Autoplay is one of the most wildly annoying features I know. I just dislike inserting, let’s say, a TechNet CD, and have Windows open Internet Explorer and display a lot of useless information that I don’t care about.I would much rather browse through the file system of the disc, and go directly to what I need. Luckily, you can create a registry key to disable Autoplay:
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Tag: Windows
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Disable Autoplay through a registry hack
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Oh no, they didn’t – or the many versions of Windows 7
I have long been of the opinion that where Microsoft have gone very, very badly wrong indeed when it comes to Windows is that they release multiple versions. The argument could be made that this is how it has been since NT4.0/98, but that argument doesn’t hold, because they ditched the Windows 98 line of development in favor of the NT line of development with the release of Windows XP.
XP, of course, was released in two versions, Home and Professional. More recently, Vista was launched with no less than six different versions. With the recent launch of the public beta of Windows 7, we see no less than five versions, with a possible sixth reserved for volume licence customers.
In my opinion, what any version of Linux, as well as what Mac OS have going for them is a simplicity of choice: choose distribution. You are done. With Windows, you first need to choose Windows, then choose which version you want. I think it is time that no matter your needs, your should be able to get all of the features, provided your hardware can handle them.
The division between XP Home and Professional was a mistake. Understandable, but a mistake. Why do Microsoft keep making the same rutting mistakes??? -
Quickly and simply troubleshoot networks from the command line
I love using command line tools, especially for troubleshooting networking. There are two simple commands you need to know;
ipconfigandping. Here’s a simple guide to finding where the problem :
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Find the DiskCleanup utility easily
I’m sure you know the problem: you’ve used someone elses computer, and want to remove your traces. One of the easiest ways of doing that is to use the DiskCleanup utility, however locating it isn’t exactly the easiest thing.
Luckily, it’s pretty simple to initiate the utility from the Run dialog; simply enter the program name,cleanmgr.exeand hit “OK”, and there you go. -
Update your computer now!
I rarely write posts off the cuff, but this warrants it. Microsoft has released Security Bulletin MS08-059, along with a hotfix for the problem detailed. There are already exploits in the wild to take advantage of the hotfix.
What I ask is simply this: Update your computer. Run Windows Update, and update your computer.
Here’s the bulletin from Microsoft:
Bulletin Identifier – Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-059
Bulletin Title – Vulnerability in Host Integration Server RPC Service Could Allow Remote Code Execution (956695)
Executive Summary – This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in Microsoft Host Integration Server. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if an attacker sent a specially crafted Remote Procedure Call (RPC) request to an affected system. Customers who follow best practices and configure the SNA RPC service account to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than customers who configure the SNA RPC service account to have administrative user rights.
Maximum Severity Rating – Critical
Impact of Vulnerability – Remote Code Execution
Detection – Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer can detect whether your computer system requires this update. The update may require a restart. -
Resolving COM port conflicts in Mobile broadband cards
I was called out to help with a problem that had stumped a few of our more experienced techs. The problem was that a user was unable to use her Mobile Broadband USB device.
The specific device we use is supplied by one of the major norwegian telecoms, Telenor. It is a Globetrotter HSDPA USB dongle. The nifty thing about it is that it is totally plug and play. It installs itself, with drivers and connection software, when plugged in.
The problem occurs when the install goes wrong. By default, the dongle installs itself set to use the first two consecutive COM ports available for uplink and downlink respectively. The solution to my clients problem was simply to change what ports the dongle used, followed by a restart.
Here’s how you implement the solution:
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Finding the name of a service
In my last post, I showed you how to use a batch script to start a service from a desktop shortcut. The command we used was the
net startcommand. In order to use it, you need to find the name of the service you want to start. Here’s how: (more…) -
Creating a shortcut to start a service.
I’ve finally got my HTPC up and running with Team Mediaportal‘s lovely Media Center replacement Media Portal. One of the issues I faced while getting it up and running, was getting it to work with my MCE Remote. The solution to this was a third-party app called IR Server Suite. Once installed, every function in my MCE Remote worked like a charm. Until I rebooted the computer that is.
For some reason, the service that IR Server Suite uses to override Windows Media Center, and reroute signals to Media Portal, does not start properly. Although I am trying to solve the problem, a more immediately interesting issue is creating a better workaround than having to go to Services and manually start it.
The solution came to me while at work, as I remembered that a few of our servers have services that at times need to be restarted. This is done through shortcuts on the desktop of the server to save time. The shortcut leads to a batch file, using theNET STARTcommand. Here’s how my batch file looks like:
@echo off
net start inputservice
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Windows Vista SP1 – First impressions
So, I finally bought a new computer. It’s a pretty smooth bit of kit if I might say so. It’s a HTPC, with a 3GHz CPU and 4GB RAM. It also runs Windows Vista Ultimate, and is my first real day-to-day encounter with said OS.
The computer arrived at my place a little more than a week ago. Setup was quick (quicker than the setup of a preinstalled Windows XP machine) and simple (simpler than the setup of a preinstalled Windows XP machine). It boots quickly (well, it’d better with the amount of CPU and RAM I got for it), and seems stable.
I went for Vista Ultimate, because I wanted all the bells an whistles of Vista, and so it seems I have got. First off, is visually very appealing. Windows Vista is pure eyecandy, no doubt about it. When that’s said, most of the tips, tricks and hotkeys I know for Windows XP Professional, seems to work in Vista as well.
Vista has a handfull of new features, compared to Windows XP. Though I haven’t tried them all out, I have found the following particularly useful:
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Renaming your wireless network connection
Being one to muck about quite a bit with my computers, my wireless network connection is now called “Wireless Network Connection 5”, like so:
Annoying though it may be, it is, however, really easy to remedy. Here’s how:
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A better Task Manager
Windows Task Manager is a decent enough tool, but it doesn’t really give you all that much information, nor is it always able to do what you need it to, such as end certain processes. By default, the Processes view looks something like this:
While this is enough for most users, it isn’t always enough information, nor capability, for techies. A wonderful little company called SysInternals, now owned by Microsoft, has made a wonderful little utility called Process Explorer. Let’s have a look at the information it gives us:
Not only does it feature tree-structure of processes, but it also features windows to show live data and history of CPU usage, Commit history and I/O Bytes. Clicking any of these windows will display a full system information window, as shown below. These features are only the tip of the iceberg of what should make Process Explorer an essential part of any techie tool kit.
