Editor’s Notes
Now
MAC Codes
This is nothing to do
with the Mac PC or with MAC universal identifier used by PCs for
wireless connections. This is the migration authority code
issued by ISPs when you finally convince them you want to
terminate their service and move to another adsl service
provider. The MAC code is essential if you want the
changeover to run smoothly with minimum down time. It gives
BT the authority to disconnect your old service under
instructions from your new service provider. This has its
advantages, take gas and electricity as an example, where people
has their supplier changed without their permission. The
downside is that when an ISP goes bust you cannot get the code
and even worse when they are taken over you may be forced into a
high cost low quality service from the new ISP because it is easy
to get or be without and adsl service for weeks or even months in
order to change. ISPs should issue the MAC code without
question but faced with dwindling customers some are reluctant to
so and Ofcom does not have the authority necessary to force them
into a better response. One ISP is even known to have a
dedicated MAC team charged with accepting no more than 25% of
requests to leave the service. Please also note that
although there are two types of adsl service, the BT wholesale
service and the unbundled supplier service (LLU). There is
no technical reason you cannot change and MAC codes are effective
but you can often be told you cannot change from one type to
another as a way of putting you off trying to change. As
from Feb 14 Ofcom announced a tougher stance on ISPs failing to
issue MAC codes, whether it makes any difference remains to be
seen.
iTunes Error and a
lot more
Using iTunes with an
iPod under Windows is possible but it is very frustrating when it
does not work, when Windows cannot see the iPod
when it is plugged in.
The solution to this problem also solves the problem of a USB
flash drive or hard disk not being recognised. First create
a restore point or back up your Registry and secondly be aware
that it may upset other software particularly CD recording
programs and that these will need to be reinstalled. Then
start the registry editor with START | RUN and type regedit and
press Enter. Navigate to the following keys and delete
them, these keys are called the UpperFilters and LowerFilters
Registry values.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\system\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E980-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\system\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E967-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
Restart the system and
everything should be fine. In the event of it not working
use system restore or restore the registry.
COM file error
After recovery from a
virus it was found to be impossible to run any file with a .com
extension, what are the options. After recovering from a
serious problem like this and with the PC in running order
probably the best option is to copy off all data, collect
together installation disks, license number and passwords and
then reformat the hard drive. PCs that are several years
old can get a good boost in performance by a reinstallation,
clearing out old junk and not installing software no longer used.
Recovery is however
possible but you will need access to a similar system in working
order to compare registry entries. First boot up in Safe
Mode by pressing F8 when instructed or if this fails by tapping
the F8 key whilst the PC is booting, this should bring up the
Safe Mode selection screen. When in Safe Mode click Start |
Run and type command /c copy C:\windows\regedit.exe regedit.com
to back up the registry. Open the registry by typing
regedit in the box. Compare keys
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.com
\comfile and \.com\persistentHandler with the other
system and make any modifications necessary by right clicking the
item selecting Modify and making changes in the Edit String
dialog box under Value Data. If this fails to correct the
problem compare the CLSID value under
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.com\PersistentHandler with the value in
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\ on your system which should be
{098f2470-bae0-11cd-b579-08002b30bfeb}
On-Screen Keyboard
If your keyboard dies
what do you do? Windows XP offers a rescue utility, the On
Screen Keyboard was originally designed for users with
disabilities and can be operated with a mouse. It is a bit slow
but it works. You can launch the On Screen Keyboard by
clicking on the Start button, then on Run and typing OSK and
hitting Enter. You need a working keyboard to do that, but you
can create a desktop shortcut first, and your mouse will get you
out of trouble. Right-click on any part of the Desktop, then on
New, then on Shortcut. Type OSK and click the Next button twice.
No server
Most home networks do
not have a server, they are peer-to-peer. You share a
folders and set permissions to copy files between PCs. This
appears to present a problem when in trying to set a share you
get an error message about the server service not running. This
is the usual problem of uninformative error messages, what it is
really saying is that the Server service file srvsvc.dll is
missing or corrupt. Grab your XP installation disk put it
into the CD drive whilst holding down Shift to stop it starting
an install. Go to Start | Run and type cmd to open a
command window, type cd\ and hit Enter the effect of which is to
give you a whole free line to type on, and then type (where x is
your CD) expand x:\i386\srvsvc.dl_ C:\windows\system32\srvsvc.dll
ensuring you have a space between .dl_ and C:\windows. On
completion restart the PC.
Cheap
Microsoft has
apparently given the upgrade version of
http://windowssecrets.com/comp/070201#story1
Search for help
Jyve is a company
making plug-ins for the Skype peer-to-peer Internet telephony
network. Recently, it launched a new "ask engine"
search site that links users directly with experts offering to
answer questions. It offers live chat, an instant message, or a
phone call from someone with expertise in the matter of interest.
Users can get advice and tips on virtually any topic.
When a user types in a question, notices are sent to the desktops
of logged-in members who have registered as experts in the
questioner's field of enquiry. Members then can chat live on the
site or have one-on-one phone conversations about their query.
See the link for more info.
http://short.zen.co.uk/?id=729
Warning
Under Windows Vista it
is possible to format memory sticks and memory cards with the
NTFS file system. This is fine for
IE7
The controversy still
rages about Internet Explorer. It is a good thing for some
people because of the extra security and bad for others because
it can sometimes slow or disable other programs and hardware,
probably due to the extra security. The one consensus is
that the uninstall works and restores any lost functionality as
well as IE6.