Category Archives: Microsoft

All Microsoft Products (Exchange, SQL, Windows, Server)

Computer Hardware, Microsoft, Troubleshooting

Optical Drive Disappears

Leave a comment

If your CD or DVD ROM drive has recently disappeared, you may want to read this post. If it disappeared on its own, then it can be one of a few problems:

1. The driver has been uninstalled/corrupted or the wrong driver is installed. You can either use Microsoft Update to update to the newest driver, or you can RollBack the driver to the previous version.
2. You’ve disconnected the data/power cable. Check the cables.
3. The drive has died. You’ll need to buy a new drive.

If it disappeared after you uninstalled or installed a software package, then here’s a registry hack (fix) that helps solve your issue. Most of the time this is a result of uninstalling or installing a second version of a CD/DVD Burning Software kit.

1. Make sure that the driver is correct/up-to-date/installed properly.
2. Microsoft recommends uninstalling any CD/DVD Burning Software PRIOR to performing this hack.
3. Open up the Registry Editor. Start >> Run >> regedit.
4. Go to this key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Class/{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
5. Delete the keys “UpperFilters” and “LowerFilters”.
6. Reboot the computer.

You should now see your favorite Optical drive in your My Computer.

Microsoft

IE7 Move Menus To The Top

Leave a comment

Since I started to use a computer back in 1990, the menus of every single application have been located at the top of the screen.  So when Microsoft decided to put the address bar above the menu bar in Internet Explorer 7… well, I just had to get rid of that.

Now this “hack” requires a little bit of registry editing, so the standard warranties apply.  Don’t do this unless you’re comfortable editing the registry.  Don’t know what regedit is?  Then this “hack” isn’t for you.

Step 1.  Open regedit.

Step 2.  Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar\WebBrowser\

Step 3.  Create a DWord Key.

Step 4.  Name of DWord Key: ITBar7Position

Step 5.  Value: 1.

Step 6.  Close and reopen IE7.

Microsoft, Troubleshooting

Common BSOD Errors in Windows 2000 XP

Leave a comment

BSOD = Blue Screen Of Death

STOP: 0x0000000A
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
This Stop error, which can be caused by either software or hardware, indicates that a kernel-mode process or driver attempted to access a memory location it did not have permission to access or a memory location that exists at a kernel interrupt request level (IRQL) that was too high. A kernel-mode process can access other only processes that have an IRQL that’s equal to or lower than its own.

STOP: 0x0000001E
KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED
This Stop error indicates that indicates that the Windows XP kernel detected an illegal or unknown processor instruction. The problems that cause this Stop error can be either software or hardware related and result from invalid memory and access violations, which are intercepted by Windows’ default error handler if error-handling routines are not present in the code itself.

STOP: 0x00000050
PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA
This Stop error indicates that requested data was not in memory. The system generates an exception error when using a reference to an invalid system memory address. Defective memory (including main memory, L2 RAM cache, video RAM) or incompatible software (including remote control and antivirus software) might cause this Stop error.

STOP: 0x0000007B
INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE
This Stop error indicates that Windows XP has lost access to the system partition or boot volume during the startup process. Installing incorrect device drivers when installing or upgrading storage adapter hardware typically causes this Stop error. This error could also indicate a possible virus infection.

STOP: 0x0000007F
UNEXPECTED_KERNEL_MODE_TRAP
This Stop error indicates a hardware problem resulting from mismatched memory, defective memory, a malfunctioning CPU, or a fan failure that’s causing overheating.

STOP: 0x0000009F
DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE
This Stop error indicates that a driver is in an inconsistent or invalid power state. This Stop error typically occurs during events that involve power state transitions, such as shutting down, or moving in or out of standby or hibernate mode.

STOP: 0x000000D1
DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
This Stop error indicates that the system attempted to access pageable memory using a kernel process IRQL that was too high. The most typical cause is a bad device driver (one that uses improper addresses). It can also be caused by faulty or mismatched RAM or a damaged pagefile.

STOP: 0x000000EA
THREAD_STUCK_IN_DEVICE_DRIVER
This Stop error indicates that a device driver problem is causing the system to pause indefinitely. Typically, this problem is caused by a display driver waiting for the video hardware to enter an idle state. This might indicate a hardware problem with the video adapter or a faulty video driver.

STOP: 0x00000024
NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM
This Stop error indicates that a problem occurred within Ntfs.sys, the driver file that allows the system to read and write to drives formatted with the NTFS file system. (A similar Stop message, 0x00000023, exists for the file allocation table [FAT16 or FAT32)] file systems.)

STOP: 0xC0000218
UNKNOWN_HARD_ERROR
This Stop error indicates that a necessary registry hive file could not be loaded. The file may be corrupt or missing. The registry file may have been corrupted due to hard disk corruption or some other hardware problem. A driver may have corrupted the registry data while loading into memory or the memory where the registry is loading may have a parity error.

STOP: 0xC0000221
STATUS_IMAGE_CHECKSUM_MISMATCH
This Stop message indicates driver, system file, or disk corruption problems (such as a damaged paging file). Faulty memory hardware can also cause this Stop message to appear.

STOP: 0x0000008e
This is usually an issue with RAM, but it all depends on the system. Most often it will happen with Windows XP SP2.

Microsoft

Windows XP Hidden Files Boot.ini

Leave a comment

Working in an IT environment, I find myself needing to make a lot of visual basic (.vbs) and batch files (.bat). Windows XP, in it’s infinite wisdom, defaults to hide the file name extensions that I need to change. Here’s a simple diagram on how to view these file extensions.

main window

Here you’ll see that I tried to make a batch file (.bat), but it’s still just a text file. Windows naming is then “batchfile.bat.txt”. In order for this file to run as a batch file, it needs to be “batchfile.bat”.

folder options

In any Windows explorer window, click on “Tools” and select “Folder Options…”

Then you’ll see this window:

folder options window

If you uncheck “Hide extensions for known file types” you will be able to see .doc, .bat, .txt, .html, .rtf and the like.

If you select “Show hidden files and folders” you’ll be able to see most of the hidden Windows folders and files throughout the system.

If you uncheck “Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)” you will be able to see the boot.ini file and edit it as well.

Microsoft

Running more than one copy of Gaim

Leave a comment

Since I’m a computer geek I usually have multiple AIM names on at the same time. Some I don’t even use anymore, they just sit online and twiddle their thumbs in the air while singing Incubus songs. But anyway, I’ve been using AdiumX (Macintosh) and Gaim since, well, a long time now. Adium since pre-alpha days, and Gaim before it was even ported to Windows.

Well, after finally getting rid of Windows 2000 Pro SP4 and installing a fresh copy of Windows XP Pro SP2 right over top, I found myself wondering how come I couldn’t open more than one copy of gaim.

Gaim Instance Error

I don’t like being limited, especially when it comes to computers and especially especially when I was not limited before. It’s like they don’t want me to use their product to it’s full potential. Obviously I had to find a way to fix this situation.

Follow these easy steps. This works with Windows XP Pro, Windows XP Home, and Windows 2000 Pro.

1.) Click “Start” and right click My Computer (Or if you’re My Computer icon is on the desktop you can do it there – OR you can hit Windows Key + Pause Break)
2.) Click on the “Advanced” tab

3.) Click on the “Environment Variables” button

4.) Under “User Variables for ” click on the “New” button.

5.) In the first box type “GAIM_MULTI_INST” and in the second box type “C:\Program Files\Gaim\gaim.exe”

6.) Hit “OK” a couple of times and you’re done. Now try opening another GAIM client.

Gaim Instance 2
Obviously if you installed Gaim into a different directory you must point to the gaim.exe where you installed it. Easy huh?

If you have a neat trick and want to share, just e-mail me the information. Thanks!

EDIT 08042008
This one really hasn’t been an issue as of the GAIM to Pidgin name change. You can have as many buddies signed in under a single application as you want now.