RyanTAdams.com

Occasionally, and for no particular reason, my computer will no longer establish Remote Desktop connections to any computer. When trying to connect, I get the error message “The remote computer disconnected the session because of an error in the licensing protocol. Please try connecting to the remote computer again or contact your server administrator.” The [...]

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I have seen several cases recently where my clients’ computers are unable to access the Internet (Windows updates, AV updates, websites, etc.) even though the computer has a network connection. Additionally, when trying to visit any website, Internet Explore would redirect to http:/// and display a “address is not valid” error. Fortunately, the solution in [...]

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The windows Task Manager (well know to those of you who have to frequently end hung programs) has the ability to run in “tiny footprint mode” which hides the menu bar and tabs.

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Many large websites now offer “mobile” versions that are specially formatted to work better with mobile devices like phones and PDAs. Generally, the website is programmed to automatically detect if a visitor is using a mobile browser and redirect them to the mobile version of the site. If you have the “Creative AutoUpdate” software installed [...]

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Microsoft’s latest version of Windows, “Windows 7″, was released at the end of October. Now that it’s been out for just over a month, I’ve been receiving the question “Should I upgrade?” quite frequently. Unfortunately, the answer is not cut and dry. It will depend a several variables.

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Occasionally, an issue can occur in Windows 7 which causes the Windows 7 splash screen (normally 4 colored orbs) to revert to the old Windows Vista style screen (a green progress bar). While I’m not sure of what initially causes this problem, the solution is simple…

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I see that visitors to my site search for this topic frequently, so I figured I should make a post about it. Let me start by saying, I will not be telling you how to change your Windows Vista registry to prevent programs from stealing focus. Why? Because you don’t need to. By default, Windows [...]

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Microsoft has just released a official chart showing the various Windows 7 upgrade options. Keep reading to see it and get my take on everything.

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I recently updated the Bluetooth software/drivers on my Thinkpad T400. The latest release seems to be more stable, but there was one annoying new “feature” I found. When ever I would connect a Bluetooth device (mouse, headset, my Palm), a shortcut to the device would be placed on my desktop and in a “Bluetooth Devices” [...]

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There are many things that can prevent you from establishing a network connection. Often times it is an incorrect setting, sometimes it’s a bad driver. Less often, a hardware problem prevents you from connecting. What happens when you’ve checked all those things, but still can’t connect to a network? Resetting the Windows TCP/IP stack will [...]

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If your CD/DVD/BD drive is not working, and its status is listed as “Code 41″ in device manager, there is a good chance a simple registry edit can fix the issue. Here is what you need to do:

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If you have icons that are not displaying correctly (for example, showing a different icon), you may need to rebuild Windows’ icon cache. This does not change any icons, but only clears the cache to get rid of corrupt information. After clearing the icon cache, you may want to increase its size to prevent future [...]

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The Palm HotSync software does a great job of keeping the data on your PDA and in Outlook synchronized. But when it fails, your often on your own to figure out why. After a failed HotSync, you will be notified and asked if you want to view the HotSync log (how you are notified, and how you [...]

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There are a plethora of so-called “notepad replacements” available. Some popular ones include Notepad++, PSPad, and Notepad2. All three of these programs can be set as the default editor for text (and other) files, but there are still times when Windows will open a file with plain old Notepad. The solution is to replace the [...]

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User’s frequently report receiving an error about an “Invalid Update Control CTF File” when attempting to update AVG 8. This error originates when the CTF file AVG downloads as part of its update process becomes corrupt. The fix is to delete the CTF file and thereby force AVG to re-download a non-corrupt version.

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DMA (Direct Memory Access) mode is a high performance mode for transferring data to an from hard drives, optical drives, and other devices attached to an ATA controller. DMA mode allows a computer processor to transfer large pieces of data with very little software overhead, which reduces CPU usage. The alternative transfer mode is called PIO, which is [...]

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Windows Vista has a particularly nasty habit of preventing a user from accessing a file they really should have access to. I personally have received “Access Denied” error messages when attempting to delete files I created only seconds earlier. Vista also (intentionally) prevents you from making changes to certain system files, such as the HOSTS [...]

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I’ve been using Microsoft’s free “SyncToy” program to keep the content on my main computer and my tablet PC synchronized. It works well, and can even be run automatically from the command-line, which opens up all sorts of scheduling possibilities. However, it periodically leaves behind cryptically named temporary files.

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I often get calls from customers who 30 or 60 days after buying a new computer begin receiving prompts to “renew” their antivirus subscription. This is a common tactic of McAfee and Norton to get more users. These companies give incentives to computer manufactures to install their antivirus products (along with a 30 or 60 [...]

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Every network capable device has a unique MAC (media access control) address. In the most basic sense, a MAC address is a serial number that allows one networked device to identify and communicate with another. Normally, there is no reason to change your network card’s MAC address. Doing so may even cause problems if you [...]

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The default action for the Power button on the start menu in Windows Vista is Sleep, which puts your computer in a low power (but still “on”) state. Some (most?) users would prefer that the power button shutdown Vista. You can configure this setting easily by using the advanced power settings panel found nested deep in [...]

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The “Safely Remove Hardware” icon was included with Windows XP and Vista to provide a “safe” way to disconnect removable devices. According to Microsoft, you are supposed to use this icon, instead of just unplugging your removable devices (such as USB flash drives, eSATA drives, etc.). Realistically, as long as the device isn’t being written [...]

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For some time, my QuickBooks Pro software would freeze (and ultimately have to be terminated) when ever I would attempt to “reconcile” my bank statement. Additionally, when printing from other programs I would find that my computer’s default printer had been inexplicably changed to the “QuickBooks PDF Converter” device. Following are the steps I took [...]

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If you have ever installed Windows XP, you know that Microsoft requires you to “activate” Windows. This is usually done with the help of a guided program that runs automatically after Windows starts for the first time. If you are reinstall windows on the same computer, you may have to complete the wizard again. If [...]

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After installing/uninstall some programs, the “Folders” pane in Windows Explorer may not work anymore. Most often it will just display a gray background and not show the folder tree. Other times, it may show something other than the expected folder tree. If the “Folder” pane on your computer looks like this: a simple registry fix [...]

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