”–> “Content”–> “Disable”. It will prompt you to enter the password. Do not enter anything and click on “OK”.

This will resolve all your issues with Content Advisor feature in Internet Explorer.

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Tags: advisor, content, explorer, IE, internet, Microsoft, password, remove

Restrict web access for kids: Internet Explorer

Aug 13

Posted by Admin in Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP | No Comments


With internet becoming the backbone for education, a new problem has emerged in every home with Kids. How to restrict access to explicit content for kids? Microsoft has addressed this concern through a tool in Internet Explorer called “Content Advisor”. As the name suggests, it filters sites that contain content that you have specified and does not allow user to access such sites unless they have a password to allow access.

You can set this up very easily. Just follow the simple steps listed below to activate this on your computer:

  1. On the Internet Explorer window, Click on “Tools” and on the drop down menu, click on “Internet Options“
  2. On the Internet Options window, click on “Content” tab and then click on the “Enable” button
  3. On the “Ratings” tab on the next window, you will see a host of details that content advisor can work on to block any webpage access. There is a bar on this page, which is set to “None” which means no exception. You can move the bar to the right to decrease the level of restriction.

There is another tab “Approved Sites” on the Content Advisor window, that allows you to enter a list of websites that will be viewable irrespective of the type of content or rating of the website.

There is another tab called “General”. On this tab, you can see the following options:

a. Users can see websites that have no rating: This essentially means that if a website that is being accessed has no rating, it should be made visible. For details of rating system, click on the buttons–”Find Rating systems” or “rating systems”.
b. Supervisor can type a password to allow users to view restricted content: This allows users to gain unrestricted access for a specific session of Internet Explorer. If you close IE and reopen it again, the security will prompt for a password again. In case you select this option (Selected by default since administrators may want to retain access to restricted sites.)If a restricted site is accessed, user will get a prompt to enter a password. If incorrect password is provided, it will restrict the page view.
To create a password, click on the “create password” button and enter the password on both the boxes.

 Please ensure that the password is kept safe. Else you will not be able to get access to restricted sites yourselves.

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Tags: access, advisor, content, IE, internet, Microsoft, password, restrict

Apple Snow Leopard Server

Aug 13

Posted by Admin in Apple | No Comments


Apple will release its server OS version with Snow Leopard desktop version in September 2009. Following are the new features of Snow Leopard Server system.
1. iCal Server 2: This will allow easy sharing of calendars, schedules, meetings and coordination of events. It now offers “Push Notifications” which will notify colleagues wherever there is a new invitation or changes to existing meetings/schedules. It also allows external entities who do not use iCal, iCal Server 2 to be invited to meetings through emails. They can open these invites through an attachment, irrespective of the platform (Mac/PC). It also includes a web-based calendar that allows users to check their schedule, etc on the move. It also allows integration of iPhone into the system to remotely access calendars.

2. Podcast Producer 2: This is an ideal tool for publishing and distributing high quality podcasts. This is ideal for training, lectures, presentations, etc. Snow Leopard Server adds 2 new features to existing Podcast Producer: Dual Source Capturing & Web Capture. The earlier allows you to create PiP (picture in picture) and latter allows you to capture video through remote cameras and microphones.
Upon completion of Podcast, it automatically publishes the content in selected format, which is customizable for viewing the podcast on Apple TV, iPod, Mac or PC.

3. Quick Look (Wiki Server2): This is one of the most powerful features on Snow Leopard Server. It allows you to view an uploaded document without the need of downloading it. It supports standard file formats including text, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, etc. A new feature, “Quick Search” allows users to search information in wikis, blogs, mailing lists, calendars and podcasts also.

4. Address Book Server: The new address book server uses a new protocol standard called CardDAV, which allows storage of contacts outside the LDAP directory. The contact management is handled by this application. Users can give access to their address books to others also.

5. Mobile Access Server: With this, users can set up and manage secure remote access to corporate network. It allows always on connection from any part of the world without the need of setting up a VPN. This is done through internet and allows access to intranet sites, emails, contacts, etc. It supports HTTP/HTTPS, IMAP and SMTP. This is completely secure through encrypting data transmission and authentication of communications.

For more information, go to the Apple Snow Leopard Server site.

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

Windows XP: Install NT Backup utility

Aug 13

Posted by Admin in Windows XP | No Comments


The default installation of Windows XP Professional will install NTBackup utility on the computer. However, this utility is not installed by default in Windows XP Home edition. Unlike common belief, this utility is available on the installation disc for Windows XP Home edition as well. Its not installed by default though. In today’s environment, where everyone tends to store critical information on computer, it is essential to have a backup utility.

If you are using Windows XP Home and interested in installing the backup utility, follow the steps below:

  1. Insert the Windows XP installation disk in the CD/DVD drive of your computer
  2. This should launch the Windows XP setup screen automatically. If this window does not appear, go to “My Computer“, right click on the CD/DVD drive and click on “AutoPlay” option on the pop up menu. This will launch the setup screen.
  3. On the setup screen, click on “Perform Additional Tasks“
  4. On the next screen, click on “Browse this CD“
  5. This will take you to a folder list where you will see a list of files and folders. On this window, double click on “VALUEADD” folder.
  6. In this folder, double click on “NTBACKUP”. This will launch the installation of Ntbackup utility
  7. Follow the installation steps and this will add this utility on your computer

Once installed, this utility will be available to you through Start–>All programs–>Accessories–>System Tools–>Backup.

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Tags: backup, install, Microsoft, ntbackup, Recovery, restore, utility, windows, XP

Apple’s new MobileMe for iPhone

Aug 13

Posted by Admin in Apple | No Comments


Apple has launched a fully revamped MobileMe for Apple iPhone users. Following are the features of the new application:

  1. Locate your iPhone: This feature allows you to find your iPhone in case you loose it. This feature is called “Find my iPhone”. You just need to enable this feature on your phone and you can access your location through logging in to me.com.
  2. Display a message on your lost iPhone: You can also display a message or play a specific tone on your lost iPhone remotely. This will over ride the “silent” mode on your phone, in case someone’s playing a prank on you. This message can come really handy if someone locates your iPhone and doesn’t know where to send it back to.
  3. Data Safety: If the message display and tone play on your iPhone does not help you get the phone back, you can restore the iPhone to factory settings. This will ensure that your messages, phone contacts, etc are not compromised. If you get your phone back, you can log on to MobileMe and restore all your data.

There are more free applications for your iPhone and iPod Touch available at apple site.

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Tags: Apple, data, iPhone, lost, MobileMe, recover, Security, track, tracking

How to keep Windows XP machine healthy?

Aug 13

Posted by Admin in Windows XP | No Comments


Lot of us experience slow performance of our computer as we continue to use our machines every day. A lot of technical support requirement is generated due to slow performance of computers. Other than slow performance, there is that ever increasing security risk that is associated with various applications that we use everyday, such as Internet Explorer and Microsoft Office. Microsoft has provided tools with its Operating System to ensure that your computer stays healthy and gives you a long life of optimal performance.

Here is what you can do to keep your computer healthy:

  1. Click on “Start” button”
  2. Click on “Control Panel“
  3. On the Control Panel window, double click on “Scheduled Tasks“
  4. This will launch a Task Scheduler window. On this window, click on “Add Scheduled Task” and then click on “Next“
  5. On the list of applications, click on “Disk Cleanup” and click on “Next“
  6. From the frequency options, select “Weekly” and then click on “Next“. This will ensure that you get rid of unwanted files from your computer every week. Please note that whenever the task scheduler launches Disk Cleanup Wizard, it will give you options for the files to delete. Make sure you go through the entire list carefully to ensure that you don’t loose any information that you may need later.
  7. Select a preferred time and day when you would want your computer to run this wizard. Then click on “Next“
  8. It will prompt you for a username and password. Please enter your windows login details here. After entering the details, click on “Next“
  9. Click on “Finish” to complete the process.

The above process will only run disk cleanup every week. It is also recommended that you run Disk Defragment tool and Disk Checking tool every month. To Add Disk Defragment to the scheduler, follow the steps below:

  1. Follow the first 4 steps as mentioned above
  2. Click on “Browse” on the window where a list of applications is provided
  3. On the browse window, go to Windows –>System32–>defrag.exe
  4. Select the file above and click on “OK“
  5. Follow the steps listed earlier from point 6 onwards. The only difference will be the frequency. The frequency for this should be set up as “Monthly“

Follow the same steps for checking hard disk for errors every month. The only difference is that in Step 3, you will need to highlight the file “CHKDSK.exe“.

Once complete you have created a good maintenance plan fo your computer and your machine will not go into the never ending slow performance loop.

Other than this, you should also keep your Windows Update settings to “Automatic”. This means that whenever you connect your computer to internet, Windows Update will scan the system for latest updates and offer updates for download and installation whenver one is available. To do this, follow the steps below:

  1. Click on “Start“
  2. Click on “Run“
  3. On the Run box, type “sysdm.cpl” and click on “OK“.
  4. On the window that opens, click on “Automatic Updates” tab and select the option (Radio Button) “Automatic (recommended)“
  5. Click on “OK“

This will ensure that all security updates are installed on your computer.

I hope this will help you in keeping your computer healthy and problem free. Happy Computing.

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Tags: defragment, disk, healthy, Microsoft, performance, scheduler, slow, task, windows, XP